Paper Mache Pumpkin Version 2 - Part 1 Intro and Materials

[@justinshrewsbury133]

You're amazing! Wife and I are both making your pumpkins!! Thank you for taking your time to teach us!

[@Drachenfang]

You're very welcome. Happy crafting. :)

[@bienmabbayad]

Whoa! If only I happen to watch this last October! Next year... This is awesome!

[@serenagarland2191]

Your videos from 9 yrs ago came up last night and I binge watched the trash bag method. Damn, I am impressed!

[@Drachenfang]

I'm glad you enjoyed them. I like the beach ball a lot more even if it is a far more spherical end product. :)

[@serenagarland2191]

@@Drachenfang I think the beachball method serms much easier and offers a better end result. I'm an artist and dabble in all things crafty and love watching all forms of art. I plan on trying a pumpkin for next year so I want to thank you for sharing your talent and thorough knowledge with us. Happy Halloween 🎃

[@Drachenfang]

@@serenagarland2191 You're very welcome. Happy Halloween to you as well :)

[@goliyth5134]

New video is smoking! The humor is on point. Video effects are so much better. Your the man!

[@Drachenfang]

I downloaded a few cool animations to blend in there :)

[@withmetta1]

I watched your videos about pumpkin 1.0 2 years ago. It helped me make some for my daughter halloween party. This version is much better!

[@Drachenfang]

Glad to hear it was helpful :) I like this version a lot more. It's more colorful, expressive, and it can make someone look at it twice to make sure it's not a real one.

[@minatellez8547]

Lo hice❤❤❤❤!,la mejor calabaza que he visto para hacer ,eres un genio❤

[@Drachenfang]

Me alegro mucho que el vídeo haya sido útil. Me encantaría ver tus creaciones si puedes publicarlas en el grupo 'UnHallowed' en Facebook. Aunque no hay presión.

[@ToyMotorClub]

This is so bad ass you’ve opened my eyes up to a whole new world thank you

[@Drachenfang]

Happy to have helped inspire. I just released a video on a beginner version of this if you are interested. I hope your mind is racing with all the cool projects you can make with this easy sculpting medium. :)

[@melindam4841]

Holy AMAZING!! What a fantastic looking pumpkin. Thank you.

[@Drachenfang]

Thanks much. Glad you found the video useful :)

[@maureenmango1]

I am so glad i found you again!! I absolutely love your videos, absolutely aspirational. ❤

[@Drachenfang]

Glad I could tickle your crafting funnybone again :)

[@maureenmango1]

@@Drachenfang 🥰

[@berlinadavis7928]

I have a couple pumpkins started One with beach ball one with garbage bag Trying both ways Love the videos I have watched them several times some more than others Can't wait to see your next creation

[@Drachenfang]

Excellent. I hope your projects all come out to your liking. I'm also looking forward to coming up with something new. Here's hoping one of my little experiments comes out better than the average bear. :)

[@EKA201-j7f]

Wow, what a Jack-o-Lantern! Great detailing!

[@Drachenfang]

Thanks very much. They're amazingly fun and easy to do

[@marcialosak2803]

last year i made a jack skelington head using your technique, on a beach ball, turned out great, just need to make his body now, love your videos

[@Drachenfang]

Thanks very much. I'd love to see your body when you get it made :)

[@laurencunningham143]

I love your videos! I ordered my supplies for pickup yesterday… got to the store and somehow had ordered a 50lb bucket of joint compound 🙈😅 Pumpkins’a’plenty on the horizon! Keep uploading videos pleaseeeee

[@samjones2790]

I liked your pumpkin so much I decided I’m going to try and copy yours! It took many hours I see! I don’t know what I got myself into! But I really want a cool pumpkin I made!!! Thanks so much for your videos

[@Drachenfang]

You're very welcome. They don't take a huge amount of time really. The biggest time sink is the drying time on the pumpkins. I'm glad you enjoyed the videos.

[@rualnaslo]

This is awesome I'm totally gonna try to make it for halloween!!

[@Drachenfang]

You should have plenty of time. I do recommend checking out the pumpkining for beginners series of mine if this is your first one. It uses toilet paper for the clay and a smaller pumpkin.

[@phylter867]

Wow! Stunning!

[@karenhettenbaugh2109]

Pthank you for your awesome videos. Love watching you work and you explain everything clearly

[@Drachenfang]

You're very welcome :)

[@jgsg2620]

New to ur channel. And so glad I found u!! Ur the best!!!

[@Drachenfang]

Excellent. :) I'm very happy to help inspire.

[@salvadorgarza8802]

Very talented thanks for showing us 💪💪

[@Drachenfang]

I'm glad you found it useful :)

[@tessherbert7969]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad it's reusable

[@nemesis3295]

It's on my to do list to make one of these!

[@Drachenfang]

Awesome. They're lots of fun. Let me know if you have any questions I didn't get to

[@nemesis3295]

@@Drachenfang Will do thank you very much!

[@brittanyl394]

This is absolutely amazing!

[@Drachenfang]

It's a very fun and easy project :)

[@marymangano1705]

can you use the funnies and super market brochures in the sunday paper. thanks so much

[@Drachenfang]

You can use anything from the newspaper. I usually avoid the pages with the shiny coating on them (some supermarket ads and other ad sheets have them) and stick to pages which are more rough paper because I like how they layer up better but there is no law against it.

[@marymangano1705]

@@Drachenfang thanks so much for your help

[@Drachenfang]

@@marymangano1705 You're welcome :)

[@joannegee1650]

Can't wait to post my pumpkins using both methods - all in process - hope to show them around year-end - and one of them resembles none other than our friend - Drachenfang! (I like that one best.)

[@Drachenfang]

Nifty. I look forward to seeing them :)

[@housedecorator1775]

I made some pumpkin rotts a few years ago following your videos and now I need to make the preacher in Beetlejuice but I forgot the recipes. I have looked at the paste and clay recipes but I have liquid starch from last time but I don't see it in the recipes. What am I missing?

[@Drachenfang]

I left out the liquid starch because I didn't find that it had that big of an effect on the recipe. These days I just use flour, glue, and water for the mache paste.

[@tonjesolheim8146]

When you are doing 6 layers... Do u let them each dry before applying a new one?

[@Drachenfang]

No. You can throw on all six and then let it dry

[@HollywoodColt]

I never thought about brushing it on, I always went the rather messy way!!!!

[@Drachenfang]

Oh yeah. It saves so much mess. You usually just get some drips between your paste supply and the pumpkin rather than a full splatter between the two. And your hands don't get coated.

[@mboss667]

Out of curiosity. If I like the more squared shape pumpkins that the trash bag design gives, could I maybe just partially blow up the beach ball? So it has that squared situation??

[@Drachenfang]

I did an experiment recently with a similar method. I underinflated the ball and then wound some packing tape around the middle to give me a taller more oblong pumpkin and it worked fairly well. Underinflating and then reshaping is very much a viable way to do things. I would suggest that you use some sort of constricting medium like tape/rope/cord to clamp down on the underinflated pumpkin so that it still give you good push back in its underinflated shape in order to still be a sturdy armature while you are laying and adding clay.

[@annmariewalker892]

Hi there!! I’ve finally decided to give this a try. But here’s my problem, I don’t have access to news paper so I bought packing paper, it’s thicker and heavier than newspaper and I’m having an issue with it raising in kinda like waves on the edges. Any tips on how I can eliminate that problem? I’m hoping that when I clay it… I can try to feather some of it out. Thanks in advance!!! I just love your creativity!

[@Drachenfang]

No problem. I'm guessing the stuff that you have is something like what I call kraft paper which is the brown paper often used to wrap things. I can see where that would have a tough time sitting flat. You have a few options. The first option is to severely reduce the size of your paper strips. If you make them about an inch or less wide and about 6 inches long you should reduce the tendency of them to frill up at the edges. The next best thing is to obtain something with very good paper flexibility to alternate layers with and in this regard the best choice would be paper towel. So you'd do a layer with your packing paper then one with paper towel and keep alternating. This ought to apply a little bit of down pressure on the frills while keeping some moisture locked on them long enough to drag them down. All in all I would not panic if you think that the shape is in a bad way at the onset. When you clay over all of it you will never notice the flaws in the shell.

[@annmariewalker892]

@@Drachenfang thank you so much!!! I did end up using a much thinner packing paper over the thicker paper and it really helped!!! I do have a couple of knobby bumps, but I got to thinking I’ll use them to my advantage to give my pumpkin some added character. Lol! But I will definitely do another layer with paper towels!! Thank you so much for your tips!!!

[@Drachenfang]

@@annmariewalker892 Always happy to help :)

[@cristalprostyler]

How much if I have you make one for me and my little boy he saw your pumkin and boom that's what he wanted to be for Halloween

[@Drachenfang]

Sadly, I doubt that I could complete one for this Halloween :( My summer break has ended and I am back into the whirl-a-minute world of teaching. I also have many projects lined up for my display this year. Turning the design into a mask presents a whole new range of difficulties such as padding, lighting, ventilation, and hearing; all of which I have never experimented with before. If you give me until next Halloween I might be able to knock together something for you and it would give me a cool new tutorial to make. This year though with a month and change to go before the big night I am afraid I simply cannot squeeze it in.

[@Drachenfang]

The only person I know who was brave enough to make one was: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3S7aqGDlr9qrq8&ab_channel=RachelMaksy

[@Drachenfang]

The thought further occurs that if you wanted a decent cool pumpkin head for this Halloween you could get a large 'funkin' (carvable foam pumpkin) from a craft store and your son could carve his own face in it to make a mask.

[@anissarubio2291]

U sound spooky dude lol . I started the making my pumpkin for the season lol found ur channel..omg they look so cool..have u seen the bubble textured pumpkins? I thought making one w bubble wrap lol

[@Drachenfang]

Thanks very much. I hope your pumpkin comes out great :)

[@DenisBernardi-y1s]

Hello, congratulations on the video. I have a question: do you put something on the ball to prevent the glue from sticking, or do you apply it directly? Thank you.

[@Drachenfang]

Thanks. I don't put anything special on the ball. As mache paste dries it does not interact with the beach ball and so when the ball is later deflated and removed it will always pull smoothly away from the mache shell.

[@shahdokht4801]

درود بر شما آیا تمام مواد خمیر مثل همان خمیر قبلی هست یا فرق دارند ؟

[@Drachenfang]

مواد تشکیل دهنده برای خاک رس کاغذی یکسان است

[@rishabhclass5cmishra984]

Can we use cement instead of joint compound please tell me man

[@Drachenfang]

You can use portland cement for a more waterproof design. I don't have a good recipe but Joni does. Here is the info you need: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHetq2VuiJZ9pbc&ab_channel=UltimatePaperMache

[@swanchamp5136]

Maybe it's because I'm in the UK but that seems like a lot of flour, i might end up with a bucket full of glue with that amount. Hmmm is that amount of flour necessary?

[@Drachenfang]

It's honestly more like a ratio. 6 parts flour to one part glue and add water to preffered consistency. It's really down to how much paste you want to make. At this point I've made the stuff so often that I don't measure anymore but when I was starting out this was the ratio I used.

[@swanchamp5136]

@Drachenfang giving it a go with just PVA and water, the flour just kept clumping up. Will see how the experiment goes. The beach ball isn't perfectly round and has flaws, but i will see how the first stage turns out.

[@Drachenfang]

@@swanchamp5136 PVA and water is very reliable and has no mold potential so I think it's a very good call. For flour you need to add water to the bottom of your bowl first and then hit it with a mixer (ideally with a whisk head). Warm water also helps. Beach balls almost always have a bit of stretch off center. It really isn't noticeable in the final product.

[@MarlynJimenezVlog]

This is awesome!! Trying to prep for Halloween so i saw your video!! Thank you ao much for the info!!! What size of ball are you using?

[@Drachenfang]

The ball in this one is about 16-18 inches but for a first run through I'd recommend a 12" ball. They're usually measured online in the distance from the air nozzle to the top of the ball. I'll have a new series out soon on making your first pumpkin. I use toilet paper for the clay so people don't have to go out a buy a bale of insulation

[@MarlynJimenezVlog]

Thank you so so much for your fast reply!! ❤

[@Drachenfang]

@@MarlynJimenezVlog No problem. I'm usually on the ball during summer time :)

[@danielloranger5251]

Can you link to the cellulose fiber? All I am finding is small food grade stuff, thinking that is something different

[@Drachenfang]

No prob amigo. Here it is: www.homedepot.com/p/Greenfiber-25-lbs-Cellulose-Blown-In-Insulation-or-Spray-Applied-Insulation-INSSANC/311574454

[@danielloranger5251]

@@Drachenfang have you tried using the sharp edges of the paper tou remove and doing your own pulp from that? Thinking like put it in with water and other paper scraps (like from the shredder) and blending it up with a food blender. Just thinking of ways to save expenses

[@Drachenfang]

@@danielloranger5251 I have never done this but it is certainly a very viable option. You can soak paper for a while and then put it in a blender to achieve a product which is almost identical to (and probably even better than) the cellulose insulation that I regularly utilize. Toilet paper is likewise even better than that as the cellulose fragments are even smaller and more finely separated.

[@danielloranger5251]

@@Drachenfang blended up some cardboard and other misc paper shredder (junk mail) shreddings this morning. Looks to have worked great other than needing to dry the extra pulp for storage, will be mixing the clay up here shortly.

[@Drachenfang]

@@danielloranger5251 Excellent. I'm glad to know it's going well. How's the texture of the stuff compared to cellulose clay? Lumpier, smoother, just as good?

[@DonnaCline-l4o]

Does the brand of joint compound matter?

[@Drachenfang]

DAP and Wurth brands should not be used due to their odd formulas which make weird snot balls when mixed with glue.

[@davidwoodward9793]

Hi Doing one of these. Did the last ones too. On this one thoe. When i removed the beach ball it had some mold spurs on inside. Do i just use a fan to take care of that

[@Drachenfang]

Yes. Once the mold is dry and especially if you varnish over it afterwards it's as good as dead so long as the project does not get waterlogged.

[@MarlynJimenezVlog]

Do i mix the 6 cups of flour and 1 cup of glue and water? All together? Or little by little?

[@Drachenfang]

You'll have your best luck starting with a bit of water in the mixing bowl, maybe 4 cups of water in the beginning. From there you can add glue and flour all at once. The water present at the beginning will help ensure that the flour doesn't clump quite as much.

[@seburn3903]

Apologies if I missed this on another video or stream, but is there a reason why you stopped using the liquid starch in the paste? I’ve made a few of the V1 pumpkins with the starch in the mix (with good outcomes) and just wondering what the difference is. Thanks, Drach!

[@Drachenfang]

I never found the liquid starch did much for the mix so I didn't include it

[@militran]

Where can i get cellulose insulation? Or can I use some other material?

[@Drachenfang]

Cellulose insulation can be obtained from most hardware stores but in the event you cannot get it in your area you can use toilet paper. This is a method I cover in my beginner guide: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJezaouroKyUpac&ab_channel=Drachenfang

[@militran]

Thank you brother! @@Drachenfang

[@Drachenfang]

No prob :) @@militran

[@militran]

you're pretty awesome, you know that? @@Drachenfang

[@Drachenfang]

I do my best. If that's good enough then I'm happy :)@@militran

[@kathymcvey4140]

Please tell me how to make clay, didn't understand one of the ingredients, fiber?

[@Drachenfang]

Here is my video on how to make clay from several years ago. I still use pretty much the same recipe. The fiber is cellulose insulation fiber but it can be substituted with several other forms of paper pulp depending on local availability. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIDVipqYqK17o6c&ab_channel=Drachenfang The only new information on it is that I tend to make the paste that I use for paper clay very thick before I use it to make clay.

[@joannegee1650]

Hello Drachenfang - the maker of my good time crafting - and current passion of mine - question: How large is the pumpkin you do in this tutorial - exact dimensions are requested and what is the size of the hole at the bottom? I have a humongous 27" beach ball - do I dare try it? Will I need a mack truck to get it around or out of my abode? These and other burning questions are awaiting your expert advice. Thanks. Have a nice day.

[@Drachenfang]

Mine is a 22 inch ball and the hole is 10 inches across. It's gonna take a while and you need to make sure that your doorway can fit through a 29-31 inch beach ball. You'll also need to be very careful of the drying because if you have crumbling like you mentioned before you may have a spot where the weight of the ball makes a jaw break.

[@ravenrogers7148]

What do you use for your lights inside? These are absolutely amazing!

[@Drachenfang]

Thanks. The light are a variation of these: www.amazon.com/Creatrek-Submersible-Controlled-Waterproof-Underwater/dp/B01E186V8Q/ref=sr_1_5?crid=ODC3LQHJTNXT&keywords=underwater+puck+lights&qid=1659121120&sprefix=underwater+puck+lights%2Caps%2C87&sr=8-5 If you search amazon for underwater puck lights they'll always come up in one flavor or another.

[@triciacollova]

How do you weather proof your pumpkins? Can they withstand a month's worth of outdoor use with fluctuating temps and rain? Thank you!

[@Drachenfang]

If I am going full weatherproofing then I will give them a coat of spar urethane when they are unpainted but fully dried. Then I will prime them with a coat of drylok masonry waterproofer, and once they are painted I will give them another coat of spar urethane. To be honest I have never dared to leave them out for a full month of weather and sun. Other folks have done big displays with mache which are out all October and they do fine with this method. Scott Stoll of Stolloween does this and the folks over at Oak Lane Cemetery have a video out on mache props which get exposed to water over time. Usually the worst that happens is the prop gets soggy and then redries out. Then you can hit it with another layer of waterproofer.

[@triciacollova]

@@Drachenfang thank you so much for your quick response! I’ve started a papier-mâché pumpkin but didn’t want to put a ton of effort into them until I figure out a weatherproofing technique!! Thanks again for your quick response I will try that out.

[@Zedsta]

So no need for liquid starch that you used in Version 1?

[@Drachenfang]

Yeah I didn't find it really did anything noticeable to the paste and it added an extra step to the mix

[@Zedsta]

@Drachenfang thanks bro. Just got all my stuff needed for Version 2. Even got 16kg bag of flour 🤣. Can't wait to get started this weekend. Appreciate your videos

[@Drachenfang]

@@Zedsta Glad to hear you're rockin' the project. I wish you great success in bringing your beastie to life :)

[@suzuyahaise401]

Can you wear it as a mask?

[@Drachenfang]

I've known a few people who have tried to use it as a mask with varying degrees of success. I plan on making a tutorial on how to make it a mask eventually

[@Zedsta]

Another question my good man, or a few lol, do you the stand mixer for your paper clay, or the paint mixer on drill.? And I got some varnish and you said about matte spray varnish before, dose that really deshine the base coat of varnish, plus lol, how do you protect the base of pumpkin from the wet for, just paint drylock on bottom or coat base rim with silicone?

[@Drachenfang]

No problem. Always happy to answer good questions. Either mixer will work fine. I just bought the stand mixer because I do this all the time and it is handy to rapidly small batch paper clay. I used the paint mixer all the time before that and it works perfectly fine. Yes, the matte varnish will take the reflective shine off of a gloss varnish coat. With the bottom you need to be concerned about if it will be wet, abrasive, or both. So if you keep the pumpkin on wet concrete you stand the chance of it scraping along if someone kicks or moves it by accident then you have water infiltration through the scratch. If you keep it in damp grass then you only care about water infiltration. If you only bring them into a wet area on Halloween night then there won't be enough water to worry about and they will dry up afterward no matter what. If I have ones that I am worried about getting scratched up on concrete continually then I may glue a felt pad to the bottom to take the scrape out. If you plan on leaving them in wet grass then just drylok the heck out of them and make sure you have no unvarnished nooks or crannies. The base rim should get hit with varnish when you paint and ideally the varnish will penetrate down into any exposed material to make it water resistant.

[@Zedsta]

@@Drachenfang thanks bro. I really appreciate your help

[@Zedsta]

@@Drachenfang 1 more lol, dose it matter what paint you use or dose it have to be acrylic or can I just use spray cans? As it's being varnished on top

[@Drachenfang]

@@Zedsta No prob. Really you can use any paint you want. Spray cans have a much faster coverage. I just went for demonstrating the cheapest option which is usually those 50 cent acrylics from any given store with an art section.

[@dreiineinemboot]

So they are waterproof? Weather proof?

[@Drachenfang]

If fully coated and sealed they are weather resistant. Some people I know have them out for the entirety of October in the wind rain and cold with no adverse effects. I am not that brave. Soon I plan on trying a mix of paper clay and portland cement which is said to be far more weather resistant.

[@dreiineinemboot]

I will be happy to see that video, if you do one! Thank you for doing this. @@Drachenfang

[@Drachenfang]

@@dreiineinemboot No problem. If you would like to see the clay-crete mix earlier another youtuber has already been doing it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnvdm3yQi9GGmpo&ab_channel=UltimatePaperMache

[@shannoncraig9575]

Where do you get the instillation?

[@Drachenfang]

This depends on where you live. In the US you can get it at most hardware stores like Lowes or home depot

[@brandicampbell2001]

Do I need to let each layer dry between coats for the initial paper mache? And the paper clay?

[@Drachenfang]

Each layer of initial mache does not need to dry before applying the next layer. You need to be careful with paper clay because if you apply a giant wad of it somewhere that is an inch thick or more then you run the risk of having it dry rapidly outside while having an undried core section where mold and bacteria can breed. I try to never apply more than a half inch of clay without letting it dry more or less completely before another application.

[@TheMicky1114]

Has anyone in the uk done this? i’m curious about the insulation and where to get it from as I can’t seem to find it on amazon

[@Drachenfang]

I know a few folks from the UK have tried it and one or two from Ireland as well. Sadly the names are not coming to mind and I don't think there is a utility to search all the comments from multiple videos. I think they were also mentioning this on my original video and not version 2. I recall someone saying that building supply firms in the UK were willing to sell them the insulation unless they were contractors.

[@Drachenfang]

Maybe give these folks a call/email: www.warmcel.co.uk/warmcel/installers/

[@karenhettenbaugh2109]

Can someone tell me where I can purchase the cellulose fiber insulation?

[@lshappynana]

Lowes has is and very inexpensive 😉

[@shannoncraig9575]

Is there an alternative to the insulation?

[@leecooper144]

Hi Found this channel and now attempting to make a couple of pumpkins using your method. Just one question, you say 6 layers is that just 6 layers of paper or 3 x 6 as i notice you do 3 layers then let it dry as i have now added 12 layers and it is still soft in some parts and i have made sure i go over each part as i layer them? Thanks

[@Drachenfang]

6 layers of paper is my general rule. I have two experiments in the works to see if you can get away with as few as 3. If you have areas which are still soft you can layer paper pieces over the soft spots only. I have found that softness is common in newspaper that has gotten wet and sat for a while or if there are air gaps between loosely laid on strips. Honestly if you have 12 layers of newspaper just go right to the next stage. The likelihood of a critical problem is negligible.

[@leecooper144]

@@Drachenfang Great thanks for the reply will give it a go and move on to the next step

[@witchplease2631]

Amm can you not just make me one and send it over to me? Please, pretty please. 😂

[@Drachenfang]

Not just this second. The last time I promised that it took me years to get one pumpkin out.

[@witchplease2631]

@@Drachenfang It would cost a fortune on shipping all the way over here to Ireland. So I'm trying making one instead. But you're an amazing artist. Only found your channel tonight and love the videos. Especially seeing your wee comrade Kitty giving you some pointers. 😂❤️

[@Drachenfang]

Ireland is a ways off. I always need to make sure I'm working to my fuzzy supervisor's standards :)@@witchplease2631

[@caspaz]

Before anyone wants to start this cool project, they should consider the overall cost of the materials--it's not cheap. This is the breakdown, based on the list provided in the video: Beach ball $2 Newspaper 2 Hand Mixer (thrift store) 2 Drywall joint compound 11 Hot glue gun w/glue sticks 9 Paint: exterior latex (sample) 6 Craft paints: brown, green, yellow 3 Bowls, bucket, brushes (Dollar Tree) 7 Amazon Basics White Glue (gallon) 12.99 Cellulose insulation 25 Spar varnish 26.99 Drylok Extreme Waterproofing 36.99 Wire: 140 guage (50 ft. min) 6.59 Total: 150.56 Even if you substitute the cheaper torn and soaked newsprint for the exorbitant cellulose insulation, that knocks off only about $25. This is not a cheap craft project. Don't make this pumpkin because you're too cheap to buy a fancy clay pumpkin. This project will cost way more. You do it because you love crafting. Just understand: this project is EXPENSIVE.

[@Drachenfang]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJezaouroKyUpac&ab_channel=Drachenfang I do agree that the finishing agents that I use are pricey. Reasonably though you could make some substitutions to slash the unit cost and even more so if you plan on keeping the pumpkin out of any kind of moisture. The spar varnish and drylok can be tossed in favor of only using the exterior latex paint on the inside and outside. A can of krylon matte spray with a uv resist is about $9 on amazon as of 9-30-24. The wire for this can be swapped for an old metal coat hanger which most folks can source. With those changes you can drop the buy in cost to about $83, which I agree is still no walk in the financial park. On the up side one unit of cellulose insulation will make 10 pumpkins easily and if you use this list then a gallon of spar varnish and drylok will be able to paint each and every one of those 10 pumpkins. You're completely right in the fact that this buy in if you have none of the components to start with is expensive. I would even argue that if you plan on making only one pumpkin then you are far better off looking at my '5 hour pumpkin' beginners video which has a cheaper methodology. If you plan on making a bunch of pumpkins though... the unit cost rapidly drops. It probably doesn't drop as low as the (ptooey!) foam pumpkins when they are on sale after Halloween but I know I absolutely adore it when a trick or treat visitor asks where I bought them from and I get to say 'I made them from paper mache' and then I watch as they refuse to believe it. :)