Paper Strip Pumpkin

1. Begin the paper strip pumpkin by taping the 8.5 inch edges of the two sheets of cardstock together with clear tape.

2. Cut a decorative edge with the fancy edged scissors along the two long lengths of the paper.

3. Measure and mark one inch increments along one of the 8.5 inch sides.

4. Fold the cardstock in half where you taped the two pieces of card stock together. Cut one inch wide strips using your marks as guides. When you are finished you will have 8 strips of paper with fancy edges.

   


5. Stack all the strips on top of one another. Finding the middle is very easy since you will see the tape and where the two edges meet. Pierce a hole in the middle of all the strips. If you are using a large paper brad, you can use a hole punch. Alternatively, you can also staple the stack together. Secure using a paper brad.

   

6. Fan out all the strips, in order. It is extremely important to take your time on this step and be accurate. If you rush through this step, the pumpkin will not look nice and symmetrical. Begin with the top strip, and fan it out. Take the strip right underneath it and fan it out next to the previous strip, and so on… going in order.

   


7. Next, take the strip on the top and make loop as shown.

8. Continue making loops, in order. Towards the end it gets a little tricky holding all the strips together. Secure the tops of the strips together with a paper brad or a stapler

   


9. You can make a pumpkin stem out of a pipecleaner, by folding it upon itself a few times to make it thicker. To make curly stems, wrap the pipe cleaner around a pencil a few time. The pipecleaner stem can be attached to the pumpkin by wrapping it around the top brad, or stapling it to the pumpkin.