Want to create a “book pumpkin” to add to your fall decorations? It’s quite simple and inexpensive (even free if you have an old book lying around)!
You will need:
- an old, sturdy book
- a good pair of scissors
- a piece of card stock paper
- a pencil
- a stick
- ribbon
- glue
Step 1: Rip off the cover of the book you are going to use. As you can see, this book was already falling apart, so it didn’t take much effort to remove the rest of the cover.
Step 2: Fold your piece of card stock paper in half and cut out the shape of half of a pumpkin. Unfold it to make sure that you like the way it looks. (If not, make adjustments until you’re satisfied.) Try to keep the base wide so you’ll have enough support to stand it open.
Step 3: Fold paper in half again and trace around the first page of the book.
Step 4: Begin cutting a few pages at a time along the pattern you traced. I started out with around 10 pages, but they were too thick and the edges looked bad, so I decided to slow down and cut 4-5 pages at a time. You’ll need to make adjustments as you cut (trying to keep all the pages the same size) or your pumpkin will be warped in the end. 🙂
Step 5: After you cut out all the pages of your pumpkin, glue the front and back pages together. Fan the pages out and around (this part can be a bit tricky) and insert a stick for the pumpkin stem. Tie a bow around the stick, and you’re done!
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Don’t forget to sign your kids (tweens, teens, & yourself) up for my mixed media art workshop, The Art of Fall. Click on the image for more info.
