Monday Make A - Several Samhain/Halloween Crafts

* Goblin lights *
from: Source no longer available

This is a neat idea for your decorations.

Here's what you'll need:

• 5 or 6 glow sticks
• Helium balloons (preferably in a dark color) as many as you have glow sticks
• Ball of string
• Bricks to weight the balloons

Tie the balloon on a really long piece of string, about 5 feet under the balloon tie on a glow stick then let the balloon carry the stick high in to the air (DO NOT LET GO OF THE STRING). When you think it is high enough, tie the string to a brick. The Lights float in the breeze and will glow for about 3 hours. The kids really love them and ask what they are...and you tell them they are Goblin Lights!

* GLOWING LAWN MAGGOTS *
From LadyQuenn

Ingredients:

• Rice
• Woolite Laundry Liquid
• Paper Towels
• Black Light Bulb that fits your porch.
  

Cook rice. Lay cooked rice out on towels to dry in a thin layer (you get chunkier maggots this way <ewwww>). When rice is dry, put rice in a bowl a bit at a time, pour a little woolite laundry soap over the rice and mix. Be gentle so you don't squash or smush the rice. Spread the rice out on a towel in a thin layer and dry again. On the night of your party, sprinkle the rice maggots around on the lawn or on the porch. Put the black light bulb in your porch light and turn the light on. The rice maggots will now glow under the black light. You could also take old stuffed animals, rip holes in them and put the maggots on them...plus I am sure that if you use yourimagination, you can think of other gross things to do with the woolite maggots....

* Turnip Jack O' Lantern *
Source unknown

Ever get tired of those bright orange pumpkins and want something different to carve for Samhain? If you do, then you should consider the turnip! Why the turnip? The turnip is associated with Jack o' the  hadows, or Death Itself. This association is through the legends of Jack O'Lantern. In this legend a man named Jack can neither be let into heaven or hell so instead hollows out a turnip or gourd and makes a lantern out of it. From that day on he wanders the face of the world carrying his lantern, trying to find somewhere he can stay. The turnip is also associated with two Pagan Sabbats: Lughnassadh/Lammas and of course, Samhain.

Materials:

• A large turnip (you could also use a rutabaga if you want). Try to find one with the proper skull shape - (slightly tapered toward the chin) & the larger the better.
• One sharp knife and teaspoon.
• Newspaper
• Container for the turnip shavings.
• Candle
• Sturdy wire - about 12 inches
  

Instructions:

Cut the top off the turnip - not too far down. Using the knife carve out a hole into the top of the turnip. Once there is enough room use the teaspoon to hollow out the turnip so that the turnip is  translucent - that is, when you hold it up to the light you can see it glow. Using a sharp knife carve  a Celtic face into the turnip shell. Flatten out the inside of the base making a slight depression to hold the candle. Light candle and drip wax into depression in the center. Stick candle upright in the wax. Pierce a hole in each side of the top of the turnip. Insert the wire for a handle. Use the resulting grated turnip for dinner! Very Healthy Actually......You can even squeeze it and make turnip juice! Now you are ready to bring the Celtic Spirit to your celebrations and hauntings. A line of people with lit turnip heads walking up a field at night is quite scary! Once they are carved and lit up with a candle carved turnips glow with an eerie yellow-ivory, in fact, you might say skull-like quality! When they are suspended they look just like skulls floating in the night! Their shape is much more skull-like than any pumpkin could ever be!

 

* DRYER HOSE PUMPKINS *

These pumpkins are made out of plastic clothes dryer hose. They turn out real cute.

Supplies needed:

• Dryer hose
• Orange spray paint
• Green felt
• Fake fall leaves
• Tacky Glue
• Green spray paint
• Cone shaped Styrofoam
• Small wiggly eyes
• Small black pompoms
• Green pipe cleaners
  

Cut off section of dryer vent and make into a circle gluing the two ends together. (So you have a nice size pumpkin). Spray paint the dryer vent orange (let dry). Spray paint the Styrofoam green for the stem (let dry). Curl the green pipe cleaner around your finger. Put a little glue on the pipe cleaner and place on top in center hole of pumpkin. Place glue on Styrofoam stem and press down into center on top of pumpkin. Cut two green leaves out of felt and place on top of pumpkin. Glue additional fake fall leaves to the bottom of the pumpkin (it then looks like it's sitting in a pile of leaves.) Glue wiggly eyes to the black pompoms and glue on green leaf on top of pumpkin. That's it! You now have a real neat looking centerpiece. With the ruffled dryer vent it really looks like a pumpkin.

 

* HALLOWEEN LITTLE PEOPLE GHOSTS *

Materials needed:

• One empty 2 lt.. bottle
• two pieces of PVC pipe in 12 to 13 inch lengths masking tape.
• one 6" Styrofoam ball
• Pair of toddler shoes
• Pair of toddler pants
• Square of white fabric roughly 24" x 24"
• Black felt for eyes
• Small plastic pumpkin basket with handle
  

Holding the two liter bottle upside down, securely tape the PVC pipe to form legs. Wrap the tape around several times. Pull the pants of the legs and body securing with rubber bands at the "waist". Hot glue the inside of the shoes and insert the PVC pipe. Hot glue the Styrofoam head to the flat side of the upside down bottle. Hold in place until glue dries. The doll should be able to stand. If not, adjust the tape. Drape the square white cloth over the "head". Cut eyes from black felt and glue on. Sew the plastic pumpkin basket to the front of the "ghost".

 

 

* LEAFY IRON-ONS *
Taken from the Magickal Crafts Newsletter by ScryeWulf

Tis the season to pick up some kewl leaves outside! Colorful fall leaves are abundant at this time of the year in the Midwest and other areas. But for this project your leaves do not have to be pretty colors...they just need to be interesting shapes, and leaves with thick veining or interesting edges work best.

You will need:

• kewl leaves
• cheap white printer/typing paper
• fabric crayons (regular crayons may also work, I'm not sure)
• scissors
• iron
• something you'd like to transfer your leaf iron-on to (t-shirt, tote bag, etc.)

How to do it:

Put your leaf on a hard surface, veined side up, and place a sheet of paper on top of it. Choose three different colors of crayons, be creative! Peel some of the wrap off the crayons and hold them sort of sideways, now scribble patches of color on the paper over your leaf. Let some of the colors blend....if you begin with your darkest color and end with your lightest, the effect is nice (this is backwards from most art instruction :-). As you scribble on the color, the leaf vein patterns and edges should begin to show on your paper. Use quite a bit of color and don't worry about scribbling outside the edge of the leaf. Now cut the leaf shape out of the paper (don't get too worried about exact cutting, it's not important.) Place your leaf print crayon side down on top of your t-shirt, tote bag, etc., and place another piece of paper on top of it to protect your iron from the wax in the crayons (it's a good idea to use an old iron for craft projects like this, but if you only have one iron just be careful not to damage it). Press with the iron (pressing is stationary, not moving the iron back and forth) for about 30 seconds, then lift an edge to check your transfer. If it is not done continue pressing for 20 seconds more. Not all of the crayon will transfer, but the effect is really kewl! You can use this transfer idea to make an altar cloth for Samhain...or perhaps a ritual scarf? or a portable altar? This technique can also be used to make a stationary & envelopes set, wrapping paper, and more!...it's not just limited to transfer onto fabric :-)

 

* Pumpkin Pie Playdough *
Idea provided by Lennis G.

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 cups flour
• 2 cups salt
• 8 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup oil
• 1 container (1 1/12 ounces) pumpkin pie spice
• orange food coloring (2 parts yellow, 1 part red)
• 4 cups water
  

Mix all of the ingredients together. Cook and stir over medium heat until all lumps disappear. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container. This smells really good....so remind little ones that it is not for eating!

 

* Monster Slime *
(From Spooky Party Ideas by Nancy Blakey

Monster Slime, known commercially as Gak, makes a terrific party favor. It is easy to make, simple to clean up (warm water and a sponge is all it takes) and, best of all, will keep the kids entertained.

What You Will Need:

• 1/4 cup borax dissolved in 1 quart of water (Borax is available at your grocer in the laundry detergent section.)
• 1 cup Elmer's Glue (It contains polyvinyl acetate which reacts with the borax)
• 1 cup water
• Orange and/or green food coloring
• Large jar with lid to mix the glue and water
• Paper cups
• Popsicle sticks to stir
• Zipper-type sandwich bags
  

Pour the glue, water and a few drops of the food coloring together in the jar, replace the lid, and shake hard. You now have two jars of solution: a Borax solution and a glue solution. To make the Monster Slime, pour 2 tablespoons of Borax solution into a paper cup. Stir in 6 tablespoons of glue solution with a Popsicle stick. Watch! The mixture suddenly becomes thick and slimy. Stir hard, then pour off any extra liquid. Knead the Slime with your hands. It is ready to play with! When finished, the kids can take it home in a zipper-type plastic bag.

 

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.