Paper Mache Jack-o'-lanterns
2020-10-23 Comments
I have a few creative projects coming up, but I am publishing this first because it’s in time for Halloween! My toddler really enjoyed this arts and crafts activity and it covered a few playtimes, which she didn't mind. She loved getting her hands dirty in sticking the strips onto the balloons and the painting stage. We broke into her new washable paints, which she got really excited about. The following instructions will make 3 balloon pumpkins (a dad, mum and baby Jack-o’lanterns).
I don’t know about you, but in recent times we’ve managed to accumulate a lot of cardboard boxes from all the extra goods our household has ordered to reduce the amount of times of going to the shops. That’s why Amazon and the likes have hit the jackpot! I think my husband and I alone have helped to push up the share value and Jeff’s profits in the past few months. So with the pile of boxes and packaging stacking up, I had the brainwave of a few arts and crafts projects I could use them for. This is the best time to create activities for toddlers.
You don't need that many things, but once you've completed a project - if your little one is like mine - they will spend hours of playtime with their creation. Involving them in the process of making it, especially painting and getting their hands dirty will encourage them to use their motor skills. Not to mention bonding and building fun memories. At times, my daughter still requests to "paint the castle" (my other cardboard box project, we made ages ago, which I'll publish soon).
What you’ll need
- Newspaper or packing paper
- Cup of plain flour
- Cup of water
- 3 ballons
- Glass or bowl
- Paint brushes
- Washable orange and red paint, mix to desired shade
- Green card
- PVA glue
- Black pen or felt tip
Method
- Tear the newspaper or packing paper into 2-3cm wide strips.
- Blow up the balloons to the size of choice. We had large, medium and small.
- Place the balloon on a glass or bowl, with the tied end pointing down.
- Mix the flour and water until you get a smooth paste.
- Dip the newspaper strips into the paste and take excess off between thumb and fingers.
- Stick over the balloon. It can take several strips to cover one balloon. You can criss-cross them how you like, but just make sure you cover the balloon so it doesn’t show any gaps and leave the tied end exposed. I applied a thin layer of strips over the balloon, about 2-3 over each other and left the balloons to dry. I left them to dry for 2 days because the weather was cold and damp, at the time I made them, but check if they dry overnight.
- Once dry, paint over the paper mache using the tied end of the balloon to move it around.
- Allow to dry, you can paint another coat if you wish.
- Once dry, pop the balloon. You can either use a cocktail stick to pop it or cut the balloon with scissors. The popped balloon should fall out easily.
- Trim the rough edge with scissors, so that the paper mache can stand itself up without rolling over.
- Draw and cut out the face. You can poke a hole into the paper mache with a ballpoint pen or pencil to start, before cutting with the scissors. Or if you don’t want to cut into the paper mache, you can draw and colour in the face with a marker, as we did on our small Jack-o’-lantern.
- To make the stalk hats, roll a rectangular strip of card and glue down the end to make a tube. You'll need 3 of them for each pumpkin.
Stalk 1 - Cut out long shards and stick on top of each other in a circular shape so the ends are stacked on top of each other in the centre. Once dry, glue the tube to the centre, then onto the top of the Jack-o’-lantern.
Stalk 2 - For the middle design, cut out a circle. Fold the circle in half, then again and fold one last time. Open it up again. Cut lines towards the centre but leave 1cm from the centre. Fold the wedges up and the next wedge down. Glue the tube in the centre and stick to the Jack-o’-lantern.
Stalk 3 - The last design has 8 leaf shapes glued into a circle shape and the top layer staggered so the leaf falls between the gap of the lower layer. You can have the bottom layer with large leaves and the top layer with smaller leaves. Stick the tube stalk in the centre of the leaves and stick to the Jack-o’-lantern once dry.
Please note: Not suitable for use with candles or naked flames.
For the Jack-o’-lanterns that have the face cut out, you can put an LED tealight for that spooky Halloween feel.
Happy Halloween!