Get creative with craft ideas for Halloween
By Kathy Cano-Murillo
Gannett News Service
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| People pins, made from wood discs and pipe cleaners, can easily be turned into hanging ornaments.
Gannett News Service |
Painted Paper Lanterns
Supplies:
- 1 paper lantern
- spray paint (optional)
- assorted paints and brushes (or stencil and spray paint)
- loose glitter in black, white, purple and orange
Open the lantern. If it's white and you want to add color, take it outside and lightly spray it with the paint. Let dry. Prop it on a flat surface. Carefully paint on your design (or go outside and lay the stencil on the lantern and spray paint). Let dry.
Use a liner brush and paint to highlight the edges of the design and sprinkle glitter over the wet paint. Let dry. Continue adding designs to the rest of the lantern if desired.
Monogrammed Pumpkin
- 1 fresh or foam pumpkin, hollowed
- alphabet initial blown up to size and printed on paper
- tape
- pumpkin poker
- drill
- scissors
Trim the excess paper from around the initial on the paper. Tape it to the front of the pumpkin. Use the pumpkin poker to poke holes along the outline of the letter, about one-eighth inch apart from each other. Remove the paper.
Drill holes through the pumpkin's skin. Add a tea light candle in a glass holder, or if using a foam pumpkin, cut a hole in the back to insert a small light fixture.
Variation: Use a paring knife to cut through the holes and create a smooth groove of the letter.
Create a background for your monogram by using a thin peeler to remove the skin before you poke the holes of the letter.
Personality People Pins
- 1 flat wood disc (at least one-inch in diameter)
- 1 image of a pumpkin, witch, ghost or skull face
- scissors
- black, white, orange or purple curvy pipe cleaner
- assorted decorative fibers (in the card-making section of the craft store)
- hot glue
- small pin back
Decorate the wood disc with the image of the face with paint, decoupage, a rubber stamp design or sticker.
Cut two pieces of the pipe cleaner so they each have two "curves."
Twist the two pieces together to look like a body — two legs pointing down, two arms pointing out. At the top, make a pinch to create the neck.
Hot glue the face to the front of the neck and let dry.
Roll the tips of the arms to look like hands and bend the bottom of the legs to look like feet.
Turn it over and glue the pin to the back of the body and let dry.
Variation: Tie on string to make it into an ornament.
