My mantel is all decorated to celebrate Thanksgiving this month. My kids and I made these cheap pumpkins from recycled paper lunch bags to make our Fall display more colorful and full.

How To | Paper Lunch Bag Pumpkins

Supplies:

• Paper Lunch Bags
• Orange acrylic paint
• Green acrylic paint
• Paintbrush
• Magazine to recycle
• Green ribbon
• Scissors

How To:

1. Paint the lower portion of the lunch bag orange. (Another option is to color the bags with markers, you can see a picture of colored lunch bag pumpkins below.) Make sure to open up the bag and paint all the sides. I found it easiest to open the bag and hold my hand inside while I painted.
2. Paint a wide strip of green above the orange painted section. Let dry.
3. Rip out and crumble up magazine pages. Fill the painted lunch bag up with crumpled magazine pages until the pumpkin is at desired fullness.
4. Tie a piece of green ribbon around the lunch bag, pull it tight and tie it. Curl the ends of the ribbon.
5. Use a scissors and cut off any extra height from the lunch bag.
6. Set on dinner table or mantel to create a beautiful fall display!

Lorelei painting her paper lunch bag.

Another option is to color your bag with markers instead of using paint.

The post How To | Paper Bag Pumpkins appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

I must confess this was not my idea. My sister discovered it on another blog (Not So Idle Hands) and I thought it looked like a great way to use some of the jars in our recycling bin. So check out her tutorial or follow along with mine below!

Supplies:

• Decoupage Medium
• Foam Brush
• Jars
• Tissue Paper
• Scissors
• Tea Light (I use battery operated ones)

How To:

1. Cut strips of tissue paper about 2 inches longer than the height of your jar.

Add Decoupage Medium

2. Using your foam brush apply a thick line of decoupage medium onto your jar. Next adhere your tissue paper strip by aligning the top of the strip underneath the threaded part of your jar and smoothing the paper down onto the jar.

Add Tissue Paper Strip

3. Continue to add decoupage medium and strips all the way around the jar. My strips overlap each other a bit.

4. After the sides are done, put decoupage medium on the bottom of your jar and fold down any tissue paper that is left overhanging. Smooth it all down on the bottom and place the jar upside down to dry.

5. Cut out the faces for your jars from tissue paper and adhere with decoupage medium onto your jar. Let dry.

Cut Out Face Shapes

6. Add your tea lights and watch your lanterns glow!

My kids enjoy having them on their dressers at night. They make a festive night-light.

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The post How To | Halloween Jar Lanterns appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.

This is me 36 weeks pregnant and big as a pumpkin. We went to Boo at the Zoo and I decided I needed some sort of costume. I bought this shirt at Target in the Men’s section for $4.99 and turned it into a baby bump pumpkin shirt.

It’s easy to do, all you need is some black fabric paint, a paint brush, the shirt and the template.

How To:

1. Print out the template/stencil (free download below).

2. Cut out the face from the template/stencil using a craft knife. Put the shirt on and align the stencil in the correct spot on your baby bump. Tape it in place (I used double-sided tape on the back side of the paper stencil). Remove the shirt and lay it out on a flat surface.

3. With your stencil taped in place, paint over the open spots with black fabric paint. Let paint dry.

4. Follow the directions on your fabric paint. After the paint dries you may need to heat set the paint with an iron.

5. Wear your shirt for Halloween to accentuate your baby bump!

Here are two templates/stencils for free download. One is for a pumpkin face and the other is a ghost face. If you only have a white t-shirt you could make a ghost face on your baby bump instead!

Maternity Costume Baby Pumpkin Face

Maternity Costume Baby Ghost Face

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The post How To | Maternity Pumpkin Shirt appeared first on Alanna George | The Craft Nest.