By Brenda Hyde

You'll Need:

small baby food jars

white craft glue

tissue paper-orange

black permanent marker

Tear pieces of orange tissue paper, napkins or crepe paper and set them aside. Dilute the glue with water so it's the thickness of paint, and you can apply it with a brush. Paint the glue onto the surface of the jar and place on the pieces of the tissue paper---continue to brush the glue on the jar and onto the pieces of paper, overlapping the paper until the entire jar is covered. Let the jars dry and if it seems thin in spots you can add more glue and paper. Let it dry again. Use the marker to make friendly faces. Tie a piece of green raffia or ribbon around the neck into a bow and use the jars to make small classroom or party favors. Add candy and little fun things like rings or other little toys. These also make neat tea candle holders.

Paper Plate Pumpkins

You'll need:

paper plates

black and green construction paper

glue

scissors

markers, crayons or paint

hole punch

yarn

Color the paper plates orange with paint, crayons or markers. Cut out a stem for the top of the plate. It's fun to make it look a little like a hat with a square stem on top. Glue it to the top of the plate. Using the black paper, draw the eyes, nose and mouth, then glue those on. Punch a hole in the top, so it's centered and tie yarn for a hanger. If you hang it in a window, then glue two pumpkins back to back before punching the hole and you'll have a double sided decoration. You can use small and regular sized plates.

Paper Bag Pumpkins

You'll need:

Paper lunch bags

paint and brushes

scissors

white craft glue

construction paper-black OR black marker/paint

rubber band

green yarn or ribbon

newspaper or tissue paper

Fill the paper bag with crumpled newspaper or tissue paper. Gather the top of the bag and put the rubber band around the top, so that there is at least 1 inch of paper to use as a stem above where the rubber band is placed. Paint below the rubber band orange...paint the gathered bag above the rubber band green. Either draw a face with black marker on the bag pumpkin or cut out of black paper the eyes, nose and mouth. Glue on to the bag. Tie green ribbon or piece of yarn into a bow around where you put the rubber band. Note--if you want to put these on a covered porch--put some sand of a rock in the bottom of the bag first and then the paper and it will help keep them from blowing away. You can also hang them up. For a fun addition add fall scented fragrance oil or spray to a cotton ball and place in the bag too.