What’s Halloween without decorated pumpkins? But you’d like to do something different this year…say something that doesn’t involve extensive carving and gutting of a pumpkin?
Here are five suggestions:
1. The easiest approach is to load up on pumpkins. Place lots of different sizes, shapes, styles, and colors of pumpkins and gourds on your porch, yard, or front steps. The presence of so many wonderful, mismatched pumpkins and gourds is eye-catching enough. No need to do anything else!
2. Paint the pumpkin. For best results, use an acrylic paint in whatever color(s) you desire, such as gold or black. Paint patterns or big dots or cats or bats or ghosts or skeletons…
3. Decorate the pumpkin. Some stores, such as Lowe’s and Michael’s, carry decorating kits available in various themes. Or use dollar store witch hats, pirate bandanas, eye patches, creepy stick ’ems, and costume masks to create a pirate or witch or creepy creature head.
4. Etch the pumpkin. Create your own design or buy a carving kit (sold at most dollar stores and grocery stores). Trace the shape or design onto the pumpkin. Using pumpkin carving tools, etch the design by gently removing the top layers of the pumpkin. Be careful not to go too deep. Rub the etched area with petroleum jelly to protect the exposed layer.
5. Use a thick, black highlighter to write simple messages on the pumpkin, such as BOO! or BEWARE! or HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Or you can opt to carve and help charity by ordering a custom-designed stencil kit. Better Homes and Gardens has partnered with several charitable organizations, such as The Humane Society of the U.S.(http://www.humanesociety.org/) , Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and March of Dimes (http://www.marchofdimes.com/). The stencil kits are FREE but BHG makes a donation to the charity every time one of their stencil kits is downloaded. The Humane Society dog face is adorable! www.bhg.com/charitystencils
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