Making Glowing Paper Pumpkins

In this tutorial we will show you how to make glowing paper pumkins using Bare Paint and some LEDs ready to put on your desk or hang around your house.

Materials

Bare Paint
Pen
Paint Brush
Paper as thin as you can get but copy paper works great 
Scissors
Cellotape
3V Button Cell Battery
Amber or Red LEDs 

Components

3V Button Cell Batteries UK: Farnell / US: RadioShack 
LED's UK: Farnell / US: RadioShack

* Make sure you buy several Batteries and LEDs for all your projects in advance to save on shipping charges, and so you don't have to wait to do fun tutorials.

Step 1: Make the pumkin base.

The pumkin base is the well know origami ball, or water ballon.

First of all you need to fold your piece of paper diagonally and cut off excess to make a square. 

Once you have a square fold it in half diagonally then horizonally, reopening each time. Repeat for opposite corners.

Take your folded square fold in half horizontally, then fold the courners inside to make a triangle. 

Next take the top layer of the triangle and fold the point up to the top and middle, repeat on all sides, to make a smaller square.

Take the side points of the square and fold into the middle.  Reapeat on back side.

Now that you have created little flaps, fold down the top points and insert them into the flaps. Repeat on back side.

Step 2: Drawing battery and LED contacts, and your Pumkin design.

Unfold the square

Take your button cell battery and place it in the bottom right corner in the trianlge shown in the picture.

Draw around your battery, on boths sides of the triangle.

Draw on the contacts for the LED, leading away from the battery. 

On the opposite side of the square draw your pumpkin face :-)

You hould now be ready to paint in your drawing with Bare Paint.

Step 3: Paint in your drawing.

Take your pot of Bare Paint and paint in your drawing.

Step 4: Attaching the LED 

Once the paint is dry, you can now stick your LED in place. Place the legs of the LED onto the two strips of paint. 

Tape in place with cellotape, making sure you have good contact with the paint and the LED.  Place the battery onto one of the circles of paint.

Step 5: Re-folding your pumpkin

With the battery placed on the square of paint, carefully pinch the corner of the paper to make contact, if the battery is the right way round you should see your LED light, if not flip the battery and check your LED has good contact with the paint. 

Make sure you keep the battery pinched between the corner of the paper at all times so that the LED stays on, as you refold your pumpkin.

Still pinching the battery in place fold over the top left courner of the paper. 

The battery is now below my left finger. 

Fold the corner of each side to make the flaps, doing this will hold the battery in place on the left flap.  Re-insert the point into the flap

Turn the paper over and do the same to the other side.

Step 6: Inflate your Pumpkin

Now that you have finished re-folding your pumking its time to inflate.  Gently blow through the hole in the top.

Congratulations

You should now have your finished Pumpkin, ready for Halloween! 

We'd love to see your paper pumpkins, we're sure you could make even better versions! Send photos of your projects to info@bareconductive.com and we'll feature them on our community page.

Check out our other Halloween Tutorials here

Back to Tutorials