Pumpkin Power!

Hi everyone!  I know it's only August but Halloween is right around the corner and will be here before you know it.  Since I have started creating some Halloween crafts, I thought I would show you a tutorial on a home decor project that is super easy, fairly quick and very charming.

These darling pumpkins are crafted with cardstock, stamps and a little ribbon and glue.  Follow the steps below and you too can have some of these cuties in your house for Halloween!

Festive Pumpkin Tutorial

The supplies you need are: cardstock, stamps, ink, adhesive, brads and ribbon.

You will also need a tool to punch holes in the cardstock and a glue gun comes in very handy.  All of the cardstock, stamps, ink and ribbon are from Raisin Boat Stamps.



Cut 8 strips of cardstock for each color you are using. I chose to triple stack my strips but you can make the pumpkin using one or two strips.

I cut all of my strips 8 inches in length. The widest strip is 1 1/4 in., the next strip is 1 1/8 in. and the thinnest is 1 in.  Depending on how large or small you want your pumpkin, you can vary the length and width of the strips. The smaller pumpkin strips are 6 inches in length and 3/4 in. wide.

You can stamp the strips with images of your choice. All of the images I used are from Raisin Boat Stamps. I used 'PolkaDots' and 'Need for Tweed' backgrounds and the 'Haunting Potions' set.

I have also made these pumpkins using only patterned paper- very cute too!

Once the strips are stamped they need to be adhered together using adhesive. The widest strip will be on bottom and the thinnest on top. I suggest using a thin adhesive as these strips will need to bend.

Each strip needs to have a hole on each end. This will allow for a brad to hold all of the strips together.  I used a Crop-a-dile but any small hole punch would work. The orange circle is cut from cardstock and will be adhered to the bottom of the pumpkin to hold the strips in place and for extra stability.

Arrange the strips in the order you would like and then attach together using a brad on one end.  Having only one end attached makes it easier to assemble the pumpkin.

Starting with either the inside or outside strip, pull the strips apart and curve them outward as shown in the picture above.  Do this until all strips are curved and you have a round shape.  Secure this end with a brad.

I like to press down on the round shape and flatten it a bit and give it more of a pumpkin shape. Work with the pumpkin moving the strips and pressing down on it until you are satisfied with how it looks.

Now to embellish the top of the pumpkin!

You can curl grosgrain ribbon by wrapping it around a cylinder, in this case a pencil, and then heat it with a heat gun. Make sure you heat all sides and then let it cool completely before removing it from the pencil.  Also, be careful to not burn your fingers!

Here is the ribbon cooled and curled along with some die cut leaves from MFT Die-namics Royal Leaves.

 

I attached the ribbon and leaves using my glue gun but I am sure you could use other adhesive. I glued them right to the brad but you could craft a 'stem' for the top also.

 The finished product!

I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial and I hope it inspires you to create some Halloween decor for your home.

Thanks for checking out my blog!