DIY Halloween Garden Decorations: Painted Pumpkin and Frankenstein

Adult Craft

DIY Halloween Garden Decorations: Painted Pumpkin & Frankenstein

💸 Free (supplies I already owned) ⏱ 30 minutes, plus paint dry time 👨‍👧 Can be done with kids

Painted orange jack-o-lantern and green Frankenstein wooden Halloween decorations leaning against a stone wall in a garden bed with a scarecrow

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The idea

These Halloween garden decorations cost me nothing. The pumpkin is a cut-down piece of 2x4 that was already lying around the house, and Frankenstein is a Dollarama wood board I was going to use for something else. I already owned the paints, the brushes and the Sharpie, so this one is a completely “free” craft.

They took about 30 minutes to make, not including paint drying time, and they look great leaning in a garden bed by the front door.

Fun tip: This can be done with kids too! The paint and the simple faces are an easy way to get them involved.

Watch the quick version

Materials

A piece of 2x4 cut down to size, for the pumpkin (mine was an offcut from around the house)
A wood board from Dollarama, for Frankenstein
Acrylic paint: orange, green, black and white
A wide brush and a small brush
A Sharpie

A piece of 2x4 and a Dollarama wood board with bottles of orange, green and black acrylic paint, a wide paintbrush and a small paintbrush

What we did

Step 1: Paint the base colors

Paint the 2x4 orange for the pumpkin and the Dollarama board green for Frankenstein. I did two coats of each color, letting the paint dry in between.

Step 2: Draw the pumpkin face

Draw the jack-o-lantern face with the Sharpie: two triangle eyes, a small triangle nose and a big toothy grin. Then fill the shapes in with black paint.

Step 3: Draw Frankenstein

Draw Frankenstein's hair, eyebrows and a stitched mouth with the Sharpie, then add a few stitches on his body. Paint the hair black and add two white eyes with black pupils.

Finished painted green Frankenstein board with black hair, white eyes and stitches, next to an orange pumpkin board with a black jack-o-lantern face

Result

Two cheerful Halloween decorations made from scrap wood and paint we already had. Lean them against the house or in a garden bed, and they're ready for trick-or-treaters.