Halloween DIY: Drip Paint Pumpkins

Happy Halloween! Is your candy bowl filled? Doorbell in working order? How about your pumpkins — are they carved or decorated?

If you’re looking for a last minute Halloween arts-and-crafts project for your preschooler, why not make a drip paint pumpkin? Granted, it likely won’t be dry by the time trick-or-treaters start ringing your bell, but it’ll be a fun way to pass the time this afternoon.

(Or you can always bookmark this post or pin these images to Pinterest and make some colorful drip paint pumpkins next Halloween!)

Here’s what you’ll need:

• pumpkins
• craft paint (I chose tempera washable watercolor paint because of Levi’s age, but acrylic paint might have worked better)
• something to elevate your pumpkin (we used a disposable Tupperware container)
• newspapers, paper bags, or a plastic table/floor covering
• clear acrylic sealer

I was inspired to make a drip paint pumpkin after sharing Stacy’s painted pumpkins in my no-carve pumpkin decorating round-up. Levi was incredibly excited, repeatedly asking if it was time to paint pumpkins. We set up shop in the unfinished portion of our basement the weekend that my parents were in town — with three adults crafting and one adult carving pumpkins, we needed space to spread out (and get messy!).

It turned out that, at 27 months old, Levi was a bit too young to fully appreciate our arts-and-crafts project. He lacked the hand strength to really squeeze the paint bottles without assistance — and the patience to see the pumpkin painting process through to the end!

However, Levi was happy enough to suggest and hand over paint colors and wander around inspecting everyone’s work. Occasionally, he’d sit front of his small pumpkin to smear more paint with a paintbrush or apply more Halloween stickers.

Here’s a tip: In addition to dripping paint on top of the pumpkin, squeeze the paint onto the pumpkin’s sides just past where it starts to curve. Gravity will help the paint slide down easier!

When the paint was completely dry we spray the pumpkins with a clear acrylic sealer to give them a subtle glossy coating and (hopefully) make them slightly moisture-resistant. However, we still noticed that the paint still shriveled and cracked a bit as it dried — perhaps because we waited several days before applying the acrylic sealer. Not that it really matters; this is disposable art, anyway!

I’d love to see the pumpkins you carved or decorated for Halloween! Please post a link in the comments below or share a photo on our Facebook page. And, of course, have a very happy Halloween!