Fall crafts to make the kids happy

So it's fall and halloween is about a week and a half away. Little ones are begining to become excited. So I figured I would take time out of my busy schedule of juggling 3 jobs to do a craft for my youngest daughters' class. It's time to create a pumpkin for each child to enjoy of their very own. Here's my step by step instrauctions. Enjoy!



This is the pumpkin's humble beginings!

I had the mixing bowl, scissors, masking tape, the water to mix my paper mache mix, (which I purchased at Michael's craft store to save me some time with messing up how to mix the stuff from scratch) string, a balloon and last but not least what happens to be missing in the picture a paper towel roll.

 

This is the only time that you will use your masking tape. To tape a base together for your balloon. You don't need to tape the base to the balloon because your mache solution will hold the base to your balloon very well.

I cut the paper towel roll down to create the stem for the pumpkin. I mean what pumpkin doesn't have a stem that little ones don't make a bee line for in the pumpkin patch? Here is the time that you just go to town covering your balloon. And I recommend that you give it at least 3 layers cause when you pop the balloon you have a lot of stability after your re-inforcement is removed. And it's okay to go all around the base cause this is suppose to be a pumpkin so it should stand up when kids put them on the table or floor of their chooseing.

Yes, here I did cover the entire thing and left no place for the candy to go in, but there is a method to my mind! Place your pumpkin's in front of a fan. I recommend this because as thick as these things are it will take a week or more to dry them. In front of a box fan it takes only a day to dry them.

Cut the top of the stem and here, I placed a string around the bolloon tie off and popped the balloon. I used the string to remove the balloon. Made it easier. Now that I have the empty cavity in the pumpkin I took this opportunity to fill the pumpkin with goodies. For these balloons I filled them with lots of candy, 2 different types of books and small boxes of stickers, a pencil, flashing ring and lots of little bottles of bubbles.

The string I had to make it thicker I braided it. I poked holes in the side of the stems and ran the string through to ad a handle and then I triple knoted the ends so that the handles won't come out cause we all know that kids like to swing things. And this is why it's so important to make sure that you have at least 3 layers or more on the balloons. From there I sealed the top of the stem with what I had left over from my mache mix.

This is what you should have before you paint your pumpkin. I chose regular colors for my pumpkin and even painted the stem brown and the handle green, like a vine. The paint didn't take that long to dry at all. I had a blast creating 10 pumpkins, 7 for my daughters' class and the rest for a select few neighbors and friends. If I made for everyone I would still be working on this project in my kitchen.