Grandpumpkins for Grandkids

TRAEA's grandpa and grandma hosted three of the grandkids recently, and given the time of year, pumpkin decorating seemed to be a logical art project.  The challenge was to find something they had never tried and could accomplish with relatively little mess.

Although this idea, or a variation, has shown up on several web sites, the following was our approach.  You will need:

• Newspapers
• 1 pumpkin per child, plus a couple for yourself
• Cans of acrylic spray paint - we used black and champagne
• Container of flat-backed clear acrylic crystals - we bought 1 lb. and had bunches left over
• Additional small holiday decorations (optional) - ours were felt-like decorations precut in Halloween shapes
• Glue dots, about half-inch size, unless your crystals and decor come with adhesive
• Rolls of ribbon

Wash the pumpkins before the kids arrive.

Lay out plenty of newspaper in an area where accidental overspray won't be a problem.  Help young hands spray each pumpkin with short, gentle spurts to avoid runs.  Let the paint dry - ours was ready in a short 15 minutes.

Spread out all the decor options on a table.  Let the participants of all ages go wild with design, attaching each piece to a glue dot before adhering it to the pumpkin.  Tie ribbon around the stem as a final flourish.

CAUTION:  If they are touched, some crystals may fall off, taking the underlying paint with them.  Prepare your young artists in advance for this possibility, but just use another glue dot to readhere.

Note that our youngest artist took a different route - stickers.  They worked great!

Now that we've played with descendants, we'll be back to ancestors with the next post!