Paper Pumpkins

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Transform simple materials into delightful paper pumpkins with this easy-to-follow tutorial. Ideal for adding an Autumn touch even if you don't do the whole 'Halloween' thing, these cute decorations are both fun to make and visually appealing.

Here's what we used to make our happy little guys:

• Paper strips, approx 12-16 depending on your straw
• Straws
• Hole punch
• Stick glue or PVA glue
• Green curling ribbon
• Scissors
• Black and green card

First of all, you will need a base to keep your pumpkin standing upright. Cut a square or round piece of card that's about 5cm across. Using scissors, make approximately 2cm cuts into one end of a paper straw, until you have four segments that you can fold back - almost like a banana peel - so they sit at a right angle to the straw. Glue or tape these four segments to the base card, so your straw stands straight up in the centre.

Now make a hole around 1-2cm from the end of your paper strips with the hole punch, on both ends. Dot some glue onto the top side of the base and slide your first paper strip onto the straw. This strip of paper will now stay in place. Now you can put the rest of the strips onto the straw, and spread them out in a circle until they are evenly spaced. Don't glue anything down until you are happy with the placement. Add or take away one or two strips if you need to.

Once you are happy with you circle of paper strips, you can glue them all to each other. as close to the straw as you can. Now take the strip of paper that is on the top and slide the outer end down the straw and glue it into place so there is 2-3cm of straw poking out. Now take the next strip of paper and glue that to the previous one. You will quickly see your pumpkin taking shape. By gluing the paper in order, you will create a smooth curved shape all the way around.

Now you'll have to add some finishing touches. Cut a star shape with five or six points out of green card, and punch a hole through the centre. Glue this to your paper strips to cover the ends. Add some curled ribbon to the straw as vines.

And finally, let's turn your pumpkin into a proper jack-o'-lantern! Out of black or yellow card, cut two triangles or half-circles for eyes, a smaller triangle for a nose and a crooked smile - or frown - depending on how mischievous your jack-o'-lantern is going to be.

What we learned

Consistency is key for your paper strips, try to get them all the same size for an even shape.

Getting the measurements right for the paper strips takes a little trial and error. If your straw is the wrong size, your pumpkin might end up too tall, or need more strips of paper to fill it out. Too many strips of paper, and the pumpkin ends up too top heavy, and wants to fall over. 

The banana paper we used is wonderful for this project: the texture is very organic and the weight is just right (we were lucky to have banana paper offcuts donated by a paper manufacturer).  

Just because pumpkins are the traditional halloween squash, doesn't mean you have to stick to orange! Pumpkins come in all sorts of colours, like cream or yellow, some are stripy or speckled, and are growing in popularity as a signifier of the season.

If you don't have green straws, you can decoupage them with glue and green tissue paper.