Halloween is a few days away and you can whip up several of these Jack O’ Lantern decorative containers by recycling empty Tide laundry pods plastic containers. I had several empty ones that I was going to use for organizing some things down in our basement. Instead, the kids had fun decorating for Halloween.
Before beginning the project you want to thoroughly wash the containers with warm, soapy water. Rinse clean. The label will need to be soaked and peeled off or use a product like goo be-gone to remove it. Again, wash with water as the goo remover has an odor and can be oily to work with.
Preschool Kids: If you’re working with preschoolers they can decorate their pumpkin by using markers. Allow for 15-30 minutes for drying time.
Older Kids: If you’re working with older children they can use acrylic craft paints and/or paint pens to decorate their pumpkins. Allow for 1-2 hours for drying time.
My 7 year old son made the one shown in the photograph. He painted the lid to the container using acrylic craft paint and a paint brush. He did the facial features with a medium-tip black Sharpie marker. Let everything dry. To protect the painted finish I took it outside and sprayed it with 2 light coats of clear acrylic spray sealer (just the outside of the plastic container) and left it dry for 3 hours.
Depending on the age of the child they can make simple ones like the one we’re showing or do more elaborate designs. It was a fun project for him to do and it cost me NOTHING, I had everything on hand!
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What a clever way to reuse and create something so cute and festive. Kids would have such a good time making these.
I never thought to use the empty Tide containers. They are the perfect orange color too! I shall have to save them for next year.