Jack-o-Lantern Puppets

On one hand I can't believe it's almost Halloween because it feels like Christmas just passed. 

On the other hand, I can't get Tracy Jordan's Werewolf Bar Mitzvah out of my thoughtsicles, so I know it's definitely time for the spooky, scary holiday.  (Does anyone love 30 Rock like I do?  I secretly hope that Tina Fey, while on maternity leave, is sitting at home checking out crafting blogs when she stumbles upon mine and we become lifelong friends.)

Moving forward...  My mom is a veteran preschool teacher who now provides ideas and cirriculum to a few local preschools.  She recently stumbled upon these car mitts at our local Dollar Tree and instantly knew they'd be a great prop for her October planning. 

Somehow my big mouth got me the task of turning these mitts into jack-o-lanterns, so I took them home and got right to work.  Well, I took them home and left them on my dresser for a few days, and then I got to work.  My first thought was to applique felt pieces on to the faces but reason got the better of me when I thought about the fact that the mitt is already sewn together and the hand space is narrow.  What a pain that would have been. 

Then I thought I'd do some freezer paper stenciling to get the jack-o-lantern faces just right, but as I was reaching for my exacto knife, I stumbled upon an acrylic paint pen.  Aha!  Perfect.  An acrylic paint pen!

All I did was free hand the faces directly onto the mitts.  Not only was this a cheap craft ($1 each), it's also SO quick.  I made four in under 10 minutes.  Boo yah!  I think this particular mitt would also make great lion and scarecrow puppets. 

To make this puppet a fun prop for your little one, you can sing a fun jack-o-lantern song with it.  I found the following song on EverythingPreschool.com.

Did you ever see a pumpkin?

(Sung to: Did You Ever See A Lassie)

Did you ever see a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin?
Did you ever see pumpkin, with no face at all?
With no eyes, no nose, no mouth, and no teeth?
Did you ever see a pumpkin, with no face at all?

So I made a Jack O-Lantern, Jack O-Lantern, Jack O-Lantern.
So I made a Jack-O-Lantern with a big funny face!
With big eyes, a big nose, a big mouth, and big teeth.
So I made a Jack-O-Lantern with a big funny face.

The longest part of this craft was editing my sub par photos.  Does anyone else love Picnik like I love Picnik?  I need to take some photography classes so I don't rely on photo editing so heavily, but Picnik is an awesome free tool in the meantime.

Happy Werewolf Bar Mitzvah!