Paperback Pumpkins

 

Materials needed:

         *  Paperback book, any size (the more pages, the fuller the pumpkin – about 250 or 300 works well)

         *  Orange spray paint

         *  Scissors

         *  Pumpkin pattern 

         *  Cinnamon stick or twig (about 4” long)

         *  Green fabric strip for the leaves – 1-1/2” x 13”

         *  Hot glue gun

 

1.    Carefully remove the book cover.  (You can use it to make the pattern for your pumpkin). 

2.   Make the pattern for the shape and size pumpkin to fit your book.  Only make ½ of the pumpkin, as the book spine will be the middle of the pumpkin.

3.   Using the pattern, trace the pumpkin shape on the book and cut approximately 5 pages at a time.  Cutting more than 5 may cause your pumpkin to lose the shape you desire.  Repeat this process, cutting just inside the lines you draw each time so that each cutting will be approximately the same size (otherwise each cutting could be larger than the one before causing your pumpkin to be out of shape by the time you are done).  Repeat until the entire book is cut into the pumpkin shape.

4.   Gently bend the spine of the book a few pages at a time to fan it around into a circle.  Hot glue a dot on some pages to help them keep the pumpkin open in a round shape, if desired.

 

 

5.   Using the orange spray paint, lightly spray the edges of the book so you can see the color all around the pumpkin but the interior still shows the words of the book.  Let dry a few minutes.

6.   Hot glue the cinnamon stick or twig into the center of the top to form the stem of the pumpkin.

7.   Tie your green fabric on the stem to represent leaves.

 

 

The round Pumpkin Pattern is the one used at the Make 'n Take.  The others are variation ideas to spark your creativity.