Pumpkin masterpieces

Say goodbye to jack-o'-lanterns: Paint, lights add flair to ordinary pumpkins

Kathleen Dake shows off her painted pumpkin at a recent Evening at the Amphitheatre event.
Kathleen Dake shows off her painted pumpkin at a recent Evening at the Amphitheatre event.

With Halloween just a little more than a week away, there's still plenty of time to decorate a pumpkin for your front porch.

While there's nothing wrong with carving a traditional jack-o'-lantern, there are many more ways to spice up your Halloween decorating. Kathleen Dake, a painting teacher and Capital Arts board member, has some ideas to take your pumpkin game to the next level.

Paint it

"Because I like to eat the pumpkin afterwards and not destroy the pumpkin's insides, I like to paint on pumpkins," Dake said. "You can paint a huge variety of designs, and there's a lot of ways to go about it."

Before anything else, Dake said, it's important to clean your pumpkin and dry it completely. She advises using acrylic paint, without any added water - that will make the paint runny, and it won't stick well to the surface of the pumpkin.

Take some time to think of the design you'd like. If you don't trust your freehand drawing skills, Dake suggests printing out a picture to trace onto the pumpkin. In fact, it's not a bad idea to print out the design you want and bring it with you when you pick out a pumpkin; that way, you can pick a suitably sized one.

Once you have your design, you can either trace the outline of it with a pencil, or you can tape the picture to the pumpkin and poke tiny holes through the paper into the pumpkin's surface, creating a connect-the-dots of sorts. When you remove the picture, you can simply paint inside the dotted lines in whatever colors you desire to create your image.

"You can do anything on a pumpkin - anything from a Pokemon to a flower to a ghost," Dake said. "You can use just black for a silhouette effect, or you can use all the colors like in a full-blown painting. It just depends on your ability and what you want."

While painting, Dake suggests doing all parts of a certain color, then waiting for those to dry before starting in on a new color. That way, there's less danger of smearing wet paint with your hand or accidentally mixing colors. Fortunately, acrylic paint will wipe right off a pumpkin while wet, so if you make a mistake, simply wipe it off quickly and try again.

Once your design is finished, let it dry overnight. For extra protection, cover the painted area in a light coat of Mod Podge sealer. If you display the pumpkin outdoors, direct sunlight will likely cause the paint to fade after a few weeks, so if you want your pumpkin to last longer than that, find a shady spot, Dake said.

Painting pumpkins is also a great opportunity to let kids get it on the Halloween decorating fun, since it involves no sharp tools and endless options for creativity.

Drill it

If you'd like your pumpkin to be illuminated, try breaking out a drill instead of a knife. For a twinkly effect, pick up some battery-powered white string (Christmas) lights.

First, clean out the inside of your pumpkin as you would before making a traditional carving. Then, trace a simple design - Dake suggests the outline of a ghost or a simple word like "BOO" - onto your pumpkin.

Next, find a drill bit about the same width as the bulbs on your string lights. If you're torn between two bits, start with the smaller one. Drill holes along the outline of your letters or image, making sure to leave enough space in between that the holes won't touch. Then, place your Christmas lights inside the pumpkin, and poke a bulb through each of the drilled holes to the outside of the pumpkin.

When you turn the lights on, your design will be lit up in twinkling lights - a merry departure from the spooky atmosphere of the Halloween season.

Spray it

For a super simple way to dress up a pumpkin, use a can of spray paint to cover the entire surface. Gold is both a seasonal and a classy choice, Dake said, but any color can work.

"When you spray paint, you'll want to make several thin layers. If you try to do one heavy coat all at once, it will run," Dake said.

If you want to use the runny effect to your advantage, try spray painting the pumpkin one color and then spraying a different color in a heavy layer around the top. Streaks of the heavily-sprayed color will run down the sides of the pumpkin, giving it a melted effect.

You can also make use of stencils when spray painting a pumpkin. Simply tape the stencil in place and spray away.

"If you don't see a stencil design that you like, you can make a stencil out of a plastic milk carton," Dake said.

Or, for simple geometric patterns, make use of masking tape. Tape around the pumpkin in a design, such as a chevron, and spray all over. You can do this on a plain pumpkin or one you've painted a contrasting color.

Stack it

Instead of decorating an individual pumpkin, try putting several together. For this décor piece, you'll need something a few feet tall and cylindrical, such as a scrap piece of plastic pipe.

Take three or five pumpkins of different sizes, clean out the insides, and cut identical holes in the top and bottom big enough for the pipe to fit through. You can leave the top on the smallest pumpkin, if you wish. Starting with the largest pumpkin on bottom, stack the pumpkins on top of each other around the pipe, creating a small tower. Finish by winding leaves or vines found at craft stores around the pumpkins for a natural, rustic look. Or, place a small ghost figure on the top of the stack for a Halloween holiday tree of sorts.

Whatever way you choose to decorate your pumpkin, if you cut off the top and want to put it back on, Dake has one final tip: cut a small notch in the lid and the pumpkin's lip so that you can always find where the lid aligns and save yourself the clumsy twisting of trying to fit the lid back in its place.