Postmark: a round stamp with your town and wavy linesCream, charcoal. A circle stenciled on the front, the town curved inside its top edge; three wavy lines beside it.
Table runner of minis: white ones and white-stemmed onesFlat white on bare orange. Every second mini painted white all over; on the others only the stem is white.
Egg basket: minis in brown, cream and blue, finely speckledCream, tan, pale blue, brown. Each mini one eggshell color, stem and all, with fine brown specks; heap in a basket.
Branch shadow: pale gray forked lines slanting across ivoryIvory, pale gray. Thin forked lines cross the front on a slant, soft at the edges, like a bare branch's shadow.
Charcoal coat with a wreath drawn in white lineCharcoal, white. A flat dark coat; one thin ring of leaves and berries on the front, drawn with a small round brush.
Dove gray with one white feather laid across the frontDove gray, white. One long feather across five ribs, its quill a thin line, barbs flicked out both ways.
Greige coat with two thin charcoal rings, high and lowGreige, charcoal. One flat color; a fine line around the shoulder and another near the base, painted freehand.
Herringbone in gray and white, turning at every grooveSoft gray, white. Short slanted strokes down each rib, leaning the other way on the next, so the grooves zigzag.
Linen white on the ribs only, every groove left bare orangeLinen white on bare orange. A flat brush run down each rib and lifted before the groove; thin orange lines remain.
Oat coat with white dots down every other grooveOat, white. A line of small dots down alternate grooves from the stem to the base, made with a brush handle's end.
One dry white brushstroke across a pebble gray coatPebble gray, white. A single wide stroke dragged across five ribs with a nearly dry brush and left ragged.
Pale stone coat with a honeycomb patch on one shoulderPale stone, white, ochre. A patch of six-sided cells drawn in white on one shoulder; three cells filled ochre.
Putty coat with a white basket weave on the lower halfPutty, white. Pairs of short strokes set upright, then sideways, in turn, from the base up to the widest part.
Sand coat with a flock of small white birds risingSand, white. A dozen small V shapes sweep from low on one side up toward the stem, smaller as they climb.
Tone on tone: taupe leaf shapes on a paler taupe coatTwo taupes. The pale coat first; leaf shapes in the darker mix, spaced around the shoulder, with no outlines.
Distressed finishes 12
Antique white, aged brown around the stem and the baseAntique white, brown. A flat white coat; thinned brown patted around the stem and the base, wiped toward the middle.
Barn star with its paint worn off at the tipsBarn red, cream, gray. A big star on the front, each arm split light and dark; its tips sponged away to gray.
Chipped enamelware: white, a navy rim line, dark chipsWhite, navy, charcoal, rust. A navy line around the shoulder, the stem navy; a few small dark chips edged in rust.
Cream wiped back so bare orange glows through on the ribsCream on bare orange. One coat, wiped along every rib with a damp cloth while wet; solid cream stays in the grooves.
Mossy garden urn: stone gray, green sponged in the groovesStone gray, moss green, white. Gray all over; green dabbed into the grooves and around the base; a dusting of white.
Old painted door: two panels and a small brass knobFaded teal, navy, brass. Two tall panels outlined on the front, a dark edge and a light edge; a knob between.
Old tin sign: a cream panel, rust at its edges, four screwsCream, rust, gray. A cream panel on the front; rust sponged along its edges; a screw head painted in each corner.
Rusty iron look: orange and brown sponged over charcoalCharcoal, rust orange, brown. Dab the two rusts unevenly, heavy in the grooves and by the stem; some gray left.
Stoneware crock: flecked gray with a cobalt leaf and a 2Warm gray, dark gray, cobalt blue. Gray flecked darker; one brushed blue leaf spray on the front, a numeral above.
Three old coats showing: teal under cream under whiteTeal, cream, white. Teal first, then cream, then white, each left patchy so the one below shows in worn spots.
Weathered shutter: faded green slats up every ribFaded green, gray. Short level slats stacked up each rib like a louvered shutter, gray between; one hinge.
Whitewashed brick: red rows showing through worn whiteBrick red, white, gray. Rows of bricks painted first; thin white dragged over, heavier at the top, bricks below.
Stenciled words 12
autumn in small lowercase between two ruled linesGreige, white. The one word small and centered on the front, a thin line above and below it; nothing else.
Botanical plate: FIG. 1 and PUMPKIN under a vine drawingCream, black. A small vine and leaf drawn in thin line; FIG. 1 to its left; PUMPKIN in spaced capitals below.
CIDER and a price, stenciled like a roadside stand boardWhite, black, red. CIDER in tall capitals; a red price in a circle beside it; a thin black border line.
Crate stamp: your town, PUMPKIN CO. and a yearTan, black. The town's name in an arc, PUMPKIN CO. straight below it, EST. and a year smallest of all.
FARM FRESH in an arch over a small painted pumpkinCream, charcoal, rust. Stencil capitals follow a curve across the front; a thumb-sized rust pumpkin under the arch.
Ghost sign: MARKET half worn away on a faded blue bandFaded blue, cream. A band around the middle; the word stenciled once, then dabbed with a dry sponge until it breaks.
HOME with a small pumpkin standing in for the OWhite, charcoal, rust. Three stencil capitals across the front; a round rust pumpkin with a tiny stem fills the gap.
OCTOBER climbing one groove in spaced stencil capitalsSoft black, cream. The month in spaced capitals along a single groove, read from the base up to the shoulder.
Postmark: a round stamp with your town and wavy linesCream, charcoal. A circle stenciled on the front, the town curved inside its top edge; three wavy lines beside it.
Sampler lettering: a short word built from small X marksLinen, barn red. Letters built from small crosses, as on a stitched sampler; a row of crosses above and below.
Scale ticket: the pumpkin's own weight and LBSCream, black. Weigh it; stencil the number large with LBS after it, as a market scale ticket would read.
Tally of the harvest: PUMPKINS over rows of tally marksCream, charcoal. PUMPKINS in small capitals; under it, tally marks in fives, as many as you grew or bought.
Farmhouse sets 12
Barn lanterns down the steps, one on every pumpkinBlack, pale yellow, cream. A wire-handled lantern outlined on each front, its flame a little taller on each step up.
Clothesline across three: a quilt, overalls, a row of socksCream, charcoal, faded blue. One sagging line crosses all three fronts; the washing hangs from it, pegs painted on.
Counting set: 1 pumpkin, 2 apples, 3 ears of cornCream, charcoal, rust. A numeral on each front with that many small drawings under it, one kind per pumpkin.
Egg basket: minis in brown, cream and blue, finely speckledCream, tan, pale blue, brown. Each mini one eggshell color, stem and all, with fine brown specks; heap in a basket.
Farm animals in silhouette: a cow, a pig, a hen, one eachWhite, black. One side-on animal shape on each front, all standing at the same height above the base.
Farm scene across three: a barn, plowed rows, a siloIvory, black, barn red. Line drawings joined by one horizon line: a barn, then furrows running back, then a silo.
Milk bottle minis: white to the shoulder, a cap on the stemWhite, cream, pale blue. Each mini white up to the shoulder, a cream band above it; the stem pale blue as the cap.
Row of farmhouse windows: curtains open, drawn, and a catWhite, black, faded blue. A four-pane window on each front; curtains tied back, pulled shut, or parted by a cat.
Table runner of minis: white ones and white-stemmed onesFlat white on bare orange. Every second mini painted white all over; on the others only the stem is white.
Ticking stripes at three heights on a trioCream, navy. A band of thin navy stripes on each: low on the first, at the middle of the next, high on the third.
Two halves of one wreath on a pair for the porchSoft black, white, sage. Half a leaf ring on the inner side of each; set the two touching and the wreath closes.
Village of three farmhouses, a different roof on eachWhite, charcoal, barn red, sage. A door and two windows on each front; a roof line under the stem, one color each.
How it works
These chalk painted real pumpkin ideas are 48 no-carve designs in four groups of 12. Chalk paint is a water-based decorative paint with an ultra-matte, chalky finish, and every design here is written for that flat look.
Read the full guide
Chalk painted pumpkin ideas that use the orange underneath
Some designs let the pumpkin show, so they suit a real one or an orange craft one. Cream wiped back so bare orange glows through on the ribs is one coat, wiped along each rib while wet. Linen white on the ribs only, every groove left bare orange leaves thin orange lines.
Distressed and stenciled looks
The Distressed finishes group holds 12 painted looks of age: chipped enamelware, rust, a mossy urn, a stoneware crock, an old door. Stenciled words holds 12 more, and Scale ticket: the pumpkin's own weight and LBS starts at a kitchen scale.
Questions and answers
What colors are farmhouse chalk painted pumpkins?
Flat neutrals. The Matte neutrals group uses linen white, greige, putty, sand, oat, ivory, taupe, pale stone, charcoal and three grays, most with one small design in white or a darker shade, such as Dove gray with one white feather laid across the front.
Can I chalk paint craft pumpkins instead of real ones?
Yes. Most designs cover the whole pumpkin and need no orange underneath: the stenciled words, the sets, and finishes such as Whitewashed brick: red rows showing through worn white. We do not test paints, so read the label on yours for what it covers.
How do you distress a painted pumpkin?
Here the worn look is painted or wiped, never sanded. Antique white, aged brown around the stem and the base pats thinned brown at both ends and wipes it inward. Barn star with its paint worn off at the tips sponges gray over the points.
What can I stencil on a chalk painted pumpkin?
The Stenciled words group has 12, most in capitals: FARM FRESH in an arch over a small painted pumpkin, HOME with a small pumpkin standing in for the O, or Crate stamp: your town, PUMPKIN CO. and a year.