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Four No-Cut Pumpkin Decorating Ideas For Kids

Since one-year-olds aren’t really “of age” when it comes to pumpkin carving, we’ve been trying to figure out a way to involve Clara in pumpkin decorating this year. And she deserved a promotion from last year’s job as hand model:

Pumpkin Hand Tracing

Pumpkin Hands Done Light

So a few days ago we finally figured out a way for Clara’s hand to come in, um, handy again. But first – let’s introduce our subjects. We’ll call them Big Brother, Middle Child, and Little Piggy.

Pumpkins 1 Before

On Monday night I broke out my favorite all-purpose medium (aka painter’s tape) and marked out a traditional jack-o-lantern stencil on Middle Child.

Pumpkins 2 Face Tape

Then with an exacto knife I cut out the pattern carefully (okay, not that carefully – I sliced into the pumpkin a bit) and peeled away the extra tape.

Pumpkins 3 Cutting Face

Voila. He’s not done – just ready to be painted. Do you see where we’re going with this?

Pumpkins 4 Face Done

For Little Piggy I used a ruler to slice some thin strips of painter’s tape and created a stripe pattern all around the pumpkin.

Pumpkins 5 Striped Pumpkin

And for Big Brother we decided to go with a P to represent the whole Petersik family of four (four-leggers count in our house – so this isn’t a baby announcement).

Pumpkins 6 P Taped

A few more cuts later, and our trio of pumpkins were ready to meet their artist.

Pumpkins 8 Tape Is Done

And here she is now. Stripped down to a diaper and ready to make a mess.

Pumpkins 9 Clara Ready

We poured out some Crayola Washable Paints on a few paper plates and with some minor urging, Clara delicately started coloring her orange canvas.

Pumpkins 10 Clara Dipping

Pumpkins 11 Clara Diving In

She grew a bit tired of touching the pumpkins after the first two (she liked just dabbing her hands in the paint instead), so Sherry took over the task of painting Big Brother. Which was probably for the best since we decided that a rough circle around the monogram might be fun (and there was no way little miss toddler hands could contain herself to such a strict parameter).

Pumpkins 15 Painted P

The verdict? Clara seemed to have a blast. But eventually we got the “all dawn!” signal (aka: all done) and decided to call our art session officially complete.

Pumpkins 13 Clara All Done

Not before snapping a few more cute pics, of course.

Pumpkins 14 Clara All Done

Once Sherry had whisked Clara off to the bathtub, I got to seeing what our artiste had accomplished. Yup, it was tape-peeling time…

Pumpkins 16 All 3 Painted

I carefully peeled of the painter’s tape to reveal our final result (with the paint still wet, since we feared that peeling it off once the paint was dry would result in the paint peeling off in chunks). Behold: Psychedelic pumpkins!

Pumpkins Outside

Sure, they’re not über sophisticated – but they were fun. And we think white pumpkins + a more refined color palette (yellow & gray? emerald and navy? teal & grellow?) could be really fun instead of the rainbow-inspired color scheme that Clara chose. Oh and we sprayed them over with a sealer (we had Aileen’s Gloss Spray Acrylic Sealer around, so hopefully that’ll do the trick) because this paint is washable, so we don’t want a rainstorm to send colors bleeding all over our bench (hopefully our porch awning + sealer = enough protection).

And on the subject of pumpkins, let’s take a walk down memory lane. You’ve already seen our handprint-eyed jack-o-lantern from 2010 (first pic) but that was actually in addition to the crazy puffy painted versions that we also did last year (without Clara’s help). I think they’re our favorites of all time – and they could be fun to do with kids too.

Pumpkins Final 1

In 2009 we went the creepy route and painted insects on white pumpkins (and yes, monograms or initials tend to be a theme for us – but kids could have fun painting these too).

Halloween Porch Pumpkins

You can even watch that pumpkin project on time lapse video:

And last but not least, here’s one where we actually cut our pumpkins. In 2008 we tried our hand at intricate carvings – only one of which really worked out that well, if you ask me. Which one? The monogram of course. Wow, we really do like to see letters on pumpkins don’t we?

Johnsdamaskpumpkinsmall

Monogrammedpumpkinforweb

So, with all that said (and shown) – what are you guys doing for pumpkins this year? We’d love to see links and photos if you’ve got ’em. Or if you have any great tips for including kids and toddlers in the festivities, I’m sure Clara will thank you when next Halloween rolls around…

Psst- We had some fall fun this past weekend (more over on Young House Life).

Comments

  4. Meredith says

    Am I missing something, or did you let Clara paint with no cover on the table? I’m assuming the paint wiped right off? Just curious :)

    Reply

  5. Lindsay says

    You guys are so darn creative with the pumpkins! I was planning to use your last years as inspiration, and there you go again making them just as cute this year…now if I could only find a toddler to help!!

    Love you guys and all of your inspiring projects!

    Reply

  6. Erin says

    Cute project! I think I saw something a while back on Martha’s website (or some similar craft site, if I’m mistaken), but I think she cut out shapes from contact paper or something and then stuck them on. The painter’s tape idea is a good one. This year I was thinking of painting or spraying some pumpkins with black chalkboard paint and then letting our kids draw faces on with chalk over and over- I think that idea I saw on pinterest?

    Reply

  7. Erin says

    Also, we used that exact kind of waterbased, washable finger paint for canvas art by our kids. A bunch of different sized canvases from the craft store (on sale) and then we limited the color scheme for this particular project to 4-5 colors that went with our living room and then gave them sponges, brushes, and of course, they used their hands. The result is cool- one looks just like a neat watercolor painting. We now have a sweet little art gallery by our two preschoolers. I love that finger paint and it does just wipe off of everything!

    Reply

  9. Amanda says

    I used crayola paint last year on our pumpkins and after a few days it started to crack and come off. Are you having any problems with this?

    Reply

  10. Anika says

    Such a creative alternative! I sort of love that the pumpkins are bright and happy instead of creepy or scary – makes for a unexpected halloween surprise when people look at your porch. I also really appreciate that kids at various ages could easily do this, although I will admit to being partial to the crazy-toddler mess Clara produced! Thanks for the fun idea!!

    Reply

  11. Nicole says

    I just wanted to say that your daughter is cute as a button. She makes me grin whenever I see her in one of your photos!

    Reply

  15. AJ says

    A couple years ago I let my toddlers paint their pumpkins too. I didn’t think of making them cool like yours though. Mostly it was just layer upon layer of colors until it all blended into one color. I love your psychedelic ones. Very cute, even if they aren’t sophisticated.

    Reply

  17. Janna says

    Love this duct tape/painters tape idea! My Clara (almost 2) would have a blast. She is all about “punkins” this year.

    Reply

  19. Cara says

    We also embraced painting pumpkins this year… just using the tempera paints. My 2 year-old had a great time just painting colors all over his, but my 4 year old has graduated to painting faces… complete with pigtails to be like her. They aren’t like the ones I designed pre-kids, but I actually think I like these better. There’s a lot of personality.

    Reply

  22. Ryan Elizabeth Voss says

    I LOVE THIS IDEA! I have two small kittens (under a year old) that would make carving pumpkins quite the project. I think painting is a brilliant idea!

    Reply

  24. Elizabeth says

    I buy lots of little pumpkins every year and have the kids decorate them with various Mr. Potato Head parts. Evry time I am in a thrift store and see random potato head parts, I buy them for cheap and now I have a box full of parts to make lots of different fun pumpkins and faces without the mess of carving.

    Reply

  25. Dawn Levasseur says

    With my kids in their teens and not interested in decorating pumpkins, I set off to do a more “sophisticated” scene this year. I decorated with bright mums, red/purple coleus and different size orange pumpkins. Then I took a white pumpkin, transferred the letter “L” in script onto it (cause that’s what our last name starts with) and colored it in with a black sharpie. I then sprayed it with a clear sealer. It looks beautiful and I feel very creative and “grown up”

    Reply

  27. Missy says

    Very cute. I’m assuming the paint comes off the table fairly easy? I didn’t notice any newspaper or cardboard put down.

    Reply

  29. Jennifer says

    I did this with a canvas a couple of years ago. And rather than use a pumpkin face, I used vinyl cut with my child’s name. It’s the perfect “make child & mom happy” kind of art!

    Reply

  30. jawsie says

    i love the picture of your puffy paint pumpkins! what a great idea. i might try that! so far, i’ve just decorated with mums… i’ve been dreading “carving” a pumpkin, but i think painting sounds much better!

    Reply

  32. ColleenwithMurals&More says

    Ahhh, the difference between boys & girls! My grandson wasn’t the least bit timid with paint . . . and messes, ha!

    I love this project. I frequently remind my students to remember how fun it was as a child to just smoosh paint around – and do it again! But no, as adults many of us become way to concerned with staying in the lines. (That’s a reminder for myself too, btw ;)

    Reply

  33. Bryn says

    I love the pumpkin idea this year. The first photo of Clara where her hand is being traced may have just become one of my favorites. Her face is priceless. :)

    Reply

  34. Sarah Tieck says

    LOVE this!! I gotta confess, though – I expected Sherry’s pumpkin to be ORB!!!! I was like – “What?!! No ORB pumpkin???” LOL – seriously, very cool project with Miss Clara!

    Reply

  37. Lauren says

    I love the pumpkins! What an adorable idea. I’m totally stealing it for next year, since I think Nora is still a bit too young this year, at 10 months.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey – that’s not nice! She looks just like a girl in person. Never gets mistaken for a boy anymore. Woot! Would add bows but she’d 1) remove them herself and chuck them 2) not have enough hair to keep them in. We love her just the way she is: sweet & bowless.

      xo,
      s

    • Penny says

      Holy potatoes that was rude. Sherry, I am so impressed with how gracefully you handle comments like this. Clara is beautiful, but you already knew that!

  42. Kim says

    Thank you for your post! We copied the use of painters tape, finger paints, and sealer! Our little guy enjoyed the mess. Your blog has been great to read. Thank you!

    Reply

  43. Kate Brough says

    I have a three year old and a one year old. Like you, I wasn’t sure what to do this year. I turned to (your favorite and mine) Pinterest, and found two great options! We did two halloween-themed potato head parts on imitation pumpkins (so that they wouldn’t mold up and die, and so that they would be able to re-do them if the mood struck later), and a mummy-wrap-gauze number with goggly eyes on a real pumpkin. Both kids loved the process, and we keep them in our window by the dinner table where they see them often. I even did a post on it! http://wickedkate.com/yo-mama/products/small-kiddo-halloween-fun-jack-o-alternatives/

    Reply

  48. Amanda says

    Love the pumpkins! I always plan to buy some to decorate and always forget until it’s basically too late. This has happened 7 years running.

    I also noticed John’s shirt and color me surprised to discover he’s a fellow brother! I’m a Gamma Sig! Such a small world.

    Reply

  49. kristen says

    spoiler alert: i didn’t read the 195 comments prior to mine . . . so i’m sure it’s already been commented upon, but i just can’t believe what a perfect blend of you two your beautiful daughter is! in some pix, i totally see S, & in others, i totally see J. weird & wonderful, just like parenthood itself! :)

    Reply

  50. Gena@MsDivinesMelange says

    One of my husband’s friends hosts an annual pumpkin-carving party. Usually, I stick to the templates she provides, and I often take the ones suggested for young children to be able to carve. This year – no templates provided.

    I am NOT creative. Or artistic. I had NO ideas. So I grabbed the tool that carves eyes and went to town. Amazingly, my polka-dot disco pumpkin turned out pretty cool!

    http://msdivinesmelange.blogspot.com/2011/10/pumpkin-time.html

    Mine is [quite-obviously] the one at the bottom of the post. :)

    Reply

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