Pumpkin Carving and Decorating Ideas

Chris Soria and Marc Evan of Maniac Pumpkins use pumpkins as blank canvases for intricate portraits, fantastical monsters, and tongue-in-cheek replicas of famous art. Chris and Marc suggest using linoleum cutters for etching, as in the haunted hosue pumpkin here.

Grouped together on the mantel, Drac-o'-lantern and tiny winged pals create a Transylvanian scene. Run-of-the-mill pushpins turn into devilish red eyes.

You can carve just one frightful tombstone or enough gruesome grave-marker pumpkins to haunt an entire cemetery. The more, the scarier.

Chris Soria and Marc Evan of Maniac Pumpkins use pear-shaped clay loops for "skinning" the pumpkin, leaving the remaining pulp to sculpt into, as they did with this pirate skull pumpkin. Use knives -- paring, utility, craft -- for carving details.

A ghostly pair pose in profile -- immortal souls captured in pumpkin flesh for eternity (or at least as long as the squash stays fresh). These pumpkins are carefully carved so that their curved stems stand in opposing arabesques.

Creating your own googly-eyed monsters has never been easier. Just don't get too close -- these guys look hungry.

Don't be shy: Show off your top-notch collection of bodiless heads by placing them atop pedestals. You can put the display next to a stair railing or adjacent to a walkway outdoors -- in fact, anywhere you think a leering head would be a nice decorative touch. Draw faces you like, or print our templates.

Legend has it that the luckless souls who hear the Three Squashes' song of woe shall vanish into the nearest vegetable patch, never to be seen or heard from again. Since narrow squashes are easier to hollow out if you work from both ends, these guys had the tops of their heads cut off. 

Being trapped in a candy dish is vexing, to be sure. The mini pumpkin on the right had his stem sliced off, then he was placed in the bowl. His eyes and nose were penciled in; he was removed, carved, and cruelly confined again. The one at left was carved, then balanced on a teapot.

See our Expressive Pumpkin Face Templates

In case its startling greeting didn't scare you, this pumpkin also projects a leering visage onto the wall behind it.

Even though they're always disdainfully wrinkling their noses at you, this nosy family are smart to have around: They can smell danger from miles away. When carving, hollow them out from a hole in the bottom, and position their features (see page 2 of this template) on top so the stems can serve as noses.

For an intricate and unique jack-o'-lantern, try carving Celtic knots, complete loops with no end or beginning, into a pumpkin.

You don't need a fairy godmother to turn a pumpkin into an ice bucket.

These playful cats have halved miniature pumpkins for paws. The curved stem of a large, oval pumpkin makes a good tail.

Use big pumpkins for the porcupines' bodies, and attach the heads with toothpicks. To create quills, push white holiday lights through drilled holes that are slightly smaller than the lights.

What would Halloween be without a macabre evocation of the denizens of the night? These multilegged creatures rise up from the damp earth and moss to skitter across cold stones.

Delicately carved floral filigree bands evoke lace on these pale pumpkins.

If you don't have time to carve a complete face, a carrot will add some character to your jack-o-'lantern.

No need to worry that these mushrooms are poisonous. They're made from crown pumpkins and butternut, delicata, and carnival squashes.

You don't have to make a mess to have the best-decorated pumpkin in the neighborhood. Our easy-to-use pumpkin stencils will add life to your little squash in no time.

Martha Stewart Crafts Stencils are available at Michaels.

Rooms go fast in these cozy, critter-filled pumpkins, which offer a shudder-inspiring alternative to traditional carving motifs.

Slow but sneaky, the snail uses his squash-stem antennae to lead him to a snack. His body is a squat pumpkin turned on its side; his head is a round, spotted gourd.

The alligator is on the hunt for unsuspecting prey. He's constructed of four large, oblong pumpkins. 

An ink-coated silhouette is a sophisticated variation on pumpkin carving.

These reader-favorite decorations bring sparkle to tables and serving areas -- and they last far longer than jack-o'-lanterns.

These puckish pumpkins, with paint-blackened rinds and orange-gold interiors, thumb their carved noses at traditional jack-o'-lanterns.

Warmly lit hearts, luminous stars, glowing clovers, and twinkling diamonds -- try carving any or all of these shapes onto this year's pumpkin lantern using cookie cutters.

The designs used on these pumpkins, which were 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.

Assemble a row of pumpkins that mimic the twists of a slithering snake.

Behold, the count and countess of Birdbath, and their three little countlings. They redid this abandoned two-story bath, carpeting it with Spanish moss, dead leaves, and branches. The gourds were carved from the bottom to keep stems intact.

Halloween custom calls for a fiercely lit, glowering jack-o'-lantern, but you might also consider the more subtle glow of an elegant monogram, playful spirals, or a whimsical harlequin pattern.

Soften and alter the stark light of a jack-o'-lantern's candle or bulb, or enhance unusual gourds and squashes by using sheets of colored wax paper to create a stained glass-o'-lantern.

Overflowing with bright blossoms, these chubby-cheeked planters are sure to elicit grins.

A jack-o'-lantern trying to ward off pranksters from ground level will often come up short. Give him a boost -- and a body -- by setting him atop a stack of pumpkins, squashes, or other winter gourds. Use small wood screws to hold the parts in place.

When cold weather arrives, gourds, winter squashes, Indian corn, and small pumpkins can fill the planters that once overflowed with flowering annuals. Tuck colorful leaves into any gaps for a great way to capture the spirit of the fall harvest season.

Small birds, such as finches and pine siskins, will appreciate the protection from predators that this feeder offers. Dried gourds can be purchased from gourd farms.

John Keats called autumn the season of mellow fruitfulness, a sentiment evoked by this string of warm-colored gourds.

Fill a pumpkin with dry ice for a smoldering display, or use it to serve punch.

Turn a lopsided pumpkin into a basket for a spooky bouquet.

Treat feathered friends to an autumn delight by turning a pumpkin into a bird feeder.

Transform a few pumpkins into candy holders with looks that could chill -- they can play a crucial role as keepers of treats.

The base of a Cinderella pumpkin makes a perfect face for a jack-o'-clock.

Create ghoulish Halloween faces with a variety of candy pieces.

Pumpkins need not be ghoulish. The deep-twilight hues of Australian heirlooms 'Jarrahdale' and 'Queensland Blue' form a poetic display, but they also serve a practical purpose, offering richly veined cheeses, crudites, and more. Stack them for an extra-elegant effect.

Because it involves no carving, this elegant but easy-to-create ode to autumn can last from early October until Thanksgiving. Boughs of fall-yellow ginkgo leaves brighten a balanced array of similar-hued 'Nest Egg' and 'Warty Orange Hardhead' gourds, which are augmented with small 'White Ball' and 'Pawnee Orange' gourds. To add subtle sparkle and gleaming warmth, the pumpkins' stems are painted gold, and ocher glass vases and gilded votive candleholders are interspersed throughout.

Clearly, white can provoke fright. With the help of some tattered cloth, 'Lumina' pumpkins are easily transformed into fearsome ghosts that arise from an ancient graveyard on All Hallows' Eve.