Decorating with the Season

1. Decorating with the Season Housing

2. Checkerboard Glow  An unusual carving technique gives this pumpkin a checkerboard glow. When carving, etch just the skin of the pumpkin without slicing all the way through the shell. The deeper you cut, the brighter the radiance. Nest your clever creation in a twig wreath accented with artificial berry vines.

3. Your Address Pumpkin house number sign. Stack small, medium, and large Cinderella pumpkins.

4. One Perfect Pumpkin  Inside a decorative urn, a bed of fall leaves and twigs makes a textural foundation for a perfect pumpkin. This idea can easily be adapted to any size container. 

5. Lollipop Delight  Elevate a perfect pumpkin atop boxes, like these harlequin chests, to show off the sweet treats you'll hand out to visitors. Predrill holes in the pumpkin, and stick a lollipop into each hole.

6. Leaf Design Pumpkins Trace around real or artificial leaves, or press leaf-shaped cookie cutters into a pumpkin to get the outline for carving. Cut out the entire shape, as shown here, or merely scrape away the top layers of pumpkin for a more "glowing" effect.

7. Pottery Design This pale pumpkin got an instant makeover from shallow lines that mimic the look of the pottery bowls nearby.

8. Stencil Savvy  Scraping out the inside of the pumpkin to a thinner depth will make it easier to carve intricate designs like these. Use wood-carving tools to carve the desired designs into the pumpkin skin.

9. Artful Scene  Not a face, but a weeping willow decorates this pretty pumpkin. Choose any design you desire, making sure it will be possible to carve.

10. Message Pumpkin Create a stencil to get your Halloween message across! Carving this into an artificial pumpkin will let you pull it out year after year.

11. White Pumpkin with Quilt Squares  An old quilt pattern inspired this patchwork design. After applying a base coat of cream-colored latex paint, create the pattern by masking off squares and painting a top coat of khaki. Slightly adjust the pattern around curves.

12. Sweetly Simple  Unique patterns, a house number, and candlesticks embellish this trio of pumpkins perched on the stairs up to the front door.

13. Monogrammed PumpkinsTurn a pair of urns into statuesque pedestals for an arrangement of monogrammed pumpkins. Begin by choosing a font for the letters in a wordprocessing program on your computer. Then simply print them out at the desired size, and use them as patterns to cut out the letters.

14. Sequin-Striped Pumpkin As elegant as a dancer's dress, this pumpkin dons stripes of sequins in silver and black.

15. Trio of Whites White pumpkins are becoming more popular and add an air of elegance to indoor or outdoor decor. Leave them as is, or decorate with paint or gilding for a more formal look.

16. A Trio of Color  Add interest to a porch display by selecting pumpkins in small, medium, and large sizes. Set against a backdrop of a tall cornstalk bundle, the white pumpkin really stands out as the focal point.

17. Decked Out for Fall Keep pumpkins in top shape by leaving them uncarved for most of October. This pleasing display of pumpkins, gourds, and potted mums will greet visitors until Halloween rolls around.

18. Floral Favorites A variety of potted plants, including several colors of mums, introduces a bit of fall color to the corner of this front porch. One pretty pumpkin looks right at home and can be carved with a face later in October