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DIY Warty Pumpkin Tutorial
Warty pumpkins and gourds are so cool. Right? Something about the texture and the imperfections that make them desirable to buy. But… they can be expensive. A lot more expensive than a regular old pumpkin. And I have yet to see any “warty pumpkins” that are fake that you can bring out each year during the Halloween season. Maybe they are out there, but I haven’t seen them yet. So, I did some experimenting with a few different techniques and came up a with a really easy and fun way to make your own warty pumpkins. The kids can help too… they will love it.
Ready? Let’s do this!
DIY Warty Pumpkin Supplies
This is what you’ll need to make your super warty pumpkin!
- A pumpkin – it can be real or fake (about $7). You may want to get a bunch of smaller pumpkins like these (about $17) instead… that would be fun too!
- Paint. I used Folk Art chalk paint in sheepskin and rich black, but you can use whatever you have lying around. If you want your pumpkin to be orange and it already is orange, you’ll still need to find some orange paint — I’d recommend the “cinnamon” colored chalk paint for a nice pumpkin color (about $5).
- Fast Mache (the super secret ingredient) – Fast Mache is made from 100% recycled paper, dries pretty fast, and unlike regular clays you don’t have to bake it or anything to set the “clay” (about $10-$15).
- Annie Sloan wax — I used clear and black wax (optional) — the brand is also optional.
- Amy Howard dust of ages (optional) — you can now get this at Ace Hardware.
- Mixing bowl, paper towels, a plastic spoon, pencil
Average cost: around $20-$40 depending on supplies you already have at home. I’d recommend using what you have rather than buying expensive paints and finishes. I had everything at home to make these except the mache and the pumpkin.
Process for making your warty pumpkin
Find some inspiration photos
By the way, it helps if you have an “inspiration photo” of a warty pumpkin you like, so you can try to make it look similar. Here are some cool warty pumpkins and gourds I used as inspiration photos to make my own. Aren’t they so cool?
Paint Your Pumpkin(s)
Once you’ve found some inspiration, paint your pumpkin the color you want it to be when it’s finished. It will be easier if you paint it now so that you don’t have to get into all the nooks and crannies later when you have the mache on it. Let the paint dry completely.
If you want the pumpkin to be orange, you can probably skip this step.
Mix up your paper mache
Next, you’re going to mix up your mache and get to work. Use the “medium consistency” recipe on the box (3 parts mache to 1 part water).
Stick your mache warts to the pumpkin
Once your mache is mixed you just need to stick pieces of it onto your pumpkin. Getting the paper mache mix just right is important to having success.
The first time around I added too much water and the mache was really stringy. If this happens to you, just roll the mache in your hands to make balls and logs and stick them on your pumpkin.
If you have children to help you this is the time. They will love to play in this stuff and help you to roll the mache. And, it’s all paper and water so when you are done the wash-up is pretty easy. It does dry out your hands a bit though.
Make warts on top of your warts
Once I got enough warts on my pumpkin, I started to take little pieces of the mache and plopped smaller balls/warts onto the other warts I already put on. It adds depth and makes it look more real if you do this.
Techniques to make the warts look real
Ok once your pumpkin is thoroughly wartified you may need to smooth out the warts a bit to make them look natural. Here’s a few ways you can do this:
Plastic spoon: Use the back of a plastic spoon dipped in water to form nicer warts (lol). I used the edge of the spoon to break some of the warts into separate pieces, too.
Damp paper towel: Take a damp paper towel and press on all the warts to make sure they will stick. This also helps to make them smoother and less stringy/wild.
Back of pencil: Another technique you can try is using the back of a pencil wrapped in a damp paper towel to make some divets and depressions in the warts.
Hot glue: I tried to make a warty pumpkin from just the hot glue gun and I didn’t like the way it was coming out. They really didn’t have any depth and some of the hot glue melted down the pumpkin. I would recommend skipping the hot glue and just using the paper mache. If you do end up trying the hot glue make sure you pull all the strings off before they dry. And, use it sparingly to add some extra warts. Basically don’t do what I did… it doesn’t work.
Satisfied? Ok great. Let the mache dry completely. This depends on your water/mache mix. It may be a few hours or even a day or two.
Repaint your pumpkin with the base color
After the mache is dry, paint your warty pumpkin with the base color making sure you cover up all the mache and anything you missed the first time around.
Finish off your warty pumpkin with creative details
Since I used chalk paint, I applied Annie Sloan clear and black wax… and a really cool product called “Dust of Ages” by Amy Howard. I put the wax and dust of ages into all the nooks and crannies and along the edges of the warts to add more depth and dimension. This step is optional.
If you don’t use chalk paint or want to use what you have on hand, you can also mix up a slightly darker color of paint and add it to the nooks and crannies of your pumpkin and warts.
You can also get creative and paint your warts all different colors!
And there you have it. Super easy and fun! Since I used fake pumpkins I’ll be able to bring these bad boys out every year instead of having to buy them.
Wrapping Up
This DIY Warty pumpkin tutorial is super easy and fun… and you can get the kids involved. Just paint your pumpkin and then mix up your paper mache.
Roll the mache into wart shapes and glop them onto the pumpkin. After that you add additional warts on top of the warts for more depth. I used the back of a spoon to smooth out the mache a bit and divide some larger warts into smaller ones.
Then, I used a damp paper towel and lightly pushed on the mache to smooth it out even more and make sure it was sticking everywhere. This was the key to getting that stringy stuff out. Pushing the back of a pencil wrapped in a damp paper towel will add some divets and depressions to your warts.
Once it’s all dry you can recoat your pumpkin with paint and decorate until your heart is content.
I’d love to see what you came up with, let me know what you’ve done to make your pumpkins extra warty. -Amy
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Amy Fedele
Amy is the founder of Pretty Purple Door and has been a garden designer since 2014 and graphic designer since 2005. She helps home gardeners design their own beautiful landscapes that are colorful in all four seasons, show off your personality and suit your lifestyle. Amy's work has been featured in publications like The Spruce, Family Handyman, Buzzfeed, Country Living Magazine and more. Read full bio.
I love Halloween. It’s really the only time of year we get creative with pumpkins in the UK