I think this is especially true if you happen to live in an area where the leaves change color with the seasons. And if you don’t – there are always books!
6 Super Creative Pumpkin Decorating Ideas with Aerosol Spray Paint
October is quickly approaching, which means the season of pumpkin decorating is in full swing. Everyone loves a little jack-o-lantern carving at this time of year. Why not add a little extra fun to your pumpkin carving experience? Adventure further into your creativity this season with these fun, artsy and extremely creative spray paint pumpkin DIYs.
No Carve Lacey Pumpkin – Martha Stewart
Don’t like to spend too much time on your fall decorating? Say no more. This no carve lacy pumpkin DIY creates an instant and intricate design with nothing more than a pair of stockings and a can of spray paint. Hint: the best lacy pumpkins are made using the most intricate stocking designs, so find a pair of stockings with an intriguingly complex pattern and then follow this project on marthastewart.com for an easy three step example on how to make your lacy pumpkin masterpiece.
Doughnut Pumpkin – Studio DIY
These doughnut pumpkins by Studio DIY is sure to make everyone stop and stare. This may be the cleverest pumpkin idea yet! And it looks delicious. You can create this using either spray paints or acrylic paints, and remember to be creative with your sprinkle design! Watch out! Someone may try to take a bite!
Marbleized Pumpkin – Sisters, What!
You can marbleize absolutely anything with spray paint, but since the fall season is here, pumpkins it is! The step-by-step marbleized pumpkin and gourd tutorial is up on the blog at Sisters What! All you need is spray paint, a small bucket, a paint stick and a pumpkin. And of course your creative juices! Use any color spray paint you desire and marbleize pumpkins of any size, type or color. Don’t forget to Instagram it when you’re finished!
Floral Moon Pumpkin – Blog Lovin’
This Fresh Floral Moon Pumpkin is a perfect mix of sweet and spooky, and if you are a super-fan of Halloween and pretty things, this is the design for you. This faux pumpkin is spray painted black to resemble the night sky with bright white flowers arranged in the shape of a crescent moon. Use this gorgeous pumpkin décor piece to make a sweet and spooky statement anywhere in your home. Follow the simple how to guide on bloglovin.com to learn how to make it!
Cherry Pumpkins – Design Sponge
For all of you who are not the biggest fans of the creepy Halloween décor, Design Sponge has you covered with a cherry pumpkin DIY by Brittany Jepson. These cherry red spray painted pumpkins are so freaking cute and they are a perfect mantel décor piece. This DIY project makes for an exciting trip to the pumpkin patch to scavenger around for two matching round cherry shaped pumpkins.
Galaxy Pumpkins – The Swell Designer
This totally cool galaxy pumpkin design by The Swell Designer is out of this world! This abstract design is super cool if you’re looking to do something wild and artsy this year for Halloween. This galaxy art pumpkin is made using black spray paint and sponge painting techniques to create a galaxy nebula look. Use a variety of metallic paint colors to really make your design pop.
Pumpkin Seeds Fall Painting for Kids
If you’re a regular reader of Fun-A-Day, you know we’ve had a lot of fun over the years with pumpkin seeds.
There’s just something about those seeds that entice preschoolers. Maybe it’s because they come from “pumpkin guts,” or maybe it’s how enamored the kids are with pumpkins.
Either way, pumpkin seeds always seem to be a hit with the kids. So, combining the seeds with fall paint colors was an easy decision.
I’m a big fan of process art because it focuses on letting kids be creative and explore. This fall painting activity does just that AND it has an easy set up and short material list – which is always a plus for busy teachers and parents!
Materials List
You don’t really need a lot of items for this fall painting activity for kids. In fact, you’ll likely already have most of these items on-hand in your classroom.
I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
- Pumpkin seeds
- Finger paints in fall colors
- Construction paper or canvas
- Paper towels or wipes
You can definitely add additional art materials to this activity if you want to.
I often find that children prefer simplicity and can get very creative with only a few materials. So don’t feel obligated to add any extras.
How to Create this Fall Painting Activity for Kids
Start by passing out white construction paper to each child. It can be the standard size or the larger pieces. It just depends on what you prefer (or what you already have in stock).
Then, talk with the children about the different fall paint colors you have to choose from. When we painted with pumpkin seeds, we used yellow, green, and a reddish-orange.
Other possible color options include red, orange, yellow, green, brown, and maybe even purple. That’s really up to you and the children.
Let the kids choose a few colors for their fall painting. Some children might focus in on just one color, while others might want to use every single color available.
Once their color palette is set, help the children place small drops of paint on their paper. Then, have them place their pumpkin seeds on the paint.
You might want to start off with one pumpkin seed per paint color. If the children want more once they get started, you can give them a few or place a handful of seeds within their reach.
Creating Pumpkin Seed Fall Art
Now it’s time to let the children create! The kids can use their fingers to push the pumpkin seeds through the paint, sliding along the construction paper.
Some children might want to use the pumpkin seeds to stamp all over the paper too. Still others might want to move the paper around, seeing if the seeds will slide a little as they do so.
Once the kids are happy with their creations, place them on a drying rack, or another safe place, to dry.
Both the final product and the process of creating this piece of artwork will be so unique to each child. That’s the real beauty in this fall painting activity for kids!
To jazz this piece up a little, you could have your students add more materials to the painting. Some possibilities include pumpkin sequins, glitter in fall colors, or stickers.
These pieces of art will be perfect for a fall bulleton board or wall display in your classroom.
A New Spin on this Fall Painting Activity for Kids
In addition to loving process art, I also really enjoy helping children create collaborative art.
In the past, we’ve made classroom canvases together in preschool. I loved each and every one of the kids’ contributions to the artwork. These pieces always looked amazing up on the walls of the classroom.
I think this pumpkin seed fall painting would make a fabulous collaborative piece.
Collaborative Fall Painting Activity
- Grab some small pumpkins.
- Let some of the kids work together to roll them through paint on a canvas. Let dry.
- Then have a different group of kids stamp the canvas with pieces of the pumpkins dipped in paint, like we did in this pumpkin process art activity. Let dry.
- After that, have a third set of children slide pumpkin seeds through paint on the canvas. Let dry.
- Finally, help any children who are interested to hot glue pumpkin seeds to the canvas. They can be plain seeds (or learn how to dye pumpkin seeds and add colorful seeds).
Now that I’ve written that out, I really hope we get the chance to try that out soon. There are so many possibilities with this idea.
You could even take the students for a nature walk to gather leaves in a variety of colors. Other items like acorns, twigs, or pine cones would also be fun to glue onto a collaborative fall art piece.
I hope you and your students have a blast and get creative with this fall painting for kids idea.
Let me know if you get a chance to try this out in your classroom!
Preschool Pumpkin Resources
Sometimes I wonder how I ever got everything done in a day as a preschool teacher. Preschool Teacher 101 offers some really helpful resources for quick and meaningful lesson planning with included printables. These resources can save you so much time!
Click on the links below for more information about each of these pumpkin-themed resources.
