19 Mini Pumpkin Painting Ideas to Copy ASAP (2024)

Mini pumpkins are affordable and plentiful in the autumn months, and their small size makes for easy crafting. Rather than trying to carve a classic Jack-o'-lantern in a miniature gourd, opt for a quick coat of paint instead. Painting mini pumpkins is an easy way to enhance seasonal decor, and thanks to the long lifespan of gourds, you can keep them up from the first fall breeze all the way through Thanksgiving.

The best part is, you don't need to be an artist to recreate some of our favorite ideas! Grab a paint brush and try one of these mini pumpkin painting ideas.

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Modern Painted Pumpkins

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This surprisingly chic design makes it easy to decorate for the season in a sleek, modern home. Plus, the design couldn't be easier. Choose a favorite or complimentary color combination and paint each color on half of the pumpkin to create this easy pumpkin painting idea.

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Marble Painted Pumpkins

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Mini pumpkins are the perfect size for this stunning craft, which requires just two materials you probably already have on hand. Pour various colors of nail polish into a bucket of water to create a marbled effect, then dip your pumpkins in to coat them.

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Cauldron Creatures

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These charming critters make the perfect porch decor for Halloween. Green-painted mini pumpkins affixed with googly eyes fill an inexpensive plastic cauldron. Partially fill the caldron with rocks or foam so that the pumpkins can rest on top.

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Pastel Mini Painted Pumpkins

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Friendly and colorful, this mini pumpkin painting idea is a great way to re-imagine your gourds after Halloween is over. Or, if you're not a fan of the typical orange and black color scheme, opt for painting your pumpkins with a pastel color scheme. Choose a palette of three to five colors and cover your pumpkin or a portion of it with abstract shapes—no stencils required!

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Friendly Clown Pumpkins

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This sweet clown is more treat than trick. Make your own with white paint, colored paint or stickers for the cheeks and ears, and pom-poms for the hair and nose. Use a party hat or make your own, and a paper fan for the clown's bow tie.

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Splatter-Paint Mini Pumpkins

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These fun, modern pumpkins are an accessible craft for any age. Start by painting your mini pumpkin a base color. Then, dip your brush in a contrasting color and flick or drizzle it onto the pumpkin to create the splatter look.

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Metallic Painted Pumpkins

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If orange isn't your thing, take your pumpkins in a glam direction instead. Coat an assortment of mini pumpkins with white and metallic paint, adding cutouts for added interest. Note the casual-yet-stylish arrangement used here, thanks to the mix of small and large pumpkins.

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Wild Animal Pumpkins

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Black, white, and animal print—oh my! These glam pumpkins are sophisticated and fun, while the mini pumpkins in the group make the display look layered and luxe. To get this look, use black, white, and metallic paint, as well as patterned tape, to cover your pumpkins.

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Monster Mini Pumpkin Painting

Decorating pumpkins with painted eye designs gives an eerie but fun effect. See if your kids can make eyes that look angry, happy, surprised, or silly. You could stop there, or carve out the pumpkins to turn them into planters.

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Halloween Character Pumpkins

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For some more advanced fun, paint the faces of classic Halloween characters on your mini pumpkins. For this Dracula, paint the entire pumpkin green, let it dry, then paint or glue on the rest of the features.

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Spooky Spelling

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Recreate this chatty pumpkin with one large pumpkin, cut to reveal a pile of smaller, stacked pumpkins inside. Remove the stems of the smaller pumpkins for easier stacking and paint them with a festive three or four-letter word, such as 'hoot' or 'boo!'

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Spray-Painted Pumpkin Painting Idea

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This pumpkin design is pretty and girlish in pink and orange, but could easily be adapted to any color scheme. Paint your pumpkins all white to start, and then lightly spray paint the top, creating a delicate fade of color down the sides.

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Pineapple Pumpkin

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For more character fun, try your hand at this party-ready pineapple pumpkin. First, paint your pumpkin a bright sunny yellow. Then add the 'spikes' with paint or marker, as well as facial features, like eyes and lips. Cut green leaves from paper, foam, or felt, and glue them around the stem.

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Spider Pumpkin

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This easy pumpkin Halloween craft couldn't be easier. Glue pipe cleaners and googly eyes to a mini pumpkin to create a spider pumpkin. For a truly spooky look, paint the pumpkin black before you begin.

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Bubble Painted Pumpkins

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Part craft, part science experiement, these bubbly pumpkins are so fun to make. Use a white pumpkin or a paper mache pumpkin as your base. Mix 4 Tbsp. paint, 4 Tbsp. water, and 2 Tbsp. dish soap together and use a straw to blow bubbles into the mixture. When you have a lot of bubbles, slowly dip your pumpkin in the mixture, covering all the sides. Dip more than once to get a more layered look. This is a great mini pumpkin painting idea, since it's much easier to dip a smaller pumpkin than a large one.

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Cinderella's Carriage

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Delight anyone who walks by with a tiny replica of Cinderella's carriage. You'll start by cutting windows and a door out of a larger pumpkin. Then, paint the large pumpkin and four mini pumpkins silver. Remove the pumpkin stems, and screw in clear glass knobs for the carriage finial and wheel spokes. Add rhinestones if you wish for an even sparklier look.

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Mini Lion Pumpkin

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If you have extra candy corn (or you found a stale bag leftover from last year), give it and your mini pumpkins a fresh look. Glue the candy to the front of a miniature pumpkin to form a lion's mane, leaving a circular space for the face. Use felt or paper to create the facial features or paint them on.

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Gold Mini Pumpkin Painting Idea

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Mini white pumpkins get a glam-inspired makeover with easy-to-apply pieces of gold leaf, available at the craft store. You could also use gold paint to achieve similar results. Grouped together, these pumpkins create a glamorous look for your stoop or dining table.

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Squiggle Pumpkins

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Playing with texture is another way to decorate pumpkins, and a coat of paint can easily enhance them. To achieve this look, first paint your pumpkins in a solid color. Then, arrange braided cord in squiggle shapes, gluing down as you go. You can purchase cord in the correct color or paint it to match your pumpkin.

19 Mini Pumpkin Painting Ideas to Copy ASAP (2024)

FAQs

What to paint on mini pumpkins? ›

With green paint, paint little curved lines as flower stems and wavy green leaves coming off the bottom of them. Distribute these around the pumpkin randomly. Top the flower stems with white or light pink flowers with red centers. Paint abstract yellow flowers around the pumpkin's surface.

How do you paint a witch's face on a pumpkin? ›

How to paint a witch pumpkin. Paint one half of the pumpkin green (one full side or enough for a face). Outline the hair in grey: add triangular shapes for bangs, frame the face, and continue adding a random spiky border all the way around the back of the pumpkin (about halfway down). Fill in the hair with grey paint.

What is the best paint for painting pumpkins? ›

Thomas agrees and recommends acrylic paint instead of oil-based when painting pumpkins. "It's quick-drying, easy to use, and clean-up is a breeze," she says. "Because acrylic is water-based, if you mess up, you can wipe it off with a rag and start over! Oil-based paint takes a long time to dry and can be fumy.

What is the best paint for mini pumpkins? ›

There are so many paints to try when painting pumpkins!

We've used tempera paint* for painting pumpkins in the past and it works fine, but does tend to crack and peel a bit after it dries. BioColor paint would work great, too. *If you have tempera paint though, go ahead and use it!

How do you paint miniature pumpkins? ›

Wipe pumpkins down with a damp cloth to remove excess dirt. Squeeze a small amount paint onto tray and begin painting your pumpkin. Paint as much of the pumpkin as you can see visibly then allow to dry (about 15-20 minutes). Once the top of the pumpkin is mostly dry, flip it stem side down and paint the bottom.

How do you get acrylic paint to stick to a pumpkin? ›

Though this is optional, applying a sealer to the pumpkin's surface before painting will help the paint better adhere to the surface. Purchase a craft-grade sealer at a hobby or craft store.

How do you paint a pumpkin like a cupcake? ›

Find yourself a baby pumpkin (the smallest one you can find) and flip it upside down to make the top of your cupcake. Paint the pumpkin using the color of your favorite icing, stick the pumpkin in a cupcake wrapper, and, while the paint is still drying, add sprinkles (you can also glue them on after the paint dries).

How do you paint a glowing pumpkin? ›

Lightly sand the surface of the pumpkin. Clean with a clean rag using soap and water, rinse and let dry. Tip: If the pumpkin is not white, prime the pumpkin with Rust-Oleum® Painter's® Touch Ultra Cover 2X white primer and let dry. Next, use the Rust-Oleum® Specialty Glow In The Dark Spray.

Will Sharpies work on pumpkins? ›

A lot less messy and still relaxing and fun! I love how they turned out.

What do you put on a pumpkin before painting? ›

You need a paint primer that is water resistant. Paint primer is an intermediary paint that coats a surface and once dry it allows another paint to be painted overtop of it. In your case I would try an epoxy primer to coat the surface of the pumpkin.

Is Crayola paint good for pumpkins? ›

Crayola Quick-Dry Paint Sticks and Take Note! Permanent Markers are formulated to allow you to create works of art on real or fake pumpkins. Feel free to explore all your creative options. Experiment with Crayola acrylic paints, washable paints and non-washable markers.

What can I do with mini pumpkins for Halloween? ›

For Sweet Pumpkins

Scrape out seeds and use the minis the same way you would a ramekin. fill with pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie or creme brulee batter. Bake at the temperature called for in the recipe; you may have to bake a little longer as the pumpkin's sides and flesh are thicker than most ramekins.

Does Crayola paint stay on pumpkins? ›

Crayola Quick-Dry Paint Sticks and Take Note! Permanent Markers are formulated to allow you to create works of art on real or fake pumpkins. Feel free to explore all your creative options. Experiment with Crayola acrylic paints, washable paints and non-washable markers.

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