Aaaaaagh!I know, I know, we have had it up to here with Halloween already and it’s still a week away!! Well, why not turn it in to another great opportunity to get out and about with the kids. This week, the kids and I are making Horrid Halloween Decorations from all things natural. So we had to do a bit of a Halloween hunt in the woods to find leaves and pinecones. And in the garden we gathered seed heads from sunflowers and rudbekia. A few pairs of wiggly eyes and away we go!
We went to Curragh Chase Forest Park last Sunday week; it was such a
beautiful day for a walk. Now, I’m all for biodiversity, as you know, but I am a little disappointed about the lake being left to over grow with reeds, before long there’ll be nothing left. Curragh Chase has an eighteenth-century house (a ruin) and designed landscape. A Landscape with Curragh Chase House, County Limerick, painted by Jeremiah Hodges Mulcahy in 1834, exhibited at Limerick City Gallery of Art in 2010, portrays a sense of the picturesque, how it is meant to be. They have some wonderful trees in the arboretum. We found some great maple leaves, which we collected in abundance.
So I suggest, you get inventive and you’ll have a lot of fun. Here are some spooky decorations we made from things we found in the woods and our gardens. You can use loads of natural materials, such as leaves, pine cones, berries, seed heads, to name a few.
What you need...
- Pine cones
- Wiggly eyes
- White card for fangs
- Ribbon or string to hang
- Permanent pen
- Scissors
- Large leaves, eg. Maple leaves
- Seed heads from rudbekia, sunflowers or large daisies
- Glue
How to: If your leaves are not flat, put them between two sheets of paper and place some heavy books on top, leave for a couple of days. Alternatively, the quick option is to iron them flat.
all things natural
Spider, cut the petals and sepals off the rudbekia seed head to make the spiders head. Use a larger seed head, such as a sunflower for the body. Stick on eyes and mouth. Stick down to leaf and draw on legs with permanent pen.
It's just Bats!
Bats: Cut out the shape of the wings, use the leaf shape as much as possible. Stick the two wings together with a flat ribbon in between to hang. Stick on the wiggly eyes, cut out fangs and stick them on too. Hey presto, a scary (and a bit cute) bat!
PS: The best thing about these projects is getting out with the kids to find your materials. Check out your own garden and your local nature trails, river walks and woodlands. Have Fun! Ailish.
wouldn't like to wake up beside it!
