I love pumpkin crafts. (And I love fall. And October. And the new sweaters I just ordered online…) There are so many awesome ways to make pumpkins! We’ve made yarn pumpkins, pumpkin lolly pops, glow in the dark pumpkins and even salt painted pumpkins. Pumpkins are a really great fall and Halloween themed craft – especially if you prefer things that are a little less spooky. These beaded pipe cleaner pumpkins are really easy so they’re great for all ages and skill levels. Older kids can make the whole craft by themselves. And even 3 and 4 year olds can work on their fine motor skills by adding the beads to the pipe cleaners. My 4 year old loved adding the beads and finished at least three quarters of it by himself. I helped him with the rest, but was impressed he was so excited to try it!
I have to give a big shout out to my 7 year old who took this craft to the next level. Not only did she make a pumpkin (and of course the Indian corn), but she kept on going with the fruit theme and created a lime, an apple and a banana using the same technique! (I was seriously impressed with the banana!?) I love that these pumpkins inspired her to come up with other creative things to make! If there’s a craft that only uses two materials, I’m in!
Check out our video for how to make Beaded Pipe Cleaner Pumpkins:
Can you tell I’ve been LOVING beaded pipe cleaner crafts this year? If you have the beads and pipe cleaners out already, here are some other simple things you can make: Beaded Pipe Cleaner Indian Corn Beaded Pipe Cleaner People Beaded Pipe Cleaner Dragonflies Beaded Pipe Cleaner Butterflies
How to make Beaded Pipe Cleaner Pumpkins:
4 Orange Pipe Cleaners (12 inch length) 1 Green Pipe Cleaner (12 inch length) Orange Pony Beads (approximately 130 beads)
Line up your pipe cleaners so they are even on each end and twist them together a few times in the middle.
Next, spread out each pipe cleaner so they are evenly spaced.
Start threading the beads onto each pipe cleaner, until all 8 are covered. I ended up using about 16 beads per row. Be sure to leave a little over an inch of pipe cleaner on each end so you can twist them together in the next step.
Once you’ve covered your pipe cleaners in beads it’s time to start shaping your pumpkin! Carefully bend each end upward and gather the points together. Give the ends a couple of twists to secure the beads and hold your pumpkin together! The twisted pipe cleaner at the top is going to be your pumpkin’s stem. If it looks too long, just bend it in half and twist to make the stem shorter.
Now you can start shaping your pumpkin. Gently pull each beaded pipe cleaner piece outwards from the middle, bending them as you go so you end up with a sphere shape. Try to keep them as equally spaced as you can, just like the lines on a pumpkin.
Once you’re happy with the shape, you can add the twirly pumpkin vine as the finishing touch! Grab your green pipe cleaner and wrap it around the top “stem”. (That was the twisted orange pipe cleaners we mentioned earlier). Wrap the stem with the green pipe cleaner to completely cover it, leaving about 3 inches of pipe cleaner sticking out on each end. If your stem is long, you might need an extra green pipe cleaner to cover it.
Take each of the two green ends and spiral them around your baby finger to form the curly part of the vine.
And there you have it! A perfect little beaded pipe cleaner pumpkin!
SO easy and SO cute! You could make a bunch of these in no time!
Now all you have to do is figure out how you want to display them!
These beaded pipe cleaner pumpkins are SO ADORABLE! And they’re really easy to make! All you need are two simple supplies that you can usually find at the dollar store. This is such a fun and simple kids craft that’s super for Halloween and Thanksgiving. It’s a great activity for kids, teens, tweens, adults and seniors and a fun activity for October or fall/autumn in general.
Even MORE ideas of what to make with your pipe cleaners and pony beads:
Beaded Pipe Cleaner Indian Corn
Beaded Pipe Cleaner People
Beaded Pipe Cleaner Dragonflies
Beaded Pipe Cleaner Butterflies
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
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