Halloween Crafts: A Cool Candy Carrier

It's hard to figure out which part of Halloween children love most -- the costumes, the candy, or the late night out. Regardless of what excites your little trick-or-treater, you can make the holiday even more thrilling for her by helping her craft a sturdy candy bag that complements her costume. She'll take pride in her design -- and may even doubly enjoy the sweets she collects!

Materials

• Sturdy, child-safe paper
  shopping or gift bag
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Colored paper (orange, black, and brown)
• Scissors
• White glue
• Flat artist's or sponge brush
• Crayons or markers to decorate (optional)
• Stack of heavy books

To Make the Project

1. If the shopping bag you're using has a logo, measure it so you'll know how big the pumpkin design needs to be to cover it up. Then ask your child to draw a circular shape at least 1/2" wider than this measurement on orange paper. Help her cut it out.
2. Let your child draw eye, nose, and mouth shapes on black paper (enough to create features for a pumpkin on each side of the bag). Cut out these shapes together. To add to the fun, encourage her to make scary or goofy faces in the mirror and then copy them on paper. Have your child put glue on the back of one of these shapes, spread the glue as evenly as possible with a brush, and press the shape onto a pumpkin's face at the appropriate spot. Repeat this process with the other shapes until the jack-o'-lantern face is complete.
3. Cut out a stem shape from brown paper, apply glue to the back, and attach it to the top of the pumpkin shape. Have your child squeeze glue on the back of the jack-o'-lantern, including the stem, and spread the glue evenly with the brush. Then ask her to press the shape over the logo so that none of it shows. Place the bag on a flat surface, and top it with a stack of books until the glue dries, at least two hours. Younger children may find it easier to use crayons or markers to make the jack-o'-lantern face.
4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 to create a jack-o'-lantern to cover the logo on the other side of the candy bag. Now your child is ready to scare up lots of treats!

Copyright ? 2002