Holidays & Entertaining Halloween Pumpkin Decorating Ideas Make Your Own Gorgeous Pour Paint Pumpkins Decorate these pumpkins in three easy steps—no carving or paintbrushes required! You won't believe how easy it is to make these gorgeous painted pumpkins. By Sarah Martens Sarah Martens Instagram Sarah Martens is the Senior Editor overseeing food at Better Homes & Gardens digital. She has been with the BHG brand for over 8 years. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on July 6, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Project Overview Working Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 1 day Skill Level: Kid-friendly This pumpkin decorating project is so easy that anyone can do it. All it takes to make these colorful Halloween decorations is crafts paint and a few faux pumpkins. We'll show you our easiest tips and tricks for creating gorgeous designs with paint poured directly out of the bottle—they're called pour paint pumpkins for a reason, after all! Of course, you can use real pumpkins for this project, but if you opt for faux, you'll be able to use them year after year. Use bright orange, green, and black paint to make a festive Halloween decoration, or choose neutral colors to create a display all season long. No matter what colors you choose, we'll show you how to pour the paint and tip your pumpkins for just the right look. What You'll Need Materials 1 Faux pumpkins 1 Acrylic craft paint Instructions Pour, Pour, Pour This project is insanely easy, but it can get messy. Start by choosing a pumpkin: We used an Artificial Carvable Pumpkin, ($25, Funkins), but the colors would pop just as much on a White Artificial Pumpkin, ($13, Amazon). When you're ready to start pouring paint, put a large sheet of crafts paper or newspaper over your crafting surface to collect paint that may run off the end of your pumpkin as you work. To make the rainbow pumpkin, choose your paints. This 18-Count Acrylic Paint Set ($23, Amazon) has almost every color combination you could think of. We started with a base color and poured paint near the pumpkin's stem. Once the paint begins to run down the side of the pumpkin, you can tilt, rotate, and tap the pumpkin against the table to keep the paint dripping. If you don't want the colors to mix, let this layer of paint dry before adding more. To get a marbled look, apply another color directly on top of this layer before it dries. Shake It Up Add more colors and layers of paint to create a rainbow look. Shake and tilt the pumpkin as you pour to combine the paint layers as you go—experiment with different shaking methods to get a look you like. We used a neon paint set to create a rainbow paint pumpkin, but you can use as many or as few colors as you'd like. Add small areas of color around the pumpkin, or create a cohesive layered look by covering the entire pumpkin in one layer of paint and then adding more layers over the top. Dry and Display Once you've covered your pumpkin, let the paint dry thoroughly. Many layers of paint can create a thick surface (especially around the stem). We recommend allowing the pumpkin dry for 24 hours; check that the paint is completely dry before moving and displaying your paint pumpkin.