Paper Pumpkins
Fall is like the Super Bowl of the crafting world. seriously. I think there are more fall crafts than any other season. Just sayin. BUT I for one, do not mind one bit!! Fall is such a pretty time of year. Plus with all the holidays jam packed together, there’s a lot of decorating that needs to be done crafted! haha
Today I have a super easy paper pumpkin tutorial for you. These mini pumpkins make a great project for the kiddos! PLUS they are perfect for fall AND halloween…… meaning you can use them for 2 months, instead of 1. yay! Oh and they are sooooo cheap to make….you probably already have all the supplies on hand!
How to make a Paper Pumpkin
Supplies {makes approx 7 mini paper pumpkins}
-12″x12″ sheet of orange cardstock {or you could use pattern paper for a fun twist}
-scraps of green or brown cardstock
-1″ circle punch
-low heat glue gun
-pen
cut your 12″x12″ into 2.5″ by 0.5″ strips except for the last 2″x12″ strip. use your 1″ circle punch and cut out 14- 1″ circles.Using your glue gun, glue the small strips of paper to the circle, overlapping them slightly. glue strips all the way around the circle. depending on how much you over lap them, it will take between 7 to 10 strips per pumpkin. {i used 9 strips on most of mine.} **If you’re using thick cardstock, you’ll want to bend your strips so that you they make a nice rounded shape. To bend your strips, you can bend the strips indiviudally before you glue them to the circle
OR you can bend them after you’ve glued them to the circle by putting them in your hands and cupping your fingers. Take a second 1″ circle and glue the strips underneath with your glue gun.
I found that it worked best to pull the strips up individually, place a dot of glue on them, and then press them to the underside of the circle. that helped keep the circles lined up and the pumpkin from being lopsided.The last strip is slightly tricky to press down because my fingers didn’t fit in the small gaps between the strips. So I used a pen to press the last strip into place.This is what your pumpkin should look like. If you want a short, fat pumpkin, you can smash it slightly. Or if you want a taller, skinner pumpkin, press the strips together so the circles are pushed away from each other.
Using your scraps of green or brown paper {preferably cardstock}, cut a 0.25 inch by 0.75 inch strip for the stem. Bend over a small section so that you can glue the stem to the pumpkin.
If you want to make a little curl for your pumpkin, cut a very thin piece of paper and roll it tightly. Ihen glue the end behind the stem.
These little cuties are fun to place all over your house, in apocarthy jars, hung on a garland or bunting, used as a center piece, or you could even make a cute “Find the Pumpkin” game for your kids! {kind of like an easter egg hunt…..}
~1 sheet of 12″x12″ paper should give you about 7 mini paper pumpkins.
Don’t forget to check out Craftaholics Anonymous on Facebook!
happy crafting,
Linda
Have you started crafting for fall?
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So cute! This is also an awesome craft for the kids, pretty simple to do and a great way for me to spend a little one on one time with each of them! Thanks for the fun idea.
thanks for stopping by, colleen!
happy crafting,
linda
This is so cute! And cheap! I will totally be doing this. And I already have the stuff for it, that’s the best part. Thanks for sharring. :) Have a great week.
thanks for stopping by, christy!!
happy crafting,
Linda
These are so pretty! Thanks for sharing them:)
thanks, raina!
happy crafting,
Linda
Cute, Linda!!
thanks alison! :)
Love it! Thanks for the simple, doable idea!! I will be giving it a try this weekend!
Thanks, Tawny!
happy crafting,
Linda
My daughter is screaming. lol :D We both think they’re adorable!
aw cute! glad you guys like them :)
happy crafting,
linda
Too cute!! My girls would love making these and they would be really cute on a string up my staircase hanging over my railing!
yes they would make the cutest garlands! great idea!
happy crafting,
linda
Love these! I think if I saw them popping up everywhere it would make me happy. Plus you could adapt the idea to Christmas ornaments easily (uhoh – sorry to use the C word so early in the year!) ;D I’ll be spreading the idea for sure! Thanks.
thanks, morgan! i love the christmas ornament idea!! i think i will def have to do a variation on them to make some cute ornaments and holiday decor.
thanks for stopping by!
happy crafting,
Linda
Such a wonderful idea! I love it! And it’s a perfect little craft to help kick off the Fall spirit. I’m so ready!
yay! fall crafting is the best! thanks for stopping by, kelly!
happy crafting,
linda
I made your paper pumpkins with a 4 yr old I know this weekend, and she loved it. When I came back the next day she wanted to make more pumpkins and decorate them with happy faces.
Hey Linda, as promised I worked on my pumpkins today and they are so cute! Now it’s back to work for the next few days :(
Check it out when you get a chance!
chrisstacicarter.blogspot.com
I love your comparison of fall crafts to the super bowl – so true! It’s amazing all the creativity out there – like this super clever idea! Love it!
I love this idea- and I think as long as I use a light-weight paper I can probably do this with Elmer’s glue and have the kids make them with me! I plan to feature a picture and a link to your tutorial on my Sunday 9/25 Links to Love post over at http://www.momof6.com!
Thanks for sharing!
thanks sharon! i’ll be sure to stop by on sunday! :)
happy crafting,
linda
I love this..Sooo cute..I adore..: )) I found ya per blog hop and had to stop in and say hello, officially following ya..Hope u can stop in and say hi sometime..(I have a linky fall blog party that this will fit right into if you don’t mind linking..:))..I’m Marilyn ..happy weekend..
thanks for stopping by, marilyn! and thanks for the follow! i love fall parties :)
happy crafting,
linda
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I’m wondering if little kids could make these using paper fasteners instead of hot glue? Great idea for 1st graders!
i’m sure they could, Ellie!! great idea! thank you for stopping by, Craftaholics Anonymous!
happy crafting,
linda
I just made a pile of these using paint chips. They are the most vibrant colors, and they seem really sturdy. I have assembled the pumpkins and hand made some stickers for my preschool sunday school class to make jack-o-lanterns with. We are going to hang them as a garland in the classroom. I am also using some metallic and “non-traditional” pumpkin colors for a garland in my own home. So far I have silver, cream, light green and an orangey-red, they are so cute, thanks for the idea!
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How clever! I liked this so much I pinned it on pinterest! I definitely want to do this with my kids! Thanks!
thanks, Gale! i’m so glad you stopped by!
happy crafting,
linda
Love this idea, the girls and I will be making these for our Thanksgiving table this year!
Thanks for sharing!
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I’m so glad I remembered this post from almost a year ago! My Second Grade class is working on a Cinderella Around the World unit and I was struggling to come up with a fun art project, when I remembered this craft! We started our Cinderella carriages today! Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to use for the wheels!
Hi…I’ve made some Christmas ornaments similar to this using old card fronts. Instead of using glue you can punch holes in both ends and use brad fasteners, then bend slightly in C shape and spread the strips around to make ball.
very nice!!!thanks for the idea!!!
very nice!!!thanks for idea!!!
I want to feature your cute pumpkins for Trendy Tuesday article for the blog at Paper Crafters Library, featuring pumpkin crafts. You can ck out the blog here: http://blog.papercrafterslibrary.com/ The image of your project will credit you and link back to your blog as well. If you do not wish to be featured for this article, just let me know.
That’s fine! Thanks, Katherine.
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