Turn Thrift Store Pumpkins into Rustic Fall Decor with Brown Paper Bags

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Learn how to create paper bag pumpkins and transform thrift store or dollar store pumpkins into beautiful, rustic fall decor with this easy DIY pumpkin craft idea, using upcycled brown paper bags for fun and budget-friendly autumn decorating.

Have you spotted the first ugly little pumpkins that always show up this time of year yet? The ones sitting on thrift store shelves or tucked into the dollar store aisle — a little too shiny, a little too plastic-y, maybe even chipped or scratched? You know the ones that are simply too fake and cheap looking to ever be used in your home decor.

But here’s the thing — those too ugly-looking pumpkins are just waiting for a little love. With nothing more than a humble brown paper bag or a piece of crumpled packaging paper, you can give them the most charming makeover. Think rustic, cozy, farmhouse-style pumpkins that look like they belong in a boutique shop window.

Every fall, I find myself rescuing a few of these forgotten pumpkins. And every time, I’m amazed at how something so simple can turn into something so beautiful. It’s budget-friendly, eco-friendly, and one of those DIYs that makes you feel like you’ve created a little bit of magic with your own hands.

Today, I’m going to show you how to take those thrifted or dollar store pumpkins and transform them into rustic fall treasures. It’s easy, fun, and the kind of project that will have your friends asking, “Wait… you made that out of a paper bag?”

This is what I started out with. A giant ceramic pumpkin that looked like it had mold growing on it, and some ghastly too bright green pumpkins (one ceramic and one very plastic). I found them at the clearance section of the thrift store. I guess they must have been there a long time already.

You can do this project with any kind of thrifted or dollar store pumpkin. Just pick one that has the size and shape you want. The color, condition, or material of your pumpkin is totally unimportant for this pumpkin makeover project.

Speaking of makeover projects. Today’s paper bag pumpkin project is my entry for the monthly Wednesday Thrift Store Decor Tour. It is that time of the month again where a group of talented ladies who are the queen bees of upcycling and thrift store makeovers, have a little online crafting get-together where they share their latest makeover projects. You can find all their amazing thrift store projects for this month at the bottom of this post.

Materials You Need for Making DIY Paper Bag Pumpkins

You don’t need much for this DIY pumpkin project, only a few basic supplies.

• Brown paper, as in brown paper bags or brown packaging paper

Makes sense that you would need brown paper to make brown paper pumpkins. I used two types of paper. The first little pumpkin was made with strips cut from regular old brown paper bags.

Both the second small and the large pumpkin were covered with strips torn from those long, crumbly pieces of packaging paper that are used to fill up boxes.

Brown craft paper would work well, too, but I preferred to use materials that I saved from the recycle bin.

Other material you’ll need:

• A glue gun
• Lots of glue gun sticks (really, this project uses up a lot of those sticks)
• Optional: sticks to use as stems
• Optional: some twine to cover ugly plastic stems
• Book pages
• A bit of time, a bit of patience, and your creativity

How to Make Brown Paper Bag Pumpkins

1. Step one: Cut or Tear Your Paper Bags into strips

No need to be precise.

I started out by actually measuring my strips and neatly cutting them out. Turned out that was totally unnecessary. You can cut or tear your strips and eyeball their size. Just make sure they are all roughly the same width.

Prepare a lot of strips, you might need more of them than you think.

2. Step two: Crumple up all your paper strips

Next up is messing up those neat paper strips into a crumbly mess. I found that over-crumbling was better than under-crumbling. As in, it is easier to unravel a bit of paper when needed, than to try to crumble it when it is half glued down and you’re wielding a hot glue gun.

3. Step three: Glue the paper strips to your pumpkin

Pro tip for working with a glue gun: Protect your fingers with silicone finger tip protectors, or you will get burned (please don’t ask me how I know…).

There is no higher science to gluing the paper strips. I ran a short line of glue, stuck the crumpled paper down, and either cut the extra length of paper strip (with the small ones), or zigzagged back and forth (on the big one).

When you feel you are done, carefully inspect your pumpkin from all angles. You will probably see spots where the original pumpkin is peaking through. Simply glue little bits of crumpled paper in those spots to cover them up.

4. Step four: Make a pumpkin stem

If your pumpkin doesn’t have a stem, or the original stem is too ugly, you can either simply stick a stick in there or use the original plastic stem and cover it in twine.

I have all three options going. The big pumpkin had a stem that wasn’t too bad, so I kept it unchanged.

The ceramic green pumpkin received a simple stick from the yard as a new stem.

And my plastic green pumpkin had a plastic green stem that I covered in twine.

More Pumpkin Craft Ideas For You

5. Step five: Cut leaves from a book page

Cut simple leaf shapes from a book page, fold them in the middle, and glue them next to the stem.

That’s it! Your paper bag pumpkin is ready!

Now go have fun and decorate with your homemade pumpkins in rustic style.

I love how my pumpkins turned out: rustic and fun, neutral toned with a bit of farmhouse flair, and made in one relaxed afternoon of crafting fun.

I even really like that I used two different types of brown paper, the subtle variation in color and texture between the packaging paper and the paper bags, adds interest, I think.

The oversized pumpkin is my favorite. It was the easiest to make, and its shape works so well with this paper look.

Here they are, all three of them, don’t they look like a lead singer with her backup vocals?

Ah! I love it when a plan comes together!

So, what do you think of my little brown paper upcycle project? Let me know in the comments. I love to hear from you.

And then go and check out the amazing creativity of the other Thrift Store Decor Projects on this tour.

Thrift Store Decor Tour….

How to Make a Pumpkin Bundt Pan Craft – Our Crafty Mom
How to Paint a Ginger Jar – Petticoat Junktion
Upcycle and Repurpose a Tray Table  – Shop At Blue
Paint a Plant Stand with Bold Colors – My Repurposed Life
How To Make A Hydro Dipped Epoxy Tumbler – My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Songbird (you are here)

If you liked this brown paper bag pumpkin DIY project, don’t forget to pin it to your favorite craft or fall board on Pinterest.

Thank you for sharing my content!