50+ Prize-worthy No-Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas! These Pumpkin Ideas Need No Knives! Plus, They are More Kid-Friendly Crafts, and they’ll Last Longer Than Their Carved Counterparts! Happy Fall!
No carve pumpkins become more popular each year. And there are lots of good reasons why!
The problem with real pumpkins is that they don’t last forever. And once a pumpkin is carved, its shelf time will be greatly reduced.
So not only will these no-carve pumpkin decorating ideas last much longer than their carved cousins, but if you go for a faux pumpkin, these no-carve ideas can last for years, or even decades to come!
I’d say that’s a pretty positive outcome. If you’re going to the trouble (ok, it’s fun, but still) to create a pretty pumpkin, it’s better if it lasts as long as possible, right?
No Carve Pumpkin Decorating Ideas:
1. Punniest, Most Popular Painted Pumpkins | Studio DIY
When Studio DIY posted these punny pumpkins a few years back, the internet, specifically Pinterest exploded. Everybody loves these adorable pumpkins. From the non-traditional colors to the jokey text, these pumpkins are a total, carve-free win.
2. Hudson Blanket Inspired Pumpkins | Heathered Nest
I don’t know about you, but the classic stripes of Hudson Bay blankets always make me swoon. So I decided to model some pumpkins on the look. To speak more accurately about the striped pumpkins you see below, the white one on the left is modeled after a Hudson Bay blanket. But the other two were inspired by Pendleton “National Park” blankets. Specifically, the Crater Lake (blue) and Mount Rainier (red) blankets.
3. Donut Painted Pumpkin | DIY Playbook
If you love donuts (my hand is raised), but prefer not to ingest all those calories, then you’ll agree this is the best donut ever.
4. UP and Away Painted Pumpkin | A Pumpkin and a Princess
Take your pumpkin decorating UP to new heights with some poms and this fun movie theme.
5. No-Carve Pizza Pumpkins | Atta Girl Says
Pizza anyone? How’s this for adorable? A pizza pumpkin – choose any toppings you like.
6. No-Carve Emoji Pumpkins | Cutefetti
Everyone in your family can choose their own favorite emoji, and not have to deal with the goopy, pumpkin guts in order to give their pumpkins a personalized twist.
7. Sweater Weather Letterboard Pumpkin | A Girl and a Glue Gun
I mean, how can you not adore this lovely letterboard-inspired pumpkin?! Simple to do, hilarious, and very on-trend #paintedpumpkinperfection !!
8. Melted Crayons Pumpkin | The Heathered Nest
Grab those broken and bruised old crayons you likely have at home and use them to create a beautiful pumpkin with any color combo you’d like. PLUS, these are incredibly fun to make!
9. Harry Potter Pumpkins | Karen Kavett DIY
Any non-muggles in the house? Make some pumpkins any Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or maybe even a Slytherin would approve of. This awesome YouTube video will show you how to make your own.
10. Pretty Piggy Painted Pumpkins | Crafts A La Mode
The prettiest pig painted pumpkins ever. Complete with gingham bow.
11. Textured Jute Pumpkin | Little Bits of Home
Burlap ribbon and jute twine give this pumpkin a little neutral, textured farmhouse flare.
12. Easy Chalkboard Paint Pumpkins | Heathered Nest
These easy chalkboard-painted pumpkins take under 5-minutes to make. I’ve used them for different fall decorating projects. One of my favorite being table place cards. Here’s the how-to video:
13. Gorgeous Hand-Painted Floral Pumpkins | PMQ for Two
14. Unicorn Pumpkin | Happy Go Lucky Blog
You can never go wrong with a unicorn, even as a pumpkin.
15. Tattoo Pumpkins | The Heathered Nest
Create some DIY tattoos with ANY design you like (doesn’t have to be feathers…think spiders, witch brooms, spooky eyes, even a favorite sports team logo!
Tattoos will give you the flexibility to create a pumpkin with any design you please, but no carving necessary.
16. Cactus Painted No Carve Pumpkins | Living La Vida Holoka
A cactus minus the “ouch” factor! Love this idea from Living La Vida Holoka.
17. 90’s Patterned Pumpkins | A Kailo Chic Life
Great pastels harkening to their 1990s hey-days. These punchy colors look great on pumpkins!
18. Easy Creature Pumpkins | A Small Snippet
Don’t forget the construction paper! A school-age fave crafting supply can create whimsical pumpkins easily with a little imagination!
And these easy ideas are great non-messy way to get the little ones you may have at home involved in a fun fall craft.
19. Happy Camper No Carve Pumpkin | Cottage at the Crossroads
Isn’t this camper-themed pumpkin Jane made precious?!
20. No-Carve Monogram Glitter Pumpkin | Third Stop on the Right
Another fun monogram idea, this one with paint and glitter!
21. Glitter Pumpkins | The Inspiration Board
22. Creative No-Carve String Art Pumpkins | Hello Wonderful
Add string, either colorful or neutral to your pumpkin for a fun, unique and boho-chic look.
23. Easy Mummy Pumpkin | RegaloBaby
A quick tutorial for a mummy, cat and candy corn pumpkin…each suitable to craft with your toddler.
24. Pom Pom Pumpkins | The Heathered Nest
Pom poms make almost everything better. Even pumpkins.
25. Confetti Pumpkins | Cloudy Day Gray
You’ll want to celebrate when you complete these colorful, fun pumpkins…but don’t reach for that confetti. It’s about to be glued to your pumpkins.
26. DIY Pineapple Pumpkin | Delineate Your Dwelling
It’s a pumpkin disguised as a pineapple. Don’t ask questions. Just do it because it’s so flipping cute.
27. Bright, Colorful Pumpkins
Who says pumpkin has to be orange? No way, Jose. Orange you glad you saw these more colorful options? Check out the colors we spray-painted these pumpkins for our fall dining room table.
28. Sharpie Pumpkins | Boxy Colonial
Spiderwebs, stripes and spooky poems, oh my! Grab a Sharpie and get to work!
29. DIY Glitter Owl No-Carve Pumpkin | Dwell Beautiful
Hoo Hoo wouldn’t love this cute, glittery owl?
30. Thumbtack Pumpkins | Rosyscription
You’ve seen them before, maybe this is the year to try one of these shiny squashes out once and for all. Grab some tacks and start pinning those pumpkins.
31. DIY Sequin Polka Dot Pumpkins | Sugar and Cloth
Polka dot pumpkins…with sparkly bonus points!
32. DIY Glow in the Dark Pumpkins | I Love to Create
Want the glow of a typical jack-o-lantern without the chore of carving? GLOW-IN-THE-DARK paint for the win!
33. DIY Indigo Marbled Pumpkins | Alice & Lois
You can never go wrong with a blue and white color theme. Even on a pumpkin!
34. Easy Googly Eyes Pumpkin | She Wears Many Hats
Eye seeeeee in your future lots of googly eyes! Another great toddler-approved pumpkin no carve pumpkin decorating idea to try!
35. Beach Ball Pumpkins | Paint the Gown Red
How are these pumpkin beach balls for some fun no carve pumpkin decorating ideas? I’d love to have these at my coastal cottage (if I had one) this fall!
36. No-Carve Thumbtack Pumpkins | Gold Standard Workshop
Gold, glam and a great idea for some pumpkins this fall.
37. 3D Bats Pumpkin | It All Started with Paint
You’d be bat-s%^& crazy not to love these 3D pumpkins!
38. No-Carve Caramel Apple Pumpkins | Aww Sam
These pumpkins look good enough to eat! And not just as pie!
39. Cupcake Liner Pumpkins | Design Improvised
Cool way to repurpose cupcake liners, right?
40. DIY Block Printing Inspired Pumpkins | Oh So Beautiful Paper
No carve pumpkins with a modern edge.
41. Mod Podge Map Pumpkin | Heathered Nest
Map your way to Halloween with some Modge Podge. Pssstt…if you’re a AAA member, you can get all the maps you need for free at one of their local stores.
42. Animal Pool Float Pumpkins | A Subtle Revelry
I mean…you really can’t get any cuter than this, can you?!
43. Mod Podge Wrapping Paper Pumpkins | Sincerely Sara D
Wrap your pumpkins like a present, and your gift will be beautiful fall decor!
44. Gingham Painted Pumpkins | Dimples and Tangles
Jennifer at Dimples and Tangles loves her some gingham (honestly, who doesn’t love gingham, right??) so she crafted up these adorable buffalo check pumpkins in one of her fave colors, pink! She’ll show you how to make your own (in pink, or any other color)!
45. Candy Corn Pumpkins | Creative Homemaking
Here’s a fun, painted twist on a classic fall candy.
46. Pink Flamingo No Carve Pumpkins | Aww Sam
How about some seriously festive fall lawn ornaments?
47. Belted with Tassels | Delineate Your Dwelling
Simple and colorful. Cinch a pretty pumpkin at the waistline with some colorful string, yarn, ruffles, or tassels to match your fall home decor.
48. Word Find Pumpkin | Thistlewood Farms
Karianne always has fun ideas to try at Thistlewood Farms, and this fall pumpkin is just one example. Bet you haven’t seen a no-carve pumpkin you can play a game on, huh? Well, let her show you how to make one of your own!
49. Painted Floral Pumpkin | Craftberry Bush
Lucy is a very talented and accomplished artist. So truth be told, if I personally tried this pumpkin, I’m fairly certain my results would look much more elementary school-esque.
But perhaps I could pass it off as an attempt at a Picasso-pumpkin? If you’re talented with a paintbrush, this would be such a pretty pumpkin craft to try.
50. Retro Tissue Paper Covered Pumpkin | Tell Love and Party
Another fun idea that the kids could help with. Cut out different shapes with colorful tissue paper and follow Sara’s tutorial for the details of this colorful, retro pumpkin craft.
51. Woodland Friend Pumpkins | Simple As That
Some great ideas for some no-carve pumpkin pals from Simple as That. If you’ve got animal lovers in your herd at home, then you will definitely want to give these woodland friends a look!
52. Balloon-Dipped Pumpkins | Paper & Stitch
They may look paint-dipped, but this idea is much less mess!
53. Fall Address Topiary | At The Picket Fence
If you usually have planters on your front stoop, then this idea could be perfect for you this fall! Check out Vanessa’s tutorial for all the terrific topiary details.
54. Glitter Topped and Floral Pumpkins | Homey Oh My for PB Teen Blog
If you’re not quite strong enough with your painting skills to tackle Lucy’s gorgeous version of a floral pumpkin (#54), then Amy’s version, below, may be right up your alley! Looks like paint, but these flowers are pasted on with Mod Podge. Love it!
55. Animal Print Painted Pumpkins | Effortless Style
Loving these leopard-print pumpkins!! Camila will walk you through the process to paint your own!
56. Out of This World Galaxy Pumpkin | 42 Stripes
Hold the whole world in your hands. Or galaxy, for that matter, when you paint your own celestial renderings to a pumpkin.
57. You Can’t Possibly Need S’More Pumpkin Ideas! | Jessie Daye
And I’ll leave you with this delicious looking no carve pumpkin decorating idea for last! S’more pumpkins! Just in case you needed any s’more.
But after seeing all of these adorable ideas, I can’t imagine you’d be in the market for any more at this point! Myself? I’ll definitely be trying some of these s’more pumpkins later. How many times can you have s’mores with so few calories? This is fall perfection. Full stop.
That’s a wrap! More than 50 prize-worthy no carve pumpkin decorating ideas for you to try this fall! I sure hope that you found some pretty pumpkin projects that you’ll try a stab at this season…best part? No stabbing actually required! Happy crafting, friends!
Looking for more crafty, fall fun? Be sure to check out these ideas, too!
Pin these Pin-tastic no carve pumpkin decorating ideas for later! And if you make one, leave a comment (or better yet, a photo) on the pin! That helps others know whether they want to try these projects, too!
I wonder in #31, the Gold tack pumpkins, about how many tacks did she use on each of the pumpkins? Do you know?
Check out her post, Tonya! I think she answered that question 🙂
WAY,, WAY, WAY CUTE!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve already forwarded this to a number of friends – with and without kids! How creative you all are!!! Thanks for sharing such creativity!!!
Awww, so glad you like them!! I loved them, too!