31 Days Series: Day 29

 Toliet Paper Bats
 This craft is fun for the kids to make and if you add some little treats inside, they are great to have at parties or share with friends.  If you do not have card stock, use construction paper...that's what we did. *tip: Use chalk or white crayon to draw out your wing pattern.

Supplies:
-toilet roll tube or you can cut a paper towel roll tube into smaller pieces
-grey or black card stock
 -black paint
-string or yarn to hang-you can get black shoe laces (3 pairs per pack) at the dollar store and use them to hang
-wiggle eyes
-double sided tape
-small candies (optional)

Directions:
1.  Paint your toilet paper tube black.
2.  Let dry.
3.  Poke a hole through the top, center of the tube and put your string in so you can hang your bat up.
4.  Cut two wings from your card stock.
5.  Tape your wing to both sides of the tube.
6.  At the ends of the tube, push the sides in so they fold over each other and close the tube up.
7. If you want to share this with friends or have at a party, add some small pieces of candy inside before you close the tube up.

Idea from: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/toilet_roll_bat.htm

31 Days Series: Day 23

Terra-Cotta Jack-O-Lanterns

Great party Halloween party favors!  You can get all sizes of pots at Michael's. I got the three smallest sizes and they were $.59, $.69, $.89 a piece.  If you can't find terra-cotta pots you can use small plastic ones.  The paint won't stick as well or show up quite as well but we gave it a try anyway just to see. (pic below)

Supplies:

-mini terra-cotta pots

-yellow craft paint

-fine tip black marker

Directions:

1. Add a Jack-O-Lantern face to your pot with the yellow paint.

2.  Let dry.

3.  Outline the face with your fine tip black marker.

4.  Put some Halloween candies in your Jack-O-Lantern. 
**After some trial and error (that's why only one of the plastic pots got photographed) I found the easiest way for my children (ages 4 & 5) to make the face, was for me to draw it on with the marker first then let them paint inside the lines with the yellow paint.  Then after they painted, I went back over the lines again with the permanent marker. You can decide what's best for your kids depending on their age. 

Here are our terra-cotta pots.

This is the plastic one.

Idea from:  http://crafts.kaboose.com/pumpkin-jack-o-lantern-pots.html

31 Days Series: Day 14

 Lollipop Ghosts
Super easy craft and treat rolled into one.  These are great little things to let your kids make for their friends or for Halloween parties.

Supplies:
-lollipops (1 per ghost)
-tissue (1 per ghost)
-dental floss or white twist tie (we used dental floss)
-black permanent marker

Directions:
1.  Place tissue over the sucker.
2.  At base of the sucker, use floss or twist tie to secure tissue in place.
3.  Draw eyes and mouth on ghost.
4.  Share with friends.

31 Days Series: Day 10

 Monster Hands

This is snack you may remember making when you were a kid.  I remember making it back in elementary school.  This is an easy idea for kids to make and enjoy after school or to have or make at Halloween parties.

Supplies:

-clear plastic gloves aka "lunch lady gloves"

-popcorn

-candy corn (5 per hand)

-twist tie

Directions:

1. Put a piece of candy corn (with the point in first) in each finger of the glove.

2.  Fill the glove up with popcorn, but not too full so you can close it up.

3.  Put a twist tie on so the popcorn won't fall out.

Not sure if you can see but the hands have a Halloween ring on the ring finger.  They are cheap...you can get a whole bag of them at the dollar store.  Great little addition if you will be having these at a party.

I found these "gloves" left over from my teaching days so we used them but the clear gloves will work just fine!! You will actually be able to see the candy corn "fingernails" better with clear gloves.