How to Make a Vampire Pumpkin for Halloween Decor

I kept seeing silly little vampire pumpkins pop up online and knew I had to make a vampire pumpkin of my own.

Using a small pumpkin or decorative gourd and adding plastic fangs gives each one so much personality without making it scary.

They're a fun project for anyone who likes Halloween decorations that lean more cute and quirky than creepy.

Grab a few little gourds, and let's turn them into an adorable group of vampires!

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Supply List

• Small Decorative Gourds
• Printable Mouth Template
• Plastic Vampire Teeth
• Small Knife
• Spoon
• Hand Towel
• Masking Tape
• Embossing Stylus
• Googly Eyes
• Hot Glue Gun

Prepare the Pumpkins

When selecting your pumpkins or gourds, look for ones that sit securely on their bottom or side. It's hard to display a silly vampire pumpkin when it won't stay in place. 😆

You can also have fun with the different shapes. A tall, skinny gourd or a squat little pumpkin can give each vampire a completely different personality. There really isn't one perfect pumpkin for this project, which makes choosing them part of the fun.

Start by printing the free mouth template. It includes two different mouth sizes, one for closed teeth and another for open teeth.

The mouths on the template were wider than my plastic fangs, so I used a pencil to mark new lines and adjusted the width to fit my teeth better.

Before carving, hold the teeth against the template and make any adjustments you need.

I'm creating four vampire pumpkins, so I decided to make two with closed teeth and two with open teeth.

The two larger gourds will get the open vampire teeth.

While I made four different vampire pumpkin faces, I'm only showing the process on one since the steps are the same for each.

Before carving, I gave each gourd a good bath to remove any remaining dirt and then dried them completely.

Pumpkins and gourds are technically fruits, even though we often think of them alongside fall vegetables.

Then I rolled both ends of a hand towel toward the center and nestled the pumpkin between them.

This creates a little cradle that keeps the pumpkin from rolling around while you work, which is especially helpful when you're using sharp objects.

Carve the Vampire Mouth

Cut around the mouth template, leaving some paper around the outside of the design. You don't need to cut directly on the mouth lines.

Tape the template where you want the mouth, then use an embossing stylus to trace the shape, pressing firmly enough to leave an impression in the pumpkin.

Remove the paper and trace over the impression again with the stylus if you need to make the outline easier to see.

For the mouth opening, start small. You can always remove a little more pumpkin, but you can't put it back once it's gone.

Carefully use a small knife to carve out the mouth. Keep the blade straight up and down instead of cutting at an angle so the opening has straight edges for the teeth.

Once the mouth is open, use a spoon to scoop out as many of the seeds and stringy pumpkin guts as you can reach.

Since I'm not turning these into traditional pumpkin lanterns or putting a candle inside, the entire pumpkin doesn't need to be perfectly clean.

I just remove as much as I reasonably can through the mouth opening.

Now comes the fun part. Try inserting the vampire teeth into the opening.

If they don't fit, take note of exactly where the opening needs to be larger. Instead of making one big cut, trim away a little at a time and test the teeth again.

This is one of those times when going slowly really does make things easier.

It took me about three rounds of fitting and trimming before my teeth fit perfectly.

Add the Googly Eyes

I wanted my vampires to look silly instead of scary, so I used googly eyes. The different eye sizes and slightly crooked placement give each vampire its own expression.

Heat your hot glue gun, then roll a small piece of masking tape between your fingers, sticky side out.

Use the tape to pick up the googly eye so you can position it without holding the tiny edges close to the hot glue. Add a small amount of glue to the back of the eye and press it onto the pumpkin, then repeat with the second eye.

And just like that, he looks much more menacing. 😂

All four of my vampire pumpkins turned out a little different, which is exactly what makes them so much fun.

Set several together to make a funny Halloween centerpiece, or tuck individual pumpkins onto shelves and tabletops with the rest of your Halloween decor.

You can change the look by choosing different pumpkin shapes, mixing up the googly eyes, or changing the fang position. Even though these designs are simple, each little vampire ends up with a personality of its own.

Frequently Asked Questions

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