Create your own pumpkin-creature army just in time for fall

Carving pumpkins is a fun fall activity — for about five minutes. Inevitably, a giant mess of pumpkin winds up everywhere, and often, the design only vaguely looks like what you had in mind. Instead of risking your hand and home this year, try a smaller, neater variation. With permanent markers and pipe cleaners, you can quickly and easily create an entire army of pumpkin creatures.

This project is great for little ones looking to create their very own pumpkins. A good collection of small pumpkins, markers and pipe cleaners will provide many options that can be as scary, spooky or goofy as you like. If little ones will be making their own pumpkins, supervise the glue gun.

Materials
- Small pumpkin
- Black pipe cleaner (optional)
- Black lace (optional)
- Hot-glue gun
- Fabric scissors
- Permanent markers, various colors

Instructions
1. Wash and dry your pumpkin thoroughly.

2. To make a batwing, bend a black pipe cleaner in the middle. Gently curve the top piece and add points to the bottom before connecting the two halves. Twist the bottoms together to secure the shape. You now have the framework for a wing.

3. Lay some black lace flat. Apply a thin strip of hot glue outlining the pipe cleaner wing and press the glue side against the lace. Allow this to dry.

4. Use fabric or crafting scissors to carefully cut around the wing, leaving the lace in the middle to mimic the webbing of a bat’s wing.

5. Repeat the steps to create a second matching wing.

6. Decide where you would like to attach the wings to your pumpkin — ideally, in the creases so they stay put. Apply a small drop of hot glue to the bottom twist of your pipe cleaner wings and press them into the pumpkin, supporting them as they dry.

7. With a black permanent marker, draw a pair of eyes onto the front of your pumpkin. These can be as goofy or as sinister as you’d like.

8. For a vampire pumpkin, add fangs with a metallic silver marker. For a cartoonish effect, make the fangs exaggerated and large.

9. Use a variety of colors, markers, pipe cleaners and other decorations to create an army of spooky and goofy pumpkins.