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How to Make Puffy Paint Pumpkins for a Fall Art Activity

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October 11, 2017 by Karen 10 Comments

These puffy paint pumpkins smell great, and they will brighten up your room too. Your students are sure to love making this simple fall art activity.

It’s finally beginning to feel like fall. The farmers are harvesting the crops and the leaves are falling off the trees. Of course, it’s not fall without pumpkins! Today, we decorated our classroom with puffy paint pumpkins. One of our favorite art supplies to use when we are creating process art crafts is our homemade puffy paint. It is so easy to make and my students always love to paint with it.

Make this fall art activity with puffy paint! These puffy paint pumpkins uses paper plates and are perfect for the fall.

How To Make Puffy Paint Pumpkins:

Supplies:

  • Shaving Cream
  • White Glue
  • Orange Paint or Food Coloring
  • Pumpkin Spice
  • Bowl
  • Paper Plate
  • Paint Brush
  • Green Card Stock or Craft Foam
  • Scissors
  • Black Card Stock or Craft Foam (optional)
materials needed to make orange puffy paint - orange paint, white glue, scissors, bowl, shaving cream, and paintbrush

Set Up:

Before making this fall art activity, you need to prepare the puffy paint. It is easy to make so I let my students help me.

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First, mix one-part shaving cream and one part white glue together in a bowl.

Next, add a few drops of orange paint or food coloring and pumpkin spice and mix the ingredients together. You can add more paint or food coloring and pumpkin spice until you have your desired color and scent.

mix the shaving cream, liquid glue, and the orange paint together in a bowl to create orange puffy paint.

Fall Art Activity Directions:

To begin, your students will use the orange puffy paint to paint a paper plate. Encourage children to cover all the sides of the plate and get into those little nooks and crannies on the side of the plate.

a child begins to paint the paper plate with the orange puffy paint

After the paint dries, invite the children to cut a rectangle using the green card stock or craft foam. Next, they can glue it to the top back side of the paper plate to create the pumpkin’s stem.

final result textured Puffy Paint Pumpkin with a green stem

As an added option, your students can cut eyes, a nose, and mouth out of the black card stock or craft foam. Then they can glue it in the middle of the paper plate to create a festive jack-o-lantern.

After the glue dries, you can create a pumpkin patch and display all of your students’ pumpkins on a bulletin board or around the classroom door.

These Puffy Paint Pumpkins not only smell great but they will brighten up your room too. Your students are sure to love making this simple fall art activity.

Pumpkin Ideas and Activities

  • Puffy Paint Pumpkin Art
  • Painted Foam Book Character Pumpkin Craft
  • Pumpkin Activities for Preschool
  • Pumpkin Writing Center
  • Pumpkin Books
  • Paper Plate Jack O Lantern Craft

Math and Literacy Centers for the Whole Year!

Looking for the perfect math and literacy centers to foster independence this year? These preschool centers cover every month and are oh-so engaging for little hands. Check them out!

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Karen
Karen
Writer at ABCs of Literacy
Karen is a teacher with over 13 years of experience teaching preschool through 2nd grade and a mom to two sweet little boys.She has a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and loves to share literacy activities on her blog, ABCs of Literacy, and play ideas, simple crafts, and much more on her blog, Raising Little Superheroes. Follow her on Pinterest and on Instagram .
Karen
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Filed Under: Art Tagged With: Fall Craft, Puffy Paint Pumpkin, Pumpkin Craft

Comments

  1. Danielle says

    October 25, 2017 at 10:44 am

    I love this idea! I am doing inclusive speech therapy services in a classroom this year and this is a perfect craft to do with my kiddos!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      October 30, 2017 at 3:45 pm

      I am so glad to hear that, Danielle! Thank you for all you do for children!

      Reply
  2. Debbie says

    October 20, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    Did you use coated or uncoated paper plates? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      October 20, 2018 at 8:35 pm

      Hi Debbie,

      Uncoated is what we used. If you try coated, I’d love to hear about it!

      Reply
  3. Maria Elena says

    November 4, 2020 at 10:31 am

    Hello Katie what age group would this activity be appropriate for?

    Reply
    • Katie T. Christiansen says

      November 4, 2020 at 10:26 pm

      Hi Maria Elena,

      I think this would work well for kids who wouldn’t be tempted to put it in their mouths, so definitely a range of ages :).

      Warmly,

      Reply
  4. cDavis says

    August 18, 2022 at 11:23 am

    How long did it take to dry ? I work at a 1/2 pre school and I’m wondering if it would take to long to dry for my kid’s

    Reply
    • Katie T. Christiansen says

      August 18, 2022 at 4:21 pm

      I like to let these kinds of projects dry for a few hours or overnight.

      Reply
  5. April says

    October 6, 2022 at 3:20 pm

    Is it best to apply with a brush, spoon or hands? 😜

    Reply
    • Katie T. Christiansen says

      October 6, 2022 at 7:15 pm

      Great question! I love to use a disposable spoon so that we can toss it afterward.

      Reply

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I'm Katie, and I'm a veteran preschool teacher, child development research junkie, and mom of three who lives on little sleep and turns my kitchen into an art and science laboratory.

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