Super Easy DIY Pumpkin Monster Decoration

Grow Your Own Monster: Halloween Pumpkin Creature Prop

Looking for a fun, inexpensive, and eye-catching Halloween decoration? This Grow-Your-Own Monster Pumpkin prop is lightweight, customizable, and perfect for both indoor and outdoor spooky displays. With basic craft supplies and a little creativity, you’ll have your own creepy pumpkin creature guaranteed to impress visitors! And Then we l

Dowel rod (approx. 2–3 ft, depending on desired height)

Newspaper

Wood glue

Flower pot (any size that fits your desired scale)

Expanding spray foam (for gaps / large cracks)

Paint brush(es)

Acrylic paints (black, green, brown ,orange + highlight colors of choice)

Scrap foam blocks, packing foam, or rocks (for weighting the pot)

Battery-powered LED fairy lights

Painter’s tape

Foam pumpkin (Dollar store or craft store)

Box cutter or craft knife

Epoxy clay (any brand/color)

Aluminum foil

Crepe paper (optional for smoothing surface)

1. Tear off lengths of aluminum foil and shape them into coils and bundles.
2. These will form the torso, arms, wings, or vines—whatever your monster design requires.
3. Use painter’s tape to secure all the foil pieces together.
4. Continue shaping until you’re happy with the creature’s silhouette.

Paper Mache the Body

1. In a bowl, mix wood glue and water (about 1 part glue to 1 part water).
2. Dip pieces of newspaper into the mixture and lay them over the foil form.
3. Cover the entire figure.
4. Let it dry overnight until hardened.

Fill your flower pot with packing foam, rocks, or anything heavy to stabilize the structure.

Insert the dowel rod upright into the center (this will support the body).

Use expanding spray foam around the base to lock everything in place.

You can layer the foam in twisting lines to create vines or root-like texture.

Allow the foam to fully cure.

Create a stem by shaping aluminum foil and covering it with epoxy clay.

Add clay leaf shapes or texture details if desired.

Cut a hole at the bottom of the foam pumpkin large enough to fit over the dowel rod.

Use a craft knife to carve a face of your choosing.

Paint the inside of the pumpkin mouth/eyes black, but leave some of the natural white foam visible—this helps the pumpkin glow when lit.

Paint the exterior of the pumpkin in your chosen colors.

1. Once the paper mache is fully dry, mount the body onto the dowel rod.
2. Paint the body:
3. Begin with a black base coat.
4. Once dry, dry-brush lighter colors on top to highlight texture and form.

Add Lighting

Place battery-powered or plugged fairy lights inside the pumpkin head. I use the plug version which I got mine for under nine bucks on Amazon.

This will create a dramatic, eerie glow—especially in low light.

Display Your Creature!

And that’s it! Your very own Pumpkin Monster Plant is ready to be displayed on your porch, in your Halloween setup, or as part of a haunted scene. Each monster will look unique based on how you shape and paint it—so feel free to experiment with colors, add vines, teeth, moss, or more creepy details.