Here’s an easy fall or Halloween craft project for kids. It would be a fun and easy craft to do for a Halloween or harvest party.

What You’ll Need

White paper

Construction paper in orange, brown, green, yellow, red, and green

pop-cicle sticks

brown paper bag

blue water color paint

salt

glue

scissors

How to make it

The background is salt painted, by adding salt to water color paints, then letting the mixture dry on the paper. When the paint is dry it has white spots showing through the blue. It works great for a sky background. Just wipe the salt right off.

The ground is created by using 2 different colors of brown. For this picture the darker brown is construction paper, and the lighter brown is a paper sack. Cut wavy sections to make the ground look hilly, then layer two or three layers of hills.

The fence is made from pop-cicle sticks, and the pumpkins are cut out of orange construction paper, then the details have been added with crayon.

The final touches are bright colored leaves and grasses also cut out of scraps of construction paper.

Pumpkins on a fence is really not hard to make, and it’s a really cute project. The painted background may need to be done ahead of time for the children. The kids should be able to do the rest, with a little assistance from adults.

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These cookies are perfect for a harvest or Halloween party. They’re delicious, I promise the kids will scarf them up and ask for more.

~Pumpkin cookie recipe~

Cream together:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 375.` Drop the dough by teaspoons on a cookie sheet sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly brown. Ice with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 8 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup butter

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Cream all the ingredients together, and spread it on the pumpkin cookies. Enjoy!

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Witches hat cookies are great fun for your preschooler to help make, and eat. Serve them on top of a scoop of ice cream, for an extra special treat.

Melting Chocolate or Chocolate bark
24 Sugar Cones (if you can find chocolate cones you won’t need to dip them)
chocolate or chocolate fudge cake mix
1 cup chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
Optional: Icing, black or other color, food coloring, and cake decorating tip to add a ribbon around the brim of the hat.

• Heat the melting chocolate according to the directions on the bag.
• Pour the melted chocolate onto a dinner plate, or shallow pie plate.
• Roll the sugar cones in the chocolate to coat the outside with the melted chocolate.
• Set the cones on end on wax paper to dry.
• Preheat your oven to 350`F.
• Combine the cake mix, eggs, butter, vanilla, and brown sugar in a bowl. Mix by hand with a spatula until well blended. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Drop the cookies by tablespoons on a cookie sheet and bake for about 12-14 minutes.
• When you remove the cookies from the oven, insert the sugar cones into the cookie with the cone opening side down. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

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Creep out everyone at your Halloween party with witches finger cookies. You can use any shortbread cookie recipe, but here’s one for you to use if you prefer.

Witches Finger Cookie Recipe

Yield: 5 dozen

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup Butter, softened
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Almond extract
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup whole Almonds, blanched
• 2 squares of melting chocolate, or chocolate bark

Combine the sugar, egg, butter, almond extract, and vanilla in a bowl. Mix in the flour, and salt. Cover and refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes, or until it’s firm.

When you’re ready to shape the cookies, only take out a small portion of the dough at a time. Shape the cookies into fingers by rolling and working with your hands. Score the top of the cookie with a knife or spatula to make it look like the wrinkles in your knuckle. Press an imprint into the tip of the cookie with your finger to make a spot for the almond finger nail. Press an almond into the tip of each finger to look like a fingernail.

Placed on a cooking sheet lightly coated with no-stick cooking spray and bake at 325` for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cookies are a very light golden brown. Let the cookies cool on a drying rack.

Use melting chocolate to go around the outside of the almond nail, giving a ghoulish appearance. Just melt the chocolate, put it in an icing piping bag, and cut a very small hole in the tip. Then pipe around the nail.

If you use red melting chocolate the look will be even more dramatic, you can also make small drops of chocolate blood, or chocolate cuts on the cookies if you really want to gross out your guests.

The witches finger cookies will make great party treats, but you can also bundle them up in a decorative container and use them for your Halloween party favors.

Image via stock.xpert

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Family Fun is one of my favorite websites to find party ideas. Check out these really cute mini monster cupcakes.

They make him with mini cupcakes, but I think you could use regular cupcakes too.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 mini cupcake

Blue frosting

2 candy eyes

Red whip licorice

1 Circus Peanut, halved

How to make them:

1. Unwrap the cupcake and turn it upside down. With a writing or star tip, frost the cupcake from the top down.
2. Add the eyes, the licorice antennae and peanut halves for sneakers.

Family Fun has several other Halloween cupcake, and party ideas.

Image via Family Fun

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I think I posted this fun, easy Halloween party treat last year, but since it’s one of my favorites here it is again.

I have oodles of Halloween party ideas, decorations, ideas, games, food, and goodness coming up in the next couple weeks. Stay tuned!

Halloween Ghost Sticks

Supplies and Ingredients:

Pretzel Sticks
White Chocolate Bark (or white melting chocolate)
Chocolate Sprinkles
Mini Chocolate Chips
Optional: Cellophane and ribbon for decorating

How to make your Ghost Sticks:

• Melt the white chocolate or white chocolate bar in a bowl in the microwave, or on the stove with a double boiler. Follow the instructions on the chocolate package. Most can be melted in the microwave (that’s my favorite method).
• Dip the pretzel into the melted chocolate, and lay on aluminum foil, or wax paper to cool. You can also prop them upright in cups, to avoid having one side flattened.
• While the chocolate is still soft insert two chocolate sprinkles for eyes, and a mini chocolate chip for a mouth. You can also wait until they dry, and use black jel icing to make the eyes and mouth.

Fun ideas to dress up your ghost sticks:

• Bundle several Ghost Sticks together, tie them with a decorative ribbon, add them to a mug, and wrap them with festive cellophane.
• Add them to other Halloween treats, cookies, or cupcakes to make a haunting Halloween party tray.
• Wrap them in decorative cellophane tied with a bow, for your as a trick or treat gift, or Halloween party favor.
• Add them to a Halloween gift basket, for a grandparent or teacher.

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