It’s Friday the 13th and we’re not scared! We’re at the pumpkin patch sharing all the fun ways we can decorate pumpkins without the mess of actually carving.
EERIE-SISTIBLE PUMPKINS
We’re at Tanaka Farms — a real pumpkin patch on a 30-acre farm owned and operated by the Tanka Family in Irvine. If you are ever in Orange County or even plan a trip, put it on your list because it’s amazing and they always have seasonal events throughout the year.
When it comes to pumpkins for Halloween, not all pumpkins are created equal. There are actually 150 varieties of pumpkins and many accompanying variations. Some are good for carving, others just for baking and others are great for decorating.
After our wagon ride and picking our veggies from the ground we snagged a few pumpkins from the Tanaka Farms patch. Instead of carving this year, we decided to swap our knife for paint brush and get a little creative with some of our favorite characters. This made it fun for the whole family and simple.
Have your family pick out their favorite movie character, then draw or stencil any details that will be in a different color. Start with your base paint — if adult help is needed for painting the details, assist as needed — and then layer colors from there. It can also be fun to accessorize the pumpkins with gourds, leaves or pinecones to create hair or other parts of the character.
BOO-TIFUL PUMPKINS
Whether your pumpkin is real, or you take a craft pumpkin to last a bit longer, we love a good DIY project.
So when we found out about Cricut, we were ecstatic! Cricut makes smart cutting machines that work with an easy-to-use app to help you design and personalize almost anything — custom cards, unique apparel, everyday items, and so much more. So we picked up the new Cricut Joy Xtra and began using permanent vinyl to decorate pumpkins. Pumpkins can be scary or sweet but nonetheless spooky fun! Start with either real pumpkins or craft pumpkins and then personalize it with a design. We love that Cricut has so many vinyl options too that will really take your project up a whole other level! From glow-in-the-dark to color changing iron on, the possibilities are endless. As much as we love carving, we loved being able to make a jack-o-lantern with vinyl. This way, our pumpkin will last more than a couple days with warm fall days.
We used their robust Design Space to identify festive options to help create a pumpkin — jack o-lantern faces, images, sayings, and more — this allows for precision cut and allows lasting effects. Design Space is great because it has a library of designs so you don’t have to be a professional designer. There are so many templates too which enable you to personalize or add your creative touch too. We love taking a pumpkin candle, adding a monogram, and gifting it to a teacher or friend.
GOURD-GEOUS PUMPKINS
Lastly maybe you aren’t feeling super crafty, it’s still in the 80s in Sacramento and you don’t want heat to compromise your pumpkin, there are gourd-geous pumpkins you can get for decor both inside or outside your home.
We love the amazing variety of pumpkin options at Balsam Hill. From wreaths, garlands and arrangements in softer palettes like the Fairytale Pumpkin collection to their Succulent Harvest Pumpkin Centerpiece, perfect for dining tables, or upon entry. Wire lit pumpkins are great for the porch and rustic heirloom pumpkins compliment any area of the house.
We love items that can transition through the season too. Which is why we adore the Lit Stackable Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns and new this year is a similar tabletop version too! You can stack them or arrange them separately and they also have a remote so you can control if they flicker like a candle or hold a steady stream of light. The goofy grins are fun but once Halloween is over, we just turn them around to the back where it is solid pumpkin and now we have a trio that can welcome Thanksgiving too.
We love all these gourd-geous options that are no mess and also build on a collection for years to come.
