DIY Party Animal Pumpkins

These pumpkins bring the party with them… those party animals! When I popped into the grocery store a few weeks ago I saw some of these small pumpkins and their stems immediately made me think of animal trunks and beaks. And, well, I just had to make that happen! So I crafted up a flamingo, an elephant and a zebra (or some sort of zebra hybrid!). For this DIY, I say let the pumpkins inspire you and see what party animals you can create with the pumpkins you find!

Pumpkins (I found ones with different stems that reminded me of different animals and went from there!)
Acrylic Paint (You can also use spray paint.)
Cardstock or Paper
Pom poms, sharpie, or other items to decorate.
Tape, glue, stapler (or your choice of adhesive!)

For the elephant… Paint your pumpkin your desired color. Let dry. Cut a party hat shape out of paper (You can find a ton of party hat templates online and resize them to your desired size, or you can freehand it.) Cut out two elephant ear shapes. Glue or staple together the party hat to form it’s cone shape, then glue or staple the elephant to each side. Add a pom pom to the top of the hot with hot glue. Set atop pumpkin or glue to the top of the pumpkin with hot glue.

For the Flamingo… Paint your whole pumpkin pink and let dry. Then paint about two-thirds of the stem white, and the final third of the stem black. Let dry again. Cut a party hat shape out of paper and glue together. Use hot glue to glue a pom pom on top. Set atop pumpkin or glue to the top of the pumpkin with hot glue.

For the zebra (or whatever hybrid animal this is. ha!)… Paint your pumpkin your desired color, or paint with black and white zebra stripes. Cut out two ear shapes from white paper/cardstock, and a party hat shape from whatever paper you like. Use your sharpie to draw stripes on each ear. Glue together your party hat, then pinch the bottom of each ear and staple to the sides of the party hat. Hot glue a pom pom on top. Set atop pumpkin or glue to the top of the pumpkin with hot glue.

All Photos by Studio DIY

These pumpkins are ready to par-TAY! (And so are these.) And in case you want to dress up like a party animal to match… BAM!

*A Note: Thank you so much to everyone who sent well wishes my way last week while I was in the hospital. After a second hospital stay due to some complications from the first, I am now back home and hoping to keep it that way! I apologize that I couldn’t respond to each email, tweet and comment, but please know I did read them and so, so appreciate them. From here on out, let’s hope to keep this healthy party going. Christmas is just around the corner after all!