100 Easy Pumpkin Carving Ideas From Scary To Cool

But you don’t have to be a Halloween pumpkin decorating expert to make your pumpkin look good. These easy pumpkin carving ideas are so doable that even youngsters can lend a helping hand. From cool carving ideas that show off your personality to easy ideas suitable for all ages, these 100 easy pumpkin carving ideas will help you transform your pumpkin into a Halloween masterpiece.

Easy Pumpkin Carving Ideas

1. Spider Nest Pumpkin  This pumpkin carving idea is perfect for someone who doesn’t have arachnophobia! Take a medium to a large-sized bag of plastic spiders and hot glue them in rows until they completely cover the pumpkin’s surface.
2. Pumpkin Flower Vase Cover your pumpkin with metallic spray paint. Then, carve a deep hole in the top and slide in a plastic cup. Fill the cup with water and insert a bunch of fresh flowers.
3. Watermelon Pumpkin For a jack-o-lantern with a spooky red tint, consider hollowing out and carving a watermelon instead! Use the fruit inside to create brains leaking from the top.
4. Punk Pumpkins Add a little rock-n-roll edge to your pumpkins this Halloween! Paint each pumpkin one solid color and let dry. Then, hot glue flat-bottomed studs in the pattern of your choice.
5. Glow Stick Pumpkin  This pumpkin carving idea is a great flame-free alternative! Paint your pumpkin a dark purple and then put in green glow sticks to give it an eerie glow. 6. Scary Word Stencil Pumpkin If words are more your thing, consider carving out spooky words instead of faces! Pick out your favorite Halloween-related phrases like “Boo!” or “Trick Or Treat!” and carve them in. You can use a stencil or you can draw it by hand.
6. Bat Pumpkin  Paint a pumpkin black and allow it to dry. Then, draw on bat eyes with a white paint pen. Finally, cut bat wings out of stiff black felt and hot glue them onto the sides of your pumpkin. 8. Wilted Pumpkin  They always say wait to carve your pumpkin so it doesn’t rot before Halloween but if you time it right, wilted pumpkins can have a spooky effect! For a jack-o-lantern with an extra eerie vibe, carve your pumpkin about 2 weeks before Halloween.
7. Pet Portrait  Show your neighbors how much you love your pet with this fun pumpkin carving idea! Simply draw your pet’s lovable face on your pumpkin either freehand or with transfer paper and carve out.
8. Crayon Drip Pumpkin Remove the wrapper from a box of crayons and break them into small bits. One at a time, place crayons near the pumpkin stem and use the low-heat setting on a hairdryer to start melting them. As they begin to drip down, you can move the pumpkin around to control where they land. Repeat around the whole pumpkin and let dry completely.
9. Easy Appliqué Pumpkins Start by painting a pumpkin in one solid color. Next, choose a lace appliqué or trimming in a contrasting color. Hot-glue your appliqué onto the painted pumpkin, and voila—you’re done!
10. Spider Web Pumpkins Use long strips of scotch or masking tape to create a web pattern on a faux or real pumpkin. Then, spray light, even strokes of spray paint over the entire pumpkin, letting it dry completely. Once fully dry, carefully peel off the tape to reveal your web design. Hot glue a plastic spider onto your pumpkin to complete the look!
11. Pumpkin Pi If you’re not a math person, this pumpkin can be downright terrifying! After you hollow out your pumpkin, carve in the mathematical symbol for Pi for a pumpkin carving idea that’s “easy-as-pie”! 14. Spa Pumpkin Paint a face mask on a pumpkin using colorful paint, leaving spaces for the eyes, nose, and mouth. Let it dry completely before drawing on eyes, a nose and a smile with a black paint pen. Finish off the look by wrapping a towel around the stem, which you can secure in place using straight pens.
12. Fanged Pumpkins This is another great mini pumpkin idea! Get a bag of plastic fangs and carve out a giant mouth and draw on eyes with a permanent marker. After you carve out the mouth, place a set of fangs inside the mouth for a ghoulish grin!
13. Creepy Crawler Pumpkin Paint your pumpkin black. Then, bend 8 black pipe cleaners into spider legs and hot-glue four onto each side. Finish by attaching glow-in-the-dark googly eyes.
14. Paw Print Pumpkin Find a stencil of a spooky creature’s pawprint (like the Yeti or a werewolf), trace it, and simply carve out the outline. Or, for a more personal touch, you could carve the outline of your family pet’s paw print instead to make your pumpkin a little less scary.
15. Halloween Tree Pumpkin Who says holiday trees are just for Christmas? Simply stick backyard branches into a plain pumpkin and hang a few spooky Halloween-related ornaments.
16. String-Wrapped Ombre Pumpkins  Get embroidery thread in three coordinating colors to create an ombre effect, such as dark blue, light blue and white. Starting with your lightest color, hot-glue one end of the string to the base of your pumpkin’s stem and wrap it around your pumpkin, hot-gluing in place as you go. Once you’ve used all of your first color, move on to your second color. Finish with the darkest color last. 20.  Frankenstein Pumpkin Add a classic horror Halloween touch to your pumpkin by making it look like Frankenstein. Paint it green and attach facial features made out of construction paper to pay homage to Mary Shelley’s resurrected monster.
17. Exam Dates Live in a college town or near a high school? Find out the dates of fall midterms and carve them into your pumpkin. Students from all over town will get a good scare!
18. Eight-Eyed Monster Pumpkin  Carve out a mouth or draw one on with a paint pen, instead. Then, hot-glue eight giant glow-in-the-dark googly eyes onto your pumpkin to create your own eight-eyed monster pumpkin!
19. Pour Paint Pumpkin Get inspired by those trendy acrylic pour paintings! Pour each color in your palette into separate cups. Then, mix in Elmer’s glue or another paint pouring medium and mix together. Then, layer your paints into a separate cup and then pour them onto the pumpkin. Repeat this process until the entire pumpkin is covered.
20. DIY Painted Galaxy Pumpkin Paint your pumpkin black or navy blue. Wait until it’s completely dry then dab a wet sponge into purple and dark paints and blot on to create a galaxy effect. To create stars, splatter on glow-in-the-dark or white paint. 17 Fun, Easy Couples Costume Ideas 25. Geometric Pattern Pumpkin Take masking tape and create a geometric pattern like chevrons or hexagons. Paint around the pumpkin in a different color. Then, remove the tape to reveal the trendy pattern.

Scary Pumpkin Carving Ideas

26. Garden Monster Pumpkin This spooky pumpkin is great for the little ones! Carve a face out of a pumpkin and add in fresh fruits and veggies into the holes. Use a zucchini for eyes, red pepper for a tongue, and the stems from 2 other peppers for ears. 27. Medusa Pumpkin Carve 2 large round eyes, 2 smaller circles for nostrils, and a squiggly mouth into a blue-green pumpkin (optional: place LED lights into the eye sockets to make them glow). Hot glue wire to the back of rubber snakes, leaving a few extra inches on the back end. Push wired snakes into the top at the sides for pigtails and complete the look!
27. Cannibal Pumpkin For this pumpkin project, you’re going to need one larger and smaller pumpkin. Carve an opening out of the top or bottom of the large pumpkin, making sure it’s wide enough to fit the smaller pumpkin or gourd through it. Scoop out the seeds and hollow it out. Draw eyes and mouth on both pumpkins with the marker. Carve out with a knife for the larger pumpkin; use the melon baller for the smaller pumpkin. When they both have their facial expressions, place the smaller pumpkin into the larger one.
28. Toothpick Teeth Pumpkin Cut off the top, hollow up, and carve a traditional jack-o-lantern face with a big gaping mouth. Fill in the mouth using toothpicks for a grimacing grin!
29. Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil Pumpkins Take three pumpkins, hollow them out, and carve faces on them. Stack them on top of each other and then hot glue skeleton hands to the side of each one and have the bottom one holding their hands up at the side (like they’re covering their ears), the next one should have its eyes covered, then the top one should have its mouth covered.
30. Pumpkin for the Birds Carve the top of the pumpkin with a zig-zag edge, hollow out, and carve a traditional jack-o-lantern face on it. Move the top ever so slightly to the side of the pumpkin to make room. Wind wire around the feet of artificial crows and ravens, and position them as you like. Poke the wire ends into the pumpkin to secure the birds in place. 32. Glitter Sticker Pumpkins Go to your local craft store and pick up a few different packs of glitter stickers. Paint your pumpkin a bright, solid color—like neon pink or lime green—and let it dry. Then, decorate the painted surface with an assortment of glittery stickers in all different shapes, sizes and styles for a wow-worthy look.
31. Bat Tree Pumpkin Paint or buy a faux or real pumpkin. Next, take a metallic marker and draw a tall spooky tree. Next, take bat stickers and stick them in the appropriate spots. 34. Monster Mash  Create your own gang of lovable monsters! Research classic beats like the cyclops or pull inspiration from movies like Monsters Inc or Monsters Vs Aliens to make your pumpkin creation stand out.
32. Twisted Vines Pumpkin  Cut a hole in the bottom of a pumpkin and hollow out. Gently sketch your leafy design on the pumpkin and use a lemon zester to etch out the design. Insert a candle in the hole, light and display it on your front porch!
33. Swarm of Bats Pumpkins Cut a black ribbon into 4-inch pieces. Next, tie a loose knot in the middle, then cut the ends of the ribbon to resemble wings. Attach to your pumpkin with straight sewing pins.
34. Stalk Nose Pumpkin To create this fun and unique Halloween decoration all you have to do is place the pumpkin on its side and carve out the rest of the face around the stem for it to transform into a cute and spooky nose. 38. The Scariest Pumpkin of Them All  This one is for sure to drive out all those older trick-or-treaters! Carve out the words “Student Loans” and watch your college-aged kids on your block run in the other direction.
35. Stitched Back Together Carve a face in your pumpkin like normal. Then, to add a little more of a Halloween flair, make shallow slits in random spots. Then, take a sewing needle and some thick thread to create the appearance of stitches.
36. Ghost Pumpkins Simply paint butternut squash white, let it dry, and then add on a face with black paint. For the arms, hot glue cotton batting to the sides. 41. Mummy Pumpkins Cut cheesecloth into 3-inch strips. Then put a dot of hot glue on the pumpkin to start and wrap the pumpkin with the cheesecloth strips. Glue down the strips when you get to the end to ensure they stay in place. Once you are satisfied with the wrapping, attach two google eyes to the face. Cut out a small mouth from construction paper and glue it under some of the cloth. 42. Home Address Pumpkin Help tired trick-or-treaters spot your home easily! Simply carve your house’s address into a few pumpkins. Or, if you want to make this pumpkin carving idea even easier, paint the numbers on instead! You can put your entire address on one giant pumpkin or line a few smaller ones in a row and put one number of your address on each.
37. Ghoulish Grin Pumpkin This pumpkin carving idea is a foolproof way to get your design onto your pumpkin. Tape transfer paper to a pumpkin, draw on your spooky design, remove the paper, and follow the outline with your carving tools.
38. Witch Pumpkin  Take a faux pumpkin and turn it so the stem is facing to the side. Twist a piece of aluminum foil into a cone shape to make a nose then attach it to the pumpkin’s stem with hot glue. Then, coat the entire pumpkin with light green spray paint. Once dry, add facial features using either stickers or a black permanent marker. Don’t forget to place an old witch’s hat on top to complete the look.
39. Spider Eye Pumpkin Carve a skull face into your pumpkin. Then, stick a plastic spider into an eye socket.
40. Traditional Pumpkin with a Twist Forget your basic orange pumpkin and go for a gourd with a more colorful aura like green or red. Carve a traditional jack-o-lantern face for an interesting porch focal point! 47. Pumpkin Vomit Make sure you save the insides for this pumpkin carving idea! Carve out a pumpkin with a big gaping hole for a mouth. Once you have fully carved it, take the stringiest bits of the insides and stuff them into the pumpkin’s mouth to make it look like the pumpkin ate too much candy! 48. Spooky Skeleton Pumpkin If you’re feeling a little extra this Halloween season, take a larger pumpkin than your pumpkin head and carve out a skeleton torso! Cover the seam of the two together by adding a feather boa or a bow tie to complete the look.
41. Halloween Town Cut out silhouettes of spooky buildings and glue them to your pumpkin using Mod Podge. To give a spooky effect, carve out the windows and the doors using a small knife from your pumpkin carving set.
42. Glowing Eyes Pick your favorite eyes from a template or freehand your own pair of spooky peepers. Set pumpkins in a shady area in your yard so they look like they are peering out at trick-or-treaters. Use faux flickering candles to avoid a fire hazard.

Cool Pumpkin Carving Ideas

51. Bean Bag Toss Pumpkin Carving Stack two pumpkins on top of each other, and carve them a giant mouth, and voila! You’ve got the perfect bean bag toss game for trick-or-treaters.
52. Peekaboo Pumpkin Slice a big pumpkin in half and carve it out. Then, take a pair of skewers and support the top so it doesn’t meet the bottom. Next, place a smaller gourd inside of it for a peekaboo surprise.
53. Lollipop Hair Pumpkin Create a pumpkin that’s all treats and no tricks this Halloween! Cut out the top of the pumpkin, hollow out, and carve out a face like normal. Then, create 15-20 tiny round holes in the top of your pumpkin using a screwdriver. Insert a lollipop into each hole to form the jack-0-lantern’s totally sweet hair-do!
54. Honeycomb Pumpkin Keep Halloween fun and trendy this year by carving a honeycomb pattern into your pumpkin! Punch a couple of the hexagons out and leave a few honeycombs intact. Be sure to paint them yellow to look like the real thing.
55. Chalk Paint Pumpkin Candy Dispenser Show off your creative usefulness with this fun practical pumpkin carving idea. Mark a hole on the top half of the pumpkin and carefully cut along the line with a pumpkin carving set. Hollow out or, if you opted for a fake pumpkin, sand down any rough edges. Paint the entire pumpkin with black chalk paint and let dry. Before the trick-or-treating fun begins, fill it with candy and write a message with chalk.
56. Gold Star Cookie Cutter Pumpkin Even though it may be cloudy on Halloween, this pumpkin is sure to brighten up anyone’s night! First, paint the pumpkin the color of your choice (we recommend a metallic gold or silver for this project) and let it dry completely. Then, using a hammer covered with a dishcloth, gently punch a star-shaped cookie cutter into your pumpkin until it pushes completely through.
57. Neon Tape Pumpkins This pumpkin carving idea is as simple as spelling “Boo”! Grab or paint a white pumpkin and a couple of rolls of neon or blacklight tape. Cut pieces and stick them onto the pumpkin!
58. Pumpkin Flamingos  Take a bunch of faux or real pumpkins and paint them bright neon pink. Next, head to your local Dollar Store and buy a bushel of pink lawn flamingos. Detach their heads at the bottom of the neck using a pair of kitchen scissors or a paring knife. Finally, attach the flamingo heads to the fully dried pumpkins with hot glue.
59. Sprinkled Donut Pumpkins Get beige paint and paint the bottom half of your pumpkin. Next take a brighter acrylic paint (like brown, pink, or white) and paint the top for the frosting. Finally, take some rainbow colors and paint on sprinkles.
60. Scalloped-Top Pumpkin If you want your pumpkin to have more of a minimalist feel, simply carve the top out with a scalloped edge.
61. Framed Pumpkin Take a plastic ornate frame and hot glue it to the front of the pumpkin. Boom! You’re done!
62. Cheeseburger Pumpkin Cut the pumpkin in half lengthways. Next, add “ground beef” using paper mache dyed brown. Use green crepe paper for lettuce and yellow and red construction paper for mustard and ketchup.
63. Ant Pumpkin Turn three pumpkins in ascending sizes on their side to make this giant ant. Hot glue button eyes and branch legs complete the crawly creature.
64. Rhinestone Pumpkin Remind trick-or-treaters how fabulous you are with your sparkling pumpkin! Simply take a packet of rhinestones and arrange them with hot glue in a dazzling pattern.
65. Lion Pumpkin No cowardly lions here! Carve an adorable lion face into your pumpkin and create his mane using faux or real chrysanthemums.
66. 2% Battery Etch out a drawing of an iPhone battery using a lemon zester then carve out a little piece at the end, replicating a low battery. Trust us, all those teen trick-or-treaters will get the scare of their lives thinking about their nearly-gone battery life.
67. Mice and Cheese Pumpkin Find a real or faux pumpkin in a yellow-ish color. Then, after hollowing out, use a power tool with a round drill bit and carve holes sporadically into the pumpkin to give the illusion of a block of swiss cheese. Next, hot glue plastic or rubber mice around it to complete the look.
68. Distinguished Gentleman Pumpkin  This design is perfect for those last-minute jack-o-lanterns! Simply draw with a black permanent marker or cut out a mustache using black construction paper. Then, stick it on your pumpkin using clear scotch tape or hot glue. Finally, stick on a top hat to cover the stem and put on your front porch!
69. Porcupine Pumpkin Grab an oval-shaped pumpkin and place it on its side so the stem is the nose to create the porcupine’s body. Next, create quills by pressing toothpicks into the rind, leaving enough space for eyes. Take two small acorn caps and attach them using hot glue.
70. Harry Potter Love  Illuminate your driveway with this pumpkin carving idea inspired by one of the greatest book series of all time. Carve a spell name or the classic glasses and lighting scar that will transport your trick-or-treaters to Diagon Alley.
71. Matte Finish Pumpkins These pumpkins would look perfect on anyone’s Instagram feed! Take a matte finish chalk paint and coat your pumpkin until it’s completely dry. Optional, write a sweet message to your trick-or-treaters before you put them outside.
72. Mickey Mouse Pumpkin Disney-lovers will adore this simple Halloween pumpkin idea. Simply top your jack-0-lantern with a pair of mouse ears for a magically cool look.
73. Pineapple Pumpkin Hollow out and carve a pineapple body onto your pumpkin. Then, instead of putting the regular pumpkin top on, swap it out for the top of pineapple to create a tropical luau-inspired pumpkin!
74. Despicable Me Minions Pumpkin To make your Halloween pumpkin look just like one of the Minions from Despicable Me, paint your pumpkin yellow and allow to dry. Then, paint on blue overalls. Finally, finish off your Minion pumpkin by painting on oversized eyes for a totally adorable look.
75. Monogram Pumpkin For a chic twist on your Halloween pumpkin carving ideas, skip the scary faces and carve your monogrammed initials instead.

Kids Pumpkin Carving Ideas

76. Peek A Boo Barn Paint your pumpkin a brick red and hollow out like normal. Carve an opening to a barn door instead of a face. Then, take either rubber or stuffed farm animal toys to create your little own harvest-inspired farm! 77. Spooky Painting If you have a little artist on your hand, ask them to paint a spooky-inspired scene filled with bats, ghosts, and their favorite Halloween phrases. 78. Lite Brite Pumpkin This pumpkin idea is great for those who are afraid of fire hazards! Simply, take the glowing pieces from your child’s Lite Brite game and stick them all over the pumpkin until the surface is covered. Illuminate the inside using a glow stick or a LED flameless candle. 79. Washi Tape Pumpkin Calling all crafters! Use your washi tape collection for this pumpkin decorating idea! Cut your decorative tape into strips and stick on the pumpkin into your own pattern or check the Internet to score some awesome ideas. 80. Googly Eye Pumpkin Head to your local craft store and buy a bag of googly eyes (they don’t have to be the same size!). Next, take your hot glue gun and stick a bit on the back of the googly eyes and stick it on the pumpkin. Repeat until the surface of the pumpkin is covered. 81. Frozen Pumpkin You’ll have trouble letting this pumpkin go at the end of the Halloween season. Paint your pumpkin a blue color like Elsa’s dress. Spray with a spray adhesive and add white or clear glitter. Then, hot glue rhinestones and snowflakes for the perfect princess feel! 82. Veggie Face  Get your kids to eat their veggies in this fun pumpkin carving idea! Take the veggies you have in your fridge and arrange them into a funny face. Attach using toothpicks! 83. Glitter Stem Pumpkins For this pumpkin project, paint the pumpkin your favorite or festive color. Next pour craft glue onto the stem and dip it into glitter for a sparkly and dazzling look that will catch anyone’s eye. 84. Decoupage Leaf Pumpkin Trace fallen leaves from your backyard or a nearby creek onto orange, yellow, and dark red tissue paper; cut tracings out and stick them to the pumpkin using decoupage glue like Mod Podge. 85. Book Page Covered Pumpkin Start by copying pages from your favorite scary books like Frankenstein or The Hardy Boys. Then, cut those copies into strips and adhere to pumpkins with Mod Podge or another decoupage glue. 86. Collage Pumpkins Have a bunch of old magazines lying around? Cut out eyes, noses, and mouths and arrange them onto your pumpkin using straight pins or hot glue. 87. Snow Cone Pumpkins Make summertime last until fall with these mini pumpkins disguised as sweet treats! Use red, orange, yellow, green, and blue craft paint to paint flavor stripes on white pumpkins. Once dry, spray the pumpkin with a spray glue adhesive and sprinkle with clear glitter. To make a holder, cover a three-inch-high rectangular cardboard box in colorful striped craft paper. Poke two-inch holes, corresponding to the number of pumpkins you have and spacing evenly, into the top of the box. Place snow cone paper holders in holes and fill halfway with sand. (The sand is a must because the pumpkins will crush the cups without it.) Finish by placing the pumpkins on top. 88. Pom-Pom Pumpkin Attach pom-poms in rows or clusters on your pumpkin with hot glue. Consider painting your pumpkin beforehand to make your pom art pop! 89. Water Marble Pumpkin Pour a few drops of nail polish into a bowl of warm water and swirl the paint around with a toothpick (you can use more than one color). Dip the pumpkin into the water by the stem and twirl it around until you get a design you like. 90. Colorful Balloon Pumpkins For a colored “dipped” pumpkin, snip the ends off opaque balloons and stretch around the bases. 91. Ring Toss Squash For a fun harvest-inspired game, six small butternut squashes and paint stripes or wrap washi tape around their necks. Be sure to use different colors and patterns on each. Line up squash and toss rings around the necks to play. 92. Funny Face Pumpkin  Use acrylic paint to make a funny face that will delight trick-or-treaters of all ages! You can draw your classic funny face or take inspiration from your favorite emojis. 93. Rainbow Painted Pumpkins If you may have picked too many pumpkins then you know what to do with them, consider painting them each a glossy color of the rainbow! 94. Pumpkins of Light This pumpkin decoration is simple. Bust out your holiday lights and wrap around each pumpkin for a glowing effect. You can opt to use battery-operated lights to avoid fire hazards. 95. Map Tack Pumpkins Put your office supplies to good use! Pin map tacks all over the pumpkin’s surface to create a simple sprinkle effect. Optional: before you stick on the map tacks, paint your pumpkin a fun or festive color to make the tacks stick out! 96. Splatter Paint Pumpkins Paint your pumpkins in one solid color and let them dry completely (ideally overnight). Then, mix water with acrylic paint in a plastic cup until it reaches the consistency of heavy cream. Coat a craft brush with paint and lightly tap it repeatedly over the whole surface of the pumpkin to create the paint splatters. 97. Candy Wrapper Pumpkins Print copies of your favorite candy labels from the Internet (or use wrappers from any leftover candy you have lying around) and cut them into 1-inch strips. Attach the labels to the pumpkins with Mod Podge. You can use one kind of candy wrapper or use a bunch of different kinds! 98. Fringe Pumpkin This pumpkin carving idea looks great and is oh so simple to create! Just wrap and hot glue the fringe around the stem of a pumpkin, adding 2-3 layers until it looks nice and full. Attach googley eyes onto the fringe to create a delightful monster. 99. Teal Pumpkins If you have nut-free or gluten-free candy at your house be sure to paint one of your pumpkins a teal color and display it proudly on your front porch. The color signals trick-or-treaters with food allergies that you have alternative treats and you’re a part of The Teal Pumpkin Project. 100. Tough Tattoos Pumpkin For a great pumpkin carving idea, first paint your pumpkin white then let your child decorate their pumpkin with temporary tattoos of their choosing! Adhere the tattoos to your pumpkin as you would on skin. Check out Halloween puns!