Put Your Carving Tools Away and DIY One of These Easy Painted Pumpkins Instead

Gone are the messy days of using a knife or chisel, and scoop to create your pumpkin decorating ideas! (Though roasting those scooped out pumpkin seeds is a fun and tasty Halloween tradition.) This year, ditch the pumpkin carving kit entirely and make one of these stunning DIY painted pumpkins instead.

Here, we've rounded up our favorite painted pumpkin ideas in the hopes that they'll inspire you to create something truly special with your family this fall. Bet you didn't know you could turn a plain old orange gourd into an elegant front porch address marker for a simple ways to decorate your porch for Halloween. Or that they can be transformed into true country classics—how about trying you hand at a blue-and-white spatterware painted pumpkin or an easy paint-by number scene where you simply paint a printed image onto a pumpkin with Mod Podge and add a country-style frame made from sticks.! You might also consider welcoming trick-or-treaters or Halloween party guests with mini painted animal pumpkins, an array of rainbow pumpkins lining your staircase, or a DIY ring toss squash game.

The best part of these fun pumpkin painting ideas (which double as brilliant decorations for fall to dress up your home)? Because no sharp tools are involved, your kids can help bring any of them to life. Now, that's genius!