Hot Air Balloon Pumpkins

Every year, pumpkins come into vogue as not only a decoration but a canvas for artistic Autumnal expression. Last year we made Stained Glass Pumpkins! They were pretty fun and looked really cool lit up. This year, we opted for the no carve pumpkin. Instead, we put on our engineering caps and considered how the pumpkin could evolve into some thing else. (We do that with everything though, don't we?!)

While pursuing the internet, I saw a picture of a hot air balloon. Instantly, I thought, that looks like a pumpkin floating in the air! So it was born: the Hot Air Balloon Pumpkin.

They are not the most simple things to make but they are certainly pretty. That counts for something, right? You will need to balance these correctly or they will not stand. That has to do entirely with the placement of your skewers. Be sure to place them evenly apart in the "basket" pumpkin. You also must not try to make these with massive pumpkins for the "balloons". We used pumpkins that were about 2.5 pounds.

Gather:

*Small pumpkins or gourds for the baskets (be sure the bottoms are mostly flat)

*2.5 pound pumpkins for the balloon portion.

*Acrylic paint/brushes

*Skewers

*Knife

*Ribbon/pom poms/decorations of various sorts

*Hot glue/gun

Create:

1. Using a knife, cut the stems from the pumpkins. Paint the balloon portion of your pumpkin. Let dry. Add decorations with hot glue.

2. Use the pointed end of the skewer to puncture the "basket" pumpkin in three places, evenly spaced. Turn the skewer over and slide the blunt end into the "basket" pumpkin. Be sure not to go through the bottom.

3. Place the "balloon" pumpkin upside down and drive the pointed end of the "basket" pumpkin skewers into the "balloon" portion. Continue working each skewer in until they are securely in the "balloon" pumpkin. Flip the entire thing over and find the balance by adjusting the height of the "balloon".