How to make a jack-o-lantern without carving a pumpkin? Discover some great ideas with paper, glass, etc.!
We love making lanterns in the fall! With their little twinkling lights, they are a beautiful addition to the autumn decorations. And with October just around the corner, we might as well start preparing for Halloween. Are you ready? Then take a look at our pretty craft ideas for a pumpkin lantern made from different materials.
Make a jack-o-lantern with paper
Pumpkin carving is a tedious and dirty task that requires a lot of time and a certain amount of hand strength. That's why this year I decided not to carve pumpkins but to make jack-o'-lanterns out of other materials. There are so many cute ideas and alternatives! Let's take a look together at how you can make these cute little lanterns with paper strips.
What you need:
- orange craft paper
- punch
- Scissors
- The round head clip
- battery operated LED tea lights
And this is how it works:
Cut 10 equal strips of orange paper and stack them.
Punch a hole at the end of the stacked paper strips and insert a round-head staple through all the holes. Repeat on the other end.
Bend and separate the paper strips to create a round shape. This is the pumpkin.
To create the stem and leaves and vines, you can use brown and green construction paper or other materials such as a pom pom or pipe cleaner.
When the paper pumpkin is ready, insert the tea light. You can make this cute pumpkin lantern in different sizes and use it to decorate your home in autumn.
Also read: What else can you make with paper strips?Here are some interesting ideasthat you can try out with the children.
DIY lantern pumpkin made from balloon
It's also really easy, oneMake a lantern out of a balloon. The papier-mâché technique is used, for which you only need paste and paper. The balloon works like a kind of template that determines the shape of the lantern. I will now explain how you can make a jack-o-lantern using this method.
The materials:
- Balloon
- Paste and brushes
- yellow and orange tissue paper (or tracing paper)
- Scissors
- Pencil
- sharp cutter
- LED tea light
Craft instructions for the pumpkin lantern
Inflate the balloon and tie a knot. Cut or tear the paper into strips.
Prepare the paste and apply a vertical stripe to the balloon. Place a strip of yellow paper on top.
Continue this process until you apply two layers of yellow and two layers of orange tissue paper.
Allow the paper to dry at least overnight, preferably two to three days.
Then cut the knot to allow the air to escape and remove the balloon.
Cut a large opening at the top and a smaller one at the bottom so the jack-o-lantern can stand upright.
Draw facial features and cut them out with the cutter.
Insert the tea light and make the lantern shine!
Additional idea:Instead of paper strips, you can wrap the balloon with yarn dipped in paste to make this cute pumpkin lantern yourself.
How to make a jack-o-lantern with paper plates for Halloween?
The children will enjoy the following project. Paper plates are used here to create scary pumpkin lanternsfor Halloween decorationto craft. The idea is easy to do and the little ones can help.
You can do another fall decoration idea with pumpkins made from paper plates and ropefind here.
First collect the following materials:
- Paper plates (2 per lantern)
- orange and black craft paint
- green pipe cleaners
- Scissors
- Cutter
- Glue and tape
- Clothespin
- battery operated tea lights
Craft instructions
First, paint the tops of two paper plates with black paint and let the paint dry.
Then paint the undersides orange and let them dry.
Place the paper plates on top of each other. Draw a straight line at the bottom for the base and cut these pieces off.
Draw a pumpkin face on the black side of one of the paper plates and cut it out.
Curl the pipe cleaner by wrapping it around a pencil. Stick it to the top of one of the plates with a piece of tape.
Apply glue along one edge of a paper plate, avoiding the bottom cut.
Place the other paper plate on top (with the black sides facing in) and secure the edges with 4-5 clothespins so that the glue can dry well.
Place the finished jack-o-lantern on a powered LED tea light to make this pretty glowing decoration.
Also interesting: You can also make a lantern for the St. Martin's Day parade using paper plates. Take a lookthese ideasan!
Glass pumpkin lantern: make a beautiful fall decoration yourself
If you want to decorate your house with glowing lanterns in autumn, you don't necessarily have to buy expensive decorations. Now I'll explain how you can make elegant glass pumpkin lanterns - without expensive materials.
Also read “Carving Halloween pumpkins”
The following is required for the craft project:
- Clear glass ball vase
- battery-operated mini fairy lights or LED candle
- Jute twine
- Scissors
- paper wire
- artificial green
- Hot glue
- optional: orange glass color
Step-by-step instructions
First, clean the glass with some rubbing alcohol.
If you want to paint the inside of the glass orange, do it now and let the paint dry.
Turn the jar upside down and hot glue a few pieces of jute twine vertically to the outside of the vase to form the sections of the pumpkin.
Make tendrils and a stem out of the paper wire and glue them to the top. Add artificial greenery.
Place the fairy lights or LED candle in the vase and the lantern is ready.
Tipp:You can also use other glass containers to make jack-o-lanterns. If the glass used is not round in shape, it should be painted. Otherwise it won't be clear that it's a pumpkin.
Also read:Make a lantern out of glass: How to make your own bright decoration for autumn!
Make a glowing lantern out of a paper bag
Our final idea is even cheaper - check out how to make a jack-o-lantern out of a paper bag below.
Materials and tools required:
- brown paper bag
- white acrylic paint and brush
- big needle
- Piece of Styrofoam
- Rubber bands
- 4-5 LED tea lights
- Jute twine
- Spanish moss
- Cutter
- Hot glue
And so you can make this pretty decoration yourself
Place the paper bag over a piece of Styrofoam and poke several small holes with the needle.
Place the Styrofoam in the bag and use the cutter to cut a small opening for the tea lights.
Then dilute white acrylic paint with water and paint the outside of the bag white on all sides, leaving out only the top 7-8 cm.
While the paint is still slightly wet, scrunch up and twist the bag to create texture. Then open the bag, hold the bottom together and tie it with a rubber band.
Use your hands to shape the paper bag like a pumpkin. Then tie the top with a rubber band.
Glue some moss and tie a piece of jute twine around the stem.
Insert the tea lights through the opening and turn the lantern so that the hole is at the back and not visible.
Display your decorations on the side table or mantel.
Also interesting:2023 fall decoration: Simply make a cute pumpkin out of a sweater
