Leave Treats At The Gate This Halloween!
Looking for crafty ideas to help you enjoy a more socially distanced Halloween this year? Let little ghouls and goblins take treats at the gate this Halloween, with this cute Venus Fly Trap Pumpkin! Simply filly his mouth with sweets, and passing trick or treaters needn’t even knock on the door. But be careful… he bites!
You Will Need:
- A good quality silicone balloon
- Twine
- Waxed paper
- Pink or red tissue paper
- PVA Glue
- Black pen
- Green, dark green and white paint
- Paintbrushes
- A craft knife and scissors
- Masking tape
- Pencil
- Twine wrapped wire and florist tape
DIY Venus Fly Trap for a Distanced Halloween:
Step 1:
First, secure a piece of twine to the bottom of your balloon with masking tape. Wrap the twine around the balloon until it’s tight, and making the balloon slightly bulge, and then secure with more tape.
Keep going in this fashion until you’ve wrapped the balloon 3 or four times to create a pumpkin shape. Remember to make the string tight, but not so tight it slips off.
Step 2:
Next, it’s time to start your paper mache. Start by mixing a mixture of 1 part PVA glue and 1 part water, then rip up small pieces of pink tissue paper, about double the size of a postage stamp. Paint the glue mix onto the balloon, and stick down your paper, overlapping as you go. Once you’ve given your balloon at least two layers of pink tissue, you can start with your waxed paper.
I did about 4 layers on top of this – you want it to be strong enough to hold sweets! Finish with a layer of PVA glue, and leave to dry overnight. If it’s still sticky, use a hairdryer.
Step 3:
Next, draw your mouth shape onto the pumpkin with a pencil. Don’t forget the teeth!
You want your mouth wide enough that you can stick a hand inside, but not so wide that it will make the pumpkin break in half once it has sweets in it. I did mine just under half way around the pumpkin.
Step 4:
Start to paint your pumpkin green, avoiding the mouth section.
Build up the layers, and use darker and lighter green to create texture.
Step 5:
Once the paint is dry, use a pen knife and scissors to cut away the excess mouth, so the pumpkin is now open.
At this stage your balloon will pop – remove the excess string and tape..
Step 6:
Take around a metre of twine wrapped wire, and curl it around itself so it forms a spiral.
Create a small knot in one end. This will sit inside the pumpkin. Make a small hole in the top, and thread the wire through this. Decorate with a couple of artificial leaves, and wrap the remainder with florist tape.
Step 7:
On October 31st, simply fill with sweets, hang on your gate, and enjoy a socially distanced Halloween, whilst avoiding the ‘Trick’ in ‘Trick or Treat!’
Looking for more frightfully fantastic Halloween craft ideas? Check out the rest of our creepy projects, articles and tutorials right here.
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