Pumpkin Decor that Works from Halloween to Thanksgiving

It's that time of year when we see pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors adorning front porches and hearths. On Halloween night, many a pumpkin will be aglow with a cute or scary Jack O'Lantern smile. But there are so many more ways to decorate pumpkins than just carving them or painting them.

A few fresh ways to decorate pumpkins -- and decorate with them -- are below. The wonderful thing about decorating pumpkins in these unusual ways is that they last and last, and look perfectly seasonal all the way through Thanksgiving.

Glitter Them
Spray on glitter spray on the top, or wipe with thinned white glue and sprinkle with glitter. I saw some fantastic glitter in harvest colors at the hobby store -- golds, bronzes, and coppers -- but clear glitter in the "mica" (small round circles) style looks fabulous, too -- almost like frost.

Snow-Top
Fake snow paint, found year-round in the paint section of hobby stores, can be applied to stem and top of any pumpkin to give it that "frost on the pumpkin" look! Add a few berries to the snow and you have a decoration that can go all the way to Christmas, Kwanzaa or Hanukkah!

Grubby Them
The "primitive" or colonial look is all the rage this season. Get in on the trend this way: Take three strips of cheesecloth that are coffee-dyed (just dunk in a cup of leftover coffee!) and lay them criss-cross like an asterisk. Set the pumpkin on the center of the strips, then pull them up (six ends to pull up) and tie with a piece of raffia at the stem.

Give Them A Halo...
A bunch of sweet Annie is perfect for your primitive decorating, but a candle ring of fall flowers or berries looks great, too. Just pop a candle ring over the stem and you're done!

Set Them On A "Nest"
Swirl a big handful of raffia into a nest shape and place the pumpkin on it...looks great in 3's.