Our children are very a lot into the normal Jack-O-Lantern-style pumpkin carving, typically attempting to make a scarier, grosser, or goofier face than final Halloween. However we nonetheless bear in mind a time when toddler-friendly (even baby-friendly!) pumpkin “carving” was the secret over right here. So we wished to spotlight six easy, enjoyable, however unconventional pumpkin adorning concepts for teenagers that we’ve used previously. Together with a “romantic” one we made pre-kids (sure, I’ll pause when you ponder what precisely will be romantic a couple of pumpkin…).
We’ve included a quick description of every under, however it’s also possible to observe the hyperlink to the unique posts for extra photographs and particulars about every pumpkin-carving venture.
“Child’s First” Handprint Pumpkin
Supplies Wanted:
- Paper or cardstock
- Pencil or pen (for tracing available)
- Sharpie or marker (for tracing onto pumpkin)
- Scissors
- Pumpkin carving instruments
Our daughter was solely 5 months previous by the point her first Halloween rolled round, which means there wasn’t a lot she might do to assist within the pumpkin adorning course of. However she nonetheless participated in that yr’s carving by doing actually simply that: lending a hand. We traced each of her little palms and used them as do-it-yourself stencils on our pumpkin. In our venture, they turned the eyes of our Jane-O-Lantern (Jacqueline-O-Lantern?) however that half is as much as you. They might be butterfly wings, humorous ears, and even simply palms! Take a look at the total handprint pumpkin tutorial right here.
Finger Painted Stencil Pumpkins
Supplies Wanted:
- Painters tape
- Sharpie or marker
- Craft knife
- Finger paints
The next yr, we used a barely extra hands-on strategy to contain our daughter within the pumpkin adorning course of. She was already into finger-painting on paper, so we simply tailored the exercise to a brand new floor. Earlier than unleashing the paint, nonetheless, we used painter’s tape, a marker, and a small craft knife to use some designs to every pumpkin so that after the paint had dried, we might reveal some distinct designs or patterns on every pumpkin. And looking back, had we used fake pumpkins we might’ve stored these to interrupt out once more the next yr. See the total finger-painted pumpkin venture right here.
Puffy Painted “Studded” Pumpkins
Supplies Wanted:
- Puffy paint
- Craft or latex paint (even leftover home paint works)
It is a craft we accomplished pre-children, however it could nonetheless be a terrific one to get younger children concerned in. Merely use puffy paint so as to add a design, texture, or sample to the surface of your pumpkin. We selected to do rows of dots on ours – making stripes, chevrons, and a monogram (we have been very into monogrammed pumpkins on the time, apparently) – however you would do the identical with strong traces of puffy paint. As soon as it has dried, paint all the pumpkin with a strong coloration to create a complicated, textured look. See the total puffy painted pumpkin step-by-step right here.
Tissue Paper Mod Podge Pumpkins
Supplies Wanted:
- Colourful tissue paper
- Mod podge
- Scissors
- Paint brushes
We determined to repurpose some leftover tissue paper for this venture. We lower three colours of tissue paper into circles, some huge and a few small. Then we (the adults) coated the pumpkin in a skinny layer of Mod Podge to make it sticky sufficient that our daughter (who was 2 on the time) might place the tissue paper dots wherever she favored. As soon as she was executed, we coated the entire thing once more to “seal” the paper to the pumpkin. This venture has so many potentialities – colours, shapes, patterns, and so forth – and in case your baby is sufficiently old, they’ll partake within the chopping of the tissue paper! See the total tissue paper pumpkin tutorial right here.
Gothic Panty Hose Pumpkins
Supplies:
- Black fishnet panty hose
- Scissors
It is a bizarre one, nevertheless it follow me. It’s additionally ridiculously quick! We stumbled upon some black fishnet pantyhose on clearance on the retailer, and thought it could be enjoyable to strive for a Halloween craft – particularly since lace-looking pumpkins have been all the trend that yr. All we did was shove the pumpkin in a single leg, stretching the design over the floor and revealing the sample. Then we lower off the surplus they usually naturally shrunk tightly across the high and backside of the pumpkin. Clearly, these are greatest to dislpay indoors – and we expect they give the impression of being particularly nice on white pumpkins. See the entire pantyhose pumpkin venture right here.
Selfmade Stencil Monogram Pumpkin
Supplies Wanted:
- Laptop
- Printer
- Paper
- Pencil
- Marker
- Pumpkin carving instruments
Like I mentioned, we apparently have been very into monograms again within the day? However this specific venture reveals how one can simply make your personal do-it-yourself stencil. We simply printed out a design, coated the bottom of the paper in pencil, pressed it in opposition to our pumpkin, and traced over our design with strain. This transferred the design calmly onto the pumpkin’s floor, which we then carved as ordinary. This method can be utilized with any do-it-yourself or DIY sample – we even used it for a extra intricate design within the put up! Click on right here for the total monogram pumpkin stencil tutorial.
So there you could have it! Perhaps I’ll share these with our (now a lot older) children this yr to see in the event that they spark any new pumpkin adorning concepts of their very own. Both method, I’m certain we even have some zany hand-carved Jack-O-Lanterns in our future once more!
