PiiXIE Dust Magazine: Issue 4

Crafts

Halloween Punch Paper Craft

A hand-held paper punch creates holes as well as leaves decorative confetti behind, both of which can be used to create Halloween punch paper crafts. The punch is simple to use on construction paper; choose orange and black paper for a Halloween theme, or use orange, red and yellow to represent fall colours. Decorate your house with Halloween punch paper crafts to prepare for trick-or-treaters or an upcoming Halloween party.

1. Punch Paper Pumpkin

Create a decorative paper pumpkin to tape on your window or lay on a table. Cut a pumpkin shape out of orange construction paper, then use a hole punch to "carve" the pumpkin. Punch holes for the eyes, nose and mouth; the overlapping holes will look like the jagged edge of knife cuts. Scatter the confetti around the pumpkin, and tape a glow stick behind it to light it up as if it were a jack-o-lantern.

Wicked Witch

For a more advanced craft, create a witch entirely out of punched paper. Punch several pieces of black and green paper to create hundreds of confetti circles, keeping the colours separated. Draw or print the outline of a witch, then spread a light layer of glue over her hat. Sprinkle the black confetti over the glue to create the hat, then repeat the process for her clothing. Use the green confetti for her skin.

Halloween Invites

If hosting a Halloween get-together, create punch paper invites to send to your friends. Fold a piece of card stock in half, then use the hole punch to cut the eyes, nose and mouth of a jack-o-lantern, black cat, witch or other Halloween symbol. Paste a coordinating colour behind the punched out piece, like yellow to represent the candle inside the pumpkin, or leave the background empty. Sprinkle the confetti inside the envelope for added decoration.

Punch Paper Trail of Blood

Create a gory look using punch paper, confetti. Red confetti can represent blood; leave trails of it for party-goers to follow or sprinkle it around the buffet table or jack-o-lanterns as decoration. Beware of the mess, however; cleaning up the confetti can be time-consuming. As an alternative, punch holes in edible paper and sprinkle it outside; what you don't sweep up will simply biodegrade.

Paper Bag Haunted House

Our spooky-sweet treat holders are perfect for a Halloween party.

What You'll Need

4-ounce plastic water bottle

Utility knife

Quart-size plastic container

Small cotton balls

Googly eyes

Tacky glue

Cheesecloth

Scissors

For the mini mummy, use a utility knife to cut the top off a 4-ounce water bottle. For the larger mummy, use an empty quart-size plastic container.

Glue

a cotton ball to the middle of the small bottle for the nose, then glue on a pair of googly eyes. Use the water-bottle cap

for the larger mummy's nose, then add eyes.

For both mummies: Cut strips of cheesecloth.Glue

one end of cloth to the container and start wrapping the cheesecloth around, covering the nose but not the eyes. Continue adding layers of cheesecloth, gluing down any loose ends.

Ghost Necklace

Make an easy ghost necklace by opening up bobby pins to create a wide "V" shape for your ghost. Pull some black string or thread through the bottom of the "V," which needs to be long enough to go around your neck. Lay the bobby pin on a flat surface such as a paper plate lined with waxed paper. Squeeze white school glue into the "V" opening of the hairpin, being careful not to use too much glue but filling the opening completely. Cut eyes and a mouth of out of black construction paper and set them on to the ghost to make a face. Allow the necklace to dry overnight and peel it away from the waxed paper, and discard the hairpin. Tie the necklace around your neck.

Jack-i-lantern

To make a cute jack-o-lantern. With orange acrylic paint, paint the entire pot and let it dry. Use yellow paint to make a jack-o-lantern face including eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Once the face is dry, trace a line around the eyes, nose and mouth using a permanent black marker. Use the jack-o-lantern pot to store candy indoors, or put a plant in it and put it outside to greet guests.

Spooky Finger Pen

Turn a writing instrument into a creepy Halloween finger using white modeling compound. Remove the cap from a ballpoint pen, and cover the entire pen with white modeling clay. Make sure the tip of the pen is left uncovered so you can still write with the pen. Make the clay look like a finger, using a toothpick to draw on wrinkles. Glue a fake fingernail over the tip of the pen and paint it a Halloween color. Once the clay is dry and hard, you can write with your creepy pen.

Halloween Shirt

Get creative making a Halloween T-shirt. Purchase plain white T-shirts, fabric paint, Halloween sponges, ribbons, lace, buttons, crystals or any other embellishments you'd like to put on a shirt. Don't forget to place a piece of cardboard inside the shirt while you are painting, so the paint won't soak through to the other side. Use letter sponges to write funny Halloween sayings on your shirt, and use Halloween shaped sponges to make designs. A hot glue gun can be used to glue on Halloween colored ribbons, beads or rhinestones to liven up your shirt.

Take lunch-sized paper bags and fill the bottom with crumpled newspaper or other paper from the recycling bin. Fold down the top to make a house shape and secure with clear tape. Make a roof from black construction paper folded in half and trimmed to fit. Attach with white glue. Make doors and windows out of black paper and glue on. Add details with black, white and orange puffy paint. Cut a bat out of black paper and tape it to a thin wire (an adult can strip the coating off of a twist-tie with scissors for the wire). Bend the very bottom of the wire into an "L" shape and tape to the roof, for a "flying" bat.