Unique Paper Mache Pumpkins - You'll Hate To Miss This

Want to make some unique paper mache pumpkins? Why would you want 20 pumpkins from the craft store that are identical? With this paper mache process, you can make pumpkins with personality!

My plan for Halloween this year involves a display in the birch tree in the front yard. This pumpkin head is part of it. You can find complete step by step directions for making your own paper mache pumpkin ◄here.

Before you drill the holes, paint the inside of the pumpkin. A short-handled brush or foam brush will make it easier to paint. I use Valspar Project Perfect Durable Latex Enamel – interior/exterior flat black paint.

A pin on Pinterest gave me the idea to add twine stitching to this pumpkin head. Before painting the pumpkin, I needed to plan the placement of the twine stitching. The idea is inspired by a pin on Pinterest. ►pumpkin pin.

Supplies Needed for Creating Unique Paper Mache Pumpkins

Jute Twine – 3 ply
Drill and a 5/32″ drill bit
Tacky Glue

I found a small roll of jute twine for under $3.00 at our local Ace Hardware.

Steps For Prepping for the Twine

To begin with, I tried to visualize where the twine is to go and used a felt tip pin to mark where to drill holes. I’m not sure that was very helpful. As I drilled holes and began to thread the twine into them, it seemed to be clearer where the next hole needed to be.

A note of caution here - let the drill bit do the work!  Don't press too hard on the paper mache, firmly but not forcefully.  Remember, you can always use more paper mache to repair any oops.

The twine will be removed before the pumpkin is painted and then threaded back through the holes after the paint is completely dry.

Quickly, I realized that the twine would not easily go through the holes without making the ends stiffer. I used Tacky Glue on the ends, squeezing a small amount on the twine, and then twirling the ends to make them thinner and stiffer. This will dry in just a couple of minutes and be stiff enough to make it easier to thread through the holes.

Paint The Outside Black

Once the holes are drilled, remove the twine and paint the entire outside with two coats of the Valspar latex enamel. Allow the first coat to dry before painting the second coat. (If you haven’t already, paint the entire inside of the pumpkin, too.)

Dry Brush with White Kilz

Dry brush with white Kilz.

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Next, apply Kilz white latex primer lightly with a dry brush over the black painted surface. This accents some of the texture and the raised areas. I use one dry brush with just a touch of paint on it to lightly brush onto a raised area of the pumpkin. Then, quickly take a second dry brush to brush it out so there aren’t stark edges.

If you feel you brushed on too much, quickly take a paper towel and wipe it off. You don’t want too much paint at the end of the bristles. Use a paper towel to take some of it off before brushing again.

Layer on Washes of Shades of Orange Paint

Add a small amount of water to the paint and paint on washes of color. Start on the top of the raised area and feather to one edge and then the other down into the valleys. Allow the first coat to dry. Add another color wash over the first and repeat until you have the desired look. If you feel the colors are too bright, you can gray it down with a wash of brown, black, or dark gray paint and water.

Using your darkest shade of orange paint, Using the lighter shade, in this case, Apple Barrel ‘20561 orange’ paint a wash on the raised edges and toward the valleys or grooves of the pumpkin. Avoid the pumpkin stem until later. You want more paint on the protrusions and less in the indentations.

Leave some of the black paint showing through. The orange paint pigment will show up more on top of the white Kilz primer that is brushed on over the black.

Highlight

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Using the lighter shade, in this case, Apple Barrel ‘pumpkin orange’, to highlight the features in a narrower wash.

Next, use a shade of yellow to just touch the highlights from the pumpkin orange. You do not want to use a pastel yellow, yellow with white in it. In this case, I used Apple Barrel ‘20502 Yellow’.

The Stem

Then, use a couple of shades of green to paint the stem. I used Apple Barrel Colors Woodland Green and a DecoArt Americana Light Avocado.

The greens I used looked too bright. I brushed a wash of umber paint over the green and it didn’t really do much. I quickly wiped it off. This is a pretty forgiving medium. If you don’t like it, wipe it off, and try another.

I wanted to gray-down the bright green. If you want to gray-down a color, you use the opposite color on the color wheel. The opposite of green is red. So, I used red paint on top of the green and that is how this effect is achieved.

Some other crafters create a smooth effect on their pumpkins, but I love the rough texture created with the paper mache. He still needs to have a sealer applied to protect him from the elements, but I’ll be working on his torso first…