A Paper Clay Pumpkin Face Tutorial

Lets learn how to use paper clay to make our very own faces on pumpkins for a unique Halloween decoration.  Of course, you can apply what you learn here to other holidays and objects.

So lets begin....

Supplies

1.Paper clay. Which can be found at pretty much any craft store.

2. A paintbrush

3. A pumpkin. I used a Styrofoam one, but you can use one made out of any material as paper clay will work on everything!

3. Water

4. Paint. I used black, white and metallic.

5. Palette knife

6. A base for your pumpkin (optional).

7. A witches hat and other embellishments to finish your piece. You can find my felt witch hat tutorial here.

 

 

 

 

 

I personally like to start with the nose. I begin by adding some of the paper clay in a nose-like shape to the pumpkin. The clay will look slightly bumpy and rough at this point.

 

 

 



 

 

Here I added some more paper clay to either side of the nose to make the nostrils and I'm using the end of my paintbrush to finish the shape of the nose.

 

Now all you do is take some water and with your finger and or paintbrush, start to smooth out the paper clay and remove any excess paper clay as needed.

 

 

 

Now that my nose is smooth, I'm going to add the mouth in the same way as I did the nose.

 

 

Then again smooth the paper clay mouth with some water.

 

 

 

Now I am beginning to define the moth. I am using a palette knife, but any object with a sharp edge would work for this.

 

 

 

Add the eyes and then smooth in the same way you did with the nose and mouth. You could also add eyeballs, or do what I did and paint them in.

 

 

Now that I have my paper clay face completed, I will let this dry overnight. Sometimes it takes a little longer. Paper clay is an air drying clay, so no baking. Yay!

I also use paper clay to fit any booboos on my piece. You will notice that I have some paper clay at the stem of my pumpkin. This was because  there was a gap there that I wanted to have filled.

I have also used paper clay on the sides of my pumpkin faces and them used a rubber stamp to add texture.

Paper clay is really quite versatile and you are only limited by your imagination.

 

Once your pumpkin has dried, it's time to paint your pumpkin and attach it to your base.

 

This particular vase was a candleholder. I just filled the opening with floral foam and put a dowel through the bottom of my pumpkin and then glued it all into the floral foam. Easy peasy.







Now add all your finishing touches and you have got yourself a unique Halloween pumpkin!