30 Days of Pumpkins
If we've proven anything over the years, it's that there are literally hundreds of ways to decorate a pumpkin: You can carve it, etch it, paint it, drill it, or embellish it with trimmings from your notions drawer. For October, we've conjured up 30 ways to transform a pumpkin into something celebratory of the fall season.
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Constellation Art Pumpkin
The night sky offers endless inspiration, all year round. This autumn, bedeck a pumpkin with glimmering stars that have been drilled and etched to form constellations.
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Chinoiserie Pumpkins
This classic decorative style, in iconic blue and white colors, is beautiful on more than wallpaper and porcelain bowls. To decorate pristine white pumpkins, adhesive laser-cut stencils will help you achieve beautifully fine bird and flora patterns as if you handpainted them yourself.
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This princess of a pumpkin is made to be precious and preserved for years to come. We bedecked a craft pumpkin with indulgent little touches: ribbons of crushed velvet snugly fitted to wrap the ridges, topped with a mound of flat-back pearls, and leafy rhinestone appliqués. Oh, and the stem? Gilded in gold.
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Drilled "Galactic" Pumpkins
Drilling makes quick work of pumpkin-carving. And when piled atop one another, they seemingly pour out from the fireplace of a witch's house.
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Mice-Infested Pumpkins
Eek! It's overrun with critters. In this "cheesy" pumpkin, a variety of drill bits create holes of different sizes. The result is a glowing, move-in-ready home for a family of skittering mice.
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Glowing-Moth Etched Pumpkin
Butterflies of summer, begone. A glowing moth is etched onto the blank canvas of this autumnal pumpkin.
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This works like magic: touch the pumpkin and the handprint left behind changes from one color to another before your eyes. Our secret? A pigmented ingredient that's mixed with binder and painted onto the surface.
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When bedecked and bedazzled, this pumpkin is drop-dead gorgeous. We spritzed this black pumpkin with a coat of shimmery spray paint, then gave it a glittered top with silver accents: sequins, rhinestones, and crystals.
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Photography: Manal Aman9 of 30
Halloween Fairy Garden Pumpkin
The fairy gardens of spring and summer need an autumnal makeover. Here, we conjured up the perfect little haunted house for your tiny visitors. We've added some spooky magic to a plain pumpkin with "black magic" potting soil, "candy corn" bottlebrush trees, cobwebs, and a witchy miniature door.
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Appliqué Pumpkins
Glitz and glamour was never so easily achieved: take a few ornamental appliqués (we like these leaf-like shapes with rich accents and autumnal colors) and pin them into place.
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Photography: Manal Aman11 of 30
Cinderella Pumpkin
What's Halloween without a little bit of magic? You can magically transform a pumpkin into your own Cinderella-inspired carriage faster than you can say, "Bibbidi bobbidi boo!"
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Photography: Manal Aman12 of 30
Sequin Letter Pumpkins
Plain pumpkins can be decked out in strands of silver, gold, and rose toned sequins. A single glimmering strand can easily be molded into cursive letters to spell out a saying, including an invitation to "trick or treat."
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Colorful Leaf Decoupage Pumpkins
Autumn is all about color — from changing leaves to Halloween costumes. To make these surprisingly bright pumpkins, we cut out leaves from a printable template and layers of bright tissue.
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No-Carve Lacy Pumpkins
If you have a pair of patterned stockings (and odds are, you do) then you can make a stylish set of pumpkins for your display. Bundle them in the clingy material, then give them a spritz of spray paint in a color that will contrast with the skin. It takes just 15 minutes, no carving required.
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Photography: David Stark15 of 30
Splatter-Paint Pumpkins
Jackson Pollock-inspired splatter painting is experiencing a style renaissance. We used a neutral three-color palette of black, white, and gray. Follow our lead or go with your own color scheme, such as orange and gold.
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Toothy Pumpkins
A jack-o'-lantern is nothing without its goofy, toothy grin. Here's a trick to achieve the look even easier: acrylic nails. Play with a mix of tips and colors to give each one their own personality.
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Gilded-Leaf Pumpkins
Give your pumpkins an autumnal shine. We used gilding sheets — in a metallic copper color — to mimic the feel of falling leaves.
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Studded "Rock Star" Pumpkins
Ready to rock? First, raid your local hardware store for these odds and ends with shine and sharp edges. Thoughtfully placed nails, brads, wire, spikes, and safety pins become glinting mohawks and piercings.
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Fanged Pumpkins
Smile! More cute than creepy — when grouped together on the mantel, Drac-o'-lantern and his tiny winged pals create a Transylvanian scene.
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Photography: Manal Aman20 of 30
Marbleized Pumpkins
A whirly-swirly pattern is easy to achieve on small size pumpkins. The secret ingredient? A bottle of nail polish in your favorite color.
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Unearthed Jack-o’-Lanterns
Jack-o'-lanterns were never meant to be perfect. We pass over perfectly-shaped specimens in the patch for quirks of nature, those with cracks and unusual shading. This version is more sinister and spooky.
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Pumpkin Portraits
The harvest season offers a bounty of inspiration. Why stop at pumpkins? At the farmers' market, look for produce that might work as facial features: parsnips, cabbage leaves, carrots, and other legumes and vegetables.
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Foreboding Tree Shadow Pumpkins
A shadow looms over the house, come Halloween-time. For a truly ghoulish vibe, go for specimens with a naturally greenish tint, including the knobby Hubbard variety.
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Undead Pumpkins
These googly-eyed monsters are ready to rise up from the earth. Just don't get too close — they look hungry.
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Photography: Anusha Rajeswaran25 of 30
Floral Monogram Pumpkin
Who said Halloween had to be horrifying? (Although, we do love a good spook!) These white pumpkins get a pretty petaled upgrade, perfect as a centerpiece all season long.
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Painted Pumpkins
A pumpkin can be painted any number of ways. For one, we chose pink! Channel your varsity days with this pink monogrammed design, glittered in gold on top.
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Lace-Patterned Pumpkins
Not all pumpkins are orange, nor are they necessarily destined to become leering jack-o'-lanterns. The designs used on these pumpkins, carved freehand, mimic the lacelike openwork of 18th-century pierced creamware dishes, and turn any pumpkin (especially a pale Lumina) into an intricately patterned lamp.
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Gourd Family
Snowmen are built in the winter. Similarly, we built a gourd family. To make the bodies, select pumpkins in a range of sizes, stack, and secure them to one another with skewers. Facial features and accessories are made from gathered twigs and leaf stems.
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Owl Pumpkins
Whooo's there? A family of wide-eyed pumpkins transformed into feathered friends.
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Halloween Candy Bowl Pumpkin
A pumpkin isn't simply decorative — it can be dual purpose too. On Halloween, entice your visting ghouls and goblins (of all ages) to grab a handful of sweets from this carved candy display.
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Other Ideas to Try
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30 Days of Pumpkins
Carve it, etch it, paint it, drill it, or embellish it with trimmings from your notions drawer.
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Etching Pumpkins
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Your Pumpkin-Carving Projects
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How to Carve a Pumpkin
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Hole-Punching a Pumpkin
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How to Carve a Goose
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Carving Pumpkins
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Halloween Pumpkin-Carving Patterns and Pumpkin Templates
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Drilling Pumpkins
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Squash and Pumpkin Recipes
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Pumpkin Bread Recipes
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10 Easy No-Carve Pumpkins That Anyone Can Make
Paint it, embellish it, or gild it with gold.
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Pumpkins: Pie & Beyond
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13 Cute Pumpkin Ideas
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Throw a Pumpkin-Carving Party
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Pumpkin Projects for Kids
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Pumpkin Soup Recipes to Simmer Up This Fall
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Pumpkin Templates for Halloween
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Pumpkin Carving and Decorating Ideas
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Pumpkin Desserts
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Pumpkin Carving Tools
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Assembling Pumpkins
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7 Legendary Halloween Characters (and the Pumpkins to Match)
Vampires, goblins, and wicked witches!
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More Great Pumpkins to Create
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Carve-by-Color Pumpkins
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Your Great Pumpkins