Cute Paper Pumpkins Tutorial

To begin, cut your paper into 1" strips.


The length of the strips will determine the size of your pumpkin. If you choose to leave the strips 12" long for a larger pumpkin then I would recommend thicker card stock paper to give them a little more stability so they aren't so flimsy and easily damaged.

I chose to make smaller pumpkins so I cut my 1" strips to about 7" long.


Punch holes in both ends of the strips with your hole punch.


Thread all of the paper strips onto a brad and then open up the brad to secure.


Now start separating and curling the strips and threading them onto a second brad. Make sure the end of this brad is sticking out toward what will be the outside of the pumpkin (see #2 below).

Continue separating the strips, sliding them around so they are next to each other as you go, and threading them onto the brad.


When you get all the strips threaded onto the brad DON'T open the brad!!!

Instead stab the cork onto the brad to create the pumpkin stem (be gentle and go slow, the brad might want to bend instead of going into the cork).


Now you can fiddle with the strips, arranging them to make your plump little paper pumpkin!

This is what the bottom of your pumpkin will look like...


And this is the top! In the picture below you can kind of see why I recommend using double-sided papers since you can see the inside a little.


Now push down on the cork stem and hold for a few seconds to smash it down so it looks more like a pumpkin and not a baseball :o)


Wrap a piece of wire around the cork and then twirl it around a pencil to create some little tendrils like pumpkins have.


And tada, you have a sweet little paper pumpkin!





Do you think you'll try to make some?