Over the weekend we were busy making some new Halloween decorations. I try not to get my kids too excited about Halloween until it is at least October. That usually means we don’t do any Halloween related projects until October either. My two older kids (ages 6 and 7) loved making their own spider and web out of yarn. When they were finished we hung them off of the mantle of the fireplace. We are hoping to make some more to hang nearby for a really scary spider effect. I think they would also be fun hanging in the corners of a doorway.

Supplies:

• Black Yarn
• White Yarn
• Black Pipe Cleaners
• Wire Cutter
• Googly Eyes
• Scissors

How To:

SPIDER WEB using finger knitting.

1. To create the web we used a finger knitting technique that is great for kids. I tried to take detailed photos. You can follow along below.
2. To start cut one 6 yard piece of white yarn. (Pictures below will enlarge when clicked on.)

3. 

   Tie a loop in the end of the yarn.

4. 

   Put loop over pointer finger.

5. 

   Hold knot/loop in place. Wrap yarn around finger.

6. 

   Wrap yarn all the way around finger.

7. 

   Pull the back loop over the front string. The front string is now the loop that stays on your finger. Repeat above steps.

8. 

   Your knitting will start to chain off your finger as you go and will look like this.

9. When you are done knitting, tie end in a knot to keep it from unraveling.
10. Now you have your spider web. Set it aside.

SPIDER from pom-pom ball.

1. To create your spider you first need to make your own pom-pom ball from yarn.
2. Cut one 6 yard piece of black yarn. Also, cut one 8 inch piece of white yarn.

3. 

   Start wrapping yarn around 3 fingers.

4. 

   Finish wrapping yarn around fingers. Tuck in loose string end between fingers.

5. 

   Slip the ends of the white yarn through your fingers so you can wrap it all the way around the black yarn.

6. 

   Tie the white yarn all the way around the black yarn. Tie it in a knot as tightly as you can.

7. 

   Carefully slip the black yarn off your fingers. Use a sharp scissors and cut open the loops on both sides. Fluff the yarn to make it form a ball shape.

8. 

   Use a wire cutter and cut two black pipe cleaners in half to make four leg pieces.

9. 

   On the bottom of your spider, (knotted side and loose strings are on top), push each leg under the white yarn.

10. 

    Bend pipe cleaner legs to resemble spider legs.

11. Use glue to add googly eyes and let dry.
12. Use loose white strings to tie spider to knitted web.
13. Hang in doorway!

The post How To | Yarn Spider and Web appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

I had an idea to use cheap craft felt to create this Halloween monster mash-up felt face activity for the kids. The activity is played on a 9×12 piece of felt, which is actually one side of the felt pocket where all the pieces are stored. This activity has inspired lots of giggles at our house in the past week as they made Dracula have hair bows, Frankenstein have a pumpkin mouth and the Witch girl have a mustache. (Below you can download the template for all the felt shapes.)

How To | Monster Mash-up Felt Face Activity

Supplies:

• 9×12 sheet of green felt
• 9×12 sheet of bright green felt
• 9×12 sheet of orange felt
• 9×12 sheet of black felt
• 9×12 sheet of yellow felt
• 9×12 sheet of purple felt
• 9×12 sheet of white felt
• 9×12 sheet of red felt
• Googly eyes
• Scissors
• Sewing machine or needle and thread

How To:

1. Place whole sheet of green felt back-to-back with orange felt, wrong sides together. Use a sewing machine and sew around three sides to create a large pocket. (If you don’t have a sewing machine use embroidery floss and sew a blanket stitch (how to here) around three sides.)
2. Download monster face templates and cut out felt pieces in matching colors.
3. Add a couple googly eyes into the mix of felt pieces.
4. Play activity and store pieces inside pocket when finished.

FREE MONSTER FELT FACE TEMPLATES: Click Here – Monster Face Templates

 

The post How To | Monster Mash-up Felt Face Activity appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

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Today we made spider webs out of pipe cleaners, yarn and pom-poms. It was a little advanced for Allan who couldn’t actually wrap the yarn and isn’t too handy yet with the glue. We are letting the spiders dry on the web as I type. Lorelei and Allan can’t wait to hang them in their rooms.

Supplies:

• 4 black pipe cleaners
• 12 ft. piece of black yarn
• 2 pom-pom balls
• 2 googly eyes
• 6 inches of embroidery floss
• glue
• scissors

How To: Lay out the 4 pipe cleaners so they overlap like spokes. Twist the pipe cleaners around themselves in the center so they are all held together. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1

Knot the piece of yarn around the center of the spokes. (Fig. 2) Trim off the loose end close to the spokes so that it can’t be seen.

Fig. 2

Start at the center with the ball of yarn and wrap around each spoke one time. Continue to work your way outward. As you go hold the spokes an equal distance apart. If you pull the yarn to tightly the web will have a tendency to cup inward as you get toward the end. (Fig. 3)

Fig. 3

If you don’t have enough yarn, just tie another piece onto the spoke where the previous piece ended. When you have gone all the way around the spokes leave a 10″ tail of yarn to glue a spider to.

Create your spider legs by cutting 4 pieces of embroidery floss. Lay them out side-by-side and knot them together in the center with another piece of floss. (Fig. 4) Glue the googly eyes to the front of one of the pom-poms. Glue the legs to the back-side of that pom-pom ball. The legs will later be sandwiched between the two pom-poms.

Fig. 4

Keep your two pom-poms separate but have them ready to glue onto the web. (Fig. 5) Add some glue to the web (Fig. 6) and adhere both sides of the pom-pom together with the legs and web sandwiched in the middle. (Fig. 7) Add a spider to the yarn tail hanging off the web in the same manner. (Fig. 8) Let spiders dry on web. When the glue has dried tie a loop to the top of the web so you can hang it up. Add a Halloween message using paper and glue it onto the web.

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

FIg. 9

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