Halloween DIY Craft project Tutorial

If you are anything like me, you are near-obsessive about Halloween and anything related to it. So I have a fun little DIY for those who want to start before the décor is in-store. The following tutorial is for a handmade clay spider and an easy 4 step eyeball flower for those wanting something a little incognito.

Craft Project Items Needed:

• Crayola Air-Dry Clay (White)
• Parchment paper
• Kitchen knife
• Handmade Glass Eyes
• Acrylic Paint (Black)
• Paintbrush and pallet

Setup:

The first step to creating this spooky spider is to create a flat ball the size of your palm and one about 1/3 the size of the first ball. Then, using the kitchen knife, make scores where the two balls will meet and dampen the area with water.

Connect the two balls together and smooth the connections with a wet finger to create the spider's body.

While the clay is still wet, take your chosen Handmade Glass Eye and press the eye into the back of the spider to seal the eyeball into the clay before it dries.

(Our red dragon eye is used here.)

For the legs, take some clay and roll it into a long thin strand. Cut the strand into six 2" strands, then with another strand, create two 4" strands.

Fold the 2" strands into a "V" to create the legs of the spider.

For the 4" strands, about 1" into the strand, fold to make the spider's front legs.

Line the legs up on the sider where you want them to connect and gently push the clay into the body.  (If the legs fall off during the drying process, that is okay, the flat portion will allow them to be glued back on.) 

To create the fangs of the spider, roll two small pieces of clay into a cone shape and then, using the curve of your thumb, bend the fangs.

Note:

The Air-Dry Clay will take between 24-48 hours to dry until it is ready to paint, so leave the project on the parchment so that it doesn't stain any table or counter.

Once the spider is dry, you can then paint it black with acrylic paint or any color you wish, and glue the legs on if they fell off during the drying process.

Once the paint, and maybe glue, is dry you should have a wonderful little spider ready to hangout on a table.

Now for a little side project:

Get some fake sunflowers or a flower with a large center area from the dollar store or a craft store. These can be whatever color you like; I chose black to match my spider.

Using some hot glue, create a ball in the center of the flower and press down an eyeball from Handmade Glass Eyes to create some incognito spooky flowers to put in a vase by your spider.

(Eye used here is this golden dragon glass eye.)

I hope you guys like this little project and remember the most important thing is to have fun and get creative!

~ Project submitted by Sarah Sims.