How to Make a Lunch Bag Pumpkin for Fall

Brown paper bags are one of my favorite inexpensive supplies for fall crafting, and this pumpkin is such a fun example of what you can make with them. Don’t we all have brown paper lunch bags around?

I love when the simplest supplies turn into something completely unexpected, and this brown paper bag pumpkin is one of those projects.

Brown paper bags are inexpensive, easy to work with, and once you crumple, shape and layer them, they create so much texture. I added a little paint, natural twig stems and some dried roses from my stash to turn mine into a rustic fall pumpkin that looks nothing like the paper bags it started with.

And as always, don’t worry about making every fold or section perfect. The wrinkles and uneven pieces are what give this pumpkin its personality.

Supplies

Brown paper bags
Scissors
Hot glue and glue gun
Paint
Paintbrush
Natural twigs for the stem
Dried flowers or other fall embellishments

How to Make a Brown Paper Bag Pumpkin

Step 1 – Prepare the brown paper

Cut open your lunch bags bottoms open. You will have sleeve like now Crumple the paper really well, open it back up, and continue working it with your hands until it becomes soft and full of wrinkles.

Those wrinkles are exactly what we want — they create all that beautiful texture later.

Step 2 – Create the pumpkin sections

Shape the softened paper into loose rounded sections. Make several pieces and begin arranging them in a circle until you like the size and shape of your pumpkin.

Keep the sections irregular. A little wonky is much more interesting than perfectly even.

Step 3 – Build the pumpkin

Pick all donut like rolls you made and secure them with twine Don’t worry if some of the paper folds stick out farther than others. You can tuck, bend and reshape them as you go.

You can watch video on my YouTube showing whole process below

Step 4 – Add paint and texture

This is where plain brown paper really starts to change. I simply did white wash and added some orange acrylic paint all around

Lightly brush paint across the raised wrinkles and edges instead of completely covering the paper. Leaving some of the original brown showing underneath gives it that aged, layered appearance.

You can keep yours completely neutral or add touches of your favorite fall colors.

Step 5 – Add the stem

I used natural twigs from my stash for the stem. Simply tuck and glue them into the center of the pumpkin.You could also use one thicker branch, a cinnamon stick, or even make a stem from leftover brown paper.

Step 6 – Decorate the top

For mine, I added dried roses around the stem. The deep burgundy and faded golden colors were perfect against the distressed brown paper.

But this is where you can make yours completely different. Try dried hydrangeas, leaves, raffia, ribbon, moss or whatever you already have.

The Finished Brown Paper Pumpkin

It is hard to believe this started with ordinary brown paper bags.

I especially love all the wrinkles and folds because no two sides of the pumpkin look exactly alike. This is definitely one of those projects where I would tell you not to chase perfection. Let the paper do its thing.

And if you already have a stack of brown paper bags tucked away somewhere, this might be your sign to finally put them to use.