Jack o’ Lantern Jars for Halloween

What else can you make with an orange plaid shirt found at Good Will?

Why, make a Jack o’ lantern jar, of course!

I used material from this plaid shirt for my scarecrow costume, and since the shirt had a lot more material left, wanted to try to make something else Halloween-y with it.

Way back in September, Judy from What I Live For made some adorable Jack o’ lantern jars with orange fabric, and I really wanted to make some! So I saved some jars, washed them out, and there they sat, on my kitchen counter, for days. I didn’t have orange fabric or tissue paper.

I finally got tired of the jars sitting on my counter, so I threw them in the recycling bin, thinking I was never going to make the Jack o’ lanterns anyway. But then a couple of days later, I had a change of heart and dug them out again. Thank goodness I changed my mind before the jars made it to the curb!

Emmy and I sat down one afternoon last week, and made three different jars. Emmy used paint, and made a ghostly jar. From orange tissue paper that was in a gift I received, I made the middle Jack o’ lantern, and the plaid shirt was turned into the lantern on the right.

What’s her mommy thinking, letting her paint without a smock?

Emmy loves to paint, and she took her time making her ghostly jar with some acrylic paint we bought to decorate pumpkins with. (You’ll see pictures of those pumpkins in a later post!)

I used Mod Podge to glue the fabric onto my jars, and I found some glittery black paper in my scrapbooking supplies for the eyes, nose and mouth. I put a tea light at the bottom of the jars and Voila!

A ghosty jar and two Jack o’ lantern jars! The plaid fabric is a touch too thick for this project; I think the orange tissue paper I used in the middle jar looks much nicer.

There are two more empty jars waiting for Lily to make her Jack o’ lantern jar. They are going to look so cute, lit up on Halloween night!

How are you getting ready for Halloween?

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Easy DIY Scarecrow Costume

I haven’t had to wear a Halloween costume for years, and I liked it that way! (I know, I’m a spoil sport.) But this year, as a preschool teacher, I needed to come up with a costume for our class party. I had an old denim shirt in my closet and thought maybe I could whip something up. (October is turning out to be a crafty month for me!) I looked around the house for a flannel shirt I could cut up, but I didn’t like the colors I found. So I took a trip to Good Will, and found two orange shirts which cost $2.99 each.

My Good Will find

I cut some “patches” from the shirts, and using iron-on adhesive, I attached the patches onto the denim shirt and an old pair of jeans. Using some yellow yarn from the yarn stash I inherited from Mom, I stitched some large stitches onto the patches.

Scarecrow “patches”

Using a more straw-colored yarn, I sewed “straw” to the shirt’s cuffs.

Scarecrow “straw”

Add a red bandana from my top dresser drawer, and I had a scarecrow costume!

As a preschool teacher, I don’t wear make-up or masks because some little ones would be scared or get nervous to see their teacher look completely different on Halloween. They notice when I wear different glasses to school! If you would like to add make-up to your scarecrow costume, here’s a great tutorial: Scarecrow Make-up Tutorial.

I also used my Good Will purchase for another craft! Click here to see how to make Halloween Jack o’ Lantern Jars!

Are you looking for easy Halloween crafts for the kids? Here’s four you can do today: 4 Easy Halloween Crafts.

Happy Halloween!

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