Introduction: Haunted House Diorama Pumpkin

By Essyjae
About: Hi, I'm Sarah! I love to create things - paper crafts, hand lettering, holiday crafts, fabric dyeing, polymer clay and more.

Learn to create a spooky pumpkin diorama! This is a fun way to decorate a pumpkin that doesn't involve a lot of carving.

If you'd like to see this project in video form, please click the video above.

Materials I Used (and where I got them):

  • Fake pumpkin (this one with the opening pre-cut was from Michael's)
  • Patterns for the haunted house, here
  • Spanish Black Moss (JoAnn's) to fill the bottom of the pumpkin
  • Card stock & scrapbook paper
  • Firefly lights in warm white
  • Firefly bat shaped lights (Hobby Lobby)
  • hot glue gun
  • miniature pumpkins (Hobby Lobby)
  • pebbles

Step 1: "Build" the House

1. Print and cut out the patterns.

2. Use an Xacto knife, or scissors with a sharp tip, to cut out the windows and along the top and one side of the door.

3. Score the folds and tab folds with a stylus or a pencil.

4. Trace each pattern onto card stock or construction paper. Make sure to trace the insides of the windows and around all the tabs.

5. Score all the fold lines.

6. Put glue on the tabs and assemble the house.

Step 2: Create the Fence

1. Trace and cut out the fence patterns.

2. Glue the shorter pieces vertically to the longer pieces.

3. Set these aside.

Step 3: Set the Scene

1. Use some black spanish moss or straw to fill the bottom of the pumpkin.

2. Take some firefly lights and roll the end of them up a bit, and place this inside the house. Use a little hot glue to secure it there.

3. Place the rest of the lights in the back of the pumpkin. Try to place the battery pack where it is mostly hidden, but you can still get to it. You can try putting some loose moss on top of it to hide it.

4. Put some hot glue on the bottom of the house and glue it to the moss. I also recommend putting glue on some of the moss to keep it in place inside the pumpkin.

5. Put glue on the bottom of the fence pieces and glue one on each side of the house.

Step 4: Add the Finishing Touches

I added some miniature pumpkins, glueing one to the moss on each side of the house.

I added a second set of firefly lights. These ones were bat shaped, so I glued four to the front inside where you can see them better, and placed the rest in the back. I put the battery pack in the side of the pumpkin.

I glued some pebbles to the moss in front of the house to create kind of a walkway.

I cut a moon shape out of paper and glued a long, thin strip of paper to the top of the moon, then glued this to the top inside of the pumpkin.

Finally, I cut a ghost shape out of white paper, drew a face on it, and glued this inside the house.

Step 5: That's It!

...and you're done!

Thanks for viewing this Instructable and Happy Halloween!