pumpkin carving tip

Posted on October 31, 2012 by happyhooligans

This pumpkin carving tip is so awesome and simple, you’re going to ask yourself why you didn’t think of it before now.

When you carve your pumpkin, do you cut out the top of the pumpkin to get to the guts? I think most people do, and it’s how I always did it until I figures a few years ago, but not anymore!

A few years ago I tried something different, and I think it really is the best pumpkin carving tip ever!

I cut out the BOTTOM of the pumpkin! It makes things so much easier when it comes time to light up your jack-o-lantern! No more wrestling to get a lit candle down into the bottom of the pumpkin or struggling to light a candle that you’ve already placed inside!

I’m not even sure if this was originally my brilliant discovery or if my hubby came up with it, but I’ve never seen this anywhere else, so I’m thinking we might have actually INVENTED this idea! Aren’t we clever?

Simply cut a hole in the bottom of your pumpkin, and scoop the guts out like you normally would.

Then when it’s time to light it up, simply set your pumpkin over a lit candle.

Taaaa-daaaaa!

What do you think? Makes things a little easier, doesn’t it?

smoosh and stamp pumpkins

Posted on October 30, 2012 by happyhooligans

Well, here we are, on the eve of all Hallow’s Eve. We did our final Hallowe’en project today because the Hooligans won’t be here tomorrow.

I’d had this project in the back of my mind for weeks, and I’m really glad we got around to it today. It was very cool! And like most of our projects, it was inexpensive, and easy enough for even the youngest Hooligans to have fun with.

You’ll need:

Paint (we used orange, red, yellow, brown and green)
Plastic grocery bag
Stamps for eyes/nose/mouth (we used wooden blocks, and I made a couple from yogurt containers and styrofoam)
Cardboard or sturdy construction paper for your “canvas”

Start by drizzling your paint on your canvas; pumpkin colours on the main part of the page and a small drizzle of green at the top for the stem of the pumpkin.

Now place your plastic bag on top of your canvas and start smooshing, patting and rubbing the paint all around.

Smoosh it well. You want good coverage here.

Lift up your plastic bag and voila!

If you’re not happy with your coverage, place the bag back down and smoosh again.

We used a hair dryer to dry our pumpkins so we could get to the stamping.

I made a few stamps for eyes, noses and mouths by cutting some foam packaging and hot gluing the pieces to a few small containers (yogurt containers are great for this).

I also pulled out a few wooden blocks from our block bucket so the Hooligan’s would have a variety of shapes to choose from.

They dipped their stamps in some black paint and turned their pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns.

Some chose to be quite deliberate in how they stamped, and some were more creative. This little Hooligans rubbed and smeared her stamps around creating a beautiful collage.

As a final touch, we added “teeth”. I set out corn kernels, borrowed from our corn bin, and white pasta leftover from our “boneyard wreath” project.

How cute is THIS?!

Aren’t they fabulous? I love that each one is so unique and beautiful!

HAPPY HALLOWE’EN!!

Hallowe’en sensory bin

Posted on October 29, 2012 by happyhooligans

We’ve been exploring all kinds of ghostly goodies in our Hallowe’en sensory bin. This bin was very easy to put together, using items that I had tucked away from last year’s bin, as well as a few new odds and ends from the dollar store.
Black and orange lentils, plastic fingers, holiday erasers, beads and jewels, Halloween rings,a couple of battery operated candles and a few spoons, jars and muffin tins for “cooking up” some spooky fun…

What more could a Hooligan ask for at this time of year?

Simple Hallowe’en Wreaths

Posted on October 27, 2012 by happyhooligans

We made these simple Halloween Wreaths yesterday. They’re so easy to make, and they look so sweet!

All you need to make your wreath is:

cardboard (cereal box weight)
tissue paper in Halloween colours, cut into 2×2 inch squares
googly eyes
black paint
glue
fabric, netting or ribbon to make your bow

I traced our wreaths on to cardboard, using a plate for the outer circle, and a bowl for the inner circle, and the Hooligans painted those black.

Then they glued the squares of tissue paper and the googly eyes to their wreaths. Some chose to crumple their tissue paper, and some didn’t.

To make the gluing process easier for the youngest Hooligans, I put some white glue into a bowl and they used a paintbrush to apply it to their wreath.

Finish by stapling on a colour co-ordinated bow. We used a variety of materials for our bows. I had a strip of black fabric that I tied into a bow for one. The purple bows came from a skein of gauzy ribbon that I picked up at the dollar store, and my favourite bow was this one!

I had saved a few pieces of netting that fruit comes packaged in. It was perfect for this project!

Aren’t these just the cutest?

Simple, inexpensive and cute as a button! Just the way we like things around here!

Happy Halloween!

If you’re visiting for the first time, be sure to pop over and LIKE us on Facebook. I’m always sharing easy and inexpensive kids’ arts and crafts and play ideas over there!