Difficulty level: Intermediate
Time required: 30 minutes, plus 5 hours for drying paint
Age range: 8 and up

Things you’ll need:
Painter’s tape
White pumpkin
Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Flat Black Spray Paint
Paint brush (stiff bristles work best)
Acrylic paints in blue, purple, pink, and white
Natural Sea Silk Sponge
Old toothbrush

Things to do:
1. Using the painter’s tape, tape the stem of the pumpkin until it is completely covered.

2. Using the black spray paint, paint the pumpkin, holding the spray paint about 6-8″ from the pumpkin. Allow the spray paint to dry for 1 hour.

3. When the paint is dry, spread a small amount of blue acrylic paint onto a palette. Dip the stiff paintbrush into the paint, then brush the paintbrush back and forth to remove some of the paint.

4. Using the paintbrush, paint large blue circles onto the pumpkin. For a galaxy-like look, try not to paint circles that are too solid in color; the stiff, dry brush will help with that.

5. Allow the paint to dry for 1 hour.

6. Repeat step 4, this time with purple paint, adding the purple paint on top of the blue paint in a few places. Do not cover the blue paint completely. Allow to dry for 1 hour.

7. Using the sponge, apply pink paint, adding the pink paint on top of the purple paint. You can also add pink paint on solid black parts of the pumpkin. This should look random, so use your creative judgement. Allow to dry for 1 hour.

8. Using an old toothbrush, tap gently onto the white paint. Hold the toothbrush near the pumpkin, then rub your finger across the bristles, sending tiny dots of paint onto the pumpkin.

9. Apply the white paint all over the pumpkin for a real outer space look. Allow the white paint to dry for 1 hour.

10. Remove the painter’s tape from the pumpkin stem.

Difficulty level: Beginner
Time required: 45 minutes
Age range: 12 and up

Things you’ll need:
Paper Mache Domino Mask
Scissors
Sewing pin
White elastic jewelry cord
Tracing tool such as pen or marker
Glue gun and glue sticks
Charcoal Felt Sheets
Gray Felt Sheets
Yellow Felt Sheet

Things to do:
1. Cut a piece of elastic that fits snugly from one edge of the mask to the other around the back of your head.

2. Using the sewing pin, poke a hole in the mask on the outside of the eye, close to the edge. You may need to wiggle the pin around just a bit to make the hole bigger.

3. Insert the elastic into the hole, then knot it.

4. Pull so that the knot rests against the mask.

5. Repeat steps 2-3 for the opposite side of the mask.

6. Using the tracing tool, draw a feather shape onto the light gray felt and cut it out. We drew two different feather sizes: Our feather shapes measured about 7/8″ wide and were 1 1/4 ” and 1 3/4 ” tall. The feathers do not have to be perfect!

7. Using the cut feather as a template, trace additional feathers onto the light gray and charcoal sheets.

8. Cut out all the traced feather shapes.

9. We drew around 13 feathers in each size and color, but if you need more feathers later you can always cut out more. Set these feathers to the side for now.

10. Place the mask flat on the gray felt. Using the tracing tool, trace around the top of the mask, tracing just above the eyes. You do not need to tilt the mask as the top part will not be covered.

11. Trace the eyes of the mask.

12. Trace around the sides and the bottom of the mask, this time tilting the mask to make sure you’re tracing the entire surface. It’s best to trace a larger outline, since you can fold over the excess felt later when you’re attaching it to the mask.

13. Cut around the outline of the mask.

14. To cut the eyes, fold the felt over and use the scissors to create a small snip in the fold.

15. Insert the scissors through the slit and cut the eyes. Set the felt outline aside for now.

16. Begin layering the felt feathers by hot gluing the first layer across the top of the mask. Glue feathers side by side without any space between them.

17. Add a second layer of feathers just below that, again gluing the feathers side by side.

18. Add two more rows of felt, this time overlapping the feathers as you glue.

19. When you are happy with the feather placement, glue the felt mask onto the paper mache starting with the top part of the mask.

20. Hot glue the felt mask around the eyes.

21. Hot glue the felt mask around the bottom.

22. If you have excess felt along the edge, hot glue the excess felt to the inside of the mask to hide it.

23. To create the owl’s nose, use scissors to clip across the corner of the gold felt.

24. Hot glue the nose to the mask.

25. Remove any excess hot glue from the mask.

Difficulty level: Beginner
Time required: 45 minutes
Age range: 12 and up

Things you’ll need:
Paper Mache Mask
Meadow Green acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Scissors
Wire cutters
Purple Mum Bush
Mauve Mum Bush
Green artificial rose leaves
Glue gun and glue sticks
Sewing pin
White elastic jewelry cord

Things to do:
1. Using the green acrylic paint and a paintbrush, paint one coat of paint onto the mask.

2. While the mask is drying, begin cutting the flower petals. Cut petals close to the stem, cutting about 32 purple petals and 7 mauve petals. (You can always cut more later if you need them.)

3. Using wire cutters, trim the stems away from the rose leaves.

4. When the mask is dry, hot glue the rose leaves to the mask one at a time, making sure the right side of the leaf is facing out. Start by filling in the top of the mask, filling from the outside edges in toward the middle.

5. When you reach the inside edge of the eye, begin to glue rose leaves from the outside in on the other side of the mask.

6. When you reach the inside edge of the eye, hot glue two rose leaves in the top center of the mask.

7. Begin to hot glue leaves along the bottom of the mask, starting from the inside and working your way outside on one side.

8. When one side is full, repeat step 7 on the opposite side of the mask.

9. Glue purple petals around the one eye, again making sure the right side of the petals is facing out so that the petals lie flat.

10. Repeat step 9, gluing petals around the opposite eye.

11. Hot glue flower petals until you have covered the entire circumference of both eyes.

12. Hot glue three mauve petals to the center of the mask between the eyes.

13. Using the mauve petals again, hot glue two petals to the outside edge of each eye.

14. Use your fingers to remove the excess hot glue from the mask.

15. Cut a length of elastic that’s long enough to fit snugly around your head, measuring from one outside edge of your eye, around the back of your head, and to the other eye.

16. Flip the mask over and using the sewing pin, punch a hole through the mask just beside the top outside edge of the eye. You may need to wiggle the pin around just a bit to make the hole bigger.

17. Insert the elastic from back to front through the hole, then tie a knot in the end of the elastic to secure it, then pull the elastic so that the knot rests on the front of the mask.

18. Repeat steps 16-17 on the opposite side of the mask.