19 Mini Pumpkin Painting Ideas for Fall

Transform your miniature pumpkins into festive decor that lasts all season long.

Mini pumpkins are affordable and plentiful in the autumn months, and their small size makes for easy crafting. Rather than trying to carve a classic Jack-o'-lantern in a miniature gourd, opt for a quick coat of paint instead. Painting mini pumpkins is an easy way to enhance seasonal decor, and thanks to the long lifespan of gourds, you can keep them up from the first fall breeze all the way through Thanksgiving.

The best part is, you don't need to be an artist to recreate some of our favorite ideas! Grab a paint brush and try one of these mini pumpkin painting ideas.

Related: 45 Pumpkin Decorating Ideas to Try This Fall

Modern Painted Pumpkins

This surprisingly chic design makes it easy to decorate for the season in a sleek, modern home. Plus, the design couldn't be easier. Choose a favorite or complimentary color combination and paint each color on half of the pumpkin to create this easy pumpkin painting idea.

Related: 8 Modern Fall Decor Ideas We Can’t Get Enough Of

Marble Painted Pumpkins

Mini pumpkins are the perfect size for this stunning craft, which requires just two materials you probably already have on hand. Pour various colors of nail polish into a bucket of water to create a marbled effect, then dip your pumpkins in to coat them.

Related: How to Make Nail Polish Pumpkins for a Colorful Marbled Look

Cauldron Creatures

These charming critters make the perfect porch decor for Halloween. Green-painted mini pumpkins affixed with googly eyes fill an inexpensive plastic cauldron. Partially fill the caldron with rocks or foam so that the pumpkins can rest on top.

Related: Halloween Cauldrons Are Taking Over: 13 Spooky Ideas to Try

Pastel Mini Painted Pumpkins

Friendly and colorful, this mini pumpkin painting idea is a great way to re-imagine your gourds after Halloween is over. Or, if you're not a fan of the typical orange and black color scheme, opt for painting your pumpkins with a pastel color scheme. Choose a palette of three to five colors and cover your pumpkin or a portion of it with abstract shapes—no stencils required!

Related: 19 No-Carve Halloween Pumpkins for a Safe Family Project for Everyone

Friendly Clown Pumpkins

This sweet clown is more treat than trick. Make your own with white paint, colored paint or stickers for the cheeks and ears, and pom-poms for the hair and nose. Use a party hat or make your own, and a paper fan for the clown's bow tie.

Splatter-Paint Mini Pumpkins

These fun, modern pumpkins are an accessible craft for any age. Start by painting your mini pumpkin a base color. Then, dip your brush in a contrasting color and flick or drizzle it onto the pumpkin to create the splatter look.

Metallic Painted Pumpkins

If orange isn't your thing, take your pumpkins in a glam direction instead. Coat an assortment of mini pumpkins with white and metallic paint, adding cutouts for added interest. Note the casual-yet-stylish arrangement used here, thanks to the mix of small and large pumpkins.

Related: What Colors Go with Gold? How to Decorate with the Warm Metallic

Wild Animal Pumpkins

Black, white, and animal print—oh my! These glam pumpkins are sophisticated and fun, while the mini pumpkins in the group make the display look layered and luxe. To get this look, use black, white, and metallic paint, as well as patterned tape, to cover your pumpkins.

Related: 12 Free Mythical Creature Pumpkin Stencils for Halloween

Monster Mini Pumpkin Painting

Decorating pumpkins with painted eye designs gives an eerie but fun effect. See if your kids can make eyes that look angry, happy, surprised, or silly. You could stop there, or carve out the pumpkins to turn them into planters.

Halloween Character Pumpkins

For some more advanced fun, paint the faces of classic Halloween characters on your mini pumpkins. For this Dracula, paint the entire pumpkin green, let it dry, then paint or glue on the rest of the features.

Spooky Spelling

Recreate this chatty pumpkin with one large pumpkin, cut to reveal a pile of smaller, stacked pumpkins inside. Remove the stems of the smaller pumpkins for easier stacking and paint them with a festive three or four-letter word, such as 'hoot' or 'boo!'

Related: 22 Festive Fall Front Porch Ideas for a Welcoming Autumn Look

Spray-Painted Pumpkin Painting Idea

This pumpkin design is pretty and girlish in pink and orange, but could easily be adapted to any color scheme. Paint your pumpkins all white to start, and then lightly spray paint the top, creating a delicate fade of color down the sides.

Related: 7 Pink Halloween Decor Ideas to Copy This Season

Pineapple Pumpkin

For more character fun, try your hand at this party-ready pineapple pumpkin. First, paint your pumpkin a bright sunny yellow. Then add the 'spikes' with paint or marker, as well as facial features, like eyes and lips. Cut green leaves from paper, foam, or felt, and glue them around the stem.

Related: How to Carve a Pineapple Jack-O'-Lantern for Halloween

Spider Pumpkin

This easy pumpkin Halloween craft couldn't be easier. Glue pipe cleaners and googly eyes to a mini pumpkin to create a spider pumpkin. For a truly spooky look, paint the pumpkin black before you begin.

Related: DIY Halloween Pumpkins and Other Spooky and Fun Seasonal Projects

Bubble Painted Pumpkins

Part craft, part science experiement, these bubbly pumpkins are so fun to make. Use a white pumpkin or a paper mache pumpkin as your base. Mix 4 Tbsp. paint, 4 Tbsp. water, and 2 Tbsp. dish soap together and use a straw to blow bubbles into the mixture. When you have a lot of bubbles, slowly dip your pumpkin in the mixture, covering all the sides. Dip more than once to get a more layered look. This is a great mini pumpkin painting idea, since it's much easier to dip a smaller pumpkin than a large one.

Cinderella's Carriage

Delight anyone who walks by with a tiny replica of Cinderella's carriage. You'll start by cutting windows and a door out of a larger pumpkin. Then, paint the large pumpkin and four mini pumpkins silver. Remove the pumpkin stems, and screw in clear glass knobs for the carriage finial and wheel spokes. Add rhinestones if you wish for an even sparklier look.

Mini Lion Pumpkin

If you have extra candy corn (or you found a stale bag leftover from last year), give it and your mini pumpkins a fresh look. Glue the candy to the front of a miniature pumpkin to form a lion's mane, leaving a circular space for the face. Use felt or paper to create the facial features or paint them on.

Gold Mini Pumpkin Painting Idea

Mini white pumpkins get a glam-inspired makeover with easy-to-apply pieces of gold leaf, available at the craft store. You could also use gold paint to achieve similar results. Grouped together, these pumpkins create a glamorous look for your stoop or dining table.

Squiggle Pumpkins

Playing with texture is another way to decorate pumpkins, and a coat of paint can easily enhance them. To achieve this look, first paint your pumpkins in a solid color. Then, arrange braided cord in squiggle shapes, gluing down as you go. You can purchase cord in the correct color or paint it to match your pumpkin.

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