Halloween crafts
Here's some links to other Hallowe'en patterns. Good luck...
Gag gifts and poems
milk jug jack-o-lanterns
recipes and ideas
cool ideas!
pumpkins,bat,cat
spider web
skeleton & witches in jar also Witches Hat
Scarecrow
Spiders Legs.
Make a milk jug skeleton:
sometimes find myself checking costume links for ideas:
**LAST MINUTE CHEAP COSTUME IDEAS**
1) Cover yourself with a clear plastic garbage bag. Fill it with different colored balloons and write M&M's·on the balloons and go as a bag of M&Ms.
2) Wrap yourself in foil and go as leftovers!
3) Go as a Christmas tree by wearing a green shirt and attach Christmas Ornaments, and garland.
4) You can go as a Venetian blind by putting on a pair of dark glasses and write VENETIAN·ACROSS YOUR CHEST (use a cheap t-shirt).
TRASH BAG TARANTULA
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You will need:
18 large black trash bags
Leaves or newspaper
Black electrical tape
3 large red plastic party cups
Clothesline (optional)
1. To make the spider's body, stuff one trash bag full of dry leaves (you can also use crumpled newspaper). Tie the bag closed, then flip it upside down. To make the head, stuff a second bag (not as full as the first), tie it closed, and tape it to the body.
2. To make one of the legs, roll up two garbage bags together lengthwise. Wrap them with electrical tape at both ends and at two points along the leg to make joints. Roll up seven more legs, then cut four small slits in each side of the spider's body and slip the legs in place.
3. Cut the white lip off two of the red plastic cups, then tape them onto the spider's body to make his beady red eyes. For the fangs, cut two triangles out of the third plastic cup (or another piece of white plastic) and tape them onto the spider so that the white side faces up.
4. Perch your spider atop a big pile of relatively dry leaves. If you'd like to create a web for her, simply weave and tie lengths of clothesline or twine across your porch. If you want to give your tarantula an extra scary effect, you might also tie a few unlucky stuffed animals to her web.
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MILK-JUG SKELETONS
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You will need:
8 or 9 clean, plastic gallon jugs
String
Scissors
Craft knife (optional; for parents only)
Glue gun (for parent use)
One-hole punch
HEAD: Choose a jug with a pair of circular indentations opposite the handle and turn it upside down. In the corner, opposite the handle, cut out a large, smiling mouth, centered under the indented "eyes." Make two small slits in the top of the head and tie a loop of string through them for hanging the finished skeleton.
CHEST: Cut a vertical slit down the center of a right-side-up jug, directly opposite the handle. Cut and trim away plastic to make the rib cage. Glue the head and chest together at the "neck" by connecting the spouts of the two jugs with a thick band of hot glue. Hold the jugs together for a few minutes until the glue cools.
SHOULDERS: Cut off two jug handles (leaving a small collar on the ends) and attach them to the chest section with hot glue. Punch a hole at one end of each shoulder.
HIPS: Cut all the way around a jug, about 4 1/2 inches up from the bottom. Take the bottom piece and trim away a small smile shape from each side to make a four-cornered shape. Punch holes in two opposite corners.
WAIST: Cut out two spouts, leaving a 1/2-inch collar on each. Glue the spouts together and let dry. Then, hot-glue the waist to the bottom of the chest and the top of the hip section.
ARMS AND LEGS: Cut eight long bone shapes from the corner sections of three jugs (cut into the curved shape of the jug to make the bones even more realistic). From four of these bones, cut out the center to make lower limbs (forearms and shins). Punch a hole through the ends of all eight bones. Use string to tie two arm sections to each shoulder and two leg sections to each hip.
HANDS AND FEET: Let kids trace their hands and feet onto the side of a jug, then cut out the shapes. Punch holes in the hands and feet, and tie them onto the arms and legs.
*HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT PUMKIN FOR CARVING*
1) Look for a long sturdy stem.
2) Avoid pumpkins with dry stems. They will deteriorate sooner.
3) Choose one that sits up straight and shows no skin damage.
4) Carved pumpkins will last up to a month.
5) If you don't carve your pumpkin, once it is picked will last into December.
**HOW TO CARVE A PUMKIN**
Step by step pumpkin carving:
1. Cut the lid. Start by making a hole in the top of the pumpkin. You
need to cut out a lid that can be replaced once you're finished, so
angle the knife towards the center of the pumpkin as you cut. The beveled
edge will keep the lid in place. You might also find it easier to cut a
six-sided lid, rather than a circle.
2. Clean out the goop. Next, use a wooden spoon to clean out the seeds
and strings. Keep the seeds for later ·you can toast them. Where you
plan to carve the face, scrape away the pulp until the wall is about
3cm thick.
3. Add the face. The best way to design the face is to draw it on paper
first and tape or pin it to the pumpkin (or soak it in water and just
slap it on ·the water will make it stick). Then, using a toothpick or
opened-up paperclip, prick holes along the lines and into the pumpkin.
When you remove the paper, you?l be left with a dotted outline of the
face. You can make these holes easier to see by rubbing flour over the
front of the pumpkin.
4. Carve. Following the dotted line, cut the shapes out with a pointed
saw-blade knife. You may need a few different-sized knives. Use a
gentle but firm sawing action to avoid breaking bits off the pumpkin. Pieces
that do fall off can be reattached with a toothpick.
5. Preserve. Rubbing the insides of the pumpkin with diluted bleach
(1:5 ratio) will preserve it for a few more days. The carved edges also
deteriorate more slowly if you coat them lightly with Vaseline or any
other petroleum jelly.
6. Light. Make a basic candleholder from tinfoil and secure the candle
at the base. Cut a small chimney hole in the lid to let the heat and
smoke escape. You could even use a small electric light ·unscrew the
plug from the flex, bore a hole in the back of the pumpkin, and feed the
flex through. Then reattach the plug. Use a low-wattage bulb if you plan
to leave it on for a long time.
Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the process
of carving a pumpkin. I like to walk around the block on Halloween and
check out all the different jack-o-lanterns. Sometimes I bring my
camera. I'm too old to trick or treat so I just snap away.
