Glowing Paper Pumpkins

Below is the list of Materials and Components you will need.

Bare Paint, Pen, Paint Brush, Tracing Paper, Scissors, Cellotape, 3V Button Cell Battery, Amber or Red LEDs

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.

Make the pumpkin base.

The pumpkin base is the well-known origami ball, or water balloon.

Image No.1 – First of all you need to fold your piece of paper diagonally and cut off excess to make a square.

Image No.2 – Once you have a square fold it in half diagonally then horizonally, reopening each time. Repeat for opposite corners.

Image No.3 – Take your folded square, fold in half horizontally, then fold the corners inside to make a triangle.

Image No.4 – 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.

Image No.5 – Take the side points of the square and fold into the middle. Repeat on back side.

Image No.6 – Now that you have created little flaps, fold down the top points and insert them into the flaps. Repeat on back side.

Drawing battery and LED contacts, and your pumpkin design.

Unfold the square.

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

Draw around your battery, on both this triangle and the adjacent 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 should now be ready to paint in your drawing with Bare Paint.

Use Bare Paint to fill in your drawing.

Attaching the LED

Image No.1 – 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.

Image No.2 – Tape in place with cellotape, making sure you have good contact between the paint and the LED. Place the battery onto one of the circles of paint.

Re-folding your pumpkin

Image No.1 – 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 around you should see your LED light; if not, flip the battery and check that your LED has good contact with the paint.

Image No.2 – 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.

Image No.3 – Still pinching the battery in place fold over the top left corner of the paper.

Image No.1 – The battery is now below my left finger.

Image No.2 – 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.

Image No.3 – Turn the paper over and do the same to the other side.

Image No.1 – Now that you have finished re-folding your pumpkin it’s time to inflate it.

Image No.2 – Look for the hole in your fold.

Image No.3 – 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.