Don’t feel like carving your pumpkin this Halloween? Get crafty and try out one of these no-carve pumpkin ideas! From painted to spooky, we’ve got you covered for some fun, family-friendly decorating.
FUN FACT – I’ve never been too fond of the idea of carving pumpkins this time of year. I honestly think they are beautiful just the way they are and the thought of touching the inside guts of a pumpkin turns me off as well.
So after doing some brainstorming on alternatives to the messy tradition, it got my crafty wheels spinning and the next thing I knew, I had a ton of ideas {and examples} on how to paint & decorate these beauties with little to no mess. Let’s just say I’m HOOKED on the NO CARVE pumpkin idea!
On that note, that’s how this roundup post was born. I decided today was the PERFECT time to put ALL my ideas together into ONE BIG roundup post, making it easy for YOU to plan out some no carve pumpkin ideas before the season is over. No special tools or skills required – just a little crafty fun and a few supplies from a stash!
So let the kids become a creative pumpkin artist this Halloween season, by skipping the mess of traditional pumpkin carving and going for a NO CARVE option this year! It’s so much better for little ones to participate with AND the finished pieces will last longer too! Plus you can include these ideas in your Trick or Trunk displays as well!
Well friends – I’ll let you get to it. Just keep scrolling to see all our ideas below! I don’t have full tutorials for each one but I do hope my pictures {and short sentences} inspire you to get crafty this season!
Happy crafting {and decorating} this Halloween, my friends! Please don’t forget to share pictures of your no-carve pumpkin creations on our Facebook wall when you complete them. We can’t wait to see what you decide to SPOOK up this season! #gluedtomycrafts
RELATED —> Halloween Craft Collection
This simple idea is perfect for the little ones who absolutely LOVE Mickey! Just paint the bottom half red, while the top half black. Then hot glue on buttons and craft foam ears.
One of my favorite techniques – using tissue paper and glitter glue! Just check out the No Carve Mosaic Pumpkins tutorial to see what I’m talking about!
No need to go “batty” with this No Carve Pumpkin Bat idea – it’s super simple and inexpensive too! Just paint your pumpkin completely black and hot glue on craft foam cutouts.
Let the kids be a “mad” scientist with this No Carve Frankenstein Pumpkin idea! We started off with a green painted pumpkin and built it from there.
These No Carve Pumpkin Robots are not scary NOR hard! Plus the customization is limitless! To make these friends you need to start with some gray craft paint first. The rest is craft foam pieces and a pipe cleaner on top.
This idea is even perfect for AFTER Halloween and those cold climate locations – No Carve Snowmen made from craft paint and pom poms & pipe cleaners for the ear muffs.
This is a no carve idea I shared over a year ago but it’s still a favorite of ours! No real rules – just painting fun!!!
Does painting a pumpkin intimidate you? Well skip the mess and go for a No Carve Thumbtack look! Just draw a design on your pumpkin with a Sharpie and then fill it in with thumbtacks! Hello impressive and really inexpensive too!
No need to be scared of these pumpkins! All you need is white & black paint to create this ghostly friends!
I recently got to try out an airbrush machine for a post for Testors & this is another idea I had after I made my No Carve Spider Web Pumpkins for them. All I did was put vinyl polka dots all over the plastic pumpkins, spray it with the air brush paint and then peeled off the stickers to reveal the design underneath.
Use adhesive monster eye stickers for a fun no-carve option {I found mine on OrientalTrading.com} Perfect for those hotter climates {like us in Florida} you don’t want to risk their beautiful carving work MELTING on the front porch.
Use craft paint to turn your pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern!
Use silver spray paint and craft paint to create a Sugar Skull pumpkin!
Don’t you just love this Pumpkin Owl? Use teal spray paint and craft paint to complete this look!
Use inexpensive gauze to wrap a pumpkin up to look like a mummy!
Use small stickers to make a “bats in the moon” no carve look!
Use yellow paint for the body and red/black puffy paint to create a super-easy EMOJI PUMPKIN!
For the unicorn lovers out there – our no-carve Unicorn Pumpkin Idea! Simply paint the body of the pumpkin white and use puffy paint for the eyes, cheeks and hair. Then create a “unicorn horn” out of gold scrapbook paper, that you glue to the top part/stem of the pumpkin.
Who doesn’t love Piggie and Elephant! These two no-carve pumpkin ideas would be great for a kindergarten/first grade classroom! I used foam pumpkins for these!!
Don’t let the fun stop with just Piggie and Elephant – Pete the Cat is another clever children’s book themed pumpkin!
Every classroom needs a Pigeon pumpkin! This one started off with teal craft paint and then cardstock features added.
Use a fine-tip black Sharpie to create spider webs on a white pumpkin. Then hot glue a plastic spider on top!
This idea is probably my favorite of all – a NO CARVE PUMPKIN FOX. Just paint on a white heart shape for the face and hot glue felt pieces to your pumpkin.
Grab a plastic pumpkin, cut the top off and drop in some fake flowers for a quick vase!
Taking the idea from above, you can also make a unicorn flower vase!
Grab a wooden pallet box and paint it to look like a pumpkin for your front porch.
Last but not least is a very non-traditional idea – wrap a toilet paper roll with orange fabric to create a pumpkin! Add in a clothespin and pipe cleaner for the stem.
Use white paint to add fingerprint GHOSTS all over your pumpkin.
Use a fine-tip black Sharpie to draw a JACK-O-LANTERN face on your pumpkin.
Use black paint to add fingerprint SPIDERS all over your pumpkin.
