22 of the Most Unique Pumpkin Ideas

I love a classic jack ‘o lantern, but no carve pumpkins are less stressful to make with kids. Another bonus, they don’t rot nearly as fast! I also love that you can do any of these unique pumpkin ideas on real or faux pumpkin. Here are 22 clever, easy no carve pumpkin ideas.

Oh and if you prefer pumpkin carving, don’t miss these posts:

• 20 Unique pumpkin carving ideas
• 21 Clever pumpkin decorating ideas

No carve pumpkins are brilliant in warm climates because they don’t rot and attract bugs nearly as fast as carved pumpkins do.

Storybook Pumpkin Ideas

My kids make storybook pumpkins in 3rd grade, but I love when I see clever pumpkins in libraries around town too!

1. Dragons Love Taco Pumpkin

Turn a pumpkin into your favorite picture book, Dragons Love Tacos! I used cardboard and red spray paint to make the dragons body. We used card stock to make the tacos. We attached the dragons head and tail to the pumpkin by hot gluing a popsicle stick to the neck and tail and then using an XACTO knife to cut a slit in the bottom of the pumpkin and sliding the popsicle sticks into place.

2. Piggie and Elephant Pumpkins

Turn your favorite storybook duo into pumpkins! These Piggie and Elephant pumpkins are easy to make with cardboard, card stock, and a hot glue gun!

3. Gustavo the Shy Ghost Pumpkin

Gustavo the Shy Ghost is one of my daughters favorite books. If you’ve never read Gustavo the Shy Ghost it is a great Day of the Dead/ Halloween book about a ghost trying to find the courage to make friends while staying true to himself. So, for her storybook pumpkin project at school this year, she decided to turn the faux pumpkin into Gustavo with an old white t-shirt and a violin made out of cardboard.

4. Finding Nemo pumpkin

If you have a Finding Nemo obsessed tiny human in your life, this is the perfect no carve pumpkin for you! Find the complete Finding Nemo no carve pumpkin tutorial at C.R.A.F.T.

5. Charlotte’s Web Pumpkin

One of my all time favorite crafting supplies makes the perfect spider web on a pumpkin painted white. Grab a permanent marker and make a web! Fore more details on the office supply no carve pumpkin, check out C.R.A.F.T.

No Carve Pumpkins

Consider using office supplies to decorate pumpkins with kids. Hunt down thumbtacks, Duck Tape, and a permeant marker to make some wild, cute no carve pumpkins with the kids!

6. Thumbtack pumpkin

Who knew office supplies made such great pumpkin decorating supplies?! Simply stick the thumbtacks into the pumpkin in any shape, word, deisgn or single letter for cute, easy no carve pumpkins. See the complete no carve thumbtack pumpkin tutorial at C.R.A.F.T.

7. Duck Tape Pumpkins

These pumpkin are also made with Duck Tape. I used my Cricut cutting machine to cut fill sheets of Duct Tape into a pumpkin face and a skull. It doesn’t get any easier than this! Get the full no carve, Duck Tape pumpkin tutorial at C.R.A.F.T.

8. Gold thumb tacks

Here’s another no c rave pumpkin idea with thumbtacks. For a fancy feel, cover the entire pumpkin in gold thumbtacks. Who knew office supplies could make a few fake pumpkins look like a million bucks! For more details check out Rosyscription. 

9. String Art

Use string, nails, and a hammer to dress up a pumpkin this year! For more details, check out the complete tutorial at Lines Across.

10. Magazine Faces

Let the kiddos cut up the old magazines hanging out in the junk drawer to make crazy faced pumpkins.

DIY Painted Pumpkin Ideas

11. Flower Painted Pumpkin

I used blue, orange, white, and green paint to paint 3 different flowers and vines all over a faux pumpkin. I love how it turned out!

12. DIY Painted Disney pumpkin

Love Disney World? The whimsical, hand painted pumpkin was inspired by the “It’s a Small World” ride at Disney!

13. Doodle pumpkins

These patterned painted pumpkins are amazing. I love them! See more at Blazer Designs.

14. Rainbow Pumpkins

Rainbows make everything cuter, including pumpkins. Tutorial and lots more pictures at Whatever.

15. Finger Painted Pumpkins

John and Sherry used painters tape to block off the “P” and the pumpkin face. Then they let their toddler finger paint the pumpkins. Way more details at Young House Love.

16. Puff Painted Pumpkins

A little puff paint adds texture and pattern to these cute pumpkins. Complete tutorial at Young House Love.

17. Word Search

Love search words? Make a search a word search puzzle pumpkin with chalkboard paint and stickers At the Picket Fence.

18. Door knob

Give a faux pumpkin a new life with a paint job and an antique door knob stem! Genius! Details at Finding Home.

19. Clock pumpkin

You can literally turn anything into a clock, including a fake pumpkin! Simply paint a faux any color you’d like and then install a DIY clock kit for less than $10. Festive and timely, get the details At the Pickett Fence.

20. Eyeball pumpkin

This pumpkin requires a small amount of carving, but you only have to carve an oval/ eye shape into a large orange pumpkin! Then, paint an eyeball on a smaller, white pumpkin and place the white pumpkin inside the orange pumpkin. This creative eyeball pumpkin was created by Bee Moon Sketches.

Unique No Carve Pumpkin Ideas

21. Drill a Pumpkin

Use a drill to “carve” a pumpkin the super easy way, and make designs to let your pumpkin shine! Check out the tutorial at Crafty Nest.

22. Doily Pumpkin

Consider adhering a gold doily to decorate a pumpkin. It’s simple and beautiful! For details, check out 17 Apart.

23. Sticker Pumpkins

These simple neon circle stickers look amazing on a white painted pumpkin, don’t you think?  Buy neon circle stickers here!

What’s your favorite way to decorate pumpkins? If you’re into thumbtacks, check out this thumbtack pumpkin decorating party I hosted at my local IKEA. If you want more pumpkin decorating ideas check out:

• 20 Unique pumpkin carving ideas
• 21 Clever pumpkin decorating ideas