Book Pumpkin Tutorial

Maybe you've seen all these pumpkins everywhere too ... I really wanted one.

So I decided I needed to make it and I now understand why people pay for these :)

Step one was to pick up a cheapy hardback from the library book sale. 

I took off the cover and traced what I wanted the pumpkin to look like. 

I used these clamps to even the pages and help to hold onto the book.

Then I cut the pages - which made a GIANT mess and was the most difficult thing I'd ever done - but I did it without cutting off my fingers :)

After cutting I opened it up - fabulized! I did file the pages to make things smooth.

Here on my handy-dandy drop cloth.

I used this spray paint that was made for paper and Styrofoam. It was pretty terrible - thick and goopy, had great coverage. It also smelled terrible. So, I was distracted and forgot some in-between pictures. 

Here is a nearly dry pumpkin ... which looks pretty awesome. This was a decorative stick that was a left over from some wedding decorations. 

Here it is finished (and sitting next to the candy bowl). I took two pages from the leftover part of the book and cut out some leaves. Then using two colors of dry pastels I covered the leaves and rubbed them together. A little hot glue and it looks better than I would have imagined. I love it! 

Maybe I'll make some for Etsy ... if I can figure out how to hold this without cutting off any fingers!