Halloween Crafts For Kids

The perfect and scariest Halloween costume would not be enough without the mask. Since the face is first thing that people gaze on to when he or she meets somebody, a Halloween mask worn during a party would definitely determine how scary can you get.

Today, there are so many Halloween masks being sold in various bookshops and specialty stores out there. You can choose from your favorite characters from horror, thriller, or sci-fi movies. You can even find masks which as truly Halloween inspired such as ghosts, ghouls, and monsters.

In most specialty stores, the most popular Halloween masks include gaping wraith mask, glow in dark hockey mask, meateater mask, Batman the dark knight Joker mask, deep sea mask, devil's rejects Captain Spaulding mask, whispers hooded mask, Harry Potter dementor mask, elegant devil mask, leatherface deluxe mask, Batman the dark knight grumpy clown mask, that's not funny clown mask, got your goat mask, red skull mask beanie, white skull mask beanie, skull mask blue beanie and so much more. If you are into departed celebrities, you can even find some which are created in their memory.

But, if you are the type who gives so much emphasis on creativity, uniqueness, and resourcefulness, then you should try making your own mask. The following are just some of your options in making your very own Halloween mask:

1. Improvised latex Halloween masks. Many people would agree that latex or hard plastic masks could be quite uncomfortable once worn. And why not? These are made from synthetic plastic materials and can even be harmful when not used properly. So if are not into wearing latex masks sold in specialty shops, you can create your very own latex inspired mask.

Here, you'll be needing poster board or light weight cardboard, elastic or tongue depressor, and various embellishments to make the mask stand out. The instructions are quite simple, you need to cut the board with the shape of your face, cut it out, punch holes in each side of the mask and decorate it using various embellishments such as poster paints, feathers, glitter, and everything you wish to put in. The good thing about this is you can make your mask as scary and as ghoulish as you want it to be.

2. Simple paper and cloth masks. This is quite popular and easy to do because all you will be needing is a used cloth which can come from a used pillowcase or shirts, permanent markers, a pair of scissors, and lots of duck tape. Doing a paper and face mask is easy because all you have to do is lay the cloth flat and cut a hole in the center of the cloth. Afterwards, you need to take a piece of paper and draw the mask that you like. Then, turn the cloth inside out and lay the mask face down.

Using the duct tape, tape the sides of the mask down to the cloth and cut the eye holes. Let the duct tape grip the cloth and paper well then you can now decorate your Halloween mask using markers and other crafts and embellishments that you want to include.

3. Your very own printed mask. If you are not the type who is into work stuff such as cutting, pasting, and drawing, you can still make your very own Halloween mask through the use of computer. Today, there are so many sites, which offer Halloween mask patterns, which are ready for printing.

You can choose from a wide array of styles and characters depending on what or who would you want to portray. If you are knowledgeable on various computer programs and software such as Photoshop, you can design your very own mask and print it out.

Fun Craft of the Month Clubs

This is a fun project that you may want to break up across a couple of days, so be sure to start a few days before Halloween. Mom, you can join in the fun as well and make a Halloween wreath of your own too!

Material List

Paper Plate (One per child/adult)
Scissors
Leaves
Glue Sticks
Orange Construction Papers
White Construction Paper
Black Construction Paper
Washable Black Marker
Black Yarn (optional)

Adult Preparation: (To Be Done Prior to Actual Wreath Making)

Cut the center from each paper plate prior to giving one to each child. These will be the base for the homemade wreaths.

Day 1: Grab the kids and head outdoors.

Gather as many fallen leaves of different shapes and colors as you can find. Once you've collected enough leaves to cover each paper plate, head back inside and glue them to the paper plates. You can glue the leaves to cover the entire plate, randomly around the plate or even as a border around only the edge, whichever you prefer. Once you've glued the leaves to the paper plate, leave the plates to dry for 24 hours or at least overnight.

Day 2: Creativity

Depending on how much time you have to complete this project you can have the children do the next step after the leaves have been glued on, while you're waiting for them to dry or you can make another day of it.
Let the children draw Halloween images on the construction paper. Here are some ideas for each color of paper:

Orange - Pumpkins (Use the black marker to draw the face on their pumpkins)

White - Ghosts, Mummies, Bones

Black - Cats, Witch Hats (You can use the yarn to put a tail on the cat and hair on the witches head if you'd like to put that under the hat)

Once the children have picked out and drawn which decorations they'll be using, carefully cut them out and paste them to the wreath.

Tip: Pre-placement (before gluing) will give the child an idea of what the wreath will look like once it is all glued together. When the children are happy with the way the decorations are placed, it's time to glue them to the leaves.

Again, allow the decorations to dry completely.

Day 3: Decorating Time

Congratulations! You've made your very own homemade Halloween wreath. Enjoy your child's creation by hanging it on the front door or his or her bedroom door for all your friends and family to see and admire.

Make this year an extra memorable one. You can decorate the pumpkins together with your family and closest friends. There are fast ways to do this task, just read on and you will find out.

First and foremost, you have to shop for a pumpkin that has a flat bottom surface. It doesn't have to be really flat; a bit flat surface will do even on one side. You will need this if you have kids joining the painting session. But if you're all older adults, any pumpkin will do.

Once you've purchased the pumpkins, drop by a local paint or craft store. Buy acrylic paints because this is suitable for pumpkin painting. You can get the paints in bigger bottles, enough for the whole family. You can get different colors especially if you have kids helping out so that they can create their own crazy designs.

Before you start the painting session, you must determine first the design. Teach the kids the steps in painting. You can create scary designs or even funny designs. You can find a lot of designs on the net even if you log on for just several minutes. You just have to type the words 'pumpkin painting' and the results will be displayed on the screen.

You can even create faces of celebrities. This is rather difficult because you have to concentrate on the details of the face. You can put wigs and ties on that the pumpkins to accentuate the face of the pumpkin. To make a good face design on the pumpkins, you simply have to put the distinguishing feature of the celebrity and exagerate it a bit.

You can also make other designs aside from the faces. You can make monster designs, animal designs and many others. Pick something that you're interested in so that it will be a lot easier to paint on the pumpkin.

Aside from the acrylic paints, you need to buy paint brushes and small containers where you can mix and match the paints. Once you know the particular design, you can start painting. Sit in a circle and put some newspapers on the center. Put the paints, brushes, and other materials over the newspaper. Give each family member a pumpkin and then you can start painting.

This is a very exciting activity for the whole family and among friends for the upcoming Halloween. You can put lights inside the pumpkin heads to make the design more visible at night. Do your pumpkin painting a day before Halloween. This way, you can prepare for your costumes, treats, candies, and other things that you will use for the special occasion. Enjoy pumpkin painting with your family and friends. This year's Halloween will surely be extra memorable.

What You Need

* Wire clothes hanger
* Construction paper or card stock in black, gray, purple, dark blue and yellow
* Pencil
* Scissors
* Glow-in-the-dark paint
* Craft glue or glue stick
* Googly eyes
* Fiberfill
* String or fishing line
* Tape
* Glue gun and glue sticks

Instructions

1. Draw a moon shape on the yellow card stock or construction paper. Cut out. Outline or paint the whole thing with glow-in-the-dark paint.

2. Draw a bat shape on a piece of card stock or construction paper, and cut out. To make it symmetrical, fold the paper in half and draw half a bat starting from the fold, then cut out.

3. Trace your original bat onto card stock in different colors, and cut out those bats. Make two bat shapes in each color.

4. Decorate the bats. Make accents with the glow-in-the-dark paint, and add googly eyes if you like. Be sure to only make a face on one bat of each color. Outline each bat with the paint as well, so they will be visible in the dark. Let the paint dry.

5. Cut pieces of string or fishing line in varied lengths. Lay the bats with faces face-down, and place a piece of string in the middle. Secure with craft glue.

6. Glue the other bat of the same color to the back of each bat with a face. Let glue dry.

7. Lay the clothes hanger on the table. Tie the bats to the hanger so that they hang at various lengths.

8. Using the hot glue gun, attach the fiberfill to the hanger. Cover it as well as possible, but make sure that the hook sticks out so that you can hang your mobile. When you're finished, it should look like a puffy cloud.

9. Glue the moon to the cloud. Let dry, and hang your bat mobile for all to see.

Tips

* For best results, use a hanger with a cardboard sleeve on the bottom. The bats will stay in place much better.

* If you prefer, you could decorate the moon and bats with glitter glue instead of glow-in-the-dark paint.

In the spring and summer, colorful windsocks make beautiful decorations that blow in the breeze. But for Halloween, you need something spooky to set the mood. How about a ghost windsock? They're easy and fun to make, and they're scary without being too horrific for small children. Here are two ways to make them.

Foam Ghost Windsock

What You Need

* White craft foam
* Black craft foam
* White garbage bag
* Craft glue
* Scissors
* Hole punch
* Stapler
* White string or twine

Instructions

1. Cut a pair of eyes, a nose and a mouth out of the black craft foam. Glue them to the front of the white craft foam.

2. Cut the garbage bag into long, one to two inch wide strips. Glue them to the bottom of the piece of craft foam. Let dry.

3. Bring the right edge of the craft foam around to the left edge, forming a tube. Glue or staple together.

4. Using the hole punch, make three holes spaced evenly around the top of the windsock. Cut three pieces of string or twine, about two feet long each. Tie one string through each hole, then bring the strings together over the ghost and tie.

5. Hang your windsock from your porch or a tree branch.

Poster Board Ghost Windsock

What You Need

* Small white poster board
* Black permanent marker
* Hole punch
* White crepe paper streamers
* Craft glue
* Stapler
* String or twine

Instructions

1. Place the poster board lengthwise. Use the black permanent marker to draw on a ghostly face.

2. Cut streamers into lengths of two to three feet. Glue them onto the bottom of the poster board. Let dry.

3. Roll the poster board into a tube shape. Staple or glue the ends together to hold. Let dry.

4. Punch three evenly spaced holes in the top of the windsock. Cut three pieces of string or twine about two feet long. Tie one string through each hole, and bring all three strings together above the windsock. Tie together.

5. Hang and enjoy your windsock.

Tips

* If you want your ghost to be especially eye-catching, add some glitter accents. You could line the facial features with silver glitter glue, or lightly dot craft glue in random places on the windsock, sprinkle with loose glitter, and shake off the excess.

* Hang your windsock indoors and place a fan nearby to make it flutter and float as it would outside.

* These make great haunted house decorations! If you don't want them to move around as much, simply make the hanging string a bit shorter.