Make a Halloween Bucket for Less Than a Dollar

It's easy to make a Halloween bucket for your kids with nothing but a large coffee can, a wire hanger and some craft paint. They'll save you some money, will be lots of fun for your kids to use, and will become interesting conversation pieces.

First clean and dry the can thoroughly. Apply some clear lacquer to the interior of the can. Be sure that anything you place on the inside of the can is kid-safe. Then figure out which designs you would like for the can. I asked my boys what they would like specifically. My youngest said he wanted a cat, and my oldest said he wanted Frankenstein.

You may wish to design these on paper before putting them down on the can. It will make your life easier when you go to make the finished product. Remember, we're not looking to create a masterpiece. This project will have the look and feel of folk art.

You can also use the drawing to create a stencil to transfer the design to the can. To make a stencil, trace your drawing until you're happy with it. Then cut out the interior segments of the drawing, being careful to leave "bridges" to hold the stencil together.

First, map out your design on the can. A sharpie marker works best, as it's much easier to use than a paintbrush and yet will adhere well to the can. Once you've got your design clearly mapped out, mix your paints.

I try to make sure I have a good selection of craft paints available at all times. It's good to have some pre-mixed colors such as green, orange, pink, and purple. But you'll also want to mix your own colors from time to time. The basic rule of thumb for mixing secondary colors is to make sure your primary colors are pure before you start. What most people don't know is that most blues contain some red, most yellows contain white or red, and most reds contain blue. Attempting to mix them to make secondary colors results in muddy colors. So start with magenta, cyan, and canary when mixing your colors. Don't fret if it doesn't come out right. Just make a note of what you did and what the result was, and in the future only use the paints that really mix well.

I've shown my littlest boy's bucket in the pictures. First I applied the navy blue background, being careful to avoid my drawn-on designs. To start the cat on the fence painting, I mixed some metallic silver with just a touch of red and yellow to create the luminous moon, and mixed red, yellow and burnt sienna to make the red-orange brown of the fence. I painted the silvery moon first, the wood of the fence next, then painted the cat over the moon as though silhouetted against it. I had run out of black, so I used Payne's Grey, which works just as well. Then with a small thin brush I painted a grey-black border around the moon, the posts of the fence, and smoothed out the outline of the cat.

The ghost and the pumpkin were somewhat simpler, but followed the same process. The designs are drawn on or transferred by stencil. The bulk of the object, such as the white of the ghost, or the orange of the pumpkin, gets painted in first, and then any features, such as eyes, a nose, a mouth, a stem, the outlines, and black lines, go on last.

Once you're finished, and the paint has dried, apply several coats of polyurethane varnish, giving each coat enough time to dry before applying the next. I use Delta Ceramcoat Gloss Exterior/Interior polyurethane varnish. Use this product with care, as it contains volatile organic chemicals which have been identified as causing reproductive harm. Use the product in a well ventilated room. Keep the product out of reach of children, and do not allow children to work with the product or to touch it while wet. Once the product is dry, it is safe for your child to use.

Every now and then your bucket may require some touch-up, but if you use the varnish as I've described, it won't need it but once in a blue moon.

This is an easy project, but it's time consuming, and the kids can be more of a distraction than a help. So be sure to start early. There's no harm in starting your Halloween projects in August or September. That way you won't be scrambling at the last minute. The really great news is that your buckets, unlike storebought buckets, will last for years to come.