abstract Halloween pumpkin, blue

Oh my gourd, I love this pumpkin painting idea.

I’m the mom of a young child. If you are, too, you may not want to get a knife, scoop, or chisel involved in your pumpkin decorating!

This Halloween 2019, forget about the cheap pumpkin carving kit and create amazing painted pumpkins instead.

modern, chic Halloween mantel

Here, I’m showing you the result of an idea that was inspired by a newsletter I received from one of my favorite blogs, A Kailo Chic Life. After I read these two blog posts (1, 2), I drove myself over to Michaels for acrylic paints. As you may know, fall is the busiest time of year for a child and family photographer. At first this felt like a huge undertaking. I’m so glad I decided to make good on this crafting project!

I ordered an affordable 12-pack of pumpkins from Oriental Trading for my test pumpkins, and for Nolan to play around with. Surprise! It turns out that they had little smiley faces on them, so we simply painted over them.

painted sugar skull, abstract painted pumpkin, Halloween 2019

There was newspaper and pumpkins on the kitchen table for about a week. This gave us ample opportunity for some quality time. It also gave me time to paint finishing touches during naps. I’ll be honest, I was in perfectionist mode! I wanted the pumpkins to look a certain way and I didn’t want my paints mixed.

black and white, little boy

Mixing the abstract and solid pumpkins, and incorporating Nolan’s pumpkins, really brought together a fun and modern Halloween look for our mantel!

acrylic paints on paper plate, toddler hand

I hope our painted pumpkins inspire you to create something special with your family this autumn. I bet you didn’t know that you can turn plain ol’ party supply pumpkins into contemporary home decor! You may also consider welcoming trick-or-treaters or Halloween party guests with painted pumpkins.

colorful, modern Halloween mantel

If you’re sentimentally attached to the traditional jack-o’-lantern, I get it. There’s an easy solution to keep your Halloween classic and go “no-carve”. Simply paint your pumpkin with your favorite jack-o’-lantern face.

The best part of this pumpkin painting idea is that your kids can create their own. Genius! What will you be painting?

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