Create Halloween pumpkin art with an easy watercolor technique called “raised salt painting.” Toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, and kids of all ages will enjoy using this watercolor painting method to create a raised salt art pumpkin craft. (First published September 26, 2016; this post is updated and republished to improve the content.)
Invite children to make this friendly Halloween pumpkin salt painting, with or without a Jack o’ lantern face, for an easy Halloween art project for kids. It is a fun Halloween art idea that can help toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, and elementary-aged children strengthen and develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Use this excellent watercolor painting technique to create a raised salt art Halloween pumpkin craft with children at home or in the classroom!
Toddlers and preschoolers may need some assistance creating Halloween pumpkin art, while older children and teens can complete pumpkin arts and crafts, such as this salt art pumpkin craft, from start to finish on their own. Check out these excellent Halloween Art Projects for Kids for more cool Halloween ideas!
Halloween Pumpkin Art Project for Kids
Get into the spirit this season with this fun Halloween pumpkin art project for kids! Salt painting is an easy watercolor painting technique that kids will LOVE!
Related: The Best Fall Art Project for Kids
You can complete your Halloween pumpkin salt art painting with liquid watercolors and pipettes–or paintbrushes. Or you can use a solid watercolor pallet with a cup of water and a paintbrush. Both options are great for helping children develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. See the directions below for more information.
Related: Harvest Pumpkin Art
Pumpkin Salt Painting Craft Supplies
- Black cardstock (construction paper is too thin to handle the weight of this project)
- White-colored pencil
- White glue
- Table salt
- Liquid watercolors or a solid watercolor pallet
- Paintbrush or pipette
Halloween Pumpkin Salt Painting Project Video Tutorial
My daughter made her Halloween pumpkin art on our DIY outdoor art table and mud kitchen. Click the link to learn how to make one for your yard or patio!
Related: Gorgeous Glowing Halloween Lanterns
Halloween Pumpkin Salt Art Step-by-Step Craft Directions
As mentioned above, there are a few different ways to make Halloween salt art. Please read through each step of the pumpkin art project instructions before starting your pumpkin craft. Look at the salt art projects listed below for more salt painting tips. They each use the same salt and watercolor painting technique to achieve different results. Aren’t these salt painting projects beautiful!?
- Harvest Pumpkin Art Project
- Heart Art Salt Painting
- Rainbow Shamrock Art Salt Painting
- Saint Patrick’s Day Raised Salt Shamrock Art Project
1. Draw a Halloween pumpkin outline onto black cardstock using a white colored pencil.
- Invite children to draw a pumpkin with or without a Jack o’ Lantern face.
- Toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners may need a parent, teacher, or caregiver to help them with this step, while older children can be encouraged to draw pumpkin art independently.
How to Draw a Pumpkin Outline for this Halloween Pumpkin Craft:
- It’s pretty easy to draw a pumpkin and doesn’t need to be perfect.
- Do your best to copy the pumpkin art template pictured below with a white colored pencil on black cardstock.
- Draw each pumpkin section by sketching tall skinny forwards and backward “Cs taller on the outside than in the middle of the gourd.”
- Creating a Halloween Jack o’ Lantern face on the pumpkin art is optional.
2. Trace the Halloween pumpkin outline with white glue.
- Use white glue to trace the outline of your pumpkin art.
- If you have a Jack O’Lantern face in the middle, trace the Halloween pumpkin’s outline or fill the eyes and mouth with white glue. (This salt painting project idea shows the latter option.)
- Young children may need help with this step.
- Do not wait for the glue to dry before moving on to the next step.
- Please Note: The colors will bleed into each other if the glue and salt lines touch. Keep the glue and salt lines for the face and stem separate from the pumpkin art if you do not want the colors to run.
Related: Halloween Handouts: Healthy Alternatives and Non-Candy Halloween Treats
3. Sprinkle table salt over the pumpkin art glue lines.
- Sprinkle salt on the pumpkin art to cover the white glue completely.
- Once again, do not wait for the glue to dry before moving on to the next step.
4. Shake the excess salt off of the Halloween pumpkin outline.
- Shake off the excess table salt immediately after you are finished sprinkling it on top of the glue.
- Please do not wait for the glue to dry before covering it with salt, nor wait for the glue and salt lines to dry before painting them, or the raised salt watercolor painting method used to create this Halloween art project may not work.
- Please watch the Halloween salt painting video tutorial posted above these instructions to see this step in action.
5. Paint the Halloween pumpkin salt art with watercolors.
- Use a pipette or paintbrush to apply liquid watercolor paint to the salt stuck to the glue lines.
- If you use a watercolor pallet instead of liquid watercolor paints, apply the paint with a paintbrush instead of a pipette. Please don’t forget that you will need a cup of water to rinse the paintbrush to make Halloween pumpkin art.
- Begin by painting the outline of the pumpkin art before moving on to the jack o’ lantern face (if any). This will decrease the probability that the orange watercolor paint will run into the yellow eyes of the Halloween pumpkin as the child paints.
- Remember, the colors will bleed into each other if the lines of the pumpkin art touch. So make sure you keep the lines for the face and stem separate from the pumpkin’s glue and salt lines if you do not want the colors to run. Ensure that you apply the green paint sparingly if you want to keep it from running into the pumpkin’s orange lines and blending to make a blackish color.
- You can see that the orange and green combined a bit in our Halloween salt painting pictured below. The top of the pumpkin looks a little black, where the orange and green watercolor paint became mixed.
or paintbrush
to apply liquid watercolor paint
to the salt stuck to the glue lines. 
instead of a pipette. Please don’t forget that you will need a cup of water to rinse the paintbrush to make Halloween pumpkin art.Halloween Pumpkin Salt Painting Tips for Toddlers and Preschoolers
In the photos above and below, you can see that we decided to trace the Halloween pumpkin and paint it first. After my daughter painted the pumpkin, she traced the stem and face with glue, added salt, shook it off, and then painted the jack o’ lantern face. Doing it this way can help young children focus on one step at a time.
Notice that the orange and yellow stayed separate because the glue and salt lines did not touch. This is also because we invited the toddler to paint the outline of the pumpkin craft with orange first.
Related: Fall Leaves Watercolor Art
Best Halloween Pumpkin Art Idea
Creating Halloween pumpkin art salt painting is an easy art project for kids that only takes minutes to set up. Kids of all ages will enjoy the easy craft technique used to create this raised salt watercolor craft. Try it today!
More Salt Painting Art Project Ideas for Kids
For more salt painting ideas that use the same watercolor painting techniques–check out these other fun salt art projects for kids:
More Halloween Ideas for Kids
For more Halloween fun, check out this glowing pumpkin or this glowing ghost calm-down sensory bottle DIYs. They each make a great calm-down DIY Halloween toy and decoration that is perfect for kids who get a little anxious and overwhelmed with all the friendly frights found on Halloween night.
You may also like this incredible collection of Halloween Art Projects Kids LOVE! It’s filled with several fun Halloween art projects you can try with the kids at home or in the classroom. And don’t forget to check out our fall bucket list of fun fall activities for the best autumn ever!
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
More Seasonal and Halloween Ideas
- Pumpkin Patch Field Trip Ideas (Includes our favorite pumpkin books!)
- Top 10 DIY Halloween Lanterns
- Tissue Paper Ghost Craft
- 13 Healthy Treats and Fun Alternatives for Halloween
- Top 10 Fall Nature Crafts (Contains pumpkin carving and other Jack O’ Lantern ideas)
- Spider Egg Sac Decoration
- Giant Stick Spider Web Halloween Decoration
- Spider Craft for Kids
I do not understand what you mean about not letting the glue and salt touch. Is there one line or two? Also does the paint go on the glue or just the salt?
I’m sorry I did not make it clear Sharon. The glue and salt have to touch, just make sure the orange lines of the pumpkin do not touch the lines that will be green or yellow if you do not want the colors to run. You will paint the salt AND the glue. You will need to pour salt on the glue, shake off the excess, and then paint the salt that is now stuck to the glue. I hope that makes sense.
Yes that makes sense. Thanks for responding back. It looks like a cute project for my grandson!!
You’re welcom Sharon! I’m sure your grandson will love this project, my daughter sure did! I just published another post today with a similar process that will help it make more sense. You can find it here: https://rhythmsofplay.com/harvest-pumpkin-watercolor-art-project/
This is great! It’s crazy how the paint flows into the salt glue.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this pumpkin art project, Ben. I’m always amazed by how much liquid watercolor paint the salt and glue lines can absorb when creating a salt painting. Salt paintings are always fun to make!