Using craft paint and a sponge ‘brush’, paint your boxes the desired color(s). Have fun with it! Use paints with different finishes and textures. A regular paint brush will work just fine, but I prefer using a sponge ‘brush’ to eliminate brushstrokes, and achieve a smooth, flawless finish.

It is optional to coat the inside of the box with paint. You can also use card stock to line the insides of the boxes, if desired.

Use a decent-quality paint—you’ll need less coats, and get better coverage. I also prefer using glitter paint as opposed to glue and glitter (as seen on one of the boxes, above).

Using craft paint and a sponge ‘brush’, paint the pumpkins (or paper mache ornaments, if using) the desired color. I used a matte solid orange for my pumpkins and black for the cat.

It’s important to use a good-quality paint to eliminate the need for several coats. The Martha Stewart Everyday paint pictured here worked great; I needed only 1-2 coats of this paint, while the other cheapo one pictured next to it was a nightmare and would have taken about 10 coats. BEWARE.

I have an assortment of spooky paper punches, so I just used those to cut out out long strips of spiderweb cutouts, and atomic starbursts. If you don’t have any fancy paper punches, you can cut them out by hand with scissors or an Xacto.

Using Mod Podge and a sponge brush, attach the paper cutouts and embellishments to boxes. Allow to dry, and then completely seal with a couple of additional coats of Mod Podge. Use thin coats so it doesn’t bubble up or wrinkle the paper.

A hairdryer on ‘med/low’ will help speed up the drying process, but heat can make the Mod Podge bubble and wrinkle, so it’s important to use thin coats combined with very low heat.

Now we’re going back to the pumpkins/toppers. Using a pencil or fine-point pen, draw the face on your pumpkins. If you mess up—don’t worry! All mistakes can be cleaned up with orange paint.

I looked at pictures of vintage Halloween decorations for inspiration on how to draw these.

Next, fill in facial features with craft paint in desired colors. I always begin with the lightest color first, with the exception of highlights in the eyes. In this case, I used a bright yellow.

To fill in small areas, use a tiny brush or trim down an inexpensive paint brush to shorten the bristles and really gain control.

Now you’re going to add the black paint to the facial features. If you don’t have a steady hand…use paint pens or a good ‘ole Sharpie marker! Then clean up any rough edges with orange paint.

Use a small brush or a toothpick to add white highlights to the eyes and teeth. Remember the cheapo paint I advised you NOT to use, above? Those cheapo paints are totally fine for super small details like the faces, but not ideal for covering a large area.

While the pumpkin faces are drying, make a collar for your pumpkin!

You can use cupcake wrappers, crepe paper strips, or simply craft paper folded accordion style. The collar pictured above is made of strips of paper cut out with a spiderweb paper punch, folded accordion style, and then secured with glue.

If you’re using a glue that takes a while to dry or get tacky, I like to use small binder clips or paper clips to hold them together until completely dry. If you’re short on time or impatient, hot glue would be the fastest route to take here.

If you’re going the cupcake wrapper route, simply flatten 2-3 cupcake wrappers, and poke a hole in the middle. You’ll attach these to the bottom of the pumpkin just before you attach it to the lid, in the last step.

Using a sharp object, such as an awl or a nail, poke a hole in the center of the box.

Then poke a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin. Dip the end of a toothpick in a bit of glue, and insert it into the bottom of the pumpkin. Allow to fully dry before attaching it to the lid.

After it has completely dried, add glue to the bottom of the pumpkin, at the collar, and then stick the toothpick into the hole in the lid; use glue on the underside of the lid to make sure it is securely attached.

Secure the lid onto the box to keep it upright as the glue dries.