3D Paper Pumpkin

Decorate your home or classroom for Halloween with this easy three-dimensional paper pumpkin project.

Materials y y y y y Orange construction paper Green pipe cleaner Glue stick White glue Scissors

Steps 1. Print out these pumpkin patterns or make your own by folding any sheet of paper in the middle and drawing an arc along the paper's folded edge.

2. While keeping the paper folded, cut out your pumpkin pattern. *Our printable pumpkin patterns come in 2 sizes - a small and a medium-sized pumpkin. Choose the size that you like and cut out the pattern along its outline.

3. Trace the pumpkin pattern at least ten times on orange construction paper.

4. Cut out the pumpkin shapes.

5. Fold each pumpkin shape in the middle.

6. Without unfolding a pumpkin shape, apply glue on one of its outer faces. *We recommend using glue stick instead of white glue or any liquid-type glue to prevent the paper from wrinkling or warping.

7. Glue a second folded pumpkin shape on top of the first one, keeping both pumpkin shapes aligned at the edges.

8. Press on the pair of pumpkin shapes to glue them together. Right photo shows how the pair would look when opened up.

9. Continue gluing the pumpkin shapes one on top of the other, making sure they are aligned along the edges.

10. After you have positioned the last pumpkin shape in place, cut a length of green pipe cleaner to make the pumpkin's stem. Use white glue to attach it along the straight edge of the pumpkin shapes.

11. Glue the first and last pumpkin shapes together, sandwiching the pipe cleaner in the middle. You may need to apply more white glue along the pipe cleaner to make sure that it stays in place. Press on the glued area, especially along the section of the pipe cleaner stem.

12. Once the stem has been secured in place, carefully open up each of the paper flaps to transform your project into a threedimensional paper pumpkin. When you're happy with how you positioned and spaced the flaps, allow the glue on your paper pumpkin to dry completely. You will discover that once the glue has set, the flaps will be more rigid and your paper pumpkin a lot sturdier.

13. Trim off any excess length on the pipe cleaner stem. You may slightly curve it or shape it into a hooked handle. Make these paper pumpkins to decorate your classroom.You can put them on tables, hang them or string smaller paper pumpkins together into a Halloween garland.

Paper Bowl Jellyfish

Make a fun jellyfish toy using a paper bowl and some colored crepe paper strips. Materials y y y y y y y y y Steps 1. Punch a small hole at the center of a paper bowl using a pencil. Paper bowl Tissue paper or crepe paper Poster paint or watercolor Paint brush Scissors White glue Thin string Paper clip or button Wiggle eyes (optional)

2. Paint the outside of the paper bowl with poster paint or watercolor. Jellyfishes come in various colors. The most popular ones are pink, blue and purple but you can always paint your jellyfish the way you like.

3. You can even paint on some jellyfish spots. Allow your painted bowl to dry completely.

4. Cut string to a length of about 6 inches or more and insert the string through the hole on your paper bowl.

5. Tape the lower end of the string from inside your paper bowl. It would be even better if you can tie the end of the string onto a small object such as a paper clip or button. Glue the paper clip or button onto the bowl.

6. Cut at least 8 tissue papers or crepe paper strips to make the jellyfish tentacles.

7. Glue the end of a tissue paper strip onto the center of your paper bowl.

8. Continue gluing the tissue paper strips from the center of your bowl to form a radial pattern.

9. Once the glue has dried, unveil your jellyfish by gently turning your paper bowl upside down and holding your jellyfish by the string. You can make your jellyfish swim in the air by moving your arms from side-to-side.

10. Oops and don't forget to draw a funny face using crayons, markers or paint. You may also glue on a pair of wiggle eyes if you like.

More Ideas Go jellyfishing by tying the string from the tip of a dowel. Instead of a dowel or stick, you can make a safer fishing pole from 2 drinking straws connected end-to-end.

Coral Reef Diorama

Learn all about coral reefs and ocean life in this fun coral reef diorama craft. Materials y y y y y y y y y y y Shoebox or similar-sized box Printable card stock or construction paper Crayons or colored pencils Acrylic paint Scissors White glue Paint brush Pencil Sand Sea shells (optional) Paper bowl or egg carton (optional)

Steps 1. Most box dioramas would be standing on its wider panel. In this tutorial, we wanted to show that a vertical box orientation can be used to emphasize depth, which is a great concept for an oceanthemed scene. Start off by painting the inside of the box with blue acrylic paint or covering it with blue-colored paper. You can also paint the outside of the box if you like.

2. Draw different kinds of sea animals, including corals and bottom dwellers (e.g. starfish, crabs, clams, etc.) on white construction paper. You may also print out these sea creatures and corals on card stock. Color and cut out the animals.

3. Make side, bottom, or center tabs for your sea creatures. These will allow the animals to be attached to the bottom and/or sides of your box. There are a number of ways to make the tabs: a.) Make an L-shaped paper tab and glue this at the back of the animal's body. Position the tab at the bottom portion of the animal (bottom tab) or at the sides (side tab).

b.) Draw side and/or bottom tabs before cutting out your animals in Step 2.

c.) Fold a rectangular piece of paper on both ends to create a center tab. This tab allows you to attach a paper animal to the background.

4. Glue some animals and corals onto the background. These pieces obviously do not need any tabs. Paint more animals and other details onto the background if you like.

5. You may add other pieces on the foreground besides the paper cut-outs. For instance, this paper bowl section (bowl cut into quarters) can be used as a rock where one of the animals can be positioned. You can use other materials such as egg cartons or small boxes to break the flatness of the foreground.

6. Glue one of the animals onto the paper bowl.

7. Position the rest of the animals inside your diorama. The creatures on the foreground all have bottom tabs. Glue the tabs in place.

8. These swimming fishes have side tabs for gluing onto the sides of the box. Fishes with center tabs can be glued onto the background. Another option for creating swimming animals is to hang them from the box's ceiling with strings.

9. You can also make a fish hiding among corals by creating a slit each on the bottom edge of the fish and on the top edge of a coral. Interlock the slits to position the fish in place.

10. Once all the animals are in place, apply glue on the entire bottom surface of the box. Spoon on some sand over the glue to create a sandy ocean bottom. Position the paper starfish on the sand. Add real seashells if you have some.

11. Enjoy your terrific Coral Reef Diorama! Go to main Habitat Diorama page for more animal diorama ideas or browse all Diorama Crafts.

Circus Diorama and Circus Puppet Theater

Make an exciting circus shoebox diorama featuring your favorite circus animals and circus performers. With a few added steps, you can also turn your diorama into a fun circus puppet theater. Materials y y y y y y y y y y y y y y Shoebox or large box Construction paper Cardboard White glue Acrylic paint Poster paint or crayons Paint brush Pipe cleaner or toothpick Scissors White glue Scotch tape or masking tape Craft knife Paper cup and small boxes (optional) Glue gun (optional)

Steps 1. Obtain a shoebox or a large box. If your shoebox's lid is attached to the main box, trim the lid off of your box.

2.

If using a box other than a shoebox, cut out the box's front panel. Use tape or glue gun to fix any open flaps in place.

3.

Paint the exterior of your box with acrylic paint. You may paint the box with red and white or red and yellow circus stripes or you may go with a dark solid color like I did. In case you already like the color of your box, then you can just leave it unpainted.

4.

Color the inside of your diorama by either painting it or covering it with colored paper, or doing a combination of both. I did a combination - painted the walls and covered the bottom (floor) with paper.

5.

Make a circus tent paper frame by drawing and cutting out a pair of circus tent walls from construction paper or sketch paper. Some notes on making these paper walls:
  

Each paper wall should be as tall as your box, with a little extra length for a top tab. Make the outer edge of each paper wall slightly curved, just like the sloping/flowing walls of a real circus tent. Once you have made these paper walls, see how well they fit on your diorama by temporarily taping them onto the sides of your box. If necessary, make size adjustments by trimming off a bit along the sides or bottom of the paper walls. Position each paper wall with its inner edge as close to the edge of the box as possible. This ensures that the paper walls don't take up much of your diorama's display space.

6.

Draw and cut out a paper roof for your circus diorama. Estimate its size in reference to your box, including the paper walls.

7.

When you're happy with the sizes of your paper roof and walls, draw circus stripes on each piece. Color in or paint the stripes.

8.

Once the paint has dried, use white glue to attach the pair of paper walls permanently onto the sides of your box, taking note to position them like you did in Step 5.

9.

The best way to glue on the roof is with your box diorama lying down. You can place another box or object under the paper roof to keep it at a flat and level position as the glue dries.

10. After the glue has dried, check if the roof can stand upright on its own. If the paper you used is not thick or stiff enough, you may need to glue on a Z-shaped cardboard stand at the back of the roof. Glue the upper tab onto the paper roof and the lower tab onto the box.

11. And of course, no circus tent is complete without a flag. Cut out a paper triangle and glue this on one end of a toothpick or pipe cleaner. Tape or glue this flag at the back of the paper roof.

12. Draw, color, and cut out your circus characters. You may actually start doing this step while waiting for paint or glue to dry in the previous steps. We also have these circus printables that you can use:
  

Circus Animals Clowns and Circus Performers Miniature Circus Characters

13. Arrange the circus characters inside your box to get an idea of how your busy circus will look and where each character will be positioned. Temporarily stick them onto the walls of your box with masking tape. You can also use small boxes or paper cups (trimmed to their desired height) for some of your characters to stand on.

14. Glue the characters that you intend to put in the background. You can glue on additional details like paper cut-outs to make platforms for your characters to stand on.

15. Make L-shaped bottom, top, or side tabs for the rest of the circus characters. Those with bottom tabs can be glued onto the diorama's floor, those with top tabs can be attached to the ceiling (e.g. acrobats), and those with side tabs can be fixed onto the sides of the box. For large paper characters such as an elephant for instance, you may need to use a Z-shaped tab in addition to the L-shaped tab (refer to left photo) to prop the character up. 16. Position the circus characters inside your diorama. Glue the tabs to the bottom, top, or sides of the box. If you're using small boxes or paper cups as additional props, you will need to paint them before gluing them onto your diorama.

More Ideas Fixing the paper characters in place is a great way to make a diorama, especially if it is going to be a school project. But if you're doing this craft just for fun, you don't need to glue the characters onto the box. With movable characters, this fabulous shoebox circus can be a fertile playground for a child's imagination.

Another option for movable characters is to make them into Circus Paper Dolls or circus stick puppets. Make a stick puppet by gluing or taping a craft stick or drinking straw at the back of each paper circus character.

CIRCUS PUPPET THEATER Making a Circus Puppet Theater is similar to crafting a Circus Diorama, except for a few additional steps:


Cut out a slot on top of your shoebox.

Use a transparent drinking straw to make a puppet handle. Tape the straw at the back, close to the character's head. If you need a longer handle, connect 2 drinking straws end-to-end (insert one end of the 1st straw inside the 2nd straw's end).

Move the puppets through the slot on top of your puppet theater. Make your own circus story or do a puppet show based on your favorite circus-themed book. In case you are using a shallow box and are worried about the box toppling over while you do your puppet show, tape the bottom of the box to the table.

Create some lighting effect for an awesome puppet show! Spotlight your circus characters by asking someone to hold a small flashlight through the slot or you can tape the flashlight securely on one corner of the slot.