At Project Kid we like to start thinking about Halloween costumes way ahead of time, but that doesn’t mean we like costumes that take a lot of time to make. In fact, we prefer the kind you can craft last minute with materials you probably already have on hand. We love costumes that are doable, not daunting, and that let kids be comfortable so they can enjoy celebrating!

We started scheming and thought of a super-versatile costume supply that shouldn’t be underestimated…PASTA!  It’s in every kitchen, it’s easy to color, and it comes in all shapes and sizes. Start with a basic base, add pasta and the pasta-bilities are endless.  This is the first in a series of five pasta costume ideas that we hope you’ll enjoy making as much as we did.

HAPPY HEDGEHOG

For a young nature lover who wants to stay cozy while trick-or-treating, creating a hedgehog suit with ziti couldn’t be simpler.

What you’ll need:

• 1 box ziti pasta
• Beige hoodie and pants
• 2 shades of light brown felt
• Scissors
• Yellow, Red, Blue liquid food dye
• One large ziplock bag
• Hand sanitizer
• Wax Paper
• Hot Glue

Make it!

1. Put one teaspoon of hand sanitizer into plastic bag. Add ten drops of yellow, three drops of red, and one drop of blue. Squish the bag around until the dye has turned one color. If it is too green, add more red.
2. Pour in pasta, close top, and shake bag until dye has been evenly distributed.
3. Set out wax paper and place pasta on it to dry.
4. Once dry, use hot glue to add pasta to the back of hoodie in staggered lines.
5. Continue adding pasta to the back of the hood stopping about 4 inches from the front edge of hood.
6. Cut out two rounded edge triangles for ears, and two smaller triangles for ear centers and glue together.
7. Hot-glue ears to the pasta at the top of hood.

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When you think of pumpkins, you normally think of a hollowed-out gourd with some candles in the center and triangles for eyes. Well, these two illuminated beauties might help redefine your idea of carved out pumpkins!

The last of my three installments of this pumpkin feature ever that I did for Parents magazine, these two pumpkins might make you laugh a little.

(Above) To make these ’80s-inspired jack-o’-lanterns, start with hollowed-out pumpkins and Lite-Brite pegs. Trace out your design with washable marker, then poke the outline with the piercing tool that comes with a pumpkin-carving set (a thin screwdriver also works). Wipe off the marker residue with a damp paper towel, push pegs into the holes, and place a few battery-operated candles inside to make it glow.

Delight the troves of trick-or-treating princesses with a pumpkin carved to look like Cinderella’s carriage. Start with a large white pumpkin and scoop out the insides. Carve windows and a door and decorate with stick-on gemstones and glittery paint (Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Glitter Acrylic Craft Paint, $3) on the stem. For wheels, spear four tiny white pumpkins onto skewers and rest carriage on the skewer axles. Toy horses lead the carriage and a princess doll sits inside.

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Oh I can make that! Have you ever uttered those words before? And do you find yourself saying it, but never actually crafting the object you claim you can totally make? This is literally my life story.

So, when my daughter saw this precious cat trinket dish at Anthropologie, I said, let’s make it! And this time (back pat) I actually did…but with my own Project Kid spin.

Here’s what you need:

• Round 4-inch diameter box
• Scissors
• 4 golf tees
• Tacky glue or hot-glue gun
• Felt, black and one other color
• 2 wood buttons
• Black marker
• Thin wire

1. Glue four golf tees to the bottom of the round box. Let dry.
2. Print out templates. Trace tail shape twice on felt and the eye/ear shape once. Cut felt pieces out.
3. Cut out 2 small black felt triangles and glue onto the ears.
4. Color wood button black and glue to cat’s face. Glue cat’s face to round box and draw nose and mouth onto the wood, between the eyes.
5. Cut a piece of wire, about the length of the tail shape. Glue the wire in between the two pieces of tail felt. Glue the tail to the back of the box.

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When Parents magazine asked us to do a story on nature crafts we jumped at the opportunity. Repurposing items from outside is one of our favorite ways to upcycle! After scouring the park for supplies, we stocked the studio full of sticks, stones, pinecones, and leaves and got to work.

With a coat of paint and a felt face, a pinecone becomes a happy hedgehog, above. Craft the cone from a circle of felt, then add a pom pom for the nose and two beads for eyes. We were inspired by the pinecones’ natural “personalities” when choosing colors and face shapes.

For a cheery bouquet that won’t wilt, wrap branches in brightly colored craft bin scraps. Start with bands of paint and then add yarn, ribbon, and pom poms. If you’re like us, this is the perfect way to use up all the pieces you haven’t had the heart to toss.

You don’t need a green thumb to create an eye catching terrarium! Stack stones, moss, and painted sticks in a glass container to make a mini landscape. Let your child set the scene with with tiny toys that can be swapped whenever they want to tell a new story.

Set a festive fall table (ahem, Thanksgiving!) with easy leaf-print linens. Collect foliage in a variety of shapes then add paint and roll with a brayer to create a stamp onto napkins (we used these from Amazon!). Make a matching set or play with patterns and colors for a “freshly fallen” look.

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Getting kids excited about Halloween isn’t that hard, TBH. But as a parent that “celebrates” Halloween multiple times a year (that’s what happens when you style for print magazines), the squeals of delight truly never get old.

And these pumpkin projects that I crafted for Parents magazine had my littles even more excited than normal because they actually got to be my craft assistants. Oliver, my then 6-year-old, got to build a bunch of Lego construction vehicles for this awesome jack-o-lantern carving scene. (above)

Builder’s Special