Posted by
Elana Safronsky, Managing Editor
Friday, October 23, 2009 2:32 PM EDT
For many, squeezing a handful of pumpkin guts is as integral to Halloween as pumpkin pie, but increasingly, I'm seeing people trading in the annual pumpkin gutting for more inventive, less messy alternatives. I've got a two and half year old that's never really experienced the pumpkin gutting (last year when we did it she was around for the first two minutes and wondered off with a piece of old newspaper) and I'm not against never introducing her to it. Maybe we can craft our way through years of Halloween to come? And looking at some of these crafty, novel and downright beautiful ideas, I don't know that I'll miss the mess...
The Painted Gourd
Clockwise from the top; painted pumpkins, AllYou.com; painted pumpkin centrepiece, MomDesigner blog; painted pumpkins, CountryLiving.com.; purple sparkle pumpkin, BHG.com.
Painting gourds has been a folk art favourite for centuries, so I'm not sure that this really qualifies as innovative, but it sure is fun and easy! For the elegant Halloween, white pumpkins and soft pastel/shabby chic pumpkins have been all the range for several years now. As for the spooky version, a little graphic black and white treatment or a cat, spider, moon, etc. stencil will always do the trick. Oh, and you can always dust it with sparkles! (Never a bad idea.)
Embellish, Adorn, Ameliorate
Clockwise from the top; spider pumpkin, AllYou.com; trinket pumpkins, TaterTotsAndJello blog; ribbon-wrapped pumpkins, GoodHouseKeeping.com.
Tie a ribbon around it, give it a face, hang it with earrings, stick it with spindly pipe cleaner legs and make it into a spider -- whatever it is, only your imagination is the limit. A great opportunity for a knife-free craft for the little ones, and some potential grownup factor with those elegant antique-white pumpkins, tricked out in vintage bobbles.
Just Buy One
Pottery Barn pumpkins.
The 11th Hour is it? Pottery Barn won't let you down. It's not as fun bragging about it if you buy it, but look how beautiful those cane pumpkins are! Imagine a few of those on your porch -- or inside for that matter -- with bunched-up string lights inside? (I hope that's not dangerous...?) But in any case, I'd go for it if I had a slick home and lots of other things to do other than craft up a storm for Halloween.
Martha's Easy Craft
From the left: Martha Stewart; YourHomeBasedMom blog.
From someone who does have a slick home and an army of crafters at her service -- I'm talking Martha Stewart of course -- comes this, super easy, messless pumpkin. It's an orange lantern with a leaf and stem detail that you can download from her site. On the left is a photo of Martha's version, on the right is one by a crafty mommy blogger at YourHomeBasedMom.com, and they look pretty much identical. This tells me the instructions are foolproof.
The Fabric Pumpkin
TheSimpleWife blog.
Cute! Such a great idea. A great use for fabric scraps; just stuff some fabric, cinch it and stick it with a stem. They're soft and cuddly, and can be yet another great craft to do with your little ones that doesn't involve the dreaded glue...
What will you be doing pumpkin-wise? Not afraid of the mess?