Being that today is Halloween I will share the last of our Halloween crafts with you all. It’s not too late to get in one more before the season is over. I have seen this idea in various magazines and websites so it’s impossible to give credit, but suffice it to say it was not my idea. This is however, my spin on Soda Bottle Pumpkins. For more Halloween fun check out this Fizzing Pumpkins Halloween Activity.
Soda Bottle Pumpkins
Supplies you will need:
- Empty, clean 2 liter bottles
- Orange tempera paint or red and yellow paint
- Water
- Paper cutouts for faces
- Tape
- Green pipe cleaners
You might recall that I am a big fan of recycled bottles. A while back we made bottle print flowers. These soda bottle pumpkins craft also uses recycled bottles, so go out to the recycling bin, grab some 2 liter bottles and clean them out. We don’t have orange paint since I just make whatever shade I need using yellow and red. Squirt a small amount of paint into the bottle and add a little bit of water. You will be adding less water than paint. I just eyeballed this. If you pour too much water, the paint will be too runny and will not stick to the sides of the bottle. If you use to little water, then the paint will be too thick and will not swirl around the bottle. I did a test bottle first and got a feel for what a good paint/water ratio was.
Make sure the cap is on tight and give the bottle to your kid to shake, shake, shake. With my bottles the shaking served two purposes: it mixed the yellow and red paint to make orange, and it painted the inside of the bottle.
Here is “A” dressed in her Ariel costume, crown and all, mixing her colors. She was amazed that the more she shook the bottle the more the colors changed.
B shakes it up.
Little C shaking with all her might.
After all that shaking our bottles turned a pretty shade of orange and were starting to look more like pumpkins. But they still needed some faces. I sat with each of the girls and they told me what kind of face they wanted on their pumpkin. I made the faces, cut them out, put some tape on the back and let the girls decorate. B sticks a nose on. I love how she sticks out her tongue when she is concentrating.
“A” adds a mouth to the soda bottle pumpkins.
When they were done we added some green pipe cleaner stems. Here are our soda bottle pumpkins in all their glory.
Remember I mentioned that I did a test bottle to see how much paint and water to use? I actually did it with some black paint. Here is my ghost.
We put our soda bottle pumpkins out on the front porch to greet our trick or treaters. Happy Halloween to you and your little ghosts and goblins!
If you are looking for more fun ways to engage your kids, I highly recommend KiwiCo. As a former teacher, I was really impressed with the quality of materials found in KiwiCo. Some moms have told me that they want to do activities like I do on Mess For Less with their kids, but they just don’t have to the time to go buy all the supplies and prepare them for the activity. KiwiCo is the perfect solution. Every month your KiwiCo will focus on a particular theme like Colors, Dinosaurs or Gardening. KiwiCo offer a variety of projects ranging from crafts, imaginative play, science experiments and more.
For more Halloween crafts check out:
Twinkle Star says
That is a really great idea – easy painting that the kids will love! Will be doing this one – maybe for Christmas as Santa bottles. Thanks for the fab idea! x
Kristina @SchoolTimeSnippets says
What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing!
Natalie says
What great ideas! I love your quick food face too! Glad to be a new follower!!
Erin Butson says
Such a fun idea!!! gonna try it today with my 3 year old. thanks!
Jenny says
These are so cool! Thanks for sharing!
Amanda says
Love it! What a great re-usable craft that can be done with supplies we have on hand =)
Vicky says
@ Twinkle Star, Love the Santa idea. That will be so cute!
@ Kristina, so glad you could stop by. Happy Halloween!
@ Natalie, Thanks for the kind words. I am happy you are a new follower.
@ Erin, hope you both had fun with it.
@ Jenny, glad you like them!
@ Amanda, these are my favorite type of projects.
Valerie @ Frugal Family Fun Blog says
GREAT idea!! Looks like the kiddos had great fun shaking up the paint! 🙂
Sugarr2518 says
It looks like your kids had a fun time with this craft! I think the best part about this is that there would be minimal mess:)
Brandi says
Hi Vicky! You have such a cute blog! I love all of your creative craft ides for children!!
parent toddler classes says
You shared a very great idea. I will use this technique for my baby and for my art students too.
Anna says
Wow, those look like so much fun to make. Love how the mess is contained 😉 Thanks for sharing at After School!
Deceptively Educational says
What a wonderful craft that you can keep for years! Thanks for linking up to the After School Linky party!
avigil13 says
Its a great idea! Im doing this for the the kids at the library for halloween. I did some test bottles as displays ahead of time and the paint stayed for about a day or so then runs to the bottom. now it seems to run in just a few minutes after i shake and recover the inside. any ideas?