Pumpkin Idea Roundup (No Carve)

While I am busy this week working behind the scenes on my BIG BIRTHDAY Party, I thought it would be a good time to share some of my favorite no carve pumpkin ideas I have designed over the years.  While I used craft pumpkins to make mine, these ideas can be adapted to real pumpkins as well.   

Olaf was one of the last additions to the Pumpkin Gang, but one of my favorites. You can see how to make him here.

To make Bat and Spider Pumpkin all you need is some black paint and a few craft supplies 

Pumpkins can be cute like these Scarecrow and Crow Pumpkins

Add and extra eyeball or two and you have a not so scary Monster Pumpkin

A colorful boa makes the perfect head of hair for a Witch Pumpkin

It is easy to make a Mummy Pumpkin with dollar store gauze 

Vampire Pumpkin was the first member of the Pumpkin Gang 

Some paint, google eyes, and pushpins make a friendly Frankenpumpkin

Using some felt and feathers, you can make an Owl Pumpkin you can use past Halloween. 

Turn an uncarved pumpkin into a Thanksgiving Turkey Pumpkin

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Decorating Dollar Store Pumpkins

I have to be honest here, I am having a hard time adjusting to the holidays after my move. In years past, I would love to get out all of the decorations and go all out for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  One reason why I have not shared many new craft or decorating ideas this fall, is because most of my decorations and supplies are in storage.  I just do not have easy access to them, and there is not enough room for them at my new place.  I know this situation is temporary, but it is hard when you are not able to do your usual family traditions.  This year our traditions will be on a smaller scale. 

One of those traditions has been adding members to the pumpkin gang each year. 

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links

I miss the gang, but I know they are safely wrapped in a box this year.  Hopefully next year they can come out and be on full display again.  I thought it might be fun though to introduce you to the gang, and new members who were added after this picture was taken 2 years ago.  

The founding member of the pumpkin gang was my Vampire Pumpkin. I found a white craft pumpkin on clearance one year which turned out to be perfect for this craft. All you need is some felt and a few basic craft supplies.  

Another one of the earliest members was Mummy Pumpkin. I used a dollar store pumpkin and supplies.  

Frankenpumpkin  was also one of the early members to the gang.  

There was a little more involved with my witch pumpkin.  A dollar store boa made her purple hair and some model magic formed her nose. She is definitely one of more colorful members of the group. 

One of the sweeter members of the gang was my black cat pumpkin.

The following year Owl Pumpkin joined the group. This sweet owl has always been one of my favorite ones.  

Bat and Spider  joined the group together. They are quite similar, but yet different.  

Also joining as a pair were Scarecrow and Crow. I also have a special place in my heart for the scarecrow pumpkin. 

One of the pumpkins not in the original picture is Monster Pumpkin. I love his purple color. 

The last pumpkin to join the gang is also one of my very favorites.. Last year Olaf joined the group.  Frozen is still one of my favorite movies almost two years later 

I do have a few ideas for some new pumpkin gang members.  Hopefully I will be able to add them soon! 

Updated: Dollar Tree foam crafting pumpkins are available online now in both orange and white. They are currently available in smaller quantities and shipped to your home.  

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Glitter Pumpkins - Feature of the Day

We are in the home stretch!  Can you believe that Halloween is just a few days away?  Are you ready yet? We are not!! Still working on some costumes and last minute crafts here.  One thing that I love about the Glitter Pumpkins shared  by Amber of  Cheerios and Laundry is that they can stay around a few extra weeks into the Thanksgiving season.  A craft with a dual purpose. She made these pretty pumpkins  with her kids, and it looks like they had a lot of fun. To see how she made her glitter pumpkins, be sure to check out Cheerios and Laundry here.

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Monster Pumpkin

A new member joined the Pumpkin Gang today..  Meet Monster Pumpkin! 

If you make a monster pumpkin, you can paint it whatever color you prefer.. I chose to paint mine violet purple.  It took a couple of coats to make sure that the pumpkin was totally covered. 

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links

One reason why I went with violet purple is because I found these eye picks on sale  at Michaels recently.  They were less than .50 each.  

I trimmed the stem since they were very long compared to my dollar store pumpkin.  It was easy to push them into the pumpkin.  

The Pumpkin Gang

Updated:  The Dollar Tree craft foam pumpkins I used in this craft are now available on DollarTree.com. They come in orange and white, and in smaller quantities. 

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Mummy Pumpkin is Featured

Tonight I got some exciting news!..   My mummy pumpkin made only from dollar store items is being featured today on Spoonful.com  Have you heard of Spoonful yet?  It is a site owned by Disney that is full of crafts, treats, and so much more.    My pumpkin is part of a Halloween round up called Mummy Mania, 15 Crafts, Treats and Eats..  If you are having a Halloween party, or just like cute mummy ideas, you will want to check out Mummy Mania on Spoonful.com and on Facebook.  

Updated: While Spoonful.com was a great website while it lasted, it is not longer an active website.  If you would like to see how I made my mummy pumpkin on my original post here.

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Bat and Spider Pumpkins

I had shared this post a year ago as a guest post on Bacon Time with the Hungry, Hungry Hypo. Since it has been a year, and most of my readers might not have seen them, I thought I would share them again here.  Meet two more members of the Pumpkin Gang, Bat Pumpkin and Spider Pumpkin.  

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Halloween Flashback- Vampire Pumpkin

I will be posting more Cloudy with a Meatball party ideas this afternoon,  but starting today I will also be sharing a different Halloween idea each day until Halloween.  One of favorite pumpkins in my Pumpkin Gang is the Vampire Pumpkin.  I am partial to him, because he was the one who started it all. You can see how I made my Vampire pumpkin on this post here.

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The Pumpkin Gang are Back

If you are a newer follower, you might not know about my pumpkin gang that I designed last year  using dollar store pumpkins.  Even though it is still August  and I am  NOT thinking about Halloween yet,  I am posting this because you need to start watching for the dollar store pumpkins NOW. The last time I was in the dollar store they were adding their fall line, and these pumpkins sell out fast.

I plan on adding to the pumpkin gang this year, and have a few ideas.  Here are the links to my old posts, so you can see how to make  last year's pumpkins.

I actually used a white pumpkin for the Vampire that I had bought on clearance from the craft store the year before. I wasn't sure what to do with it, until I saw a Vampire party in a magazine.   I really like Vampy, and I am partial to him.   You can see how to make him, HERE.

The next pumpkin I made was the Mummy.   His eyes, gauze and pipe cleaners are also from the dollar store.    You can see how to make Mr. Mummy HERE.

Frankenpumpkin was the next one to join the gang.  He was pretty simple to make with just paint and google eyes.  You can see how to make Frankenpumpkin HERE.

 Another one of our favorites was our black cat. There are a couple of ways you can make black depending on how you want him to looks.   With his big eyes and white whiskers, he is definitely on the cute side.

If you add black felt eyelids and black pipecleaner whiskers (which I did not have or they so would have been on his face), he has a different look.   You can see how I made the black cat HERE.

The last on to join the gang was Witchipoo.  Her hair is made from a boa that I also bought at the dollar store.  I used some scrap felt for her hat, and some painted clay for her nose. You can see how to make her HERE.

Stay tuned to see who joins the gang this year!

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Witch Pumpkin

I just finished my last themed pumpkin for this year.  I have a few more ideas, but I am saving them for next years line. =)    My witch pumpkin needed a few extras that the other pumpkins did not.  I already had clay on hand to make the nose.  I used a 1/4 of a Scultpy block, which is about $1.99 regular price at the craft store.  (I always buy mine on sale for about $1.)  I picked up the purple boa at the dollar store.  I used black felt to make the hat.   If you have black felt, a piece for about .29 should be just fine.

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links

I started by painting the pumpkin a medium color green, and once dried glued on the dollar store google eyes. 

I formed the nose out of the Sculpty clay. I had a hard time finding a shape that I really like and changed my mine a few times.  You can bake the nose to set it, following the package directions, but I did not.  You can use glue or toothpicks to attach the nose to the pumpkin. If you are baking it though, you will not be able to add the toothpicks once it hardens.  I just formed mine to the pumpkin and it stuck.  I am not sure if it will stay that way. So far, so good though.   Once I was relatively happy with the nose, I painted it the same color green as the rest of the pumpkin. 

I used straight pins to hold the boa in place on the pumpkin.  I did not glue it on because glue and feathers make a huge mess.  I also was not sure if I wanted to make the hair permanent because I might change it later on.  

To make the hat, I cut two felt circles about 3 inches across. One will be used for the base, the other for the cone. 

To make the cone, I cut a slit in one of the circles from the edge to the center. 

I started folding over the circle. One fold was not enough though, it would make the cone too wide. 

I folded it over again and got the shape I wanted.  Using a needle and thread, I stitched up the folded edge.

I then stitched the cone to the base of the hat. 

To attach the hat to the witch,  I pushed toothpicks into the cone portion of the hat. 

I attached the hat, but pushing the toothpicks into the pumpkin.  I then painted on a half smile and tooth. 

Here is the entire gang!

Update: The Dollar Tree craft foam pumpkins are now available online at DollarTree.com.  They are available in orange and white and in smaller quantities. 

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