Pumpkin "Minion" Decorating

What is Halloween without Pumpkin carving/decorating?

Its like Halloween without costumes or trick-or-treating.

INCOMPLETE....

So we just had to do it.

In our house we try not to do any activity without involving our daughter. Saanvi is only 5 and she can't (or I won't let her) use carving tools to carve out Pumpkins. The second best choice is decorating the pumpkins, and since my daughter loves to paint we decided to do an afternoon filled with painting and decorating pumpkins.

Saanvi loves Minions (Ok, Ok, so do I). In fact a few weeks before we decided to decorate our pumpkins into Minions, she got her nails painted as minions. Cool huh!!

Our inspiration came from Pinterest, of course.. Although it did not show any how-to's so I improvised.

So here is the supplies list:

• Pumpkins (we went for cheap $5 ones from Wal-Mart)
• Colors (Acrylic paints, non-washable)
• Paint brushes 
• Foam brushes
• Permanent markers (Black and Blue)
• Mason jar lids (3 or more)
• Super glue
• Googly eyes 

(I had most of the supplies in my house (what can I say, we love painting and crafting) although you can find most of these in a local crafting store like Michaels or Hobby Lobby. But if you like to shop online then just click the links).

Ready with all the Supplies

Pumpkins ready to be decorated

Saanvi did the 1st coat of yellow paint on both Pre-Minion-Pumpkins. My husband did the 2nd coat of yellow, while I painted the inside of Mason jar lids white and pasted googly eyes on them.



1st coat underway

I tell my daughter to go for up and down motions while painting,
 it gives a neater look.

2nd coat underway



I used a brush and paint to mark out lines for black strip behind the eyes and the blue overalls, then filled them in with colors. After the paint was dried off I outlines them with permanent marker (no need to make it look perfect, as cartoonish look is never perfect). Then I made buttons and pocket on the overalls using the marker as well. Made a mouth, some teeth, tongue, etc, In fact there was a hole in the pumpkin where the mouth was going to be, so I incorporated that and showed it as a missing tooth (tickled my husband's funny bone ;).




Then my husband super glued the eyes (hold them for a minute or 2). We also tilted the pumpkin and let it dry for 10 minutes, to make sure the eyes are stuck properly.

Last step was to paint the stem black (for hair) and Saanvi did an awesome job with it.

And voila Minions are ready.

Happy and Sad Minions

It took us a good 4 hours to finish these minions. And we all were buried into doing something or the other to create these Minion Pumpkins. Of course Saanvi was getting bored so she painted 5-6 of her own little pumpkins, some cute some scary. But In the end we loved spending time together and creating something together.

Saanvi's creations

Corn on the Cobb- Pumpkin Painting

Pumpkin getting dressed for the contest

Gold antique paint and boutonniere pins

Last year since Saanvi couldn't paint properly, we went for stickers. Easiest pumpkin decorating ever.

Pumpkin decorating 2012

Ugliest Pumpkin :)

We sure enjoyed Halloween season this time around. Lets see what we will do next year. Till next post ciao.



Craft day at school

Me and my little assistant (my daughter)

Earlier this month I organised a craft day at my daughters school. As I have mentioned in my earlier posts "Dog House from a recycled box" and "Making dogie with simple shapes", they were teaching kids about Dogs and being a team player. Teachers and I had prepared/cut all the required things during the week. Believe me 10 classes in 1 day is a lot, so the day was dedicated to making dog houses (class teachers did the dogies from shapes themselves as per my samples).

Kids enjoying the activities

In Kindergarten class and Pre-K class we (me and the teachers) divided kids into smaller groups and got them to do several activities. We got them to cut some shrubs, bones etc to decorate the dog house. They learned to use a punch to make shapes, we made flower shapes for decorations. They divided work amongst each other like one will apply glue on the box, another would paste the tiles, 3rd would cut the excess off etc. That not only helped them take turns and do every activity but taught them how to work in a team. All groups came up with a name for their dog houses, which is also an exercise in itself. We made doors and windows as per what they thought was required in them (glass for light, door knobs for opening the door etc).

Kids enjoying the activities

In classes with younger kids I directed the activities with kids like by applying the glue and asking them to make a pattern on the roof with colorful tiles. Everyone got turns to do their bit. Needless to say we had a blast. Best part was 2 days later when the school displayed all the creations in the lobby for all the parents too see. Kids who participated in activities would take their parents to the dog houses excitedly and show them what they did. It is such a great feeling to have kids enjoy themselves while learning. Also the sample dog house is actually home for a small cat now. It gives me so much joy that I can't even express.

Dog houses made by kids

What kids learned from making Dog houses:

• Cutting
• Pasting
• Pattern making
• Punching
• Importance of different elements of a house
• Teamwork (by dividing work and coordinating amongst each other)
• Patience (by waiting for their turns)

I also have to thank everyone who reads this blog and leaves such lovely comments. I really appreciate all the support.

Dog House from a recycled box

This 'Dog House' is another project for the craft day in my daughter's school. First one I already shared with you 'Making Dogie with Simple Shapes'. But that one is for classes with younger kids. For pre-K and Kindergarten children I want to do something that will be fun and will encourage teamwork. Theme as I said earlier is dog mascots.

So the idea is to encourage kids to first think what all would a dog needs in his/her house, then work as a team to create a dog house meeting those requirements. I also want kids to see how a used cardboard box can be transformed into something functional and fun.

Saanvi enjoying making a dog house

Materials needed:

• Empty cardboard box
• Foam Sheets (my absolute fav. product, its so colorful and easy to use)
• Tacky glue
• Scissors
• White Acrylic paint
• Flower punch

Process is quite simple. Cutting foam sheets for making tiles was the only thing that took most amount of time.

1. Take a used cardboard box.
2. Cut out doors and windows as desired.
3. Take a piece of another cardboard box to make the roof.
4. Cut out to folded sides of the box into triangular gables matching the roof using masking tape.
5. Paint the box white (or any other color as desired).
6. Decorate the dog house yourself or with your kid.

I asked Saanvi how she wanted to decorate the house and she wanted bushes and flowers on the dog house. You can use punches to cut out flowers and whatever else you want to add on the dog house. You can use Popsicle sticks to make fence around the house or anything else you child can imagine.

I can guarantee your kid will have a blast doing this activity. And kids are more receptive to learning when they are having fun anyway. So this activity can double up to be a learning exercise as well. You can talk about a dog's needs and requirements and elements of a house. That not only put names to things that they see around the house but increase their vocabulary too. You can also explain them the importance of each element like door and windows. If this activity is done in a group (like I plan to do) then you can teach them how to work in a team, divide work and have patience.

If you liked this post and decide to try it with your kids then please share your experience too. I love hearing feedbacks and suggestions.

Thanks for reading and sharing.

Making Dogie with simple shapes




Comical Dogie


My daughter's school is very open about parents coming and teaching their kids crafts or read books to them or play with them. Coming month they have assigned me a day to do some craft activitie with kids (I am super excited about it). They told me to do something around dogs (and being a star). So I thought why not teach kids" How to make a Dogie out of basic shapes (and colors)". So here are my prototypes which my daughter and I made (she had a blast and so did I)..



Star Dogie



Dogs from simple shapes


Supplies Needed:

• Foam Sheets
• Googly eyes
• Scissors
• Glue

Process:

• Cut out various shapes like squares, rectangles, triangles, ovals, circles etc
• Make different arrangements to make them look like dogs. (Use the pictures above if you need a reference)
• Glue the pieces together or on a stiff paper.

By doing this craft activity you can teach kids not only about various shapes and colors, but also open their minds to creating things from shapes. I am looking forward to making some similar dogs with my daughters friends. I hope they have as much fun as we did.