Costumes & candy are usually what comes to mind when you think of Halloween. But actually, there’s a deeper tradition set within the All Hallows Eve: DIY! In the same way that you’d get creative with your costume, you should also get creative with DIY Halloween decorations for your home.

We love the idea of pumpkin carving and painted decor, but as most of you know, pumpkins in the UAE can be quite pricey and don’t last long in the Dubai Heat. Lucky for you, our DIY expert, Anam Clarke of The Designers Studio, has created your go-to tutorial to help transform your home into a spooktacular House of Horrors!

Materials Required

Watch The Video Tutorial Below

Creating Your Papier-Mâché Pumpkin

Step 1

Stuff the plastic bag with old news paper. You want this to be quite compressed, squeeze the air out at regular intervals.

Step 2

Tie the handles of the bag tightly with string, cut the excess off.

Step 3

Tape the handles of the bag together, add newspaper to the base to form a conical shape- this is for the stem of the pumpkin.. Cut off any excess.

Step 4

Rip strips of newspaper and have them ready for the papier-mâché.

Step 5

Make the paste- you can use PVA glue here however I prefer to use flour and water. Use one part water to one part flour, stir well to remove any lumps, the consistency should be paste like, not too runny, If it is runny, add more flour to thicken and vice versa.

Step 6

Dip the paper strips into the paste, remove any excess paste from the strip (this is an important step!), apply the paper strip to the pumpkin bag. Repeat until the whole bag is covered.

Step 7

Leave the papier-mâché to dry overnight- make sure it is not tacky from paste before proceeding to the next step.

Step 8

Get creative! Paint patterns on the pumpkin and leave to dry!

We hope your Halloween Decorations make a splash with friends and family! Happy Halloween!