How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds
Learn how to dye pumpkin seeds with this easy tutorial! Colour pumpkin seeds with liquid watercolor paint and use the beautiful rainbow coloured seeds for sensory play or crafts!
Dyed Pumpkin Seed Crafts
Dyeing pumpkin seeds is such a fun activity to do after going to the pumpkin patch and carving your jack-o-lantern! Simply clean off the seeds and you can easily colour them with liquid watercolor paint.
We had a lot of fun using the seeds from our own fresh pumpkin, but if you don’t have one you can definitely buy raw or roasted pumpkin seeds (without salt) and use those.
These dyed pumpkin seeds are great for making fun fall crafts! We glued the colourful seeds onto printable templates (see info on that below!), but you could also use the seeds for counting, colour sorting, or as part of a sensory bin.
Check out our How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds video tutorial:
*Note: Scroll down for the step-by-step photo tutorial.
Looking for more fun crafts? Here’s a few of our favourites:
Here’s what you’ll need:
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The full printable instructions are at the end of this post, but here’s a list of products on Amazon that are similar to the supplies we used:
What else can I use to dye pumpkin seeds?
You can also use food colouring to dye pumpkin seeds – it works really well! We just liked the colours of the watercolor paint better.
Do I need to dry out the pumpkin seeds before dyeing them?
No need to dry out the seeds before dyeing them. We took ours straight from the pumpkin. However, if you don’t dry them in the oven first, you’ll need to keep them uncovered on a plate or baking sheet so they don’t go moldy. Do not store them in a plastic bag or airtight container.
If you plan to use the pumpkin seeds for sensory play, we recommend drying them after they’re dyed. You can place them in the oven for 30 minutes at 300F – remove them before they start to brown. Store them in an open container or bowl (not an airtight container unless you’re sure they’re completely dried out).
Do I need to use vinegar to help dye the pumpkin seeds?
Vinegar isn’t necessary to dye the pumpkin seeds. We tested a batch with vinegar and a batch without and there wasn’t any difference between the two.
Where can I get templates to make pumpkin seed crafts?
We have tons of free templates available! To make our pumpkin seed crafts we used the tree template from our easy tree painting with broccoli post. Then we used the large pumpkin #2 from our pumpkin templates.
How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds (+ Pumpkin Seed Crafts!)
Materials:
- Pumpkin seeds
- Liquid watercolour paint
- Tacky glue(for the pumpkin seed crafts)
- Templates(for the pumpkin seed crafts; see links in tips section)
Instructions:
Step 1: Remove and clean pumpkin seeds
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Have an adult cut open the top of the pumpkin with a sharp knife. Then pick out the seeds from the pumpkin “guts”.
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Depending on the size of your pumpkin you should end up with 1 – 2 cups of seeds.
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Place the seeds in a colander and rinse them in the sink. Make sure to swish them around to remove as much pulp as possible.
Step 2: Add watercolor paint
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Separate the seeds into individual bowls, 1 per colour. It’s okay if the seeds are still wet.
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Add 4 – 6 drops of liquid watercolour paint to each bowl. (Food coloring will also work).
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Stir the seeds with a spoon to coat each seed in the paint.For a more sensory experience with kids you can do this process in individual plastic baggies.
Step 3: Allow to dry
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Add paper towel to a baking tray and add the dyed seeds to the tray.
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Spread out the seeds using a spoon to ensure they’re in a single layer.
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Let the seeds dry overnight before putting them back in their individual bowls.You can also bake the seeds in the oven for about 30 minutes at 300F to dry them. Remove them from the oven before they start to brown.
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You’ve now learned how to dye pumpkin seeds and can use them for crafts or sensory activities!
Step 4: Make a pumpkin seed tree craft
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For our first pumpkin seed craft we made a pumpkin seed tree!Print off our tree template (see link below) and use tacky glue to attach the seeds as leaves.
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We added two or three seeds on each branch, but you could also add them as fallen leaves at the bottom of the tree.Your pumpkin seed tree is complete!
Step 5: Make a pumpkin seed pumpkin craft
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We also made a pumpkin outline out of pumpkin seeds!Print off the pumpkin template (you can find the link below), and add tacky glue along the outside of the pumpkin.
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Add orange coloured seeds where you’ve placed the glue. You can also create the ribs of the pumpkin with glue and add seeds there as well.
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Continue adding orange seeds for the pumpkin and green seeds for the stem. Your pumpkin seed pumpkin craft is complete!
Helpful Tip:
The colours of fall leaves are beautiful, but sometimes you want to add a splash of bright colour to this time of year. These rainbow dyed pumpkin seeds are bright, colourful and lots of fun!
Here’s even more fun fall craft ideas:
Easy Tree Painting with Broccoli
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books- A- Million | Indiebound | Indigo | Amazon Canada
