There is no doubt that pumpkin carving is a fun and exciting way to decorate a pumpkin, however if there are really little children in the home it can be difficult to do pumpkin decorating using the carving method.
I have been a part of many pumpkin decorating contests at schools in my years of education, I have entered pumpkins in contests as well as judged those pumpkins entered in the pumpkin decorated as the best.
I have been fortunate to have viewed some incredible pumpkin carving that was out of this world but I have also viewed pumpkins that were decorated without carving and those have been for me some of the favorite pumpkin decorating ideas I have come across.
The nice aspect about doing no carve pumpkin decorating is most child of any age can help for the most part, in decorating the pumpkin. It is a great way for the whole family to get involved in pumpkin decorating, even the youngest ones.
Here are some of my favorite no carve pumpkin decorating ideas that I have viewed in contests.
Pumpkin Decorating Without Carving #1: Stickers
Who would even think about placing stickers on pumpkins? I have seen it done and it can look amazing, painting the pumpkin a color of choice is the first important step. Once the paint is dry stickers can be added, I would suggest going to the local large craft store and looking for stickers such as words or sayings, for example: Happy Halloween. Placing a simple sticker word or words on the pumpkin along with some sticker embellishments can really make a pumpkin look like a winner. If the stickers are not adhering very well, simply take some white glue and glue those stickers on or with adult help, use a hot glue gun to glue the stickers on to the pumpkin.
Pumpkin Decorating Without Carving #2: Gemstones
One of my favorite ways that I have noticed a pumpkin decorated is by using glittery gemstones, the gemstones can be glued directly on to the pumpkin. I have seen the gemstones glued on to an orange pumpkin and to painted pumpkins, either way looks really good. Another similar way to do pumpkin decorating is pressing the fancy brads directly into the pumpkin, again the local craft stores sells all kinds of fun and exciting brads that can be used to embellish a pumpkin.
Pumpkin Decorating Without Carving #3: Stencils
There are so many awesome looking stencils available in stores or online for free, painting a pumpkin or leaving as is and then stenciling designs on to the pumpkin is a really neat way to do pumpkin decorating without carving. Kids really love stenciling and could handle stenciling an entire pumpkin themselves. I have seen some really awesome simple stencil designs on pumpkins and some really intricate stencil designs on a pumpkin. Stenciling is just an easy, safe and super fun way to decorate a pumpkin.
Sources:
Self-experiences
