miycreations-Halloween-pumpkin-decor, miycreations, MIY

Miycreations Project article and photographs
by Madeleine M Langlois   MaddyLane Designs

"Have fun and personalize your pumpkin creatures!

Pumpkin creatures can be a real scream for ghouls and goblins that come calling on
Halloween night, and they're less messy than pumpkin-carving. The kids can help
with this project after school while they wait for trick-or-treating. These decorative
pumpkin creatures are fun and easy to create.

Hands-on time: Less than an hour.
Total time: Less than an hour.
Skill: Easy and kid-friendly.
Cost estimate: $13 each.

Materials & Tools;

• 3 pumpkins in assorted sizes from, small, medium to large
• Large terracotta planter
• 2 small crab apples
• Hammer and nails
• 1 grape cluster
• 3 small pinecones
• 2 flower stems (I used Sedum known as Autumn Joy)
• Gardening clippers and scissors
• Assorted leaves
• Newspapers
• Green and orange acrylic craft paint
• 1-inch craft paintbrush
•   Raffia and ornamental grass
•   Assorted small gourds for accents (optional)

(Materials for this project are available at arts, crafts, and hardware stores as well
as at garden centers.)

Start by removing the stems from the two larger pumpkins, and then stack all three
up in a large terracotta planter, from the biggest one to the smallest. Use crab
apples for the eyes and a grape cluster for the mouth. Place the flower stems
between the top and middle pumpkins for the arms. For the buttons, use the small
pinecones. Use hammer and nails to secure all these items to the pumpkins.

Next, make a leaf-pattern skirt to cover the planter. Cut out a piece of craft paper to
fit around the planter, and lay it down flat on your work area. Place some leaves,
vein-side up, on top of newspapers. Paint some green and some orange. Then rub
each leaf onto the craft paper to make the imprint. Continue randomly until the
paper is completely covered with the leaf impressions, and let dry. Drying should
only take about 15 minutes (use a hairdryer to speed up the process).

Wrap the decorated paper around the planter, fastening it in place by tying raffia
around it. Slip ornamental grass into the raffia as a garnish. Add small gourd
accents around the planter for extra panache.

Variations
• You can add a carrot nose to your pumpkin creature, or even a scarf. For the
arms, you can basically use any fall foliage, or even just branches.
• There are no bones about it, this Halloween project is a hoot. You can add creepy
spiders, bugs, and webs to complete the trick. Use your imagination to make this
project bizarre, funny, or as spooky as you want.
• You can even choose to paint the pumpkins in various Halloween colors, black or
white, or even in fun bright colors for the kids to make funny pumpkin creatures.
• You can also opt to use various gourds or squashes to make very creative
creatures.

Easy Halloween Pumpkin Decor
Pumpkin Man
"f o r t h e p u r e j o y o f m a k i n g t h i n g s"