It’s October, which means it’s time for Halloween craft ideas. This year we’re focusing on pumpkin crafts because what’s Halloween without a big grinning jack-o-lantern?
Playdough Pumpkins
Pumpkin carving is the basis for many Halloween craft ideas, but small children lack the hand-to-eye coordination to safely handle a knife. Rather than risk a trip to the emergency room, introduce little ones to the first of our three pumpkin crafts—playdough jack-o-lanterns.
All you need for this craft are some medium-sized pumpkins (small enough for kids to handle easily, but big enough to be impressive) and a selection of playdough. Show the kids how to make playdough eyes, ears, mouths, and noses, and let them press their creations onto the pumpkin surface. This is one of the easiest Halloween craft ideas we’ve ever seen, with minimal cleanup and a quick, fun payoff for the kids.
Sparkly Pasta Pumpkin Crafts
You can tell which members of the I See Me staff spent the weekend crafting with the kids by the amount of glitter they track into the office. We’re firmly of the opinion that glitter makes almost any kids’ craft more fun, and that includes this sparkly pumpkin craft.
You’ll need:
- Pasta wheels
- Macaroni
- Green, red, and yellow food coloring
- Alcohol (rubbing alcohol—not the drinkable stuff!)
- Crafting Glue
- Card stock
- 2 plastic Ziploc bags
- Paper towels
- Gold glitter.
Open one of the Ziploc bags and add a few drops of green food coloring. Add a few drops of alcohol to thin the mixture (just eyeball it—this isn’t an exact science). Add the macaroni, close the bag, and shake well.
In the second bag add a few drops of yellow food coloring and alcohol, along with a single drop of red food coloring to make the mixture orange. Add the pinwheel pasta, close the bag, and shake.
Once both types of pasta are coated with the food coloring mix, spread them on paper towels to dry. While the pinwheel pasta is still wet, sprinkle it with the gold glitter.
When the pasta is completely dry, use glue to draw a pumpkin shape on the card stock (don’t add the stem just yet). Stick the pinwheel pasta pieces closely together to make the pumpkin’s body. When this is done use the glue to draw the stem and add the green macaroni. Let dry, and you’ve got a sparkly piece of Halloween art.
Shining Pumpkin Jars
The first two pumpkin crafts in this article are for younger children. For the slightly older crowd, we dug into our collection of Halloween craft ideas and found this shiny gem. You’ll need:
- Epsom salts
- Orange icing gel
- Glass jar (pasta sauce jars work well)
- White Glue thinned with a little water
- You’ll need
- Green ribbon
- Black craft foam
- Googly eyes
- Battery operated tea light
- Wax paper.
In a large bowl, stir the icing gel into the Epsom salts until the salt is a uniform orange. Spread the salts on wax paper and leave to dry overnight.
Paint the outside of the glass jar with the water-thinned glue, then roll the jar over the Epsom salts. Sprinkle handfuls of the salt over any areas of the salt that seem a bit sparse. You want a uniform coating. Put the jar aside and let dry.
Once dry, glue a strip of green ribbon around the lid for decoration. Glue on the googly eyes. Cut the black foam into a mouth and eyebrows and glue them to the pumpkin to make a funny face. To illuminate your creation, add the battery-operated tea light for a warm orange glow.
