Easy Pumpkin Crafts for Halloween 2012 By Kayla Kitts from HGTV

By : Kayla Kitts

Kayla Kitts is an assistant editor for HGTV.com. When she’s not scouring the internet for delicious design inspiration, she’s shopping for home decor to spruce up her apartment, spending quality time with D'Artagnan, her adopted cat, and finding any reason to be outside. Her favorite design style: eclectic with a vintage, retro vibe.

Don’t judge me when I say this: I didn’t carve my first Halloween pumpkin until I was in college. GASP! I know. Growing up, we were less into the pumpkin carving and decorating that goes into Halloween and more into the treats and dressing up. Now, pumpkin carving/decorating is a tradition for me, especially now that you can do more than just carve a silly grin across its face. (Chevrons and silhouettes, anyone?) Here are some cute, quirky and even sophisticated pumpkin-carving ideas to get your porch ready for Halloween.

Parsnip and Carrot Pumpkin Family

Use vegetables, craft foam and accessories to create a loving, or scary, pumpkin family. (Go ahead and grab the kids for this one!)

Monogrammed Pumpkin

Add a sophisticated and personalized touch to your indoor or outdoor decor with this simple monogrammed pumpkin project.

Cute Owl Pumpkin:

Keep the owl trend going strong with this easy-to-make pumpkin project. Bonus: It requires no patterns or carving skills.

Favorite Fall Decorating 2012 Ideas by H. Camille Smith

Shorter days and a crisp chill in the air certify that summer truly has come to an end. Now’s a great time to break out the cozy throws and warm up your home’s decor with a few fall touches.

Take a cue from designer Sarah Richardson and fill vintage vases with autumn-hued flowers.

For many of us, fall also signals the beginning of the holiday entertaining season  Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations are coming up fast. Get ready for the impending arrival of holiday guests by sprucing up areas of your home where guests gather, like the foyer: 

For a quick-and-easy fall fix up, take a stroll outdoors to gather colorful leaves. Suspended on fishing line over your dining room table, they create a magical falling-leaf effect.

Give faux pumpkins and gourds a fashion-forward makeover that will glam up both your Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations

Or download one of printable templates to put the finishing touch on your seasonal decor

by : H. Camille Smith

Halloween 2012 Ideas Spook Up Your Yard By H. Camille Smith

H. Camille Smith is a writer, fine artist and antique furniture devotee. As a former interior designer and Nickelodeon animator, she has a real passion for balanced, beautiful interiors with a touch of whimsy and punch of color. Camille shares a mid-century cottage with two exceptionally pampered pooches and rooms filled with carefully selected finds.


Alright, it’s countdown time people. Just 3 weeks until Halloween; it’s time to get a jump on making outdoor decorations. You’re in luck because I’ve gathered 4 killer projects, with accompanying printable templates, so you can haunt your home in style.

You could let your yard go to the birds 

Or give trick or treaters a fright 

Get your little ghouls to help

Or display a denizen of the dark

Halloween 2012 Traditional Pumpkin Carving Ideas from HGTV

A simple, smiling jack-o'-lantern is a traditional element of Halloween decor. Check out these classic pumpkin carving ideas with a humorous twist.

Classic Jack

With a happy four-tooth smile and a triangle nose, this traditional jack-o-'lantern pattern has been around for decades. The simple, minimal carvings are easy to create for beginners, and the classic expression will never get old

Pumpkin Family

Dress up your porch by letting everyone in the family carve their own pumpkin. This set of jack-o'-lanterns evokes spooky elements of Halloween, except for the smiling, stalk-nosed pumpkin in front.

Scream-Worthy Carvings

Carving a face is fun, but words can deliver even more expression and drama. This startled jack-o'-lantern lets his mate do all the screaming. Eek!

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Scary Sights

Halloween is the scariest holiday of the year, and these terrified pumpkins can certainly attest to this from their frightful expressions

Creepy Crawlers

Don't worry; this eight-legged creature is going nowhere. Spook your trick-or-treaters, neighbors and guests with a creepy spider carving sure to send shivers down their spines.

Troubled Teeth

If you want to bring an extra scary element to your simple jack-o'-lantern, use an array of scattered toothpicks as sharp and scraggly teeth.

Fright Night

Are you easily frightened during Halloween festivities? You're not alone. This terrified jack-o'-lantern has been scared stiff.

Spooked Illumination

Light up your late night porch with illuminated jack-o'-lanterns. After carving scary patterns, add candles inside your pumpkins to shine a yellow-orange hue through the carvings. 

Evil Eyes

Give your pumpkin a menacing expression to add a spooky feel to your porch or garden. Small, demonic horns and an extra-wide smile make this jack-o'-lantern even creepier.

Attention-Grabber

Perfect for children or those with minimal pumpkin-carving experience, this shouting pumpkin looks like he's ready to make a blaring statement.

Ghastly Expression

If you're hoping to really scare off Halloween intruders, this jack-o'-lantern can do the trick. The frightful ghost pumpkin uses his menacing eyes and angry grin to safeguard the garden during ghostly times

Shrinking Scarcity

This small pumpkin was originally carved to show an angry face, but the mouth has dried and shrunken to create a grimaced expression. 

How to Make an Illuminated Pumpkin Topiary : Halloween 2012 Ideas

We turned three plain pumpkins into a glowing centerpiece to light up a front porch, Halloween party or Thanksgiving table.

By : Joanne Palmisano

To make this festive centerpiece, we drilled holes in the pumpkins, painted them silver then added some holiday lights and a few crystals.

Tools and Materials

serrated knife
drill with large bit (optional)
scissors
extension cord
3 carving pumpkins (we used faux pumpkins by Funkin)
holiday lights with 25 to 50 clear bulbs
brilliant metal spray paint
3 strands of wire with crystal beads
dry-erase marker
painter's tarp

Carve and Cut

Carve a hole in the bottom and the top of the three pumpkins and remove the innards. On the bottom pumpkin, make the hole a little to the side so the light strand's plug can get through. Do not cut hole near the stem in the top pumpkin. The hole has to be big enough to be able to put your hand in and pull the light strands through the holes.

Mark for Light Holes

Use a dry-erase marker to make small circles where you want the bulbs to come out of the pumpkins.

Cut Light Holes

Use a serrated knife or a drill to cut out the circles. Double check the size by inserting one of the bulb sockets (take the bulb out to test it). Make the hole bigger until the socket can fit through, but not too big — you don't want the bulb to slide out.

Paint

Place the pumpkins on a tarp and spray-paint them with the brilliant metal paint. Let them dry.

Prep the Lights

Check that the lights are working and then remove all the bulbs from their sockets. This will make it easier to thread the strand through the pumpkins.

Thread the Lights

Starting with the bottom pumpkin, pull the sockets through the holes and then screw on the bulb to keep it in place. Make sure you leave enough of the strand to come out of the bottom of the pumpkin and plug into an extension cord or outlet. Work your way up the pumpkin and then come out the top and move into the next pumpkin. Leave some wiggle room in between.

Add Extra Sparkle

Wrap the pumpkins with crystal strands (cut to size if necessary) around the bottom, middle and top to give the topiary a little extra glamour.

How to Make a Chevron Pumpkin Topiary : Halloween 2012 Ideas

This Halloween, light up your porch with a zigzag-patterned jack-o'-lantern.

By : Joanne Palmisano,

We painted and carved chevrons patterns onto three pumpkins, inserted tea-lights then stacked the pumpkins together to create a retro-style topiary. Moss-covered stones were laid around the base of the topiary to give it a little earthy yet eerie feel.

Tools and Materials

serrated knife
jigsaw (optional)
3 carving pumpkins (we used faux pumpkins by Funkin)
painter's tarp
6 to 9 battery-operated tea lights
4 colors of craft paint (we used green, blue, black, white)
small artist paintbrush
dry-erase marker

Clean Out the Pumpkins

Cut a hole in the bottom of each pumpkin and clean out the innards.

Dry-Fit the Stack and Create Pattern

Place the pumpkins on top of each other. Use a dry-erase marker (washable marker) to draw a chevron pattern across the middle of each pumpkin a little more than halfway around the pumpkin. Do not draw your pattern all the way around whole thing. Disassemble the stack and mark which is the top, middle and bottom.

Carve Part of the Pattern

Use a serrated knife or jigsaw to cut the patterns. If using a jigsaw, drill a hole first, then insert the jigsaw blade before turning it on. On each pattern, leave two stabilizers to help handle the weight of the other pumpkins (so it doesn't fold down on itself).

Paint the Rest of the Pattern

Paint two zigzag patterns above and two below the cut-out pattern, using four different paint colors. Repeat on the other two pumpkins. We put each color in the same exact location on each pumpkin. Let the paint dry completely.

Halloween Pumpkin Topiary With Spiders 2012 Ideas from HGTV

We stacked three plain pumpkins together then adorned them in spiders to make a spooky Halloween decoration.

By : Joanne Palmisano

To make this adorable pumpkin topiary, we pinned on spiders and wrapped the pumpkins with black yarn.

Tools and Supplies

serrated knife
scissors
hot-glue gun
3 carving pumpkins (we used faux pumpkins from Funkin)
30 to 40 straight pins with a black tops
flashlight
black yarn
small plastic toy spiders
one large spider

Carve and Stack

Carve the top and bottom of the top pumpkin in the stack. Carve the bottom of the middle pumpkin in the stack. This way stack on top of each other and the top one will have an opening for the flashlight.

Insert Pins

Push the black sewing pins into the pumpkins in a random pattern. Leave half of the pin sticking out. Use about 15 pins per pumpkin.

Create the Spider's Web

Starting at the bottom, wrap the yarn around one of the pins then bring it to the next pin, wrap it around and repeat. Keep weaving the yarn back and forth around the pins until you have one big web. If necessary, use the glue gun on the yarn to keep it from moving.

Add Spiders

Tie or glue small strands of yarn to several of the spiders. Tie the strands to the webbing so the spiders will hang down. Then glue some spiders directly to the webbing. Add several to the top to make it look like they are escaping. Place a few on the floor and make them look like they are about to scatter.

Include Mama Spider

Insert a flashlight into the top pumpkin to illuminate the large spider. Then place the spider as if she's escaping, too (again, be careful of the pins).