That’s right, I’m officially diving into Halloween. I know, it’s only September and usually I’d be totally with you in thinking it’s a little obnoxious to start gearing up for a holiday this far in advance. However – C is at a super fun age for getting into the holiday spirit and I have so many Halloween activities that I want to do with him. They bounce around my head all night, every night and keep me from sleeping. So I’ve decided to start purging them in order to finally get some much needed rest.
Ever since I saw this 4th of July take on my paint chip Easter garland, I knew I wanted to do a Halloween version. Paint chips are the perfect material for these friendly pumpkins. The different shades of orange and yellow mimic the hue variation seen in actual gourds.
To get started, grab yourself some paint chips and a small pumpkin shape to trace. I found mine by entering “pumpkin” into the “line drawing” category of Google images. I re-sized it using photo editing software and printed it on card stock because I like the thickness for tracing.
The steps from there are virtually the same as before: trace your shape on the back of the paint chip, cut out, puncture twice with a very small hole punch, and thread on some waxed cotton. (See the original post for more details.) This time around I also added some silly faces to turn a few of my pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns.
Since my kids are still wee, I wanted to avoid anything scary. So I took my inspiration from Japanese style characters like this guy (and also him).
And if anyone is fretting over my fleecing of the local hardware store, you can breathe easy. I limited myself to the 9 orange paint chips I already had at home. (I have a whole collection as I’m a commitment-phobe when it comes to paint.)
If you don’t have your own stash and you’re feeling guilty about taking paint chips for non-paint-selecting activities, then I suggest going straight up to the paint counter and fessing up. You may get some weird looks for asking to have something everyone knows is free but I guarantee the paint guy will gladly hand them over.
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I always love these paint chip garlands for every occasion! I would love to do some in a leaf cutout for the fall
cute!
I would still feel guilty – why don’t you just go buy cardstock???
That is adorable! I don’t have a problem with you getting some paint chip cards from the store.
Love those little smiley faced pumpkins.
I’m def doing this with pumpkins, acorns and leaves! So cute for fall
It’s never too soon! I love this, thanks!
This is so cute! Shared on our Facebook wall this morning – love your idea!
This is FABULOUS! I am totally sharing it with my viewers. Thanks
Did this project with the kids, it was great fun, quite easy and the result is brilliant. I can’t believe my 6 year old knows how to draw all these different funny faces
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