Book Page Pumpkin

Day #4

We went to this awesome breakfast place in our neighborhood this past weekend and they had book page pumpkins for sale.

When I saw them (and the price), I did what I always do. I said to myself:

"I can make that!"

Wait, I actually may have said it out loud.

That is why it is hard for me to walk into Joann Fabrics and not come out with a cart load of projects I have no business entering into.

Like quilting--

I don't sew.

Or scrapbooking--

I don't do it.

I haven't learned the fine art of staying in my own lane of skills and talent ability.

So with fresh optimism 

(and a boring college football game on)

I entered into the business 

of book page pumpkin making.

First I consulted my friend, Pinterest.

Have you met?

She is so inspiring 

but a bit full of herself 

and sometimes downright over the top.

But don't tell her I said that.

I need her in my life!

Pinterest directed me here:  

http://www.creationsbykara.com/2011/09/book-page-pumpkin-tutorial.html

Kara's tutorial is very thorough if you are interested in following along.

I adapted her directions to use what I had on hand 

and so I wouldn't have to move from my comfy chair much.

Not bad for someone that still has a splinter in their thumb from the pot scrubber
wreath debacle. Talk about CRAFT FAIL.

Here is what you need to get started:

•And old paperback book

I buy old books all the time for crafting. I choose them based on how the pages have aged in color.

No offense to the author of this book. I am sure it is a gem.

•Scissors

•An exacto knife

•Hot glue gun

•Orange marker or orange ink pad

•Twig from yard to use as stem

•Green ribbon 

I started by turning to the middle of the book and with a pencil, sketched the shape of a pumpkin on either side of the middle spine.

I grabbed a section of pages and started cutting out the shape with scissors. If I grabbed a really thick bunch, I used the exacto knife to cut out the shape.

See what I am talking about?

Just keep doing this until you either get through the entire book or achieve the thickness you want for your pumpkin.

Apparently Oliver North had a lot to say in his testimony 

before the house and senate because I 

didn't even use half of the book.

When I decided it was thick enough, I put all the cut pages together and slowly pulled the center away from the rest of the spine.

Keep the center together or the whole thing is ruined! 

Just kidding, you could always hot glue it back together 

in the middle but seriously, try to keep it together.

This is what you should be left with.

I took an orange marker to the edges of the book before I glued it together.

You don't have to do this at all for a more neutral look.

(She said like she knew what she was talking about.)

Now starts the fun part--

because it involves hot glue

my go-to.

The duck tape to my fix-its.

The band-aid to my boo boos.

The coffee to my mornings.

In other words, I can't live without it.

Prop up the book and run a line of hot glue close to the center to glue pages together just two at a time. 

If you look at the pumpkin from an aerial shot,

I glued a section to the north, south, east and west first

or 12:00, 6:00, 9:00 and 3:00 

if that is how your mind works best.

This helped prop up the pumpkin and then allowed me to work in small sections at a time. 

You DO NOT have to glue every page together!

I went around separating pages to fluff them open and sometimes that is all they needed. Others needed glue. Play around with it until it looks the way you want it to look.

Then I just took a twig from my yard that I snapped down to the right size, and hot glued it to the center of the pumpkin.

I had some green ribbon on hand that I just tied to the twig to look like kinda sorta leaves.

There you have it!

I think book page apples would be cute and even trees for Christmas.

Good luck!