stylish pumpkin toddler craft
Foam craft pumpkins are a craft store staple. Michael's puts loads of them out every year, and marks them down 30% for most of the season. Ava has been "crafting" (gluing and coloring) a bit more lately, so I wanted to come up with a simple craft we could do with these fun faux pumpkins! A little googling told me that Mod Podge, a watery glue-like substance used to decoupage, is non-toxic. So with that piece of info, I decided on some decoupaged tissue paper pumpkins!
The great thing about this craft, is you can select tissue paper in colors that match your fall decor. Going traditional? Opt for some red, orange and yellow. Want more of a contemporary look? Then maybe some cream, taupe and brown would do the trick!
Michaels happened to have a tissue paper pack with an assortment of oranges and pinks, so I decided on orange, bright pink, and a light maroon to tie into the girls' rooms. I also picked up two chalkboard tags, so I could write each of their names and the year on it. Alice is obviously too little to participate, so I made her pumpkin to commemorate her first Halloween.
Y O U ‘ L L N E E D
(for one pumpkin)
1 small white faux pumpkin
1 piece of tissue paper in each color
Mod Podge
Foam brushes
Paper cutter or scissors
Chalkboard tags
Chalk or chalk pen
String or twine (optional)
Hot glue gun
P U T I T T O G E T H E R
I like prepping our craft area while Ava naps. That way when she wakes up everything is ready to go!
Cut your tissue paper into medium and small squares (depending on your toddlers age and fine motor skills). I put each color in a different bowl so I could also use the activity as a language exercise - having Ava request each new piece by color.
Show your kiddo how to dip their brush in a bowl of modpodge and then paint a patch on the pumpkin.
Next have them take a piece of tissue paper and stick it on. .
Then paint more glue on top! You’ll just slowly layer more and more tissue paper over the pumpkin - making almost a “stained glass” look - where overlapping colors show through. Modeling worked really well for this craft -- once she saw me do it a couple times, she was ready to try it herself
I liked the look of decoupaging the top portion of the pumpkin, leaving the bottom portion white -- but have fun with it; there is no "wrong" way!
Lastly, write your kiddos name and year on the chalkboard tag (or have them write it themselves if they are older), switch out the twine for a string or ribbon of your choice, and secure around the stem with a couple dots of hot glue.
I put the girls pumpkins in their rooms and they look SO cute and festive. Hope you enjoy this craft as much as we did!
