Papier Mache Rotten Pumpkin
Step 1: Start with a plastic cauldron or any large round surface and cover it just over halfway with aluminum foil. Tape the foil to the cauldron or round surface with masking tape. Then use watered down wood glue and full paper sheets, you can use an old phone book or any news paper laying around.
Put about 6-7 layers of paper and glue over the top half. When that’s all dry, pull or cut it off. Draw the face you want on the pumpkin with a marker, and then cut it out with some snips.
Step 2: Then start making the other half of the pumpkin using the same technique. When the second half is dry, pull or cut it off then tape it to the other half. Apply paper and glue to the seam a couple of times and let it dry.
**Note** Make sure to cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin so you can access the inside of it.
Step 3: Apply a couple layers of paper and glue INSIDE the pumpkin for extra strenght.
Step 4: Take a 2 foot length of 14 gauge wire and poke one end of the wire through the top of the pumpkin and bend it around a couple of times so that it won’t come out. Then twist some newspaper around it to make the stem. Use some wood glue and smear it on and into the twists of the stem to keep it in place.
Step 5: After the glue is dry, coat the entire pumpkin with a couple of coats of latex paint. You can buy this at any home renovation store, or walmart. If possible, buy a dark color, either dark grey or black. Most places will tint paint for you.
Step 6: Use paper towel to make the wrinkles and texture. Paint the latex onto the paper towels with a brush on an old plate, then drap the paper towel over the pumpkin and kind of wrinkle and squish it around until you get the texture how you want it. Let it dry
**Note** It’s best if you use half sized sheets of one ply paper towel.
Step 7: When you’re satisfied with the look, coat the whole thing with another 2 layers of latex paint, inside and out. Let it dry.
Step 9: Paint two thin layers of orange acrylic craft paint to the outside of the pumpkin. The black paint should still showed through. Let it dry. Then you can dry brush the pumpkin with some dark brown acrylic craft paint.
Step 10: Use the same dark brown acrylic craft paint and paint the entire stem. Then use some olive-greenish paint to dry brush on top of the brown stem once it dries. You can also dry brush some black on the stem. The dry brushing will give the pumpkin a realistic rotten look.
**Note** You may want to seal your pumkin to have it last longer, especially if it’s humid where you live.
The most important thing to remember is to have fun! I’d like to give a big thanks to PerfessorEvil and Ghostess Deanna for these wonderful photos of the process!
Tags: Acrylic, Costume, costumes, Craft, Dog, Halloween, How-to, Latex, Mache, Paint, Papier, Pumkin, Rotten, Scary