Paint, Tattoo or Bedazzle a Pumpkin!
Who said you have to carve your pumpkin for Halloween? You can, of course. It may be a tradition in your family – or one you want to start – so, go for it. Get your hands dirty. And slimy. And enjoy the wonderful smell of pumpkin guts!
But if you don’t want to, there’s no need to pick up a knife when you can pick up a paintbrush, a glitter gun, or an easy-to-use stencil or temporary tattoo!
Decorate a pumpkin for your front porch, front room or fireplace with one of scads of inspired decorating ideas from bloggers and local experts who know a thing or two about pumpkin embellishment! You’ll see some that mimic traditional jack-o-lanterns and embrace the whole Halloween theme, and others that don’t even try!
Glam Pumpkins
Bedazzle your pumpkins – real and faux – with the sparkliest adornments you can find at your local Michael’s (on Allen Way in Castle Rock). Ashley at Sugar and Cloth used good old white glue and gold sequins on a craft pumpkin. Amy at Mom Advice grabbed a couple of packages of brass thumbtacks at the local dollar store and created a little labor-intensive glamour of her own. Find more adorn-your-pumpkin ideas with pearls, rhinestones, beads and bling at Shelter Mess.
It’s hard to compete with sequins and glitter for decorating your pumpkin, but HGTV will give you a run for your money combining pumpkin power with a Halloween witch’s face, and Country Living showcases chalk paint pumpkins, spatter paint and barn quilt pumpkins and decoupaged pumpkins. The magazine even fashioned a literary Edgar Allen Poe pumpkin with stick-on letters spelling out a few lines from The Raven!
Amy at Homey Oh My drove around all day visiting grocery stores to find Lumina pumpkins and added copper tape on each rib. Simple as that. Not familiar with Luminas? They are the mid-sized pumpkins with white or cream-colored skin and broad ribs. They have a classic round and squatty pumpkin shape and their flesh is bright orange with a sweet pumpkin flavor. (Grow your own next year with these seeds from Walmart!)
Halloween Scenes and Funny Faces
Decorate your plain pumpkin with a spooky scene by using one of these downloadable stencils from Lowe’s for a crow-and-branch scene.
How hard is it? Not!
Download the pattern, attach it to the pumpkin, and use a straight pin to outline the pattern. Remove the paper template then paint inside the outline using a small brush. For best results, apply paint in light layers and let dry.
Jessica and Sarah, bloggers at Pretty Providence will teach you how to create people pumpkins with blank faces, and plenty of props – glasses, hats, and black felt for bow ties and mustaches. They used craft pumpkins – reusable year after year – and about 40 percent less than real, orange ones.
Baby Savers collected 45 Disney no-carve pumpkin ideas to try. You’ll recognize Mickey and Minnie, Olaf, Ariel, Woody from Toy Story, Snow White and many more. If you just don’t feel Halloween-y without carving a pumpkin, Baby Savers also showcases Disney character faces, seasonal patterns and ideas to carve on your big orange vegetable this holiday, and so does your local Lowe’s website.
Happy Halloween in Crystal Valley
The little ghouls and goblins of Crystal Valley went “trunk or treating” in the Pinnacle clubhouse parking lot last week, scoring lots of candy with parents competing for prizes in the best-decorated car trunk contest! If Crystal Valley isn’t your neighborhood, stop in and tour the nine models from D.R. Horton, Kauffman Homes and Richmond American Homes. We are among the top five fastest-growing communities in the state with new homes are priced from the $300s.
