No-Carve Pumpkin Ideas - Cottage style decorating, renovating and entertaining Ideas for indoors and out

Design Ideas

No-Carve Pumpkin Ideas

Skip the mess and tap into your creative side for these crafty pumpkin decorating looks and ideas.

If you’d rather skip the mess and the hours of work carving your pumpkins this halloween, put down the knives and pick up a paint brush and a glue gun! We’ve got a few no-carve pumpkin ideas to get your creativity bubbling for ways to incorporate the season’s iconic gourds into your decor in a... READ MORE

Written, styled and photographed by by Sarah Jane O’Keefe

Modern Metallic

For a modern take on a traditional fall look, give your pumpkins a metallic makeover. Using painters’ tape, mask off portions of the pumpkin and spray with light, even coats of silver paint. This look truly shines when featured in groupings with varying amounts of metallic paint. Play with little peeks of orange by creating stripes or a modern angle. A large pumpkin completely covered in silver will round out the grouping.

Give your pumpkin a fresh spin on a classic fall look with metallic paint. — Pay close attention to your pumpkin’s stem before taking it from the patch. If you plan on stacking multiple gourds, look for smaller stems so they won’t topple. Curled and otherwise unique stems are ideal if you plan on affixing embellishments or doing a simple paint job.

Spooky Message

After painting your pumpkin black, spell out a delightful warning to Halloween guests by combining nails with a bit of twine. Lightly write your message with a pencil, using just enough pressure to dent the skin of the pumpkin. Using small nails with heads, tap them into the pumpkin along the pencil marks and leave approximately a quarter inch of the nail sticking out. Tie the twine onto the farthest left nail and begin tracing and wrapping your way through until the message is clearly visible. Tie off and enjoy!

Create spooky sayings on your pumpkin using nails and twine. — Need a little something extra? Pick up a paper mache witch hat from the craft store for a festive topper.

Stacked Ombre

Make a statement at the front door with a stack of pumpkins donning a deepening blue hue. Simply paint the largest pumpkin a robin’s-egg shade, and lighten the paint for the middle and top gourds. The result is an unexpectedly seasonal display of no-carve pumpkins that offers a cool contrast to rustic accents and exposed wood.