I am always on the lookout for creative Halloween decorations, especially for pumpkins. I recently stumbled upon a crafty way to make festive pumpkins WITHOUT using knives! It seemed pretty simple, so I thought I’d give it a try.
Not only did it involve melting crayons, but it was relatively inexpensive and reasonably easy to clean up after.
Scroll through the pictures above to see the whole process with 2 adults and a 12 year old.
What you need: 1 large box of crayons (I was advised that Crayola work best as the wax melts evenly), inexpensive craft glue guns (I found some at JoAnne Fabrics for $2.99), Googly Eyes (if you like… Also consider other add-ons like teeth or glitter), Glue sticks, and Pumpkins (I found small-ish “sugar” pumpkins were a good choice for $1.99 each)… When All was totaled up (with discounts and coupons), I spend less than $20 for the whole set-up!
The original instructions encouraged you to glue the crayons to the pumpkins at the stem and melt them with a hair-dryer, which will also work well. Once someone pointed out that crayons fit into a glue gun, I opted for the quieter method of melting wax.
HELPFUL HINTS: The wrappers really do fall right off the crayons if you soak them in warm water for just a few minutes. Put down plenty of paper. I used the paper bags from shopping as newspaper is smudgy. Big pumpkins require lots of wax! Make sure you have plenty of crayons and LOTS of colors! I found everyone was drawn to bright colors, but everyone had their own design idea.
I was also happy to see this was not considered a “girly” craft, so everyone was interested and had a good time. Aside from the occasional splatter caused by pushing the crayon into the glue gun to “un-clog” the tip… the mess was kept on the paper.
Do you have a clever way to decorate pumpkins? Share your pictures and ideas: [email protected]
About Cat Wilson
