Cheap and easy Halloween art projects
Making snake pencil toppers for Halloween guests/ trick-or-treaters
Oct 10, 2009
This year when kids ask "trick or treat", why not give a trick this time? Create a spooky keepsake or toy that can even be incorporated with candy, if desired. After all the candy is gone, there's still something to play with. All it takes is some simple supplies that are probably already in the house, along with a little imagination. This quick and easy-to-make project costs very little and is sure to please the trick-or-treater, or the Halloween party guest. The following is a list of needed supplies for the pencil topper, but some items can be substituted if desired.
SUPPLIES
- Skulpey, or other oven-dry clay (snake body)
- #2 pencil (unsharpened)
- 2 metal or stone beads (snake eyes) *Do NOT use plastic
- thin leather cord (snake tongue) or a garbage bag twist-tie
- paint for snake body
- paint for pencil (optional)
- oven-proof glass container
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees
- Take about 1tablespoon of clay and knead it for a minute or two to soften the clay.
- Hand-roll it out into a snake shape thats a little thicker than the pencil, but tapered thinner at the tail.
- Loosely wrap it around a #2 pencil, allowing space for the head at the top to go downward
- Make an incision for the mouth, wide enough to allow for placement of the thin cord tongue.
- Fold the tongue in half so the 2 tips are facing out and place in incision
- Gently and slowly squeeze the clay around the incision to seal any openings
- Slowly press in beady eyes so that the opening of the bead is facing out, acting as the pupil
- Gently place the snake and pencil on a glass oven-proof container
- Set timer for 15 minutes then check for doneness, turning to opposite side if necessary. Browning of the clay will occur which is fine because it is paintable once it has cooled off.
- Paint with acrylic-based paint
- Apply acrylic sealer once the paint is completely dry, to help waterproof it and strengthen it. Doing this also prevents the color from fading so it is recommended.
This fun creative project takes little time and effort and the clay takes paint very well. Whether painting each one different or all the same, it is up to you.
If another Halloween subject is desired, then simply have it either wrap around the pencil or stick the eraser end of the pencil in the clay object and build around it to form any simple shape (i.e. ghosts, tombstones, eyeballs, severed fingers, etc) When doing this, ensure it goes far down the pencil so it won't easily fall off, but make sure it's a little loose so it can be removed if desired.
Another twist is to forget about the pencil, and build finger puppets around your finger as the mold. In any case, have fun!
 |
