When you’ve carved jack-o’-lanterns for over a decade, some years it feels tedious to do yet another one, even with craving templates. So one year we decided to change it up and created junk-o’-lanterns.
I absolutely love them!
We used craft pumpkins so we could keep them to display multiple years. That worked fine for these two up above but this one…
… was too front-heavy for a light craft pumpkin and would fall forward. That’s why we added the prong-y thing to the back – to balance the weight. Maybe it would’ve worked with a real pumpkin’s weight? Either way, watch the size of metal pieces you choose due to weight.
We used hot glue to attach the junk on the craft pumpkins, but it didn’t hold up for the next year. We did store them in the attic, so the summer heat may have been too much for it. It was simple to reattach with more hot glue so it wasn’t that big of a deal.
We found our junk in the boys’ grandfather and great-grandfather’s collections of junk in the garage and toolboxes. So dig through your own garage. Ask your neighbors. Or check out thrift stores and antique stores. Even hardware stores – no one said the pieces have to be old and rusty!
Having fun with our kids shouldn’t stop just because they’re teenagers. They’ve outgrown fingerpaints and play silks, but they definitely haven’t outgrown having fun. I hope you’ll join me on Fridays as I share ideas for having fun with teenagers.
