PUMPKIN PAINTING IDEAS ~ FUN, EASY PUMPKIN DECORATING FOR ALL!

Not only is it safer, but the pumpkins will last longer and children will be able to exercise creativity and artistic talents while trying one of our pumpkin painting ideas.

Pumpkin painting is a wonderful alternative to carving pumpkins. It is a perfect Halloween craft for kids because it is easy and does not require the use of a knife or other sharp object. Actually, it's an enjoyable activity for anyone of any age.

Here are a few tips to consider during the pumpkin painting process:

1. Select a pumpkin that does not contain too many bumps and is size proportionate to the child who will be painting it. For children under the age of 3, a small pumpkin or even the little pumpkin shaped gourds that one could purchase at a local grocery store might be wise. For children 4 and older, allow the child to select the pumpkin and encourage a younger child to choose one that is appropriate for his or her body size. The second is to choose whatever pumpkin that the child likes regardless of size or shape (sometimes, the most unusual shape or the largest or smallest pumpkin can be a really fun project). However, regardless of which choice is chosen, it is wise to select a pumpkin that does not have blemishes, holes, or similar imperfections.

2. Rinse the pumpkin and thoroughly dry it prior to painting. This will remove any dirt or debris that might be on it.

3. Acrylic paints are best for use on pumpkins for older children and to extend the duration of this work of art, but tempera or poster paint is fine for use by younger children for a temporary piece of art. Tempera is washable and nontoxic, so it does not pose as much harm to little ones in the event that the paint is ingested by accident. Fall colors such as greens, browns, oranges, reds, and yellows are suggested for use as well as white and black to help lighten or darken a color. Both acrylic and tempera paints come in a wide range of colors.

Click here for more Pumpkin Painting Ideas

1. Metallic paint

Metallic painted pumpkins are simply elegant and beautiful. Spray your pumpkins in different metallic colors such as gold, silver, copper and bronze. Add some glitter to make it sparkle. Don't forget wired bows to enhance elegance. Group the different colored pumpkins together to create a gorgeous display.

2. Black paint

Spraying a pumpkin completely black may not sound interesting at all. On the contrary. Spray pumpkin with a black chalkboard spray, then use a chalk to draw patterns against the black background. You'll end up with a beautiful decorated pumpkin. You can even write messages on it, like a chalkboard.

3. Use a stencil to create patterns

Place a stencil on your pumpkin and lightly spray paint over it. Stencils can be bought at the store or homemade. It is a convenient tool to help you paint images such as bats, cats and ghosts onto your pumpkin. You can use paper doilies to create lacelike patterns. To create masked images, use die cuts or even pressed leaves.

4. Glow-in-the-dark paint

Your painted pumpkins may be beautiful but when night falls, you won't be able to see them. This is where they lose out to carved pumpkins. But all is not lost. You can still make them visible at night with glow-in-the-dark paint. You don't have to use glow-in-the-dark paint for the entire design, you can use it to highlight certain parts.

Check out these: Pumpkin Painting Tips

5. Painting Faces

Painting pumpkin faces is so much fun. You can paint spooky faces that are scary or goofy faces that are sure to delight and make people smile. Some have even painted celebrity faces. Dress up your pumpkin with hats, rafia, tinsel and other embellishments.



6. Go Acrylic

If your child is a budding artist, give her some acrylic paints in various colors and a paintbrush and let her go for it. Have her sketch out what kind of pumpkin face she wants to do-happy, sad, scared or creepy-and then let her sketch it on the pumpkin with a pencil. Squirt some paint on a paper plate and let her fill in the parts of the face however she sees fit. It's sure to be a masterpiece.

7. Negative Imagery

Spray paint the pumpkin black and let it dry thoroughly. Give the child a big spoon, and then allow them to scrape it on the surface of the pumpkin. The spoon will remove the black paint and the top layer of pumpkin to reveal bright orange flesh against the rest of the black surface.

8. Faceless Works of Art

Don't limit yourself to just painting pumpkin faces. Include other Halloween images on the smooth orange canvas of pumpkin flesh. Paint a graveyard scene with bare trees and a full moon or render a haunted house with a gaggle of ghosts. Even autumn leaves can be painted and pressed onto the pumpkin to create an fall foliage work of art. Pumpkins with stripes, polka dots and stars can add contrast and texture to a fall decoration display.

9. Transform It

Turn the pumpkin into something else, such as a cat, bat or Frankenstein's monster. Gather accessories, such as felt, bottle caps, pipe cleaners and other assorted craft items in addition to paint. Play around with the items to see what you can come up with. For example, make a pretty pink kitty. Paint the pumpkin pink and cut out pink triangle ears from felt. Use a bottle cap for a nose and black pipe cleaners for whiskers. Assemble the kitty after painting whimsical eyes and your pumpkin will have its own Halloween.



The easiest design to paint on a pumpkin is a traditional jack-o-lantern face. But here are some other ideas for festive designs:

- silly or goofy faces
- favorite cartoon characters
- fall leaves
- scarecrow
- witch
- princess
- turkey
- spider
- ghosts
- cats
- goblin

Painting pumpkins is a very economical craft as most supplies are readily available (you probably already have some of these in your home):

- washable markers
- acrylic craft paints
- newspaper
- spray sealer
- accessories such as raffia, jewelry, hats, etc.

Before beginning, decide what design you are going to paint and trace that design onto a clean pumpkin. You can freehand the design or select one of the many designs in the ultimate e-guide for pumpkin painting, Easy Pumpkin Painting.
Once you or your child has painted their first pumpkin, chances are you'll want to paint an entire pumpkin family to proudly display at your home.

Pumpkin Painting is an annual family tradition at our house. We hope it will be at yours as well.
Easy Pumpkin Painting is a guide that contains step-by-step instructions and color photographs of exactly how to paint the cutest Halloween pumpkins. It also contains templates that you can use to paint your first pumpkin in about an hour! Easy Pumpkin Painting makes painting pumpkins, well, Easy!

Face Painting

1. Make sure the package explicitly states that the paints are for painting faces and skin.

2. Purchase only FDA-compliant Face Paints, Glitter and other supplies.

3. Face paints are produced in an array of bright, bold colors. Buy the brightest, boldest colors you can find.

4. Shop for face paint kits large enough for the type of event you are painting. The packaging will tell you how many 'faces' that particular product will paint. If you are simply painting cheek art, most palettes will last a lot longer than the package states.

5. If you are painting outdoors in how weather, place your face paints on ice (or a freezer block) to minimize melting.

6. Practice often with your new Face Paints before the big event.

7. Use separate paintbrushes for each color family of Face Paint. This will alleviate mixing colors accidentally which could make your face paints muddy or dirty.

8. DO NOT use craft paints or acrylic paints instead of authentic face paints. It may seem like it's not a big deal to using another type of paint, but allergic reactions can result from using something other than FACE paint.

9. Rinse your face paint brushes and other tools with clean water after each event. Let air dry.

10. Do not use face paints on someone with cuts, abrasions, rash or sensitive skin. Offer to paint their arm, wrist or leg instead.

And the Last Tip for Buying and Using Face Paints: Be Brave. Have Fun. Don't Worry. Children are very forgiving and the process of having their face painted is almost as fun as the end result!

Easy Face Painting is the guide that over 1,000 first-time face painters have used to guide them through their very first face painting event. Whether it's a birthday party, charity fundraiser, school festival or community picnic, Face Painting is a popular activity with kids of all ages and Easy Face Painting makes it, well, Easy!

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The modern Halloween holiday is loosely based on the old Celtic holiday, Samhain, when the veil between the "real" world and the spirit world was considered to be very thin. There is little wonder why Halloween costumes have a creepy and spooky, or even down-right frightening appearance.

With the advent of Hollywood movies beginning to appear all over the country around this time, actors like Lon Chaney, known for his Wolf-Man character and Bela Lugosi, who brought to life the vampire Count Dracula, gave the country the perfect creepy inspiration for Halloween costumes.

Witches, blood thirsty vampires, moaning ghosts, vicious werewolves and many other frightening monsters became the popular choices of trick or theaters every where. Thus the American idea of a creepy Halloween was born. Dressing in costumes gives one the opportunity to "let their hair down" and be someone else for a while, all in good fun of course.

And now you can have quality Halloween activities for kids and Halloween games for kids that will get children playing, laughing, learning and thinking.

Keeping kids happy and busy at Halloween has never been easier with these colorful, fun and educational Halloween worksheets.