If you’ve just arrived home with a haul of pumpkins from one of the pumpkin patches in the Katy area and you’re not sure you want to deal with the manual labor and mess that comes with pumpkin carving, try some of these creative ideas for painted pumpkins to use in your fall decor. You can also use faux pumpkins from the craft store for pretty decorations you’ll be able to reuse year after year.

Balloon Pumpkins

These balloon pumpkins from Good Housekeeping magazine will provide a pretty pop of color. Paint your pumpkin a solid base color like white or gold. Snip the ends off opaque, latex balloons in colors or patterns that match whatever theme you’re going for (use 11-inch balloons for mini-pumpkins, larger for bigger pumpkins). Then stretch the balloon around the base of each pumpkin so around two-thirds of the pumpkin is covered.

Glam Pumpkins

Paint your entire pumpkin your desired color, or keep its natural color – whichever you prefer. Then stamp it with one- to two-inch circles, spaced out all over your pumpkin using gold, copper, or silver paint. Or you can glue on sequin circles or rhinestone gems instead. Whichever option you choose will add some elegant glitter and glam to your gourds.

Day of the Dead Pumpkins

These bold Day of the Dead pumpkins from Better Homes & Gardens magazine will grab lots of attention. And there’s even a skull pattern you can use if you’re not confident doing it freehand. Paint your entire pumpkin black, then use white paint for the skull design, with some bright accent colors for some of the details to really make the whole thing pop.

Candy Corn Pumpkins

If you have some taller, cone-shaped pumpkins you can paint them whimsically to look like candy corn. Brush or spray on three bands of yellow, orange, and white paint – each approximately one-third of the pumpkin’s height. Use painter’s tape to divide each section as you go, if needed, letting the paint dry before removing the tape and then taping off the next section to be painted.

Spooky Halloween Reverse-Image Spider Web Pumpkins

Whether you’ve chosen white, orange, or yellow pumpkins, you can make these cool reverse image cobweb designs from Good Housekeeping magazine for your Halloween display. Use long strips of painter’s or electrical tape (around one-quarter to a half-inch wide) to create a web pattern on your pumpkin. Be sure to press it down into all the crevices. Then lightly spray paint the entire pumpkin in your preferred contrasting color (black, purple, lime green, orange – it’s up to you). Let the paint dry before adding additional coats, if needed, for full coverage. After the paint is fully dry, peel off the tape and then stick on a fake spider for a great effect.

Have fun getting artistic with these DIY painted pumpkins. For more great home decor ideas, check out the Olympus Grand Crossing blog.