3 Easy DIY Halloween Pumpkin Lantern Tutorials

As Halloween approaches, it’s time to start thinking about spooky decorations to add to your home. One classic Halloween decoration that never goes out of style is the pumpkin lantern.

However, carving a pumpkin can be messy and time-consuming. That’s why we’ve put together three easy DIY projects that are perfect for adding a festive touch to your home.

These step-by-step tutorials are sure to inspire your IKEA Halloween decorations. So grab your crafting tools, and let’s get started!

1. IKEA pumpkin lantern hack

pumpkin lantern DIY
Image credit: Meg Fairfax Fielding

Meg had two of these round-globed lanterns from IKEA and decided to try and make pumpkins out of them for Halloween decor.

It took her a few hours (mainly waiting for the paint to dry), but these lanterns can be used through the fall season without worrying about pumpkins getting moldy and soft.

And she can reuse them next year to decorate for Halloween. Or scrub out the paint and use them as lanterns again. Here’s how she made the DIY pumpkin lantern.

Materials for pumpkin lantern:

First, paint the insides of the globes orange. Thin a suitable amount of paint and pour it inside the globe. Swirl the paint around the insides, coating every bit of exposed glass. You may need to do two or three coats of the color, letting it dry in between.

pumpkin lantern DIY
Image credit: Meg Fairfax Fielding

Then, find some Halloween images online and trace them onto paper. Cut the pictures out. Place the pictures on the glass globe and mark around the edges with an orange marker. Next, fill in the images with black paint. Again you may need two coats.

Lastly, reassemble the lanterns and put a battery-operated LED candle in them. Light them up, and voila! A Halloween pumpkin lantern.

See more of the DIY Halloween pumpkin lantern on my blog.

2. DIY Paper Pumpkin lantern

IKEA Halloween hack
Image credit: Ben Sylvar

A super fun IKEA Halloween hack. It’s also an easy craft for kids. Ben shares his Halloween lantern, made with one 8ml tube of cadmium orange Cotman watercolor and one 17¾” REGOLIT paper lampshade.

Do not over-dilute the watercolor, and use short quick strokes to cover the entire surface. Paint it all around, let it dry, and then go over the lamp again with a second coat. Let it dry and see if there are any missing spots, which you can then paint again.

What do you think? Should he draw a Jack o’Lantern face onto it or leave it as a harvest moon?

You can use a HEMMA lamp cord to light up the lantern. But I recommend using battery-operated bulb lights so you don’t have to bother with cables and power outlets. This will also let you make a few more IKEA lanterns and light up the porch or hang them along the sidewalk.

3. FADO turned IKEA Jack o’lantern

IKEA Halloween hack

Materials:

  • Black paint or marker
  • Orange IKEA FADO lamp
FADO hack

Get spooky for Halloween with this IKEA FADO hack. All you need to do is draw the desired Jack o’lantern face onto the FADO lamp. If you’re unsure what to do, many images are on the Internet. Search and save a version you like. Please print it out and trace it on the lamp. Or you can free-hand it. I love how it glows! Better than a carved pumpkin, seriously!

If you can’t get an orange FADO lamp, you can use a can of spray paint to color the lamp orange. Use light strokes and let it dry well to avoid streaking.

Andre’s scary pumpkin light

IKEA FADO pumpkin jack o lantern
Image credit: Andre

Andre had some leftover vinyl scraps from his wall art installation. Inspiration struck, and he cut out three triangle shapes and a creepy zigzag smile. He used glue to stick them on the IKEA FADO lamp, and boo! A spooktacular IKEA pumpkin lamp. Perfect table to set next to the Halloween window decorations. It’s completely reversible too.

IKEA Halloween must-have: the Pumpor

IKEA Halloween pumpkin hack
Image credit: Conrad

Well, I won’t call the next one an IKEA hack; it’s more like a spoof. Conrad made a flat-packed IKEA Halloween pumpkin, complete with IKEA name, nuts, bolts, and confusing illustrated assembly instructions. A different kind of Halloween craft to give your friends? It’s worth considering.

“I would have gone with “Gort” or added a couple of umlauts to “Pumpor,” commented Andrew when the post first went viral.

Brtgrl said, “Simply put, brilliant! You had better get the selling and creating rights to this before those Swedes at IKEA hack this to ‘death’ for next year’s Halloween …”

Two others commented that they were late to the game and would try the idea for next year’s Halloween fun.

What are your thoughts on a flat-packed pumpkin or other Halloween decorating ideas? Please share it with us below.