Pumpkin Seed projects

One of the most popular symbol for Samhain, Halloween and Thanksgiving is Pumpkin. Pumpkin pie is one of the most popular desert for after Halloween and Thanksgiving. After you carve your jack-o-lantern you have lots of pumpkin seeds. There are lots of different crafts that you can do with pumpkin seeds. Depending on your project will determine if you need to color them. You should try coloring them as it will spruce up any project.


You can paint or draw on a pumpkin seeds. I have used markers, but you will need to get the fine tip as the seeds are so small. I had a friend that was proficient at using a pin as a paintbrush. I am not that artistic but it is worth trying. One idea is to make a rune set out of the pumpkin seeds. I was a mini tarot card set on the seeds. It was amazing to see.

Now I have done some research on how to color pumpkin seeds and I got a lot of mix and match suggestions. I will give several different tips of the different ways to color them.

First you need to wash them, pumpkin seeds have a film on them and it needs to be washed off. You need to lay them out on a towel or parchment paper to dry. Let them dry completely before trying to color them, so it may take 24-48 hours to dry.

One tip is that you take a glass jar and put 2 teaspoons of rubbing alcohol and add food coloring to the color that you want. Stir them up after a couple of minutes. It may take a few minutes to get the color. Remember that they will dry lighter so if you need to add more drops of food coloring add them. Once they have reached the desired color, take them out and let them dry on parchment paper or a towel. Turn them over after a couple of hours so they don't stick to each other. Let them dry for 24-48 hours before making your projects.

In another tip is to take a sealed baggie and put 1-2 teaspoons of warm water and drops of food coloring then add your seeds and shake them up. Don't add too much water on this one and make sure the bag is sealed before you start to shake. Kids will always like this part, you can throw on some music and let them shake and shake. Open up the bag and lay them out on a towel or parchment paper to dry. Again turn them over after a couple of hours so they don't stick. Let them dry for 24-48 hours before making your projects.

Yet another tip is to take a sealed baggie and put a tablespoon of vinegar and food coloring and add your seeds and shake them up like above. Again don't add too much vinegar and just keep shaking. Once they are evenly coated take them out. Now in a couple of blogs people just let them dry but some said to bake them at 375F for 45 minutes.

Another version is to add a 1/2 cup of warm water and a tablespoon of vinegar then add your seeds. Now to get the appropriate color could take an hour. After wards take them out to dry for 24-48 hours. Remember to turn them over after a couple hours. Some suggestions is to bake them for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.

You have several different ideas on coloring seeds, now you need to choose which way to color them. You will need to experiment and choose the one that you prefer. We do not bake our seeds, mostly because we do not have an oven, so it takes longer to dry.

So now you are ready for some cute projects. Jewelry is the most popular craft that I have been told. You can make pumpkin seed necklaces that are not colored and they still look cool. There are different ways to sting a necklace together. Just to warn you that unless you poke a hole in the seed first, it may not be suitable for young kids. I have poked my fingers until they bleed while stringing seeds. Again you may want to experiment a head of time so you can tell what kind of help your kids will need.

The other thing to take in account is the wasted seeds that you will be using. There will be mistakes so make sure you have more than you need for the project. You can always store them in a plastic bottle to use for next year or for more projects.

Like I said there are different ways to make the jewelry and what kind of string. I have read that some people use regular string, embossing thread or even fishing line. I prefer using fishing line but embossing thread comes in different colors so it can set it off and give it the final touch. Adding beads to them will also give it a touch, but it is all up to you.... sorry up to your child.

One last tip before you tie off the necklace. If you want the necklace to last for a couple of years you can tie it off but if you want it to really last you may want to seal the seeds with a spray of shellac or another type of sealer. I have read it both ways that some people do it after they make the holes and then sting them up, but some do it after they string them but before they tie it off. You can take them outside and hang them across somewhere and make sure there is some space in-between them, and then spray them. That will seal the color on the seeds and help in transfer to your clothes.

So the next craft is making pictures with the seeds. It is time to be creative and have some fun. You can take some coloring pages and have the little goblins glue the seeds on the pictures or you can design your own. The important thing is to have some fun.

Halloween paper dolls

Here are some Halloween paper dolls that I hope you enjoy.

I got these from Billy Bear at http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/halowen/halowen.htm

Are you my Mummy?

Here are some cute crafts for kids. They are real simple to do.

I have lots of popsicles sticks laying around and this is a nice craft.

Gauze really works for most of your mummy projects.

 Here is one with marshmellows and googlie eyes.

The other one is a tongue stick with some extra touches.

Who wouldn't want little mummies of the kids. You take a picture and put it on a toilet paper roll and wrap it. It really is cute.




I hope you enjoy them and try them out with the kids. Happy Halloween.

Ravens Blight

I have to tell you of a great site that any fan of Halloween must visit. Now this is a site of paper toys. I may not be the best folder but I can't to try more of these. They have tons of stuff and many of them are free to print off. Their products include models, puppets, jewelry and games. You really need to check it out. You can crate a great Halloween fun if you use these as decorations. The other fun is having an early Halloween party and have some of these as the craft to make. Either way they are so cool. I have made up the dice an people loved them. Just to warn you it is best for you to print these as black and white so you can practice in the folding. Then you can spend money on the color copies. You may want to copy them on stronger weight of paper too. But be careful on how much money you spend because you could be spending more than you think. I have been caught in that trap before so plan ahead. So without more, here are some of the fabulous stuff that you will find at http://ravensblight.com/papertoys.html.

 

Now remember what I have said about any craft, it is all about having fun and being creative. Those little imperfections that happen just gives your craft a personal touch. So have fun and be adventurous.

 

Coriander Bats

More Easy Halloween Costumes

Here are some more cute ideas. Take a box ad tape plastic cups to it. In this version they cut holes in the boxes and put the cups thou them and taped them from the inside. They painted the box blue and now you have a Lego.

This is another cute idea for girls. A paper doll is a cute idea. You take a large cardboard box and cut out the outfit. Remember to include the tabs. You can always use yarn or sting to tape to the back to hang around your neck. Be careful if you do this for toddlers as they like to pull things around their neck. The next one is a costume of raining cats and dogs. Take an umbrella and hang stuffed cats and dogs to it. Put on a rain coat or buy a rain poncho at the dollar store.

 

Now who remembers Home Improvement show. It was a Tim Allen show back in the day. You never saw the neighbor Wilson. He was always peaking over the fence. This is a great idea of using popsicles stick or even getting real pieces of wood to do this. Don't forget the hat as that is just important to the costume as the fence.

 

This is a simple costume when you don't want to were one. It is also a great one if you are a computer programmer. Get a tee shirt and Error 404: Costume not found. Great idea.

 

Cute couple idea, lets map it. We have all tried to use mapquest and other programs to find how to get to places. The head pieces look easy enough to in using cardboard but the shirts are a little more difficult. I guess you can use yellow crepe paper and cut and write street names and you can look thru magazines for places and tape it on the shirt.

 

Now here is a classic for all your horror nuts out there. Here is one of the scariest scenes. Who didn't get chills when Jack Nicholson character took the ax to the door in the Shining. I have only seen bits and parts of the show as it scared the heck out of me. It is a simple costume that could be made out of cardboard or scraps of wood. Remember if you used wood make sure the edges are sanded properly as you don't want any splinters.  

 

Here is another classic horror movie, Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. You can get the birds or ravens from the Dollar store or any toy store. The challenge is getting them attached to your outfit. You can buy a jacket or dress from the Thrift store and cut holes to put the birds feet in and then tape it from the inside.

 

So there you go, a few more ideas for Halloween. I hope these will give you a few ideas. Enjoy and Happy Halloween.

 

Some Easy Halloween Costumes

This is a cute idea and there are several different ways of doing it. The cloud can be made from fabric or it can be made from cardboard with cotton stuck on it. The pants are a light color with raindrops on them. Again the raindrops could be cut fabric or felt or even drawn on the pants. Yet another way is to make raindrops out of fabric but hang it from string from the cloud instead of the pants.

This is a cute idea of a snow globe. You can use a clear rain coat and some stuffing. Put some items in your globe and a few cotton balls at the top and you have a snow globe. Now depending on the type of rain coat or clear bag you use, you need to figure out a way to secure it.  One person from work taped it to her shirt. She said that it took several times in doing it to get it secured right but she said it was worth it.

Now if you a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan then this is something for you. The girls used dollar store turkey pans and colored them green for the shell. They used shoelaces for the harness. It is a cute idea.













Toy doll is just too cute and I can't wait until Addie is older to try this. But on the other hand Shanti is the right age if I can talk her into it. It is a simple baby doll dress with a cardboard key in her back.








This is great if you have lots of toilet paper rolls. You can color them with paint or getting yellow paper and wrapping them. then you get a blue disposable tablecloth at the dollar store to make the cup. Tape it together and you are macaroni and chesses.











If you have a child that is a storm then here is the perfect costume. A winter storm and you can use a fleece blanket that is blue. Make into a little dress, put a cap on her. Put cotton balls all over and let her loose.










This is really cute idea if you are a Charlie Brown fan. It is Lucy and she is in. Lots of cardboard boxes and tape. It really is a cute idea.