September 29, 2009

Paperback Pumpkins

We're getting all sorts of pumpkin crazE over here folks.  A few weeks ago, Katie, from the Polka Dot Pig posted these cute little "Literate Pumpkins" that she saw at a store and went home and copied.  I thought they were SUPER cute and decided to make a few for some of my teacher friends.  I thought they'd be a fun little decoration for their classrooms.




This is a super easy and quick project.  The longest part is folding all of the book pages, but this is something you can totally do while watching tv (or on bedrest - shout out to my buddy Mary!!).  If you use a thick book, when you are finished you will have an almost perfect circle, if the book is a little thinner you'll have to work it a little to convince it stay round (it'll just be a semi-circle).  Glue the first and last pages together to help it keep it's shape. If that makes absolutely NO sense to you, it will after you start folding pages.


After I had my "pumpkin" I I took some floral wire and made a little vine, added a paper leaf and twisted the wire around a stem (taken from my yard).  Add a little hot glue to the stem and stick it down the middle of the book (there'll be a hole to put it in).  Add a paper jack-o-lantern face ( I added brads for eyes) and voila, paperback pumpkin!

After Halloween you can take the face off and tie some cute ribbon around it and have a great little decoration for your office/den or even a bookshelf.  If you make one, I'd love to see it! Once you make one, you'll be hooked, they are so super easy & cute!

35 comments:

Nicole @ BugaBoos said...

Sooo cute!!! I loveeeeee it!!! What a simple and cute idea!

Thanks for Stoppin by my blog!! I totally agree about FreeCycle!! The want ads crack me up, There was one the other day someone wanting a matching set of furniture for their nursery, must be in Great condition, and must match, I'm like hey sign me up to, lol! Some of them are hilarious! The other day there was an offer, guess what it was, RATS! Not just any rats, RATS THAT MUST GO TO A GOOD HOME, lolllllllll...Crazies...

M.L. @ The House of Whimsy said...

This turned out ADORABLE!!! Kudos to you, really.
And thank you for the "tag" a little while back. That's one of my worst weaknesses as a blogger, but thank you. : )
M.L.

Kimm at Reinvented said...

What a great project! I'll be buying some paperbacks at my next trip to the Goodwill store. My kids will love this. thanks for linking up to Trash to Treasure Tuesday!

Beverly said...

Great project!!!!! I was looking for one to do with my son..this is it! Oh the possibilities....santa hat, turkey feathers, pumpkin face...LUV IT

The DIY Show Off said...

So cool! What a great idea! You're a creative genius! :)

Roeshel

pk said...

I love this idea. So cute and different from a lot of the pumpkins I've seen so far in blogland.
pk @ room remix

Christy said...

Ok, so I know I don't comment on your craftiness much but I must say that all of your stuff is amazing and so cute!!

jenjen said...

I love that idea. It is adorable!

XOOX
Jen

REbekah said...

My Sista in crafting!!! I just made something similar for one of my birds to sit on in my hutch! I love it as a pumpkin!

REbekah said...

TURKEYS!!! I can NOT wait to see how they turn out!!!

Michelle said...

Fantastic! I can't wait to copy it!

patinamarie said...

Thanks for stopping by!

This will really show my age, but we used to make Christmas trees like this out of the old tv guides and readers digests. Fold the top 1/4 in at a 45-degree angle and paint them green. Then we'd decorate them with all sorts of goodies - glitter, painted noodles, pipe cleaners.

Thanks for the flash-back! Guess just like everything else, it always comes back around, just reinvented a bit!

Linda@Coastal Charm said...

What a super neat idea you have here...looove the idea of changing it out for all the hoildays...thanks for sharing. HAPPY FALL!

Blessings,
Linda

niartist said...

Oh this is just beautiful! Definitely a fantastic way to ring in fall and halloween!! Thanks for sharing! Oh, and if you're going to be doing anymore spooky Halloween decor, stop by my blog for a how-to and a giveaway! I hope you can! :)

Marie said...

Hello Heidi - lovin' those sweet pumpkins! What a clever idea.

Blessings,
Marie
http://emmacallsmemama.com

Jamie said...

I love this! The black and white of text on paper is so perfect for Halloween! I remember seeing trees done in a similar way last Christmas and thought it was the cleverest thing.

Katie said...

Love it, so clever. Thanks for sharing.

Tina said...

Thanks for sharing! This is a good idea and SO cute!!

Audra said...

Caauuute! Great idea and so darling. If you'll excuse me I am off to get started on fall decorating. Thank you for inspiring me!

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

You are ready for Fall! Thanks for joining the party.

K @ Thrifty Teacher Blog said...

What a great idea! Love it :)

I wish I was a friend of yours so I could have one in my classroom :) Have a great day!

Cara said...

As a book lover with way too many old books laying around, I absolutely LOVE this project. Sounds simple enough for those of us who aren't super crafty, and still looks amazing! Thanks for sharing, and Happy Fall!

Nancy @ Live love laugh said...

What a great idea! since I find it impossible to throw anything out, I can recycle into decorations!! Free!
~Nancy

Courtney said...

what a great idea and very green! love it!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

I love this idea and all the ideas you had. I can think of a couple more to do with a book. I am featuring this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com Grab my "featured" button!

Adrienne said...

i've seen this out there. thanks for the mini tutorial.

Lisa@Pickles and Cheese said...

These are so cute! My Mom made Christmas Carolers when I was little in a similar way. I haven't thought about them in years until I saw this post! I will have to try and recreate them.....we are talking more than 40 years ago!!

Amanda said...

I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I linked to this post today from the new Home & Garden channel at Craft Gossip. :) My hope is to share many of the fabulous projects I see everyday with the vast CG audience. I hope you will not only stop by and subscribe to CG, but will tell your friends about the new category! Hope you see some traffic from it!

Your feature will appear in the main Craft Gossip RSS feed, on the main home page and can be found directly here
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/paperback-pumpkin/

If you would like a "featured by" button, you can grab one here!
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/

Gail said...

They are super cute! I'll have to bookmark this for a "Grandsons' Project." I'm always looking for easy projects to do with them.

Have a wonderful day.
Gail

Diane said...

Lovvvve this. I made one of these and posted it on my blog. Thanks so much for the inst. Mine didn't turn out as cute as yours, but I'm so happy to have one of my own.

Purple Froggie Clay Stuff said...

Such a cute project... I can't wait to get started on it. Thank you for sharing with us! Love your blog.. I'm following you now!

Sandra {sawdust and paper scraps} said...

Awesome idea. Simple and cute.

Katie's Nesting Spot said...

That is beyond cute!

Marie Patterson Studio said...

These are so great! I'm going to share them with my group over at the Hive!
I've provided them a link to come to your blog.

Here's the link to follow me to the Hive...I think you'd enjoy signing up and sharing your creativity!

http://creatingthehive.com/signup/mariepattersonstudio

Merry said...

This is such a terrific project....thanks for sharing the how to.