Handicrafts with children from 5 years in autumn – 6 sweet ideas with pumpkins

Carving a haunted jack-o’-lantern for Halloween is fun. But that requires more or less masterful carving skills that not everyone has. This task is often much more complicated, especially for younger children, because the whole thing only works with a sharp knife and a lot of strength. A nice alternative are painted and differently decorated pumpkins. That is why we have put together some great ideas for autumn handicrafts with children for you. Children from the age of 5 can take part and even experiment with different materials. However, only under the supervision and guidance of an adult.

Painted pumpkins have the advantage that, unlike the carved ones, they stay fresh for much longer and do not go moldy. The handicrafted works of art will bring you joy year after year if you use artificial pumpkins as handicraft material. There are now many decorative items that look particularly realistic.

Handicrafts with children from 5 years – turn pumpkins into forest animals

No matter whether boy or girl, the world of forest animals is exciting for all children. For this reason we are sure that these pumpkins, lovingly designed as forest animals, would fascinate your children. The following shows how to transform the pumpkins like an owl, raccoon, and fox.

The following materials are required:

– Craft paint in gray and turquoise, possibly also orange

– sponge brush

– Construction paper in gray and orange

– Felt in gray, orange, off-white, brown and black

– black pen

– Scissors

– Hot glue gun

Simply print out the templates provided (Ctrl + P or Command + P) and use them as templates to cut out all the pieces of felt and paper. Depending on how big your pumpkin is, you can adjust the size of the templates.

For the fox pumpkin you need an artificial pumpkin in orange, construction paper in orange, felt in off-white, scissors and glue. Using the templates, cut out the tail and ears from construction paper. The other elements are made of felt. Glue the parts that belong together. Then all the pieces are glued onto the pumpkin with glue or a hot glue gun. Then paint the eyes and nose with the marker.

For the raccoon pumpkin you need a plastic pumpkin in white, craft paint in gray, a sponge brush, construction paper in gray, felt in black and off-white, a pen, scissors and glue.

Brush the entire pumpkin with the gray paint and let it dry. Using the templates, cut out all the parts: tail, ears, eyes, nose and belly. Use the black pencil to draw four equally spaced strips on the tail. Glue the parts that belong together. Then all the pieces are glued onto the pumpkin with glue or a hot glue gun. Then paint the eyes and nose with the marker.

For the owl you need an artificial pumpkin in white, craft paint in turquoise, felt in brown, off-white and orange, a marker, scissors and glue.

Brush the entire pumpkin with the turquoise paint and let it dry. Using the templates, cut out all the parts: eyes, beak, wings and belly. Glue the parts that belong together. Then all the pieces are glued onto the pumpkin with glue or a hot glue gun. Then use the marker to paint the eyes and feathers on the stomach.

Handicrafts with children from 5 years – Cute pumpkin deer

You need a medium-sized pumpkin (15 cm Ø) and the following handicraft materials:

To paint the pumpkin: a mixing palette or a water beaker, a flat painting brush, a thin fine liner painting brush, a stippling brush set (Ø 1.5 cm, Ø 2 cm, Ø 3 cm, Ø 5 cm and Ø 7 cm) and acrylic paints in white, turquoise, caramel brown and black.

For decoration: 4 wooden spatulas (flat wooden sticks), glue for wood, felt material in light brown, a pair of scissors, a cutter, paper towels.

Instructions:

Use the flat brush to paint the entire pumpkin in caramel brown. For best results, apply two coats or use a white primer. The paint between the individual layers should be allowed to dry briefly.

Mix equal parts of the acrylic colors brown and white to get the color beige. Briefly dip the large stippling brush (Ø 7 cm) in the paint and make an impression. That will be the deer’s nose.

Make two impressions for the eyes with white paint and the smaller stippling brush (Ø 5 cm). Then use the fineliner brush to give the eyes a teardrop shape. let dry.

Make dots in the eyes with the turquoise acrylic paint and the small stippling brush (Ø 3 cm). Let dry. Make black dots on the eyes and nose with a stippling brush (Ø 1.5 cm). Draw on the eyelashes and mouth with the thin fineliner brush and black paint. Dip the handle of the brush in white paint and set highlights in the pupils to give the deer an expression.

Divide two of the wooden spatulas into two equal parts. Deliberately stick two pieces on each whole wooden stick asymmetrically. Then cut out two oval ears from the brown felt. Fold the ears over each other at the bottom so that a slight funnel shape is created. Use the craft knife to make two small slots on the top right and left for the antlers and ears. Stick the wooden sticks into the pumpkin and fix with glue. The ears would fit better in a horizontal slot, by the way.

Even smaller children can use the sponge brushes to apply dots in different sizes and colors and create real works of art. But so that older children don’t get bored, they can try to work only with a pencil and a thin brush. Or maybe you can recreate the picture above?

A hedgehog family tinker with children

A super easy craft idea that even smaller children can make: a hedgehog family made from pumpkins! To do this, you simply need three artificial white pumpkins of different sizes, yellow glass beads, flat black pebbles for the eyes and mouth and of course glue. The easiest way to do this is with the hot glue gun. But you can also use a power glue like e6000.

Simply the entire pumpkin is adorned with the glass beads, except for a small area where the hedgehog’s face should be.

Put a dollop of hot glue on the pumpkin and press the glass bead into place. Wait a moment for the glue to harden. Doing handicrafts with children was not that easy!

Unicorn tinker with children

This cute unicorn will delight every little princess! The glittering horn made of polymer clay and the red mane made of yarn make the pumpkin a real eye-catcher!

You will need: artificial pumpkins in white, spray paint in pink, cotton thread, modeling clay, craft glue and a flat brush, cardboard in pink and white, glitter powder in gold, a pair of scissors, a hot glue gun and a black permanent marker.

First paint the white pumpkins pink. let dry.

Shape the horn from modeling clay. Bake the mass according to the instructions on the package or let it dry. As soon as it is done, brush with craft glue and sprinkle the glitter powder over it. Let dry. When the glue is completely dry, seal the glitter powder with a second layer of glue.

The unicorn mane is made from red cotton yarn. But you can also create a mane in rainbow colors.

Wrap the thread around the hand 15 times and tie the many pieces of thread together tightly in the middle. Then cut the threads in half. Use the same technique to make multiple fringes, e.g. 8 pieces.

Use the hot glue gun to attach all the pieces of twine directly to the pecking stick.

Cut out the ears from construction paper and stick them on the pumpkin.

Use the pencil to sketch the eyes, nostrils and mouth. Then trace the lines with the permanent marker.

Then glue the horn on. First mark the exact spot with the pencil, then apply a large blob of hot glue and press the horn. If the glue starts to leak, use a toothpick or wooden stick to remove it before it cools. And done!