We bought our big pumpkins weeks ago, but have put off carving them until today because the weather has been so fickle (one day we’re in the 70s, the next day the 40s). We now have three incredibly cute (not spooky) jack-o’-lanterns on our stoop and more seeds than I care to deal with.
I plan to roast a bunch for snacks and use the rest for craft projects. Our favorites include the pumpkin seed mosaic I shared in a previous blog and the other kid-friendly ones I have listed below.
Note: If you have never used pumpkin seeds in a craft project before be sure to rinse the seeds in a colander and pick out the pulp before drying them on a paper towel lined cookie sheets or a screen.
PAINTED PUMPKIN SEEDS
Evenly spread pumpkins seeds on newspaper or on the bottom of a large cardboard box. Using a variety of different colored spray paints (you can buy the rainbow variety pack at most craft stores and Wal-Mart), apply paint to one side of seeds, allow them to dry thoroughly and spray the other side. While the seeds are still wet from the paint sprinkle half with glitter. The glitter seeds can be used to make necklaces, bracelets and other pumpkin seed jewelry.
PUMPKIN SEED FLOWERS
Materials:
Dried pumpkin seeds
Craft glue
Heavy cardboard
Glitter, paints, markers, crayons
Paintbrush
Yarn
Directions:
Draw a circle on the cardboard to use as center of flower.
Cut out cardboard piece.
Give each child a bowl of unpainted dried pumpkin seeds and have them glue a row of seeds around the outer edge of the cardboard circle. Continue to fill the entire circle with pumpkin seeds.
Allow time to dry thoroughly.
Once the seeds are dry have kids paint, glitter or color their pumpkin seed flowers.
Once the paint is dry, glue yarn or raffia to the back of flower to hang.
Michele Cheplic writes about red-hot celebrities in POP CULTURE, fiery topics in PARENTS, sizzling recipes in FOOD, calorie burning exercises in FITNESS, and hot new kid-friendly crafts in FUN. Check out all of her articles here.
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