She started off with the tiger Pipe Cleaner Creature on Martha Stewart Living Magazine’s website. Of course, she used solid black pipe cleaners instead of orange ones and made the cat a little shorter and fatter. For eyes, she used pony beads.

This craft is perfect for the 8-11 year old age group. Of course, they’ll have to keep me away from the pipe cleaners!

http://www.free-holiday-ideas.com/printables/hat-coloring-sheet.pdf

For the older preschool set, we made ghost puppets with large googly eyes (children under 3 should not use these, since they could swallow them.) and popsicle sticks.

http://www.free-holiday-ideas.com/printables/ghost-coloring-sheet.pdf

A carved jack-o-lantern may very well be the most recognized symbol for the Halloween holiday. But using a sharp knife to carve them is not exactly an activity that everyone, especially the children who are so in love with Halloween, can do.

During a field trip to a pumpkin farm, I discovered a Halloween activity that even the youngest members of the family can participate in.

Pumpkin painting is a fun and safe way to celebrate autumn and Halloween. With just a few supplies: paint, brushes, sealer and your imagination, anyone can transform a plain pumpkin into a whimsical, life-like character.

By tracing a pattern onto the pumpkin, young children can “paint by numbers” and create their own Halloween masterpiece.

The best feature of painted pumpkins is their lifespan. A pumpkin, once carved, will last three to five days at the most before it begins to collapse and rot.

A painted pumpkin, when finished properly, will last four weeks or longer!

And a great way to make your pumpkin work double duty is to paint one side for Halloween. When Halloween is over, turn the pumpkin around, paint some autumn leaves and leave it on your porch for a beautiful Thanksgiving decoration!

JoAnne Westcott is the publisher of the full-color, step-by-step instructional e-guide: Pumpkin Painting, Anyone Can Do It. Really!

Article Source: yoursite.com

Note: All of our new templates and coloring sheets are in pdf format to prevent problems with printing.

http://www.free-holiday-ideas.com/printables/Publicat.pdf

1. Trick-or-Treat bucket
Supplies: ice cream bucket, construction paper, markers, crayons, glue, glitter (any craft supplies)
Directions: Use construction paper to draw ghosts, pumpkins, scarecrows, etc. Cut out your decorations and glue them to the outside of an ice cream bucket.

2. Trick-or-Treat goody bags
Supplies: small brown paper bags, Halloween stickers, markers, treats (candy, pencils, erasers, bubblegum, etc.)
Directions: Decorate paper bags in Halloween themes using your art supplies. Put treats inside bags. Fold the top of the bag down and tape shut with a Halloween sticker.

3. Tiny pumpkins
Supplies: acorns, orange paint, and green paint
Directions: Lay acorns on a sheet of newspaper. Paint the bottom of the acorns with orange paint. After the orange paint dries, paint the top of the acorns green (for the stem of the pumpkin). Allow to dry thoroughly.

4. Spooky Spiders
Supplies: black construction paper, cotton balls or cotton stuffing, black pipe cleaners, small bowl or saucer, and a stapler
Directions: Using black construction paper, trace around a small bowl or saucer. (Cut out two circles per spider.) Place stuffing or cotton balls on first circle. Lay second circle on top of cotton stuffing and staple half-way around. Insert 3-4 pipe cleaners on each side, then staple the second half of the circles together. Bend pipe cleaners to make the legs of the spider.

construction paper

scissors

glue

craft stick

To make it:

1. Cut out the pumpkin shape and the pumpkin face parts.

2. Glue the eyes, nose and mouth on the pumpkin.

3. Glue the pumpkin onto the craft stick and let it dry.

4. Now, you can create a whole family of pumpkin puppets.

Printable pumpkin puppet template

You’ll need just a few things to make just about any mask you can imagine. Those items include balloons, newspaper, wallpaper glue and some acrylic paint. A pair of sharp scissors comes in handy to cut out eyes and mouth. Wear old clothing, or put an apron on both you and your child. Making the mask can get a bit messy.

Cover your work area in plenty of newspaper to protect it from glue and paint. Next, cut several newspapers into strips. Blow up a balloon so it is slightly larger than your child’s head. Now dip a newspaper strip completely
in the glue and stick it on the balloon. Continue doing this back and forth until you have the entire balloon covered in several layers of newspaper. Work out any wrinkles as you go along. The more layers of newspaper you have, the sturdier the mask will be.

Finally add any features specific to the mask you are making. For example, if you are making a frog mask, sculpt two ball shapes at the top of the mask that you can later paint as eyes. If you are making a cat, dog, or monkey mask, form the snout and of course don’t forget about ears. The only limit is your imagination.

Allow the mask to dry completely, preferably over night. Once it is completely hardened, start cutting into the mask to pop the balloon. Cut a large enough opening so your child can get his or her head inside the mask, then cut eye and mouth openings. For younger children, you may prefer to cut
the back of the mask out completely, and, instead, wrap a piece of ribbon or yarn around the back of the head to secure the mask to allow better air-passage.

Paint the mask in a solid color and allow it to dry completely. Then add details like eyes, nose and lips in different colors. Once that coat of paint is completely dry, it is ready to wear. For a longer lasting and shiny mask, cover the mask in several layers of hodge podge before using it.

Would you like to quickly make creative Halloween costumes that you and your children will be proud of — for a fraction of the price of store-bought? Susanne Myers has co-authored a book to show you how — no sewing involved. Visit http://www.ILoveHalloweenCostumes.com to learn more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Susanne_Myers

You will need:
White glue
Waxed paper
Paper clip
Googly eyes (or use marker, or black construction paper)
String or Yarn

Spread a sheet of waxed paper. Apply glue directly onto the waxed paper, making a shape of a ghost. Your ghost can be as small or large as you wish for your necklace. When finished designing your glue ghost immediately place the paper clip into the top of the ghosts head (while the glue is still wet). You may either extend the paper clip into a V shape or use it as is. Allow the ghost to dry fully. When dry, peel the ghost off of the waxed paper and attach your string or yarn. Youve just made a scary piece of Halloween jewelry.