Craft on a budget with this upcycled pumpkin craft made using plastic yogurt cups! This fantastic fall and Halloween craft is great for a broad range of age groups, but if you want something different, check out this toilet paper roll pumpkin box too! This post contains affiliate links.

I love a craft that anyone – literally anyone – in the family can have a good part in creating.

Even better?

A craft that everyone from toddler and up can make and really be involved in creating.

The youngest might not have the scissors skills yet to cut stunning leaf shapes and sepals but they can cut green strips to embellish a more abstract top (it’s all about how you sell it 😉 )

And they might not be able to paint straight lines, but just painting the cup orange and plopping a green mess on top is enough to replicate a pumpkin for them.

And even pretty young preschoolers can pretty much replicate this craft.

So where do the older set come in?

The way the top is constructed is beautiful enough for even grown-ups to have fun with! You’ve got all the beauty in the pumpkins and vines. Just use grown-up paint to make your pumpkin craft, as opposed to the washable version you’ll want to give the little ones.

As for the cups you use: you can literally use yogurt cup, making this pumpkin craft almost free! Or use applesauce or fruit cups – or anything that tickles your fancy. After all, pumpkins aren’t just flat and wide! They come in all shapes and sizes!

Make one or two, make a whole group – it’s your call. You can even use non-recycled plastic cups cut to the size you want.

Just have fun!

And if you want more great ideas for fall, check out this fall DIY decor – fall leaf macame, or make leaf lantern fall luminaries.

What you need to make a pumpkin craft from plastic cups:

Plastic cups in the shape you want your pumpkin to be. Flatter, wider yogurt cups or applesauce cups are perfect for this.
Acrylic paint
Paint brushes
Scissors
Pencils
Green paper (construction or similar thickness) and if you want gold paper scraps
Glue
The template – download it here.

How to make a plastic cup pumpkin for Halloween or Autumn:

1. Paint your plastic cup orange. If needed, when it’s dry, paint a second layer.

2. Now take a thinner brush and draw some vertical stripes on the cup in a darker shade of orange, or gold.

3. Use the template to cut out the leaves, vine and stem for the pumpkin. Fold in decorative creases – such as lines on your leaves, crease between the points of the sepal (star-shape).

4. First glue the sepal on the top of the plastic cup.

5. Roll the thick green strip into a stem. Glue it shut.

6. Then glue the leaves as you like them on the stem.

7. Now glue the stem in the center of the sepal that’s on your plastic cup pumpkin.

8. Take the thin paper strips and coil them around a pen or something smooth and round to turn them into tendrils.

9. Finish it off by gluing the swirly paper strips as vines on the pumpkin.

Your pumpkin craft is complete and ready to decorate your home!

Pumpkin Cup Craft

Active Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Estimated Cost: Less than $1

Make these adorable upcyceld pumpkin cups - a cool pumpkin craft for kids - or grown-ups!

Materials

Plastic cups in the shape you want your pumpkin to be. Flatter, wider yogurt cups or applesauce cups are perfect for this.
Acrylic paint in orange and gold (or your favorite colors)
Paint brushes
Scissors
Pencils
Green paper (construction or similar thickness) and if you want gold paper scraps
Glue

Instructions

Paint your plastic cup orange. If needed, when it's dry, paint a second layer.
Now take a thinner brush and draw some vertical stripes on the cup in a darker shade of orange, or gold.
Use the template to cut out the leaves, vine and stem for the pumpkin. Fold in decorative creases - such as lines on your leaves, crease between the points of the sepal (star-shape).
First glue the sepal on the top of the plastic cup.
Roll the thick green strip into a stem. Glue it shut.
Then glue the leaves as you like them on the stem.
Now glue the stem in the center of the sepal that's on your plastic cup pumpkin.
Take the thin paper strips and coil them around a pen or something smooth and round to turn them into tendrils.
Finish it off by gluing the swirly paper strips as vines on the pumpkin.