*To simplify this costume and for easier walking,  just wear the colour of your choice and attach the logo to your shirt.  Or use a coloured apron to do the same*

Materials

• Bristol/Poster board (we used 3 sheets for children sized markers- 2 for the body and one for the hat/cap) OR BETTER YET- coloured clothing and 1 sheet of poster board for the hat only)
• Stapler
• Glue/ glue gun
• Felt or construction paper
• White paint pen (Posca is our favourite brand)
• Self stick Velcro dots or tape (You can find them at craft stores, hardware stores, online, dollar stores etc.)
• Ribbon or elastic
• Scissors
• Containers or lids to create shapes
• Binder clips
• Permanent marker
• Pencil/ pen

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Wrap your child in two poster boards, creating a tube. (Don’t make it too tight or it will be difficult to walk!)  Attach the pieces together with binder clips to measure where you would glue them together and where you would put your Velcro dots to hold the other side together.  Some overlap is good to hold the pieces firmly in place.  You can lightly mark the lines with a pencil.

• We then glued the one side of our poster board together with a glue gun and secured the pieces with staples at the top and bottom.  On the other side, we put the scratchy side of the Velcro dots and lined them up with the fuzzy sides where you would wrap them around.  This allows the child to easily remove the costume.  You could use Velcro tape as well.

• We cut shapes out of felt to go along with the flavours that the kids chose:  blueberries, an orange and a mint leaf (you can look on the back of the box for inspiration).  The easiest way to make shapes is to use containers, lids or plates.  My daughter traced around the edge of a deli container to create circles for the blueberries with a permanent marker and then we flipped them over so you couldn’t see the markings and added details.  We made the orange with a plate and created the details with a white paint pen.   Different shades create dimension to your shape.  You could easily use construction paper, card stock or more poster board for these accents.

• Sketch the logo on your poster board with pencil and then trace over it with white paint pen (you could also do this in a dark colour if your marker is light, like the real markers).  Glue your pieces into place.

• For the caps/hats we used a tapered cone net (see photo) for the outer area and a long strip rolled into a cylinder for the inner portion.  They sit on the kids heads, but if you wanted them to be more secure, you could attach them to a headband or a thin piece of elastic under the chin through punched holes on either side (however, be careful as this could still be a strangulation hazard, remove for play and supervise with wear).  As requested, here is a close up of the cap hat measurements which we made from a Bristol/ poster board.

• We then created shoulder straps using ribbon attached with Velcro dots at the ends (so that they could be removed).

• Voila!  The kids said one should use appropriately scented matching product (like a mint hand cream) and then set out for trick-or-treating!

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• You could even create your own matching Halloween bag:

See all the projects from our friends at these pages:

 Amanda from barley & birch (https://www.instagram.com/barleyandbirch/?hl=en)

Shannon from Oh Creative Day (https://www.instagram.com/ohcreativeday/?hl=en)

Cara from Raising Kinley (https://www.instagram.com/stories/raising.kinley/?hl=en)

Shelly from Creating Creatives (https://www.instagram.com/stories/creatingcreatives/?hl=en)

Laura and Tai from Little Button Diaries (https://www.instagram.com/littlebuttondiaries/?hl=en)

Joanna from The Blue Barn (https://www.instagram.com/thebluebarn/?hl=en)

Maggy from Red Ted Art (https://www.instagram.com/stories/redtedart/?hl=en)

Ana from Babble Dabble Do (https://www.instagram.com/babbledabbledo/?hl=en)

Sian from Teach Investigate Play (https://www.instagram.com/teach.investigate.play/?hl=en)

Lisa from The Art Garden (https://www.instagram.com/theartgardenblog/?hl=en)

Purpose

• Recognizing the traditions of various celebrations.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces while you glue.
• Use scissors and a glue gun with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Ribbon, cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.

Materials

• Crepe paper or coffee filters or cupcake liners
• Paint or food colouring (if you go with the cupcake liners or coffee filter options)
• Scissors
• Fringe scissors (optional- you can use regular scissors too- these are just fun!)
• Floral wire
• Floral tape
• Child-safe cotton swab
• Thicker paper
• Tacky glue
• Pencil/pen
• Glue stick

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• You can use a few different things to form your flowers and leaves- either coloured crepe paper, painted coffee filters or painted cupcake liners (you could also buy coloured ones to use).  If you paint your coffee filters or cupcake liners, lay them on a cooling rack to dry overnight so that they are really dry for your project’s glue.

• Cut out your petals.  We start with a rectangle and then refine them.  They almost look slightly triangular in shape with a slimmer bottom and wider on the top.  Then make the top a bit wavy.  Cut out 4-6.  You can cut them out individually, but after you become more experienced and if your scissors are pretty good, you could cut several out at a time!

• Cut one end off of the child-safe cotton swab and then cut that tiny part of the cotton area on the other end.  Cut a square of your crepe/ coffee liner/ cupcake liner.  Put a dot of the tacky glue in the centre of the square and put the cotton end into the dot and wrap the crepe around to form the centre of your flower.  (See the video for a clear demo).  Secure the paper with floral tape.  Floral tape seems like it is dried out- don’t be fooled by this!  The glue is activated by stretching it.  So pick the spot to start, hold it place with your thumb and finger on your non-dominant hand and then pull it taut to activate the glue while tightly wrapping it around.  It is almost a “pulling up and then over” motion.  You may need a bit of adult help with this until you get the hang of it!

• Now it is time to add the petals.  Put a line of glue on the bottom of the petal and wrap it around your flower centre/stem squeezing it in place.  Add another on the opposite side.  Secure it in place with some floral tape.  Repeat this on the opposite side, adding two more petals.  You can repeat this as many times as you like, depending on how full you would like the blooms.  When you add additional rounds, be sure to make them a bit longer.  With the last round wrap the tape down the stem a bit to blend it in.

• Cut out and add leaves in the same fashion.

• We then coiled the wire at the bottom so the poppies could stand.

• Cut out a strip of paper (a paper cutter comes in handy for this) and fold it in half.  We cut a triangle out of the ends.  Write the names of your guests on each of the strips of paper, wrap them around the stems and then glue the sides together.  Put them out on a table or to decorate another space such as your mantle.

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Purpose

• Working with various materials.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.

Materials

• Pumpkin
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brush
• Felt (you could use fabric or thick paper too)
• Rocks
• Glue gun/glue
• Scissors
• Pencil/eraser
• Paper
• Tape

We always find these items helpful too:

• Smock
• Craft tray

Directions

• Don your smock.  Paint your pumpkin and let it dry.  You may require several coats.

• Sketch your fish and/or other sea creatures onto your paper to make your pattern/ template.

• Trace your idea onto your felt, cutting out details to add.  (We just attached the pattern with a tape donut.)

• Glue them on and then glue your fish onto your bowl.  Be sure to add a few bubbles and some scenery for your fish!

• If you like, cut off the top and pop in an LED light.  You could even get an adult to drill some holes in the pumpkin for bubbles that the light shines through!  You could trim the top with a bit of rope to finish off the top edge, creating that lip that you see on a real fish bowl!

• Do you follow us on Instagram? (https://www.instagram.com/make_it_your_own_/?hl=en) We’d love to see your pumpkin creations there- please TAG us!

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Purpose

• Creating for cultural celebrations!

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors and a glue gun with care and adult supervision.
• Small items such as rocks can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

• Newspaper
• Watercolour paints
• Scissors
• Paper bag handles
• Glue
• Ribbon, rick-rack, cord etc. for hanging
• Cooling rack
• Pencil/eraser

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Look for sections in newspaper that are mainly print for the best results.  Cut them out into sections that will fit in your tray.  Paint them both in pumpkin and leaf colours and allow them to dry overnight.  We find that using a cooling rack does the trick for faster, more thorough drying.

• While we were waiting we cut off the handles of paper bags (the kind that you get shopping) for the vines of the pumpkins.   We unravelled them and then cut them into strips and then curled them around our pencil for a “vine-like look”.

• Once your newspaper is dry, sketch out your pumpkins and your leaves and cut them out.  Look at real pumpkins for inspiration.

• Glue your vines to the top of your pumpkins, along with your leaves.

• Once dry, glue your pumpkins onto your cord, twine, rick-rack etc.  (Be careful not to glue them to your work surface accidentally!)

• Once dry, hang up your seasonal garland or give it to a friend!

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Purpose

• Re-using materials.
• Recognizing symbols and materials significant to seasonal changes and using them as inspiration for creating

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.

When it comes to rock painting our favourite source for techniques and the best materials comes from Samantha of Color Made Happy (https://www.instagram.com/colormadehappy/?hl=en) who just wrote the Rock Art Handbook!

You can purchase your own copy here:

Canadians

• Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/rock-art-handbook-techniques-and/9781565239456-item.html
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Rock-Art-Handbook-Techniques-Transforming/dp/1565239458/

Americans

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Art-Handbook-Step-Step/dp/1565239458/

*This is not a sponsored post, nor do we use affiliate links.  We only suggest items that we have used and been genuinely happy with and this is one of them!*

Materials

• Rocks
• Acrylic paint and/or paint pens (We like the Posca brand as recommended by the Rock Art Handbook)
• Thin, black pens (We like the Micron brand as recommended by the Rock Art Handbook)
• Dowel or stick
• Paintbrushes
• Printable: sunflower

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Collect rocks in nature with an adult.  Wash your rocks with soap and water and allow them to dry overnight.  We pop them on a cooling rack to allow the undersides to dry.

• Paint your rocks and allow them to dry overnight.

• Add details with your paint pens and thin, black markers.  Allow them to dry.

• Paint your dowel or stick for your stem.

• Print out the sign to pair with your rocks- asking, “Can you make a sunflower?”.  We popped it into a sign holder which you could pop onto a table in a classroom for the kids to try out the challenge of forming a sunflower from the rocks.

• Want more ideas?  Do check out the Rock Art Handbook!  We were really pleased with her material suggestions and how to use them for various techniques and the results on the rocks have all been amazing!

Purpose

• Creating with nature.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.

Materials

• Sturdy/ thicker type paper plates
• Pencil/eraser
• Ruler
• Paint
• Sponge/brush
• Scissors
• Yarn
• Tape
• Bead (optional)

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Paint your paper plate(s) and allow them to dry overnight.

• Now it is time to cut in your spokes.  As we were making several of them, we took a blank plate and created the template to easily lay overtop and cut the slits.  It is REALLY important that your cut an ODD number of slits to create the spokes for your weaving.  You can measure and mark them approximately an equidistant apart with a ruler and the help of an adult.  We went with 11 so as to make a simple weave, but you could certainly add more for older children.

• Once you have your slits marked, cut them only to where the edge of the plate reaches the main part (the lip).  You may need a bit of adult assistance with this, depending on your scissors.

• Now it is time to weaving frame.  The spokes in weaving are called the warp.  Start your yarn on the back, taping down the end. Then stretch your yarn across the front of your your plate, putting it through a slot across from the one you started with.

• Now underneath the plate, move to the notch to the right of the one you just came through and go across your plate again.

• Turn your plate so that notch is at the bottom (this makes it easier to keep track of- see the video for help)!

• Again, move your yarn to the notch to the right of you and stretch it across.  Keep doing this until you have no more notches to fill.  With the end stretch it to the middle and start weaving.  Be sure to pull your yarn a bit firmly to bring the centre together.  To weave go under one spoke and then over the next, followed by going under in that pattern sequence. For children it is easy to remember if you actually say, “Under, over, under, over” as you weave.  (It keeps us on track- so it might help you too!)  The yarn that is used to weave is called the weft.

• Once you have your centre forming you could add a bead embellishment if you like.  We painted wooden ones black to correspond to our poppy centres, but go with whatever colour you like!  To add the bead, simply lace your yarn through (if it gets stuck, we use a BBQ skewer with the sharp end cut off to push it through, a thin dowel would work too) and then stretch it across from its original point and continue weaving.

• Continue weaving, adding as many colours as you may like.  To join the colours tie the two colours together and tuck the knot on the underneath side after you have trimmed it.

• To finish the weave we tied the end to a spoke and tucked the knot under the weave.

• Give your flower to a friend or hang them together form a garland!

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Purpose

• Appreciating and be inspired by nature.
• Developing one’s fine motor skills.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

• Wooden peg dolls (you can find these online or in craft stores)
• Paint pens (we love the Posca brand)
• Detail pens (we find that the Micron brand works well over the painted surface)
• Popsicle sticks/ tongue depressors of various sizes
• Glue (we used a glue gun, but white glue could work just as well)
• Brown paint
• Coffee filters
• Watercolour paint or food colouring (fall leaf colours)
• Scissors
• Cloche (We got ours at Michaels, but we have seen them at Ikea and other house ware stores as well.  You could also flip over a glass jar.)
• Modelling clay
• Drying rack
• Pencil/eraser

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Paint your coffee filters with watercolour paints or food colouring in your leaf colours.  Allow them to dry overnight.  We popped them on a cooling rack so they would dry faster!

• Glue your popsicle sticks into a tree formation.  We used a bigger one for the trunk and then worked our way to smaller branches with smaller popsicle sticks.  Make sure that your tree branch width will fit inside of your cloche.

• If you like, paint your tree.

• Cut out your leaves from the coffee filters. Glue them onto your tree (and save some extras to sprinkle at the bottom of your tree).

• With your pencil, sketch out your ideas for you and your family members or friends on your peg dolls.

• Colour in your ideas with your paint pens.  Allow them to dry thoroughly and then add any details that you may like with your thin, black pens.

• Form a ball with your modelling clay.  Insert your tree in the centre and then form a hill-like appearance.  Arrange your people around the tree and then sprinkle your fallen leaves around them.

• Have an adult help you put on the glass portion of your cloche and then put your fall tree and family on display.  Alternatively, skip the cloche and use your tree and figurines for small world play!

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Purpose

• Celebrating the changing of the seasons. recognizing the colours that are often present.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose.
• Beads can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Materials

• Tray (we used an expanding utensil tray)
• Containers
• Loose parts in Fall leaf colours (small tiles, beads, curtain hooks, marbles, glass gems, pom poms, buttons,  jingle bells etc.)
• Popsicle sticks, dowels etc. to form the trunk (You could also use branches and twigs which would be beautiful!)
• Printable: falltree
• Stand

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Print out our free printable and pop it in a stand if you like.  You could also put it into a page protector and tape it to a table if that was your child’s/ classroom’s work space.

• Arrange your loose parts into small containers (we re-used deli containers etc.) and pop them onto your tray.  We used an expandable utensil tray to house the materials.

• Put this out onto your work space and see what kinds of trees the children come up with.  If you find that some of materials aren’t staying in your intended place, a sheet of felt underneath or moving the activity to the carpet may help.

• Document the work by taking a photo to display before they return the materials to the tray for another tree to be made!

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Purpose

• Manipulating various shaped objects within a space to create an image, developing one’s fine motor skills.

Safety Notes

• Small items such as beads, gems etc. can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.