How to: A Paper-Mache Pumpkin
Forgo the time spent searching for the perfect pumpkin at the pumpkin patch this year and construct your own ever-lasting variety. Take items commonly found around the house for this project. You can make one pumpkin or enough for your own pumpkin patch and decorate your home for fall. Turn your pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern with a bit of black paint, or cut the top off and fill the paper-mache pumpkin with candy for Halloween trick-or-treating.
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Things You'll Need
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of water
- Plastic butter bucket
- Wooden spoon
- Wire whisk (optional)
- Newspaper
- Latex balloon
- Toilet paper tube
- Scissors
- Masking tape
- Acrylic paint in orange and green
- Paintbrush
- Green curling ribbon
Instructions
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1
Combine 3 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of water together in a plastic butter bucket. Stir the mixture using a wooden spoon until you have a smooth paste that is free of flour clumps. Achieve a smooth consistency by beating the mixture with a wire whisk, if preferred. Set aside.
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2
Rip two sheets of newspaper into 2-by-4-inch strips. Set aside.
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3
Inflate a latex balloon to the desired size of your pumpkin. Cut a toilet paper tube in half lengthwise using a pair of scissors. Roll the cut tube around itself so you have a cylinder that is narrower than the original tube size and in the size you want for your pumpkin stem. Wrap masking tape around the cardboard to hold the cylinder in place.
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4
Hold the balloon with the knotted opening at the top. Position one end of the cardboard tube over the knot and tape it to the balloon using masking tape. Trim the stem off at the opposite end if you see that it is too long for the size of your pumpkin.
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5
Submerge a strip of newspaper into the paste. Lay the coated strip over the balloon. Continue adding newspaper dipped in paste to the entire surface of the balloon. Let the paste dry for 12 hours.
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6
Cover the balloon with three more layers of paste and paper, allowing each layer to dry for 12 hours.
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7
Brush orange acrylic paint over the round part of the pumpkin. Paint the stem using green acrylic paint. Let the paint dry.
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8
Cut three 18-inch lengths of green curling ribbon. Hold the three pieces stacked evenly together and tie the ribbon around the base of the stem for the pumpkin vines. Curl each end of ribbon by sliding the side of the scissor blade rapidly down the length of the ribbon.
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Tips & Warnings
Plan at least five days in advance when making a paper-mache pumpkin.
Do not try to apply more than one layer of paper-mache at a time or you will have a moldy pumpkin.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
