Glowing Jack-O-Lantern

glowing jack o lantern
When you have young kids around, carving a jack-o-lantern isn’t always the safest activity because it involves sharp knives and a medium, i.e. the pumpkin, that can be hard to work with. Painting pumpkins has always been a good alternative that lets the kids get creative without having to cut anything. Making a glowing jack-o-lantern is just as easy; you just use glow-in-the-dark paint.
Here’s what you need:

  1. A pumpkin
  2. Glow-in-the-dark paint
  3. Paintbrush
  4. Masking tape
  5. Scissors
  6. Pencil or Magic marker
  7. Black light

Here’s what you do:

  1. Using the pencil or magic marker, draw your jack-o-lantern’s face onto the pumpkin.
  2. Using the scissors, cut the masking tape and then cover the areas you’ve drawn for the eyes, nose, mouth, etc.
  3. Using your paint and paintbrush, cover the rest of the pumpkin in the glow-in-the-dark paint.
  4. Allow to dry and remove masking tape.

Once your jack-o-lantern is painted, you simply need to charge the paint and watch it glow. The one downside of this project is that the non-toxic glowing paints will only glow for a short period of time. If you want a more continuous glow or a better effect, then you’ll have to set up a black light. Do some research before buying your paints to get the most bang for your buck.

Jack-O-Lantern Jars

jack o lantern jars
I found this picture on Pinterest and loved the idea. Instead of carving a pumpkin, make a cool Halloween jack-o-lantern display with some old glass jars. You can even save these and use them year after year. Halloween fun and recycling all in one…score!
Here’s what you need:

  1. Glass jars
  2. Black contact or adhesive paper
  3. Scissors
  4. Measuring tape or ruler
  5. Multi-colored tissue paper
  6. Mod Podge
  7. LED light string
  8. Black, green, and/or gold paint

Here’s what to do:

  1. Measure your jar(s)
  2. Cuts strips of tissue paper to cover jar(s)
  3. Place one strip at a time vertically onto the jar and paint a layer of Mod Podge over it to hold it in place.
  4. Repeat #3 until the entire outside of the jar is covered.
  5. Let Mod Podge dry for 24 hours.
  6. Paint the top area of the jar, where the lid would screw on, with your choice of colored paint and let it dry.
  7. Then, repaint that same top area with a coat of Mod Podge to make it glossy and let it dry again.
  8. Cut out faces using your black contact paper and adhere them to the jar.

To display:

  1. Line your jars up in a row.
  2. Starting at one end coil your LED light string into the first jar, then the next, and so on so they are all lit.
  3. Plug in the lights.
  4. Enjoy.