• Try some nontraditional decorating methods for your pumpkins.Orange Pumpkins image by Lucy Cherniak from Fotolia.com
  
  Halloween decorations usually involve pumpkins, which are traditionally carved into spooky faces or even spiders and scary cats. Pumpkins can still take center stage in your decor, even if they are not carved. Uncarved pumpkins will last longer as well, so you can start decorating your pumpkins for Halloween a month or two early without ending up with mush for trick-or-treat.
  
  

Sparkling Pumpkins

• Add a glittery finish to your pumpkins this year. Paint the stem of your pumpkin with a dark color, such as black or brown, with craft paint and let it dry. Apply a thin layer of white glue over the whole pumpkin and sprinkle glitter over it. Try white or black glitter for a bold and high-contrast look or harvest tones such as gold, brown and orange for a more natural look.
  
  

Jeweled Pumpkins

• Create a jewel-encrusted pumpkin to adorn your front step or table arrangement on Halloween. Paint your pumpkin with craft paint in a single color of your choice and let it dry. Draw scrolling lines or shapes over the surface of the pumpkin with a pencil. Apply self-adhesive rhinestones over your drawn lines to add sparkle to your design.
  
  

Painted Pumpkin Faces

• Make a traditional-looking pumpkin display without the carving or the mess. Draw a pumpkin face, just like one you would normally carve, onto the face of your pumpkin with permanent marker. Paint over the marker lines, and fill in the areas that would be carved out with black paint. This makes the pumpkin face visible even during daylight.
  
  

Scratch-Off Pumpkin Art

• Make a spooky distressed look on your pumpkin by using scratch art. Paint your pumpkin in a dark color, such as navy blue, crimson red or pitch black, with tempera paint. Tempera paint works best because it scratches off the surface of the pumpkin with ease. Allow the paint to dry completely and use a toothpick to scratch designs into the pumpkin. Write names and messages, or draw faces and scary scenes. The area you scratch off will be the pumpkin's original color.