All-white stack with only the top stem in goldMatte white, gold. Three white layers; the lower stems are hidden by the pumpkin above.
Metal stack: bronze at the bottom, then copper, gold on topBronze, copper, gold. Darkest metal at the bottom and brightest on top; the top stem left natural.
Pewter coat with the grooves wiped back to blackBlack, pewter. Black all over and left to dry; pewter sprayed on and wiped out of each groove with a rag.
Black fading upward into bare orange, sprayed from belowBlack on bare orange. Short passes aimed up from the base; the top third gets no paint at all.
Brass above the middle, cream below, split by one tape lineBrass, cream. Cream all over first; a tape line around the widest part; brass on the upper half only.
Chrome silver minis heaped in a bowlChrome silver. A dozen mini pumpkins sprayed on a sheet of card, rolled once and sprayed again.
Copper from base to tip, stem and allCopper. The whole pumpkin in one metal, turned a quarter between passes so every groove fills.
Hammered bronze look on a warty pumpkinBronze, dark brown. Brown first; a light bronze pass from one side so each wart gets a bright face.
Matte navy with a bronze dusting only on the shouldersNavy, bronze. Solid navy; one distant pass of bronze from straight above, so only the top catches it.
Matte white coat with the stem kept its natural brownMatte white. The stem is wrapped in tape before the first pass and unwrapped after the last.
Only the stem sprayed copper, the pumpkin left as it grewCopper on bare orange. A paper bag with a hole covers the body; the stem alone takes the paint.
Pale blue left in the grooves under a dry pearl-white passPale blue, pearl white. Blue all over; then a light white pass from the side that skips the grooves.
Pewter coat with the grooves wiped back to blackBlack, pewter. Black all over and left to dry; pewter sprayed on and wiped out of each groove with a rag.
Rose gold body under a matte black stemRose gold, matte black. The body first; then a card collar around the stem while it gets the black.
Sunset fade from three cans: yellow, orange, magentaYellow, orange, magenta. Yellow at the shoulder, magenta at the base, each band misted into the next.
Glitter and sparkle 12
Crescent moon in silver glitter on a midnight blue coatMidnight blue, silver glitter. One glue crescent on the smoothest face; three glitter dots beside it.
Disco pumpkin: silver coat under a grid of square gemsChrome silver, square mirror gems. Rows of gems around the pumpkin, as close as the curve lets them sit.
Frosted look: white glitter over white for a snowy pumpkinMatte white, white glitter. Glue over the top half only, heaviest at the shoulder, like settled snow.
Gem collar around the stem on a pearl-white coatPearl white, clear stick-on gems. Three close rings of gems where the stem meets the shoulder.
Gems trailing down three grooves like strings of beadsAny dark coat, stick-on gems. Large gems at the top of each groove, smaller and wider apart lower down.
Glitter arrowheads pointing down the front in three metalsWhite, gold, copper and silver glitter. Three nested V shapes, their points lined up on one rib.
Glitter run down every groove, the ribs left plainOne metallic coat, matching glitter. A line of glue painted into each groove from stem to base.
Glitter thick at the shoulder and thinning toward the baseBlush pink, rose glitter. Glue brushed densely around the top and dabbed thinner on the way down.
Glue-dot polka dots turned to glitter on a navy coatNavy, gold glitter. Dots of glue from a round sponge brush, spaced a thumb apart, glitter shaken over.
Gold glitter skirt below a tape line, matte white aboveMatte white, gold glitter. Tape around the middle; glue and glitter on the lower half; tape off.
Stem rolled in silver glitter on a matte black pumpkinMatte black, silver glitter. The body is sprayed and dried first; glue goes on the stem alone.
Two glitters meeting: gold from the top, copper from belowCream, gold and copper glitter. Each glitter fades out toward the middle, where they mix.
Stripes, dots and taped patterns 12
Copper zigzags masked with short tape pieces on whiteWhite, copper. White coat; two zigzag bands of short tape pieces; copper over everything; tape off.
Diagonal lattice of thin tape lines on sage greenCream, sage green. Cream first; thin tape crossed both ways on the slant; sage over it; tape off.
Fine speckle from a half-pressed nozzle, white over charcoalCharcoal, white. A solid charcoal coat; the white nozzle pressed halfway so it spits coarse dots.
Fish-scale pattern sprayed through a stretched net bagTeal over silver. Silver first; a net fruit bag pulled tight over the pumpkin; teal misted through.
Harlequin diamonds taped around the widest partBlack, cream. Cream all over; crossing diagonal tape strips in a band; black sprayed across the band.
Pinstripes in the grooves, the ribs kept white under tapeWhite, black. White coat; a strip of wide tape down every rib; black into the gaps; tape off.
Round stickers peeled off a navy coat for orange dotsNavy on bare orange. Round office stickers pressed on in rows, sprayed over and picked off.
Scallop rows misted along a curved card, darker each rowPale pink, rose, plum. A card with a scalloped edge held against the pumpkin and moved down row by row.
Tape rays from the stem peeled to leave an orange starburstBlack on bare orange. Eight tape strips run from the stem to the base; black over all; strips peeled.
Three color blocks divided along the groovesMustard, teal, white. Tape pressed into three grooves; each third sprayed its own color behind a card.
Tiny ring outlines left by paper hole reinforcersGold over white. White coat; ring stickers scattered all over; gold sprayed; rings picked off.
Wandering bare-orange lines left by wrapped kitchen stringWhite on bare orange. String wrapped around many times at random; white sprayed over; the string unwound.
Names, initials and words 12
EEK stenciled three times in rising sizesPurple, white. Purple coat; the small word near the base, a larger one above, the largest at the top.
Family name lettered in one ring around the middleMatte black, white. A sprayed black coat; the name and small stars repeat in white paint pen around it.
First name stacked downward on a tall pumpkinAny coat, a contrasting letter color. One stencil letter per row from the shoulder to the base.
HELLO FALL through a card stencil, one word per lineCream, forest green. Cream coat; two lines of capitals centered on the front in green.
HEY THERE, PUMPKIN in two lines of stencil capitalsWhite, rust. White coat; a card stencil held flat line by line; rust misted through from close up.
Name in looping glue script dusted with gold glitterWhite, gold glitter. A sprayed white coat; the name written with a glue bottle and covered in glitter.
OCT 31 in block numerals for the porch stepMatte black, white. Black coat; OCT above and 31 below, both stenciled in white at full width.
One tall initial cut from tape, copper sprayed around itCream, copper. Cream coat; a single capital built from tape strips; copper over it; tape peeled.
PICK OF THE PATCH lettered around the shoulderSage, cream. Sage coat; the four words run once around the pumpkin just under the stem in cream pen.
Sticker-letter name peeled to show bare orange under whiteWhite on bare orange. Letter stickers spell the name across the front; white over all; letters lifted.
TRICK OR TREAT above an arrow that points at the doorBlack, orange. Black coat; three words stacked on the front and one arrow under them, stenciled.
Trio of stencil initials, the middle one half again as tallNavy, gold. Navy coat; three gold stencil capitals side by side, the middle one half again as tall.
Stacked pumpkins 12
Address stack with one digit of the house number per layerAny one coat, white. A large stencil numeral on the front of each pumpkin, top to bottom.
All-white stack with only the top stem in goldMatte white, gold. Three white layers; the lower stems are hidden by the pumpkin above.
Black-and-white stack: stripes, a solid layer, dotsBlack, white. Taped stripes on the bottom layer, plain black in the middle, sticker dots on top.
Cake stack: three tiers with white drip icing on eachPink, white. Each layer pink; a wavy white band sprayed behind a card around the top of every tier.
Metal stack: bronze at the bottom, then copper, gold on topBronze, copper, gold. Darkest metal at the bottom and brightest on top; the top stem left natural.
Mini stack of five in rust, mustard, olive, plum and creamFive fall colors. Five minis sprayed one color each and stacked from dark to light.
One taped stripe running up the whole stackWhite, red. Three white pumpkins; a stripe taped on each so the three stripes line up when stacked.
Pattern stack: plaid at the bottom, dots, then stripesCream, navy, rust. The same three colors on every layer; only the pattern changes.
Plain, glitter, plain: one sparkling layer in the middleCharcoal, silver glitter. Two matte charcoal layers with a glitter-covered pumpkin between them.
Stack of three in three finishes: white, copper, blackMatte white, copper, matte black. One color for each flat pumpkin; the largest at the bottom.
Topiary stack in a plant pot, largest pumpkin at the bottomThree greens. Light, mid and dark green from the top down; the pot keeps its own color.
TRICK, OR, TREAT on a stack of threeBlack, orange, white. Each layer a different color with one stenciled word, read from the top down.
How it works
These spray painted pumpkin ideas are for an adult with a can: the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's craft guide says to avoid self-pressurized containers with children up to 12. The 60 designs are in five groups of 12.
Read the full guide
Glitter painted pumpkin ideas
Glitter and sparkle holds 12, and most start with a sprayed coat. Glitter run down every groove, the ribs left plain puts glue only where the pumpkin dips; Stem rolled in silver glitter on a matte black pumpkin leaves the body plain.
Stacked pumpkin painting ideas
Stacked pumpkins holds 12 for flat pumpkins that sit on each other. Metal stack: bronze at the bottom, then copper, gold on top is three cans and no pattern; One taped stripe running up the whole stack has to be lined up before the tape goes on.
Questions and answers
What are some pumpkin painting ideas with names?
Names, initials and words has 12. Sticker-letter name peeled to show bare orange under white uses letter stickers as the mask, and First name stacked downward on a tall pumpkin suits a long name.
What are some bling pumpkin painting ideas?
Three use stick-on gems over a sprayed coat: Gem collar around the stem on a pearl-white coat, Gems trailing down three grooves like strings of beads, and Disco pumpkin: silver coat under a grid of square gems.
How do you get a pattern with spray paint?
Cover what should stay, spray, then uncover it. Round stickers peeled off a navy coat for orange dots uses office stickers; Tape rays from the stem peeled to leave an orange starburst uses eight strips of tape.
Can children spray paint pumpkins?
This list is written for adults. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission's guide lists self-pressurized containers among materials to avoid with children up to 12, and its spray painting section sets out the precautions for aerosol cans. The site also has brush-painted pumpkin lists.