Pumpkin Painting Party

I have painted pumpkins with many children many times. I took the advise of using washable paints (water based) versus acrylic paints one year. As the pumpkin begins to dry out so does the washable paint, then it flakes off. So I wouldn't use washable unless you plan to do it within a couple of days of Halloween. Acrylics work great without any trouble. Hobby Lobby carries them and they range from about $1 a small bottle to around $3 for a large bottle. Unless you have a large group, the small bottles go a long way.

Hi K.,

I have helped run the kids area for our parish Oktoberfest for years. One of our activities was pumpkin painting. In the past we have used the big bottles of tempera paint that you can find at any craft store. They work fine for this purpose. Another less messy option that we have used is colored permanent markers (Sharpies come in tons of colors now). Along with the markers, I provided foam stickers of eyes, witches, bats, leaves, etc. for the fall/halloween theme.

Good Luck and have fun!

What about using glue and sparklies? I would imagine the glue would dry and stick to the pumpkins.

I used glitter glue and paint pens last year and they were a mess. They took forever to dry and just kept running all over the place.

Then I went back to Michael's and just bought these "markers" that had paint in them and dried instantly. They were a little pricey but I use them for other craft projects too. I also used some stickers and foam cut-outs with a sticky back. Some things held better than others and depended on the shape of the pumpkin. Everything was trial and error. I just used more Elmer's glue on the things that were hard to stick.

This year I see that they are doing Mr. Potato Head pumpkin decorating kit (http://www.amazon.com/Potato-Head-Pirate-Pumpkin-Decorati...) which gave me the idea to try to poke some wooden skewers or glue on straws or something to add a little more interest. That might be something you can have pre-made (pipe cleaners with oogly eyes attached) and help the kids glue on or stick on.

Hope you have a great time!

We just decorated pumpkins at my house and had a lot of fun using glue, Styrofoam paint brushes and glitter. I bought regular Elmer's glue and poured it in a disposable dish. I bought the Styrofoam paint brushes at Michael's for .05/piece. I also purchased several containers of glitter. I laid down newspaper, gave them a pumpkin, put the glue bowl in the middle and they painted the glue on their pumpkin. Then they chose their color(s) of glitter and shook it on their pumpkin. We let them dry overnight and they have bright, shiny, colorful, glitter pumpkins! No mess of paint (though the glitter does get all over, but is so easy to vacuum or sweep up). They are on my dining room table and make a beautiful centerpiece! Good Luck and have fun!

You can use tempra paint. It will be a messy project ( I've done it!) so make sure the little ones have old t-shirts, etc. on, but tempra paint is washable, so it should work out. The only problem is that it takes FOREVER to dry because the kids really pile it on. So if you don't mind the mess, it's a lot of fun, but you'll have goopy wet pumpkins for a while. Have a great time!

Hi there...was out of town and am catching up on emails. You may have gottent this suggestion already..but in case you haven't...there is special pumpkin paint you can buy to use on pumpkins. I have never used it, but have seen it in stores. I used to do this with my little ones too...we just used regular paint and foam stickers. Have fun...I miss those days!!

Hi,
The paint will stick, it just takes forever to dry!
Maybe you can use permanent markers instead,
or sticky back foamies to decorate with.

Have fun!

In Family Fun magazine, they said that you can get sticky sided felt. You can then draw and cut out a variety of eyes, noses, mouths, etc for the kids to stick on.

Similarly, I went to a decorating booth at an Ocktoberfest and they had a bunch of random peel and stick Halloween/Thanksgiving foam stickers. Kids stuck them all over the pumpkins and they looked very cute.

Good luck.

I have seen face stickers for pumpkins. That would be super easy for 3 year olds. I have seen them in the Oriental Trading magazines but I assume you could find them at a craft store.

We use foam stickers. I've seen them at Michael's this year and I've never had a problem with them not sticking.

Another thought-if you're like me and have lots of spare Mr Potato Head or Play Doh parts, this is a great way to clean them out of your house :)

Also, I've seen lots of magazines this year showing pumpkins with simple masks (just the 2 eye holes) and yarn hair or hats. I would think Party City would have those pretty cheap.

I've been using Acrylic paints for 20 yrs and never had a problem indoor or out. I buy the 45c ones at Walmart in the craft section. (Apple Barrel is one brand) When we do it with a kids group, I use styrafoam egg cartons to put the paints in, and then they can be tossed when you are done. Newspaper or plastic table cover under the work area for quick clean up. Have a few buckets of water and old towels ready for messy fingers. (to avoid painted fingers all over the bathroom. Dollar tree has paint brushes (sometimes nice ones) Ask the kids to wear moms old t-shirt over their party clothes. (I wouldn't use tempra paint, it is a powdery paint base and might flake off or rinse off in the rain) Have fun!!!

I have a four year old and we have used crayola washable paints. Three year olds tend to be messy and use a lot of paint! Once the paint dries it sticks. You just can't wash it or put it out in the rain. On the other hand...my son was so enthralled with painting pumpkins we ended up washing them off and doing them over all month long!

I would do the colored permanent markers or acrylic paint. Washable or tempera paint will NOT WORK. It dries and flakes off. My kids liked adding yarn to be hair, but again, the glue was hard to stick. I ended up using scrapbooking glue dots and that worked great.