Holidays

Ghost Pop-Up Cards

October 13, 2014 By Terri Thompson

Send a fun little ghost to your friends and family this Halloween with these simple-to-make pop-up cards. This craft is for your older kids or tweens. A good rule of thumb, if your child is comfortable cutting details with sharp scissors, then they can do this craft.

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Supplies Needed:

Black card stock
Orange card stock
White card stock
Sharp scissors
Black Sharpie
Glue (nothing fancy, I just used white school glue)

Use the black card stock for your card. I had pre-cut pieces that were 5″ x 8″. This turned out to be the perfect size for these cards. Fold your black card stock in half to make the card.

Use the orange card stock for your cover image. Sketch the word “Boo” on your card stock. Make it big enough to stand out on the cover of your card. Cut around the letters. You don’t need to cut out any holes inside the letters. We’re going to keep this easy and use the black Sharpie for all the details.

Use your black marker to trace around all the letters. Go right up to the edge. (Do this on top of a piece of scrap paper to eliminate any mess.) Add your details, such as the holes inside of the o’s with the marker. We’re going for a cartoon-type look. Glue your “Boo” to the cover of the card.

Next, make a ghost from your white card stock. Make it large enough to cover most of the inside, but not too big that your ghost peeks out when the card is shut. Also cut a thin strip of white card stock, approximately 4 to 5 inches long. Add your ghost details with your black marker.

Fold your thin strip of card stock accordion style. Make sure there is a flat end on each end.

Glue one flat end to your ghost and the other to the inside of the card. Press it down for several seconds to make sure your ghost sticks.

Once it’s done, you’ve got a fun and not-very-spooky card to spread the Halloween cheer. Make several to surprise your friends. They’ll love it!

Storybook Snack Time: Candy Corn Snack Mix

October 10, 2014 By Terri Thompson

Confession time: I love candy corn. I will find any and every excuse to eat it.

So, when it came time to create a snack for a Halloween Storybook Snack Time, I knew it would be a candy corn snack.

Make a simple and delicious Candy Corn Snack Mix to pair with a fun Halloween book. It's a great snack that kids can make themselves.

I’ve got a simple candy corn snack mix for you today that I’ve paired up with some of our favorite Halloween books.

I combined the candy corn with some healthier ingredients so you can indulge without the guilt.

I’ve been eating handfuls of this stuff lately… I may have to make another batch!

Candy Corn Snack Mix

1 c. Honey Nut Cheerios
1/2 c. candy corn
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. salted and shelled pumpkin seeds

Salted peanuts, pecans, or dried cranberries would make good substitutions for any of the above ingredients. They’d also make great additions to the ingredients you’ve got. The more the merrier when it comes to snack mix. (I just didn’t add them here because my kids won’t eat nuts.)

Toss all your ingredients in bowl and mix. Store in an airtight container. Grab a handful when you need a snack. It’s a bit addicting!

Just a note on the ingredients: If you want to keep the price down, look for your ingredients in the bulk food section of the store. I bought both the candy corn and the pumpkin seeds that way, only buying the amount I needed. It makes a huge difference in price.

While you’re eating your yummy candy corn snack mix, enjoy a good Halloween book. Here are several choices that we’ve discovered over the years.

Halloween books for the littlest kids:

Five Little Pumpkins, pictures by Dan Yaccarino

One, Two…Boo! by Kristen L. Depken

Fun Halloween books for kids of all ages:

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams (This is probably our favorite Halloween book!)

The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll

Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell

Monster Mash by David Catrow

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds

The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin by Margaret Wise Brown

The 13 Days of Halloween by Carol Greene

A Very Brave Witch by Alison McGhee

What is your favorite Halloween book?

Halloween Word Scramble

October 7, 2014 By Terri Thompson

I’ve always loved word games, even as a kid.

Give me a word search, crossword, or a word scramble and I could be happily occupied for awhile.

So, this year, I made you a simple Halloween Word Scramble that is suitable for elementary-aged kids so you can share your love of word games with your kids.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Simple Halloween Fun

I love this activity, because it’s something you can do last minute. It’s perfect for quiet time, waiting rooms, or any small pocket of time.

It’s also a fun idea for a Halloween party. Print out a stack for all your guests. Who can unscramble all the words the quickest?

All you need to do is download and print. (Keep reading for the download link.)

Can you solve this Halloween Word Scramble?

I’ve included nine Halloween-themed words that are all mixed up. Have fun unscrambling!

In case you get stumped by any, I’ve also included an answer sheet. But, don’t print out that answer sheet until you’re ready to check your answers!

Each Halloween Word Scramble only takes one sheet of printer paper. The answer sheet will print on a second sheet of paper.

Download and print below

If you’re looking for another word game to go along with this, I’ve got a Halloween word search at this link.

Download your Halloween Word Scramble Here.

Please feel free to print out as many copies as you need for home or school use. If you would like to share online, please share the link to this post and not the pdf. Thank you!

Halloween Black Cat Mask

October 6, 2014 By Terri Thompson

Black cats have always been one of my favorite symbols of Halloween. It’s not a mystery why.

We’ve got our own fuzzy black cat that calls our house her home. She’s not a bit spooky or scary. In fact, she’s often silly and sweet.

Black cats are a lot fun for kids who don’t like all the scarier parts of Halloween. This black cat mask is a fun Halloween craft for your preschool and elementary kids.

This paper plate Halloween Black Cat Mask is a little bit silly, a little bit spooky, but not a bit scary. It's fun for pretend play!

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies Needed:

Black fuzzy craft sticks (pipe cleaners) – 3 per mask

Black button

Large craft stick

How to make a Black Cat Mask

Draw a couple of simple pointy ears at the top of your paper plate and cut along your lines.

Also, cut two eye holes so you can see out of your mask.

I’ve found that it’s a lot easier to do any cutting before painting the mask. Also, depending on the ages of the kids doing this project, an adult may need to do the cutting before sitting down to make this craft.

Once you’ve created your cat shape, use the black paint to paint the front of the mask.

The front of the mask is actually the bottom of the plate. You’ll want the plate to curve inwards toward your face.

After the paint is dry, or almost dry, glue on a button for the nose.

Cut three pipe cleaners in half for your whiskers. Glue all six whiskers next to the nose, three on each side.

Letting the glue dry under the pipe cleaners is by far the hardest part of the mask. If you pick up the mask or move it around too much, the pipe cleaners will fall off while the glue is still wet. The best thing to do is to just walk away for awhile!

If you need a quicker drying time, consider using a low-heat hot glue gun to attach the nose and whiskers.

Once your glue is dry enough to move the mask around, glue a craft stick to the bottom of the mask so you can hold it up to your face. Let it dry for a bit and soon your mask will be done.

This Black Cat Mask is a little bit spooky, a little bit silly, not one bit scary, and very sweet. Your kids will love making one and playing with it later.

Jack-O-Lantern Pencil Holder

October 2, 2014 By Terri Thompson

Wrapping yarn around a tin can is an easy way to dress it up so that it no longer looks like a recycle bin rescue.

We used this method to turn a tin can into a fun Jack-O-Lantern Pencil Holder.

It’s a fun way to jazz up your school supplies and make homework fun.

Store your Halloween pencils in this simple yarn wrapped Jack-O-Lantern Pencil Holder. It's a fun Halloween craft for kids and tweens.

Supplies Needed

Tin can
Orange yarn
Strong glue (I used Tacky Glue, but hot glue would also work)
Black felt

Make your Jack-O-Lantern Pencil Holder

Before beginning, prep your can by washing and removing the label.

Don’t worry if you still have bits of glue and paper on the can. You will be covering it completely.

Add a dollop of of glue to the bottom of the can and attach one end of your yarn to the glue. You don’t need to wait until it dries before beginning. You’ll want that extra glue to catch the yarn as you go around.

Start wrapping your yarn around the can. Try not to pull it too tight or leave it too loose.

Work straight from your skein of yarn. You’ll want one continuous string of yarn and it’s hard to measure just how much you need until you are done with your project.

Wrap, wrap, and wrap. You may need to pause on occasion and push your yarn together so that no gaps are showing. The yarn has a tendency to get stuck in the grooves, but it’s nothing a little pushing won’t fix.

Keep wrapping until your entire can is covered.

When you get close to the top, add another dollop of glue, so you can catch the other end of your yarn.

After you are done with your can, cut your jack-o-lantern face pieces from your felt.

This project uses only a small bit of felt. So, if you only have a scrap of felt, you probably have enough.

You can also use black foam or black fabric if you don’t have any felt.

Arrange your face pieces around until you’re satisfied with the way they look. The nice thing about the yarn and felt is that the pieces will naturally stick together for awhile so you can move it around a bit before gluing.

Once you like the way it looks, use your glue to permanently attach your face. After it dries, you’re ready to go.

This yarn-wrapped Jack-O-Lantern Pencil Holder is a perfect Halloween craft for your elementary-aged kids or tweens.

Decorate your recycled finds and make some cute and functional Halloween decorations.

Holidays

Ghost Pop-Up Cards