Coffee Filter Pumpkins

I stumbled upon the idea for these Coffee Filter pumpkins on The Happier Homemaker where there were made by an adult using sponge ink. I loved the simplicity of the pumpkins, and decided to modify them so my younger children could make this Halloween craft.

Coffee Filter Pumpkins

You will need:

Large coffee filter
Washable orange marker (we used Crayola Washable Markers)
Spray bottle with water
Green paper
Scissors
Ribbon, wire or Easter grass
Tray or plate
Branch
Tissues

You will want to start by using a waterproof plastic plate or tray under your coffee filter. This will help contain the mess later on.

Give your child a coffee filter and an orange marker and have them color the coffee filter. They don't need to cover every inch of the coffee filter as the color will run as it gets sprayed.

After they are done coloring the coffee filter, give them a spray bottle filled with water and have them watch what happens when they squirt the coffee filter. This was my kids' favorite part. They loved watching the color spread as the coffee filter got wet.

I put the filters on paper towels to dry and it took about an hour. While we were waiting for the filters to dry, we went outside and searched for some branches to use for the stem of our pumpkins.

Now it's time to assemble the pumpkins. Unless you have older kids, you will be doing most of this yourself. You will need your coffee filter, tissue, ribbon (we used leftover Easter grass), green paper, and branch.

Wad up 3 tissues and place them in the center of the coffee filter.

Squeeze the coffee filter together to make your pumpkin. At this point you will need to secure it with something so it doesn't open up. You can use ribbon, wire, tape or a rubber band. Before you secure it, add a small piece of branch to the middle. We happened to have Easter grass on hand so I tied it up with that. I don't have a photo of this step since it requires both hands.

Cut some small leaves out of the green paper and poke a hole in each one and attach them to your pumpkin. I just slipped them through the Easter grass that was hanging off the pumpkin after I tied it up.

When you're done, you can assemble a group of the coffee filter pumpkins into a little pumpkin patch. Kids can use it as a pretend pumpkin patch for their toys or you can display them in a basket or on a mantle.