If you’re looking for an easy fall craft, this DIY Paper Pumpkin is it. You only need a few supplies and a little bit of time to make them.
For more ideas, check out all of our DIY posts.
It’s a little early for me to start thinking about Halloween decorations. That’s still six weeks away. But the first day of fall is next week (although, honestly, someone tell the weather). So that means all the pumpkin decorations can be set out.
If you want to start your fall decorating, but you don’t have any pumpkin décor, just make some, like these DIY Paper Pumpkins. They’re really cute and all they take to make are some items that you probably already have around your house. That makes them the perfect craft for a fall weekend.
What’s great too is you can start the craft and set up the supplies when the craft is about half done (when the paper pieces are cut and hole punches). Then, you can set them out and let your kids finish the rest of the craft so they have something to do besides sitting on their tablets all day.
If you’re looking for other pumpkin tutorials to make crafts to go with this one, check out out list of Fun & Easy Halloween Pumpkin Crafts.
DIY Paper Pumpkin
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DIY Paper Pumpkin Supplies:
How To Make DIY Paper Pumpkins:
We made two sizes of pumpkins, which we’re simply going to call “small” and “large” from now on. The techniques are a little different, so we’re going to make two instruction lists below. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, but it’s easier that way.
How To Make A Large Paper Pumpkin:
Start with a 12- x 12-inch piece of scrapbook paper.
Use a paper trimmer to cut it into 1- x 12-inch strips. You’ll need to cut six strips.
Punch a hole about a quarter-inch down from each end of the strip.
What I actually ended up doing was folding one of the strips in half (making sure not to crease it in the middle) and hole punching both sides at once. Then, I used that strip as a template to cut the rest of the strips so they were all even. You don’t have to be that serious about it, but I feel like it helped.
Lay down one strip of paper.
Put a dab of glue in the middle.
Lay another strip across it to make a plus sign.
In between each gap that the plug sign creates, you’ll be placing two strips of paper. So, add a dab of glue, then place the strip accordingly, leaving enough room for a second strip in that area.
Continue until you’ve glued together six strips. Set them aside to dry.
When the strips are dry, take a piece of twine, fold it in half, and knot it at the bottom.
Grab one of the strips and bring it into the middle, making sure to curve it.
Take both untied ends of the twine and put them through the bottom of the hole punched hole on that strip.
Take the strip to the left and put the twine through the hole (again, coming from the bottom). Continue until you’ve gone around the entire pumpkin.
Tie the two ends of the twine together to make a knot. Tie a second knot. Display the pumpkin wherever your heart desires.
How To Make A Small Paper Pumpkin:
This is very similar to the larger paper pumpkin above, so we’re going to rush through this with a little less detail.
Start with an 8- x 11-inch piece of scrapbook paper.
Use a paper trimmer to cut it into 1- x 8 inch strips. You’ll need to cut four strips.
Punch a hole about a quarter-inch down from each end of the strip.
Lay down one strip of paper.
Put a dab of glue in the middle. Lay another strip across it to make a plus sign.
Add a dab of glue in the center again, then place a strip diagonally, cutting the blank space in half.
Add another dab of glue in the center, and place a strip diagonally in the other direction. Let the strips dry.
When the strips are dry, take a piece of twine, fold it in half, and knot it at the bottom.
Grab one of the strips and bring it into the middle, making sure to curve it.
Take both untied ends of the twice and put them through the bottom of the hole punched hole on that strip.
Take the strip across from it and put the twine through the hole (again, coming from the bottom).
Grab a strip to the left and put the twine through the bottom. Then, grab the strip directly across from it and do the same. Continue until you’ve gone around the entire pumpkin.
Tie the two ends of the twine together to make a knot. Tie a second knot. Display the pumpkin wherever your heart desires.
DIY Paper Pumpkins: Frequently Asked Questions
We used plain orange scrapbook paper to make these pumpkins. Scrapbook paper with a design on both sides would work as well. But, scrapbook paper with a design printed on just one side wouldn’t be as good. You would see so much white on the inside of the pumpkin and it would detract from it.
We bought our paper trimmer to cut our wedding invitations and I’ve used it so many times in the almost decade since I bought it. So, if you don’t have one yet, you should definitely invest in one.
But, if you don’t have one you can use scissors to cut the strips. They just might not be perfectly even, but if you’re okay with that, then scissors are fine.
You absolutely can turn these paper pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns. Take a piece of black card stock, construction paper, or scrapbook paper. Cut out the pieces of a jack-o-lantern face. Use a tiny bit of glue or double sided tape to stick the face onto the paper pumpkin.
More Halloween Crafts:
If you’re making these pumpkins to go with your Halloween decorations, we have some more Halloween crafts that you might like:
DIY Paper Pumpkin
If you’re looking for an easy fall craft, this DIY Paper Pumpkin is it. You only need a few supplies and a little bit of time to make them.
Materials
- Scrapbook paper
- Glue
- Green twine
Tools
- Paper trimmer
- Single hole punch
Instructions
Start with a 12- x 12-inch piece of scrapbook paper. Use a paper trimmer to cut it into 1- x 12-inch strips. You’ll need to cut six strips.- Punch a hole about a quarter-inch down from each end of the strip.
- Lay down one strip of paper. Put a dab of glue in the middle. Lay another strip across it to make a plus sign.
- In between each gap that the plug sign creates, you’ll be placing two strips of paper. So, add a dab of glue, then place the strip accordingly, leaving enough room for a second strip in that area. Continue until you’ve glued together six strips. Set them aside to dry.
- When the strips are dry, take a piece of twine, fold it in half, and knot it at the bottom.
- Grab one of the strips and bring it into the middle, making sure to curve it. Take both untied ends of the twice and put them through the bottom of the hole punched hole on that strip. Take the strip to the left and put the twine through the hole (again, coming from the bottom). Continue until you’ve gone around the entire pumpkin.
- Tie the two ends of the twine together to make a knot. Tie a second knot.
Have you tried making these DIY Paper Pumpkins? Let us know what you thought in the comments.