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How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins

October 8, 2012 1 Comment

Since I’m an urban apartment-dweller, I get to pretend my dirty stair well is my porch. I also stink at pumpkin carving, as this post from the early days of Hands Occupied illustrates. I’ve been so much more inspired by Halloween home decor this year, rather than my usual costume designing.

My father-in-law visited last week and serendipitously brought the most amazingly insane gourd for me to craft with. The green color and warts immediately got my Halloween decorating brain hooked on the idea of a Wizard of Oz project, and I came up with this set of conceptual pumpkins. The pumpkin entirely covered in red glitter is channeling ruby slippers, and the warty pumpkin, of course, had to represent the Wicked Witch of the West. Read on to learn how to make these for yourself.

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

Skip to: Ruby Slipper Pumpkin Directions // Wicked Witch of the West Pumpkin Directions

Supplies

red glitter

super gloss Mod Podge

sponge brush

faux or real pumpkin

faux or real green, warty gourd

black construction paper

scissors

small, disposable cups

this witch hat template

x-acto knife

Directions

Ruby Slipper Pumpkin

Mix 3 parts glitter and one part Mod Podge in a disposable cup, and stir well.

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

Apply a layer of the Mod Podge and glitter mixture to your pumpkin.

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

Add additional glitter to your pumpkin by pouring it onto an area that is shiny with Mod Podge, and using your brush to squish it in place. Your brush will have extra Mod Podge in it, since it’s a sponge that absorbs Mod Podge and not glitter. The extra Mod Podge will adhere to the glitter/pumpkin, securing the glitter.

After you’ve applied a good first layer of glitter (you’ll still see the orange of your pumpkin), let it dry for 15-20 minutes. Add more layers of glitter and Mod Podge in this way until you’re satisfied with how much glitter coverage you’ve got. It took me about four layers to get my pumpkin totally covered. Remember to let each layer dry in between applications. Pro tip: The less Mod Podge you use the better. The glitter gets clumpier and therefore thicker and covers more easily than a mixture that’s 0ver-saturated with Mod Podge.

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

When you’re satisfied with the coverage, let it again sit for 15 – 20 minutes before applying a coat of plain Mod Podge over the entire outside of the pumpkin to lock all of that glitter in place.

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

Wicked Witch of the West Pumpkin

This pumpkin is, comparatively speaking, a million times less work. :) The key for this pumpkin is to use this template for a paper witch hat from craftideas.info. Download and print the template, scaling it up in size if you want a specifically-sized hat for your green gourd. Use a removable dry adhesive roller to stick the paper pattern onto your construction paper. Cut out the half circle that will become the cone of your hat.

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

Using the same method, cut out the brim of the hat. Then, cut along just the dotted lines with an x-acto knife, being careful of your work surface.

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

Carefully remove the pattern from your construction paper. Tape or glue the cone of the hat together, and then tape or glue the hat brim to the hat cone. That’s it! Like I said, the witch pumpkin is way easier because the green, warty pumpkin itself does almost all the work!

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

You can use these as a table or porch decoration, and some light blue gingham fabric makes a nice table runner. If any of you have ideas for fleshing out the Wizard of Oz cast of characters in conceptual pumpkin form, let me know! A table or porch full of these pumpkins would be adorable.

How-to: Wizard of Oz Concept Pumpkins | HandsOccupied.com

The Mod Podge, dry adhesive roller, and faux pumpkin featured in this project were provided by Michaels Stores. 

Filed Under: Decoupage, Halloween, Home Decor, How-to Tagged With: dorothy, faux pumpkin, funkin, glitter pumpkin, halloween, mod podge, witch, witch hat, wizard of oz

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

Previous Post: « Halloween Decor Inspiration
Next Post: Halloween Costume Inspration »

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

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Craft book author & pattern designer ❤️💛💙
knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé
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Please email for pattern support. 🧶

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
When you have four big skeins of pretty 2 ply yarn When you have four big skeins of pretty 2 ply yarn, you immediately think sweater, right? 
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My wardrobe could use another handmade sweater - I’m thinking something simple, seamed and with a decent amount of ease for potentially wearing tucked in with jeans or skirts. 🤔 
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Yarn: @universal_yarn Fibra Natura Cobblestone in Antarctica and Dragon’s Breath, wound in thick skeins of 100% superwash wool that’s a light DK weight.
How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style . How to to knit throwing (a.k.a. English) style 
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In knitting, there are a few common knitting styles. Most often you’re going to encounter continental style and English (throwing) style on your knitting journey. I recently had an old video teaching continental style get a lot of views. Based on the comments, it was clear the people wanted to also see a throwing tutorial, so here you go! 🧶
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Please note that there is a LOT of variation in knitting styles, and one isn’t necessarily better than another. Most often, I’ve found it comes down to two things: how you were taught and whether or not you’re really into colorwork knitting (which can involve a mix of styles). 
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Longer-term knitters who’ve made it this far: do you prefer one over the other? And why? 
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#handsoccupied #englishknitting #learntoknit #knitting #howtoknit #knittersofinstagram #knitting_inspiration
How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on How to do a one-step provisional knitting cast on / a.k.a. crochet provisional cast on, scrap yarn cast on
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I read recently that tiktok and Instagram are being used as search engines more and more. 🤔 I thought since I’m going to all the work of making tutorials on YouTube, I should experiment with making a quick version of them for other platforms. There are obvious teaching limitations to vertical video, short-form content like this, but I think I covered the gist of this cast on in a minute. The YouTube version also covers how to unzip this cast on because there was time for it 👍🏻 L1nk is in my profile. 
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I’m very much looking for feedback as I continue to make instructional knitting & craft videos. Sometimes good tutorials are hard to find, and (ideally polite) feedback helps me improve. 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #knititngtutorial #knittersofinstagram #crochethook #knittingtutorial
For the first time in a long time, there’s a new For the first time in a long time, there’s a new tutorial from Hands Occupied! 🎉 The video is live on YouTube & the blog. 
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The post covers what provisional cast ons are & how they differ, and the video covers how to work a one-step provisional cast on using scrap yarn and a crochet hook. (This is a great one to save for future reference.)
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I learned several names for this method while researching this video & post. Crochet provisional cast on, one-step cast on, scrap yarn cast on - if you know even more names for this technique, please share! 
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#handsoccupied #provisionalcaston #knitting #scrapyarn #crochethook
Working on a sample for some upcoming videos. It’s an overcast day with intermittent sunshine & I have a scruffy little sidecar. 🐶 Can’t complain! 
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What’s on your needles this week? 
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Yarn: @debbieblissknits Cashmerino Aran 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #knittinglife
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