This Pokémon storybook character pumpkin idea is perfect for any Pikachu fan!
All three evolutions are included in an adorable stacked pumpkin topiary, so Pichu and Riachu join in on the fun as well.
This is an easy and unique idea for any storybook pumpkin patch!
Storybook Character Pumpkin Idea: Pokémon & The Evolutions of Pikachu
My youngest son, Brayden, is in the first grade, and just like most six- and seven-year-olds, he’s totally obsessed with all things Pokémon.
So when his school asked students to design a pumpkin based on their favorite storybook characters, he naturally grabbed a book that he bought at his last school book fair which showcased his favorite Pokémon: the adorable yellow creature with a lightning bolt tail, pointy ears, and red cheeks named Pikachu!
But he didn’t want to just do a Pikachu pumpkin.
No, no, no. That would “be too easy and way too boring, mom.”
So since his chosen book describes all three evolutions of Pikachu, we decided to design a pumpkin that was instead three mini pumpkins in one stacked topiary: the faces of Pichu, Pikachu, and Riachu!
A Storybook Pumpkin Patch at the School Library
My boys’ elementary school has hosted some really fun events over the years.
We’ve done the typical Valentine’s Day cards and boxes, plus a vocabulary parade, an idiom parade, a book character dress-up parade, and even an Easter hat parade.
How about a 50th Day of School celebration?
Or a couple different 100th Day of School parties?
Yep, we’ve done those too.
This year, for the first time, we were asked to contribute a decorated pumpkin to a storybook pumpkin patch that would be “grown” in the school’s library.
It was completely optional, and since it’s being used as a fundraiser for a wonderful organization that I volunteer with every week called The Caring Link, we knew we wanted to take part in the festivities.
Plus it just sounded fun!
Pokémon Storybook Pumpkin Supplies
Brayden’s librarian provided some guidelines for the storybook pumpkins that helped us determine what we were going to do, and more specifically, how we would go about doing it.
The guidelines included:
- Design a pumpkin based on a favorite character from a storybook
- The pumpkin should be no larger than a basketball in size
- Use only acrylic paints or permanent markers
- Watercolors can run and spray paint will slowly dissolve the pumpkin…ewww
- Other fun additions like stickers, pompoms, googly eyes, etc. were more than welcome
- No carving, cutting, or poking holes in the pumpkin
- Be creative!
So, based on all that, below you’ll find a list of what we used to make our Pokémon storybook character pumpkin topiary.
Now, I know this list probably looks rather long, but most of it is basic craft supplies that I already had on hand in my WorkBox 3.0 craft cabinet.
And this was another crafting-by-the-seat-of-our-pants project (much like our gravity-defying Easter hat), so I grabbed bits and bobs along the way as needed.
The only things I had to buy were the actual pumpkins, so I spent a mere $7 on this particular project!
Here’s what we used:
- THE HEADS & FACES
- Three small pumpkins
- Three shades of acrylic paints (two yellow and one orange)
- Foam brush
- Silhouette Cameo
- Vinyl scraps in various colors (black, white, pink, red, and yellow)
- Craft tweezers
- THE EARS
- A few sheets of card stock (yellow, black, and brown)
- Pencil
- Scissors
- A black Sharpie
- A glue stick
- Two small pieces of a black pipe cleaner
- Six mini pompoms
- Some dabs of hot glue
- Glue Dots
- ADDITIONAL STRUCTURAL SUPPORTS (just to be safe)
- A few black pipe cleaners
- Some wire as a backstop for the top pumpkin
How to Make a Pokémon Pumpkin Topiary
I first headed to our local grocery store and checked out their pumpkin varieties.
I knew I wanted Pichu’s pumpkin to be kinda flatish and wider than it is tall, so it would both look more like the character’s head shape and so that it would provide a solid base for the other two pumpkins.
I grabbed a few pumpkins and started stacking what would be the middle and top ones, hoping to find two that would balance nicely.
As I was experimenting, another shopper walked next to me, paused and stared for a second, then asked in a thick Russian accent, “Are you making a…pumpkin snowman?”
After I explained that no, I was actually helping my son with a school project, he chuckled and gave me a cheerful “Good luck!” before continuing on with his produce selections. :)
After bringing our three selected gourds home, I first removed the stem from the soon-to-be bottom pumpkin then practiced the balancing act.
Luckily, they stayed balanced and upright!
Now it was time to paint them in their respective Pokémon’s base color.
Brayden really got into this step, as you can see by his classic Focused Face (i.e. tongue sticking out).
The boy can’t help it. :)
It’s a quirk he’s inherited from his dad.
Here’s how the pumpkins looked after their first coats of paint:
After a few coats of paint for the yellow fellas (the orange covered nicely with just one), it was time to create the faces.
For this step, instead of painting all of the facial features by hand, we decided to just use vinyl.
I fired up Silhouette Studio and created designs for the smiling open mouths, tiny noses, expressive eyes, and colorful cheeks.
Next, I pulled out my vinyl scraps organizer and found pieces of each color that would work.
I love a good scrap-buster project!
After cutting the vinyl with my Silhouette Cameo and weeding each piece, here’s how all of the elements looked:
Next, I grabbed my craft tweezers and got to layering the pieces.
And I gotta admit…this picture of these floating faces makes me feel slightly uncomfortable. :)
Here’s how our Pokémon pumpkin friends looked sans ears.
Pretty darn cute already!
To make the ears, I just sketched one of each pair with a pencil on some colored card stock and cut it out, then flipped it and made a second mirror image one.
They all had little tabs on the bottoms that would be used to attach the ears to the pumpkin heads with some Glue Dots.
I then added the black edges and distinctive markings with a Sharpie.
Riachu’s cute little curly q’s were made with a couple pipe cleaners.
To help keep the ears from succumbing to gravity and drooping forwards or backwards, I attached a mini pompom to the back of each one, right at the bend, with a little hot glue (you can see what I mean in a picture in the next section).
The pumpkins stack and stay balanced on their own just fine, however, since this is going to be on display in the school’s library, I thought a little extra support couldn’t hurt.
I can just envision kiddos accidentally bumping into the table or tapping the pumpkins in their excitement and down goes our Pokémon topiary. #sadface
So, just to be safe, I added a couple safety enhancements:
- Pipe cleaner rings in between the pumpkins
- Although more decorative than functional, these kinda act like little holders that the top pumpkins rest inside more evenly
- A haphazardly engineered wire support in the back
- This has two small legs that rest underneath the bottom pumpkin and a “bumper” that prevents the top pumpkin from falling backwards
Now our pumpkin topiary can not only withstand wayward wee ones, but probably also a minor earthquake. *fingers crossed*
Our Final Pokémon Storybook Character Pumpkins!
And here is how our Pokémon stacked pumpkin topiary looks in all its glory!
Super cute, no?
It’s a mighty fine storybook character pumpkin, indeed, and a three-in-one to boot!
Our Pichu, Pikachu, and Riachu pumpkin friends turned out to be excellent autumnal doppelgangers of their real (fictional) selves.
As you can see, Brayden was pretty excited with how our Pokémon pumpkin creations turned out.
Mr. Hot Dog was proud to display his Pokémon pumpkin tower at his school’s storybook pumpkin patch. :)
If You Enjoyed This…
Make sure you check out all of my other Halloween projects and fun ideas for the school year, like these!
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Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Halloween!
