DIY Metallic Paper Maché Pumpkins

by Jen Burns

3 Materials

$20

3 Hours

Easy

This year I wanted pumpkins with a little more bling to them. I also didn't want the gross pumpkin guts mess to clean up. So I decided to do something different.

I am normally not a huge fan of big messy projects, so I was relieved when these were very little mess.

Start by blowing up some good sturdy balloons.

Then using string or twine, start by tying a knot in the string around your balloons knot. Then you're going to wrap the string around the balloon several times to mimic the shape of a pumpkin.

You can use a small piece of tape on the bottom to help hold your string in place while wrapping.

Once you have your shape, tear up un-coated newspaper into 1" wide strips. You want them not too thin but not much thicker than 1" or your newspaper will wrinkle.

Normally paper maché is done with a goopy mixture of flour and water or plaster, but I'm using something much easier. Southern Blenders Pearly Paste is a metallic texture paste that comes in several colors and can also be tinted to match your own style. I used Copper and Pewter for these. Start with brushing on the paste to your strips of newspaper on one side then gently cover your pumpkin. Once you have one complete layer on, paint a thin layer of Pearly Paste over the entire pumpkin and let dry.

Let each layer dry about an hour and repeat until you have 3 to 4 layers.

Let your pumpkins dry completely before carefully using a drill to make a hole for your stem.

I also stripped a few scrap pieces of wire to use for decorative vines and a stick for the stem. Both were attached with e6000 glue.

Just push both snuggly into your hole and glue around them.

For my pewter pumpkin I cut some rough leaves out of scrap pieces of canvas.

I brushed on a coat of Copper Pearly Paste to hide the canvas color and provide a good base color.

Once those were dry I sprayed a good layer of adhesive and sprinkled them with German glass glitter for a little sparkle.

I also added a little Southern Blenders metallic gilding powders to define the edges of my pewter pumpkin a little.

I attached the leaves and stems the same way with e6000 glue and let dry.

You can curl your wire using an old pencil for a more decorative look.

Once they're dry they will last over and over. Since I decided for a more glam look, I can leave these out through the holidays as well.

For more details on any of the steps please visit my blog.

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