Mummy Madness! Felt Finger Puppets

Are these cute little mummies ready to scare, or coming for a hug?

To make them, cut cheesecloth into 1/2" strips.  Wrap your mummy shape with the strips before sewing. Glue on a little pom pom for the nose and use fabric paint or google eyes for the eyes. 

A story to go with it?  Maurice Sendak has a monster pop-up book:

For a humorous counting read-aloud that adds a little Egyptian learning along the way, try Ten Little Mummies, by Philip Yates and illustrated by G.Brian Karas. The illustrations are darling!  Makes me want to try drawing mummies, too!

Or from the feline perspective:  read about the clever Mummy Cat, from Marcus Ewert and Lisa Brown,  both from the story and in the murals on the pages, a story within a story!  Complete with hidden hieroglyphs? Can't wait! Not coming out until July 2015 though...  

A clever parody for Runaway Bunny fans from Michael Rex is The Runaway Mummy...

And there is the unique, rhyming WORKING MUMMIES (by Joan Horton, illustrations Drazen Kozjan)...  

But for curious little ones that might have a lot of mummy monster questions, try I'm All Wrapped Up by Shannon Knudsen and Renée Kurilla.

Happy Halloween!

Spooky Halloween Eyeball Flowers

It started with inspiration from pinterest.. Jess posted these last year and they look so interesting! A perfect combination of ease, thrift, and coolness!  

Jess at The Pumpkin Carver cleverly used items she had to create this creepy coolness, and made a great tutorial for it.  However, I neither eyeballs nor old sunflowers in my craft stash.  I looked for eyeballs at a couple of stores and couldn't even find any.  However, I found a pretty good substitute to share with you:

Instead of round eyeballs and hot glue, I used halloween colored google eyes and craft glue.  

I'm thinking this would be a great Halloween party craft for school.  Fall flowers are at bargain prices right now, and googly eyes are cheap. Frugal and easy fun!

Happy Spooky Halloween!

Ghost Stories

When my kids were little, I struggled a bit with the whole idea of introducing them to "ghosts" but was quickly reminded that they saw them as just another character in their list of learning, like a cartoon. There are so many cute ghost crafts for toddlers, I didn't want to miss out!  My boys also had (have!) a particular fondness for walking around with sleeping bags or blankets over their heads (ouch!).

Lynda Graham-Barber's, SAY BOO! was our family's introduction to the concept of ghosts.  It is a darling story about a little ghost having trouble pronouncing BOO! You can use the story literally, to show how one letter changes the word (rhyming moo, boo, whoo, etc.) but also to discuss feelings as little boo gets frustrated by not being able to make the right sound.  Barbara Lehman's illustrations are colorful and have just the right detail to capture the concepts.

If you haven't read David LaRochelle's, The Haunted Hamburger and other Ghostly Stories, you must put it on your (kids) Halloween reading list this year.  Paul Meisel's illustrations are expressive and detailed, highlighting all the emotion in the stories as well as the concepts.  While trying to get his kids to bed, father ghost spins three tall tales to entertain them.  These three tales are scary for the ghosts (being turned into a diaper, being tricked by a hamburger, and kissed by a granny), but will leave kids laughing. You'll surely catch kids of many ages reading this creative story again on their own.

Does your family love pie?  The Perfect Pumpkin Pie, by Denys Cazet, is a tasty pie ghost story, although a slight step up on the spooky scale than the two stories above.  The spooky part is that Mr. Wilkerson actually dies, is buried and turns into a ghost (in the first pages).  If your kids can get past that (we looked at each other with wrinkled eyebrows), they'll be hooked on the rest.  The granny and boy face the ghost without fear (all he wants is pie).  The prose is clever, fun to read aloud and easy to add character voices...  Pumpkins, pumpkins,/pumpkin pie!/I must have one/before I die./It must be round/and brown as toast,/or I'll haunt this house/a hungry ghost!  The wonderfully detailed illustrations are reminiscent of David Catrow, and really add to the tale.  So much to look for on each page!

I searched a little on Amazon to get a few more ideas together:

The adorable illustrations in Kristen Depken's One, Two Boo!  caught my attention right away.  This lift the flap book would have been on my interest list when my boys were toddlers.

This one got me right from the title, ghosts aren't supposed to be timid! Ten Timid Ghosts, by Jennifer O'Connell, is a count down book that would surely appeal to the preschool/kinder audience interested that may feel timid about ghosts themselves!  The plot involves a witch employing a clever scheme to scare away the ghosts, and builds in math concepts (counting, subtraction).

Ghosts in the House, by Kazuno Kohara will leave you in great "spirits" at how resourceful the clever heroine is... Got ghosts? Just put them in the laundry and turn them into something else!  Eyecatching drawings and a perfect blend of sweet and spooky for Halloween storytimes.

Spider Game

Halloween is almost here! Phew, how the heck are ya? Crazy busy here!

This isn't a craft, but a little fun something to check out with your kiddos, or just by yourself at this arachnid-y time of year.... a realistic spider simulation game. No kidding! Interact with your mouse cursor and overcome your arachnophobia. You get to move the spider around, change its features, make it jump, and/or feed it insects...  It is really cute & creative!

Halloween Craft: Cork Skeleton

HOWDY!

Feeling a little corky? I mean quirky? It could be that all trouble you've been gettin' into has gone deep into your bones.... A few glasses, oops, I mean bottles, may get you on your feet and runnin'!

Skeleton man was made from 11 wine corks and one champagne cork (skull).  His backbone is a bamboo skewer fitted with pony bead vertebrate.  His hands and feet are cut from the ends of Popsicle sticks (the rounded kind, like from Healthy Choice/Cove/Haagan-Dazs) and his shoulder blades come from a piece of straight, narrow Popsicle stick.  To connect his bones, half paperclips were inserted into each side of the cork then connected with small rings (jewelry section of craft store).  His hands and feet are hot-glued onto white twisty ties so they can be positioned. 

One of these days I'll remember to pick up a small eye screw for the top of his head so he can dangle properly.  For now, he's just hangin' around.

For more great ideas, check out these parties!

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Origami Pumpkin Card

I found directions to make an easy and cute origami pumpkin (click on link), loved it, and decided to turn it into a fun fall greeting card for family. 

First thing needed is orange paper.  Who would have guessed that I wouldn't be able to find orange paper in October?  I had a brainstorm... Wrapping paper!  I found a cute orange print in the clearance bin and set to work cutting it into squares for the folding.  This turned out to be a much more economical way to make a dozen cards!  To decorate,  I made a small slit at the top and glued in a stem, then glued a leave under the top of one of the folds.

The pumpkin stands open in a triangle shape from the side.  I glued a photo of my kids at the pumpkin patch onto the back and used a glittery pen to wish everyone a HAPPY HARVEST!

I've linked at this great party:

Halloween Bat Decorations from Foam Veggie Trays

I just couldn't throw away these black foam trays that our veggies came on from various grocery stores throughout the year.  They had HALLOWEEN potential!  We used them for paint trays, bead holders, etc., but with October here, it is time to put them to use for their intended purpose!

They just had to be... bats.  I made a wing and body template and traced them onto the foam.  I put the template below for ya.  There's a baby and momma pattern.  Hold the wing tips along an edge to take advantage of the 3-D contour.

 Use a pencil to trace. It will leave an indented line for you to cut along.

 Flip your wing pattern over to get the opposite side.

 Cut little triangles out of the corners for ears.

Hot glue pieces together for instant hang-a-bility.

I stuck them on the porch rails.  Maybe I should reverse that though, pumpkins on bottom and hanging bats! 

Foam Tray Bat Pattern

I linked here:

Jack-o-lantern Hanging Yard Decorations

It is easy to create your own holiday outdoor decorations that will last through the weather.  For this project, you need orange, black, and yellow craft foam and a bit of tacky glue.  Cut an oval pumpkin shape from a whole orange sheet, then add facial features from black and yellow (or trace template below). Hang from your porch or tree for colorful festivity!

Pumpkin Yard Ornament

Bean Mosaics: Easy Halloween Kids Craft

Here's an easy and thrifty Halloween craft to get fingers moving and creativity flowing.  Warning though, if you are preparing this for a "mommy and me" class, be sure to prepare a separate one for mommy because she'll want to do this, too.  This project has broad appeal to all ages.. playing with beans is fun! 


(Hint:  I was feeling gloomy that my boys weren't interested in crafts any more... I've had this out for awhile but couldn't get them to do it.  Then I had a moment of inspiration. Our school starts late, and when they get home, the boys want to run around outside. Soon enough it is homework, dinner and bedtime. But what about BEFORE school? This was my ticket. I set it up for them when they woke up... they're early risers.  They were so attentive and enjoyed this so much, they would have made more if I'd had more shapes ready. Whoo hoo!!!)


Materials
piece of thin cardboard
scissors, pen
tacky glue, sharpie
yarn
assorted beans
glossy clear spray paint

1) Start by tracing simple halloween shapes (free templates below) onto a piece of cardboard that's thin enough to cut easily but thick enough to hold a thick layer of glue and heavy beans.  If you are making these for a class, choose the pumpkin for easy cutting.

2) Place a thin line of glue along the entire edge of the shape.  Starting from the top, wrap a length of yarn around the edge, forming a hanging loop when you reach the top again.  The yarn "frame" will help the seeds stay in place.  Set the shape to dry on something that you'll be able to peel it off from (some glue will likely stick to the bottom).


3) Gather assorted beans. We used "red" lentils (they look orange), black beans, navy beans, and lima beans. Tapioca pearls or rice would also work well. (Red lentils are a key ingredient in dahl, a type of Indian soup, so you may need to check out the Indian food section of your grocer to find them.)

4) Smear the shape with glue. We used tacky glue, but school glue would work, too. 

5) Have your kids form the eyes and mouths (and fangs!) first, then let them have at it!  Use a sharpie to add pupils to eyes or other features.

6)  After the glue has dried, spray the creations with a coat or two of clear, glossy spray paint to give them shine and deepen the colors. 


7) Hang your creations on a wall, put magnets on for the fridge, or as you like! If you have several shapes, consider re-purposing and old picture frame by arranging the shapes inside.... that's what I'm doing next!


Seed Mosaic Halloween Shapes

I've linked up here!  Thanks for the parties!

Be sure to check out Meg at her MEGA-SPOOKY all Halloween, all the time blog: http://www.megaspooky.com/2011/10/easy-kids-bean-art-project-and-free.html
I couldn't find her button, but she's got a really great collection of Halloween ideas, and I sure appreciate the nice things she said about this project!  :)

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