I really love all of the Disney classics, but none of them bring on quite as many tears as Dumbo. I’m a huge Tim Burton fan, so I’m cautiously optimistic about the live action version coming in 2019. While we wait for a closer look at that movie, I couldn’t resist the inspiration to make a Dumbo Pumpkin inspired by the original film.
To make your own Dumbo Pumpkin, you’ll need:
- A Pumpkin (Real or Craft)
- Gray, White, Pink, Light Blue and Black Craft Foam
- Gray Spray Paint
- Yellow Felt
- Wired Red Satin Ribbon
- Yellow Satin Ribbon
- Glue Gun and Hot Glue
- Small Floral Foam Circle
- Black Feather (Optional)
- Glue Dot Runner (Optional)
- Clothes Iron (Optional)
When I’m working with craft foam, I like to iron it after cutting to help shrink and curve the foam a bit. This gives it a less foam-like appearance and helps you when you’re creating shapes. Start by cutting out two very large ears from gray craft foam and making a tube to form the trunk. Use the ears as a template to cut out slightly smaller ears in pink foam before hot gluing the larger ears onto the pumpkin. Once you’ve added your trunk and ears, give the whole thing a coat of gray spray paint.
Once the gray paint is dry, glue on the pink inner ears. I found it helpful to use a glue dot runner, which you can reposition, to get the ears in place before going around the edges with a little hot glue. If you’d like for your Dumbo to hold a feather, use hot glue to attach it to his trunk.
To create Dumbo’s ruffled collar, glue a piece of yellow satin ribbon to a pice of wired red satin ribbon. I used my glue dot runner for this, but any glue will work. Gather the ribbon by pulling on the wire on just one side of the red ribbon. This will create a ruffle.
I also used a small floral foam circle from the dollar store to elevate my Dumbo to show off his ruffle. Floral foam can be a bit crumbly, so I left it in the shrink wrap. Use hot glue to add your ribbon ruffle to the foam. Add the glue to the ribbon and press into place as the hot glue will melt the foam a bit if you apply it directly to that. Add more hot glue to the bottom of your pumpkin and attach the ruffle and foam base. If any of your floral foam is exposed, cover it by gluing on a strip of gray craft foam.
Create a cone of yellow felt with hot glue. Fold up the bottom of your cone to make Dumbo’s hat.
Finish your Dumbo by gluing on eyes, a mouth, and eyelashes created from craft foam. You could also opt to use craft paint to create Dumbo’s facial features if you prefer.
Looking for more Disney DIY inspiration? Check out my entire Disney Halloween project collection!
Want to save this Dumbo pumpkin for later? Click the photo below to add to Pinterest.
