How I Made a Big Paper Maché Pumpkin (and What I’d Do Differently)

There comes a time in every crafter or Halloween lover’s life when they must make a big paper maché pumpkin.

Pumpkins are a fall staple, and when they are extra big, they become a little bit fantastical. You can use them as decor or wear them over your head. A few months ago, I saw some giant faux pumpkins in a store that were out of my price range. They were also extremely heavy, so I knew it was my moment to make one.

I have watched Creativebug paper maché classes by Corrie Beth Hogg and Katrina Wheeler, but I’m definitely not an expert. I discovered that I’d do some things differently with my pumpkin next time, but I’ll share my process with you first.

Materials

• 24″ balloon and a pump – I got my big balloon at a craft store. You could also use a big garbage bag and stuff it with paper, styrofoam, and other lightweight material.
• Scissors
• Macrame rope
• Newspaper – It’s also handy to collect the thin brown paper used as filler in packages you receive in the mail.
• Wood glue and a little water – I used Corrie Beth Hogg‘s paste recipe.
• A container for your paste
• A shallow tray or large bowl to balance your balloon on as you paper maché
• If you want to make a stem: tin foil and masking tape
• Gesso
• Acrylic paint & paint brushes
• A sealant like Mod Podge or Golden matte acrylic spray varnish (also Corrie’s recommendations)
• Gloves

Prepare the Big Pumpkin Shape

If you’re using a garbage bag, go ahead and stuff it, keeping in mind it might squish down a bit later.

If you’re using a balloon like I did, blow it up, but not to its maximum capacity. It should have a little give, because you need some flexibility in the balloon to create the lines for shaping.

To create the lines, I used macrame rope. Cut 1 piece of rope that wraps once around the balloon with about 8 inches extra for tying. Then cut 3 more pieces the same length. These 4 pieces of rope will divide your pumpkin into 8 sections.

I had a heck of a time wrestling the balloon and trying to tie one piece of rope around it, because the rope kept rolling off. I found it easier to tie on two pieces of rope at the same time. Start by finding the centers of two pieces of rope and tie a knot. It should form a cross at the center.

Place this knot at the bottom and center of the balloon. Bring the ends of one rope to the top of the balloon and tie a knot, but not super tightly. Bring the ends of the other rope to the top and tie. Now you can adjust the placement of the ropes and tighten them around the balloon as much as possible and then tie a knot as tightly as possible.

Flip the balloon over and tie on the other two piece of rope as tightly as you can. Flipping the balloon over helps to avoid having too many knots and bulk at either end of the balloon. When everything looks and feels the way you want, trim the rope.

Make a Pumpkin Stem

If you’d like to add a stem, sculpt one out of tin foil. I also tried to make a little cup at the bottom for the rope knots to hide in. Attach with masking tape. Be careful with the tape. If you make a mistake and try to pull the tape off, you might pop your balloon. Ask me how I know.

Time to Paper Maché the Pumpkin

I used Corrie’s recipe for paper maché paste – wood glue and water – and started ripping newspaper into strips. For this particular project, you mostly need wide strips. Tear some narrow ones for the stem and some medium ones to fill in gaps since you’re covering a round object with rectangular paper.

Don’t forget to cover your work surface, because glue ends up getting everywhere. You’ll also want a bowl or a shallow tray to place the balloon on because it will want to roll around as you work.

Then you’re ready to dip newspaper strips into glue paste and apply to the balloon and stem. For paper maché tips, watch Corrie and Katrina‘s classes.

Cover as much as you can, like 80% of the pumpkin, and then let that dry for a few hours before tipping it on its side to finish the bottom. You can’t turn it upside down completely because of the stem.

Leave a hole at the bottom of the pumpkin with no paper maché. This so you can pop the balloon later and pull it out. If you’ve stuffed a garbage bag, you might be able to pull the stuffing out later, too. If you’re making a pumpkin or jack o’ lantern helmet, leave a bigger opening at the bottom. You’ll be trimming a lot away to make room for your head.

I can’t recall whose tip this is, but I really liked alternating a newspaper layer with kraft/shipping paper. On a big object like this, early spots on one layer can look dry before you’ve finished that layer. Then it can become confusing as to what you’ve covered in that layer or not. So if your layers use different papers, it’s easier to keep track.

Let each layer dry thoroughly before starting the next one. I waited a little over 24 hours for each layer. If you want to add facial features – like the outlines of eyes, nose, mouth – with cardboard or tin foil, tape them on after the first layer dries and then continue with paper maché. I ended up doing four layers and no facial features.

When your big paper maché pumpkin is thoroughly dry, and your project feels rigid, hold your breath and pop the balloon. Trim the rope and around the opening. A larger hole can help stabilize the bottom and make it more flat.

Priming and Painting

If your final layer is all one color with no print, you can dive right into painting. If your final layer is newspaper, or a combination of paper colors, paint a layer or two of gesso to prime the pumpkin. Then you don’t have to worry about your paint providing enough coverage.

For the painting, I deferred to my bestie Manda. She’d been painting our plastic faux pumpkins to look more textured and natural, so I asked if she could paint the giant paper maché pumpkin to match.

She went in three layers: a base coat of orange and green, then striping, then splatter painting.

I think my big pumpkin turned out pretty cute! I loved that it was a collaboration with my bestie, and I’m also excited to make more and try some different things.

What I Would Try for My Next Big Paper Maché Pumpkin

1. Tie the Ropes More Tightly – You might have noticed that my pumpkin is pretty round. It almost looks like a giant onion. I would definitely ask a friend to help me pull the ropes more tightly. I think I lost a lot of definition under the paper maché layers.
2. Use a Big Garbage Bag Instead of a Balloon – I imagine you could you get more of an organic shape with a stuffed garbage bag. I was worried about not having enough stuff to stuff a big garbage bag. I also worried about a soft shape collapsing under the first layer of wet paper maché. I would still try it now, though!
3. More Definition in the Stem – My stem is not only thin, but the base also just melts into the top of the pumpkin. There should be more of a lip at the bottom of the stem to make it look separate from the pumpkin itself. I would build this up with tin foil and masking tape after the first layer dries.
4. More Definition at the Top of the Pumpkin – My pumpkin is super flat at the top, without any fun ridges or texture. There is no appearance of the top curving back down toward the stem. I kind of addressed this with the ropes, but you could also build up the shape with tin foil and masking tape again after the first layer dries. You could also finish all of your paper maché layers and create all your shaping and texture with paper clay or CelluClay. This will change the texture of your final pumpkin, though, which may be a pro or a con for you. You would then also have to cover the rest of the pumpkin in paper clay for consistency.
5. Go Bigger – Might try a beach ball for an even larger pumpkin.
6. Give My Pumpkin a Face – I intended for my first pumpkin to sit in my living room with the other faux pumpkins, but if I make another one, it’s going to have a jack o’ lantern face, and I’m going to wear it!