Do it Yourself Frankenstein and Jack-O-Lantern Mailbox Cards for Halloween

Do-it-yourself Halloween cards are a fun way to pass the time when the fall weather begins to start turning cool and staying indoors begins to look like a better option than braving the elements. Kids always love to partake of fun crafts, especially when Mom and Dad are involved, so gather around the dining room table with a pile of supplies and get crafty!

A Frankenstein Halloween Card Craft Project

Frankenstein is an iconic Halloween image and has been for several generations. The Frankenstein craft we are going to make will give a contemporary twist.

Materials needed:

• A handheld hole-puncher
• Neon green card stock or a neon green poster board cut into sections
• DMC Floss or embroidery floss, preferably in metallic colors that contain sparkle
• Markers
• Scissors

Directions:

1. Take the neon green poster board or card stock and on one sheet draw the outline of Frankenstein's head.
2. After the outline is complete cut around the outline leaving just the head.
3. Place the head on top of the second sheet and cut around the head again leaving you with two Frankenstein heads.
4. On both heads punch a series of holes wherever you wish them to appear on your Frankenstein but make sure they are only on side, for instance the neck side, and that they are in the exact same place on each sheet.
5. After you have your holes punched, use your DMC floss to "sew" Frankenstein's two heads together. Tie off the thread when this is completed.
6. Decorate the top head with the markers to create eyes, hair, and a mouth as well as any other wished for details.
7. Your message will go on the second head.

A Crepe Paper Jack-O-Lantern Halloween Card Project

Materials needed:

• Two thick, deeper dish, paper plates
• Thick thread or embroidery floss
• Orange crepe paper
• Green crepe paper
• Black crepe paper
• A handheld hole-puncher
• Markers
• Tape
• Scissors

Directions:

1. Take your hole puncher and punch a series of coordinating holes around the rims of both paper plates. ½ apart is a good guide.
2. Use embroidery floss to sew a few holes of the plates together (leave enough empty holes to allow the plates to open for message viewing). Tie off thread.
3. Take orange crepe paper, cut into 22" strips and thread it through a "top hole" pull it down the front plate to a bottom hole (directly below as much as possible), and up the back side of the plate to the first hole where you will pull it through again.
4. Tape the end of the crepe paper to the remainder of the strip and trim off any excess with scissors.
5. Repeat until plate is covered with enough billowing orange crepe paper to resemble a pumpkin.
6. Use green crepe paper to add a stem at top of paper plates.
7. Black crepe paper can be used to create eyes and mouth.
8. Write message on a separate piece of paper and insert into inner basin (where the two plates create the vacant space).
9. Take one small piece of thread and secure plate by looping through one hall with a loosely tied note. Then the pumpkin card also becomes a handy Halloween mailbox!