Ninja Turtle Pumpkin Stencil

Next up, a Ninja Turtle pumpkin stencil!

Enjoy!!

Ninja Turtle Pumpkin Stencil

Creeper Minecraft Pumpkin Stencil

Next up in the Minecraft pumpkin series is a Creeper!

Enjoy!

Check out The Ender Dragon!

Creeper Minecraft Pumpkin Stencil

Ender Dragon Minecraft Pumpkin Stencil

First up in this Minecraft series is the Ender Dragon.

Hope you enjoy :)

Check out my Creeper stencil!

P.S I'd love to see some photographs of your pumpkins if you try any of my stencils.

The Ender Dragon Pumpkin Stencil

Octonauts: Peso Pumpkin Stencil

Here is my last Octonauts pumpkin stencil..... PESO Penguin!

So cute! If you do use any of my stencils; please do send me a picture.

Be sure to check out my other Octonauts Pumpkin Stencils (Captain Barnacles and Kwazii)

Peso Pumpkin Stencil

Octonauts: Kwazii Pumpkin Stencil

Next up in my Octonauts pumpkin stencil series is..... KWAZII Kitten!

This one is my favourite! If you do use any of my stencils; please do send me a picture.

Be sure to check out my other Octonauts Pumpkin Stencils (Captain Barnacles and Peso)

Kwazii Pumpkin Stencil

Octonauts: Captain Barnacles Pumpkin Stencil

Here is my first Octonauts pumpkin stencil..... CAPTAIN BARNACLES Bear!

If you do use any of my stencils; please do send me a picture.

Be sure to check out my other Octonauts Pumpkin Stencils (Kwazii and Peso)

Captain Barnacles Pumpkin Stencil

Dora the Explorer Pumpkin Stencil

Following the success of my previous years pumpkin stencils, I have decided to make a few more for you this year. First being Dora the Explorer.

If you do try any of my pumpkin stencils; please do send me a picture as I would love to see!

Keep a look out for more pumpkin stencils to come.

You can find my previous stencils here:

Peppa Pig Pumpkin Stencil

Waybuloo Pumpkin Stencils

In The night Garden Pumpkin Stencils

Some useful pumpkin carving tips can be seen here.

Ideas for Halloween party games

Pin the wart on the witch

Draw a witch outline onto a cardboard box which has either been painted black or covered in a black bin liner. Don't worry; it doesn't have to be perfect as most kids won't mind. Don't forget to include the witches had and pointed nose!

Stick the witch up onto the wall and decorate it with plastic spiders and fake web.

Cut out large wart shapes from a green felt material or paper. Stick tap to the back or use blue-tac to enable the children to stick them onto the witch. You could also use play dough or plasticine.

Use a dark coloured scarf as a blind fold and let the children take turns trying to stick the wart onto the witches nose! Older children could be spun around before their go to make it a little more difficult!

You could use the same game idea and draw a spiders web onto cardboard and put it up on the wall. Draw spiders onto paper and get the children to try and get the spider onto the web.

Halloween bingo

Click the line above (the title) to print out the PDF file which contains all the images required to be able to play Halloween bingo.

Halloween feel box game

Using cardboard; this can either be a cereal box or a shoe box. Divide the inside of a large box into 4 sections (or how many you wish). Cut holes into the sides of the box - make sure these are big enough to allow a hand inside but not large enough to see inside. Put something from the list below into each section of the box and have the children or adults put their hands into the holes and try to guess what it is just by feeling.

• Dried apricots - dried up tongues
• Cooked, cold spaghetti pasta - worms or veins
• Slime
• Soft flour tortilla - skin (can add a little oil)
• Peeled grapes - eyeballs
• Fake fur
• Over cooked rice in olive oil- rotting maggots
• Raisins covered in applesauce - boogers
• Dried apple slices - ears
• Peeled tomato - heart

More party games can be found here!

What Halloween pumpkin stencils would you like?

With just over 2 months to go until Halloween; I would like to start getting some pumpkin stencils together to post through out October.

So far I've done Waybuloo, Peppa Pig & In The Night Garden. (You can click on these links and you can view them!)

Please comment or tweet me with some characters you would like me turn into pumpkin stencils for you to use.

HaaHoo & Makka Pakka Pumpkins

Pink Lining Pumpkin

Upsy Daisy Pumpkin

Iggle Piggle Pumpkin

Peppa Pig Pumpkin Stencil

Free pumpkin stencils!

As I have been totally unprepared for Halloween this year; I have not had time to create pumpkin stencils for you all to enjoy. Computer failure was a main part!!
Don't forget you can email me any request's for stencils ready for Halloween 2013!


I've looked online and found a fabulous site which offers stencils for free, you can download the PDF files from the website and print them.

Here are just a few of my favourite; Arthur, Teenage Ninja Turtle, Tinker-bell and Winnie The Pooh!

Arther Pumpkin Stencil

Teenage Ninja Turtle Pumpkin Stencil

Tinker-bell Pumpkin Stencil

Winnie The Pooh Pumpkin Stencil

Halloween 2012

Hi!

I know my poor little blog has been neglected as I am currently studying with the Open University to finish my degree off.
I will be posting some new pumpkin stencils, ideas and templates for you to all enjoy for 2012.
While your waiting; why not take a look at my Peppa Pig, Waybuloo & In The Night Garden pumpkin stencils. I also have some tips on how to carve a pumpkin.
Having a Halloween party? You could make your own party decorations with your children. Looking for party games; have a look at my list of fantastic games! Also, have a look at my super yummy party treats.
Are there any children pumpkin templates you would love me to make? Please comment below with any suggestions and I will try my hardest *smile*
I will also post some fantastic inexpensive costume ideas for children and adults.
Please stick around as Halloween 2012 will kick off on Single Mummy; One In A Million very shortly!

Thanks everyone xx

Waybuloo Pumpkin Stencils

Hi all!!

As you can properly tell, I love Halloween and pumpkin carving.

I have made some more pumpkin stencils for you. This time they are characters from Waybuloo. I can see my collection is growing fast. I have In The Night Garden and Peppa Pig stencils too.

If you have any requests, please mail me and I will try my best to make the stencil for you.

De Li Pumpkin Stencil

Nok Tok Pumpkin Stencil

Yojojo Pumpkin Stencil

Lau Lau Pumpkin Stencil

Peppa Pig Pumpkin Stencil

Hi everyone.

This year I have had a go at making a Peppa Pig pumpkin stencil. Last year I did 4 In The Night Garden stencils. I hope this one is as good!

If you don't know how to carve a pumpkin I have some tips which you can read here.

You are welcome to print as many copies of this as you like, or share with your blog readers. All I ask is a link back to my blog!

If you do a pumpkin this year, please share a picture with me as I would love to see!

Keep your eyes peeled for my attempt at this Peppa Pig pumpkin next week!

Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy pumpkins!

So it's Hallo's Eve and I have been busy carving pumpkins today!
I used Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy from my In The Night Garden Pumpkin Stencils to create both these pumpkins. You may also be interested in looking at my Makka Pakka and Haahoo pumpkin results.
Jack also joined in and created a super sparkly pumpkin using glitter and stars!

I hope you have a fantastic Halloween!

Jack decorating his little pumpkin.

Upsy Daisy Pumpkin.

Iggle Piggle Pumpkin!

Devil Jack!

Stuck for ideas for your little ones Halloween costume?
Why not take a look at the range Clothing@Tesco have. They have a costume for everyone; kids, men and women! They also currently have a huge 50% off each costume! There is no excuse not to dress up for Halloween!
I have included some pictures of Jack modelling the Devil Costume.
It's an all in one costume which has 3 Velcro fastening at the back (easy in and out!). It comes with a gorgeous hat which has a Velcro fastening to keep it on! There is a cute devil tail at the back of the costume to give added Devil effect! The wings are attached to the costume so they don't fall off. Jack wore this costume over his clothes and there was enough room to still move about as you can see in the video! (sorry the video is 'skinny' I was holding the camera the wrong way)

Jack in his Devil costume!

The cute little tail!

Make your own Halloween costume!

Here are some ideas for some inexpensive home-made costumes.

Bat costume

• Black hooded top
• Black Umbrella
• Black Felt
• Safety pins or needle and thread
• Scissors

Start by removing the handle from the umbrella and then cutting the umbrella in half. This will make the bat wings. You may need to use some tools or even a saw to disassemble the umbrella.

Sew or use safety pins to attach the cut edge of the umbrella to the back of the arms of the hooded top. Make sure there are no sharp edges on the wings.

Cut ears out of black felt and use a needle and thread to sew them onto the hood of the top.

If you don't have an umbrella you can cut mini wings out of felt and pin them in place.

Ghost costume

• White cloth fabric (about 3 yards)
• White top with hood
• White and black make-up
• White glitter body spray

Make a poncho out of the white cloth fabric by cutting a hole in the middle of the material (make sure it is large enough to slip over head).

Put on the white top and poncho. Paint face with white make-up and spray hair with the glitter body spray. Rub a little black make-up safely under eyes. 

Your ghost costume is complete!

Mummy costume

• White top
• Large white sheet
• A helper
• White and black make-up
• Baby powder

Put on the white top and tear strips from the large sheet. Ask someone to tie all the strips around you. Paint face with the white make-up, adding darker circles around eyes. For a more realistic effect, sprinkle baby powder in your hair and add a little on your sheet strips!

History of Halloween and it's traditions

The festival of Halloween in the UK is over 2000 years old, dating back to the time of the Celts (600 BC-50 AD). The Celts celebrated the end of summer and the gathering in of the harvest with a festival called 'Samhain', which took place on the night of 31 October. Even then, this date had links with ghosts and the spirit world, as on this night the Celts believed that the boundaries between our world and the next would weaken, allowing the souls of dead to cross over and communicate with the living.

A large part of the celebration involved the building of huge bonfires, which were thought to welcome friendly spirits and ancestors, but ward off those considered dangerous. People would dress up in animal heads and skins, and burn sacrifices and gifts in thanks for the harvest. Samhain was also a time for divination and the telling of fortunes. Apples feature widely in these divination techniques. For example, when bobbing for apples, a tradition that still survives until today, the first person to take a bite out of an apple would be the first to marry that year. In addition, when peeling an apple, the longer the unbroken length of peel, the longer you would be destined to live.


Following the invasion of the Romans in 43 AD, two Roman festivals came to be celebrated at the same time as Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day when the Romans commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day in which they honoured Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit trees who was symbolized by the apple. The Romans were very open to the cultures of people they invaded, and they sought to merge their beliefs with those of the indigenous Celts. It is perhaps easy to see why these two festivals became linked closely with Samhain.

Christianity had spread into Celtic lands by the 800s and the Christian church appears to have practiced its usual policy of adopting pagan celebrations by converting Halloween into a Christian observance. By moving the old Christian festival of All Saints Day to 1 November, however, they maintained the link with remembering the dead. On All Saints Day, a mass was held to honour the saints and martyrs, and this was preceded on the day before (All Hallow's Eve or Eve of All Saints - in Old English, hallow meant holy) by an overnight vigil. According to the early Christian church, this day also marked the release from purgatory of all souls for 2 days. All Souls Day, which commemorated the faithful departed, followed on 2 November. Together, the three festivals - the Eve of All Saints, All Saints Day and All Souls Day - became known as Hallowmass.

The custom of 'trick-or-treating', today a large part of Halloween celebrations, could possibly have part of its roots in the tradition of the baking of soul cakes. This was an important feature of All Souls' Day (similar to the way we associate hot cross buns with Good Friday today), when beggars would wander from house to house, receiving gifts of food and money. In return for a soul cake, these 'soulers' would be expected to say prayers for those who had recently died, to speed up their passage through purgatory and into heaven. The 'trick' part of the custom appears to have arisen in the USA in the 1930s, where Halloween became to be associated with the playing of pranks and jokes.


Although the Church was successful in establishing Hallowmass as a Christian festival, many of the populace continued to practice the ancient customs and traditions linked with Samhain. With the reformation of the Church in the 16th century, celebrations of this sort were discouraged even more. However, following the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 many traditional Halloween practices, especially the building of bonfires, were transposed to 5 November (now known as Bonfire or Guy Fawkes Night). Although in England the celebration of Halloween gradually fell out of fashion in favour of Bonfire Night, the tradition was maintained for longer in both Ireland and Scotland, because of the strong Celtic links in these countries.

The resurgence in the celebration of Halloween that we have seen over the past 20 years or so, with its emphasis on dressing up as ghosts and witches, has largely been imported from the USA. Halloween and its more pagan traditions were first brought to the USA in the mid-1800s, when huge numbers of Irish immigrants fled to the USA following the Irish Potato Famine. Over time, the festival and its traditions evolved and crossed back over the Atlantic - giving us the celebration that we know and love (or hate!) today. The celebration that we today know as Halloween dates back to an ancient festival of the Celts - Samhain. Despite the passing of 2000 years, it is still possible to trace some of the traditions we associate with Halloween - bonfires, and the link with ghosts and the spirit world - back to this early celebration of the end of summer and the gathering in of the harvest.

Makka Pakka and Haahoo pumpkins!

Hi everyone!
Last night I tested out the In The Night Garden pumpkin stencils with a little help from my sister.

We brought two small pumpkins for 50p each (what a bargin!) and got to work. We made a silly mistake and cut the lid small, which meant we couldn't get out hands in to scoop the middle out! But after a little pushing and pulling we managed to squeeze our hands in (mine are rather sore this morning!)

The stencils did work very well; but in my option I think the Haahoo one worked the best. I ended up doing both pumpkins as my sister didn't have the patience to punch the design onto the pumpkin!
Enjoy!

Haahoo and Makka Pakka

Haahoo pumpkin

Close up of Haahoo pumpkin

Makka Pakka pumpkin

Side view of Makka Pakka

My In The Night Garden Pumpkin Stencils

Hi everyone.
I've had a go at making a few In The Night Garden pumpkin stencils. I've done Iggle Piggle, Makka Pakka, Upsy Daisy and a Haahoo. Who said Halloween had to be scary! I am quite excited to see if they work (I will be trying them out this weekend and posting pictures!); I hope they give you some ideas on how to create a different, fun pumpkin. If you have any requests please E-mail them to me and I will try my hardest to transform them into pumpkin stencils for you to use.

You can follow the same steps I posted yesterday and print out these stencils and tape them to the pumpkin.

You can print as many as you like and I am happy for you to share these on your blog (with a link back to me!)
Happy pumpkin carving!

Haahoo Pumpkin Stencil

Iggle Piggle Pumpkin Stencil

Makka Pakka Pumpkin Stencil

Upsy Daisy Pumpkin Stencil

My tips on how to carve a pumpkin!

Hi everyone. Halloween isn't far away and I thought I would share with you something I enjoy doing at Halloween. I love carving pumpkins! Over the years I have created some wonderful designs (someone thought it was so amazing last year they stole the pumpkin!)

This is my pumpkin from Halloween 2009

What you will need:

• A medium sized pumpkin
• A Tee-light
• Printer and paper
• A tablespoon or pumpkin scoop
• A small nail, push pin or a pumpkin poker
• Tape
• Flour
• Serrated knife or craft knife

Instructions

First you need to prepare your pumpkin by cutting a hole in the top to make a lid. When doing this make sure you angle the knife inwards so your lid sits on top of the pumpkin and doesn't just fall through! Once you have made a lid you will need to scoop out the seeds and strings using the spoon. Scrap some of the flesh from the inside of the pumpkin until it's about an inch thick all the way around (or just where you are going to carve!)

Cat carving pattern

Choose a pattern which you want to carve onto your pumpkin. The Internet is full of templates if your search; I have included a few which I like carving! You will need to save and print out the pattern you wish to carve. Once you have done this trim off the excess paper and tape it onto your pumpkin. If your pumpkin is quite lumpy you can dip the paper into vegetable oil (but this can make the project quite slippery!) You can also make small cuts into the paper where it bunches so it lies flat onto the pumpkin.

Jack O'Lantern carving pattern

Once you have attached your pattern to your pumpkin you will need to poke holes through the pattern with a nail, push pin or pumpkin poker. Make the holes about a cm apart. This step can take quite a while depending on the pattern you choose, so be patient! Place the pumpkin on your lap and work away at it; the end result will be well worth it! Once you have copied the pattern onto the pumpkin you can remove the paper. You can rub flour all over the  area where you poked the holes. This will make it easier to see them when you come to carve.

Next you need to push a nail through the pumpkin skin where you want to start carving. Turn and push until it's all the way into the pumpkin, then remove. Repeat anywhere you're going to need to start carving (eyes, nose and mouth) You want to do all the pushing before you start carving as the pumpkin is stronger at this point. Once you start carving the pumpkin it becomes weaker and applying pressure may cause it to break.

Pumpkin face carving pattern

Using your nail hole as a starting point, cut the design with your serrated knife. Start somewhere in the centre of the design to avoid putting too much pressure on areas already carved. Using a sawing motion cut out your design, using very light pressure; take your time and allow the sawing to do the work rather than applying pressure and forcing it. When making curves, just slightly turn the knife. When making sharp corners, remove the knife and re-insert it at an angle.

To remove pieces, push them out from the inside. For larger pieces, you may want to cut them into smaller bits and remove them in sections. Wipe over your pumpkin using a damp cloth to remove any remaining flour or oil.

Once your pumpkin is all carved, use a Tee-light or pumpkin light to light it up. Light the candle and place it on a piece of tinfoil inside the pumpkin. Put the lid on and let it sit for a minute. Remove the lid and there should be a smoke mark on it. You will need to cut a vent in the lid where the smoke mark shows.

I hope you enjoy carving your pumpkins as much as I do!

Keep checking back to see my pumpkin this year!
If you carve a pumpkin this year; please e-mail me your pictures and I will feature them in a special Halloween pumpkin post!