Halloween is right around the corner! Did you pick your pumpkin yet? Carving pumpkins is lots of fun, but sadly they don’t last forever. Would you rather have a jack-o-lantern you can use year after year? Want to make your own glow-in-the dark pumpkin at home? We have an idea – with a twist - adapted from Martha Stewart’s Handmade Holiday Crafts: 225 Inspired Projects for Year-Round Celebrations. It’s fun for kids and adults, plus, there’s a good chance you already have some of the supplies. Let’s get started!
Part 1: Make Your Papier-Mâché Pumpkin
Did you know that papier-mâché is French for “chewed paper”? Luckily, you won’t have to do any chewing, but be prepared to get a little messy. You’ll need: newspaper, scissors, balloons, school glue, a bowl or plastic container, and a glass jar or second plastic container.
- Spread out newspaper on your work surface for easy clean-up.
- Blow up a balloon. (The size of a balloon will be the size of your pumpkin.)
- Cut the remaining newspaper into strips about an inch wide and the length of your balloon.
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Pour school glue into a bowl or plastic container. Add a little water and stir.
- Dip newspaper strips into the glue. Make a peace sign with your fingers and run them along the length of the paper to remove the excess glue.
- Rest your balloon on top of a glass jar or plastic container, knot facing up. (This will avoid it getting stuck to the newspaper.)
- Starting at the top of the balloon, stick each newspaper strip onto the balloon. Try to smooth out the strips to get rid of any bumps. Continue until the balloon is entirely covered with newspaper, with one exception; be sure to leave a hole at the top of the balloon (where the knot is), about half an inch in size.
- The balloon will need about three layers of newspaper to keep it sturdy, so add more newspaper as needed.
- Now, you wait. Let the newspaper dry onto the balloon.
Part 2: Paint Your Pumpkin and Give it a Hat
You’ll need: scissors, a craft knife, orange, black, and green acrylic paint, orange glow-in-the-dark paint, a paintbrush, floral tape, and floral wire.
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Once the newspaper has dried, it’s time to pop the balloon. Hold onto the knot, and being careful to avoid your fingers, use the scissors to poke the balloon at the hole you left on the top. Once it pops, pull the balloon out. - Next, you must remove the “stem” part. Carefully use the craft knife to make an incision a few inches from the top. Use scissors to cut around and remove the “stem.”You may also remove a small circle on the bottom so it will sit flat on the ground.
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Now it’s time for a fresh coat of paint. Paint two to three coats of regular orange paint, letting each coat dry before adding a new one. Once the paint is dry, add a coat of orange glow-in-the-dark paint.
- Once the orange paint is dry, give your pumpkin a face! Use a stencil or draw your own design using pencil first. Outline the face with green and fill it in with black or gray.
Part 3: Making the Hat
To help your pumpkin blend into the patch, you'll want to add vines to the top!
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Flip over the stem and tape a cotton ball at the top of the stem.
This will hold the “vines” in place.
- To make vines, cut three pieces of floral wire in various lengths.
- Wrap the floral wire with floral tape.
- Stick the pieces of floral wire into the cotton ball and wrap floral tape around the “vines” to create a “stem.”
- Last, twist the vines around a pencil or your finger to make them curl up.
