How to Make a Catholic Pumpkin Art Project for Kids
Boy, do I love this time of year. I love the weather cooling, pumpkin scented everything and picking out costumes for trick or treating. And picking out our family pumpkins has got to be one of my favorite traditions.
Enter in my favorite Halloween picture book: Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht
There are SO many adorable and super fun art projects for kids with a pumpkin theme. But this year, our parish is having a pumpkin carving contest following the All Saints Day Mass… and the carving has to have a Catholic theme. BOOM. New art project inspiration!
I’ve created an art project that presents an opportunity to plant those seeds of faith with your little ones. Cutting out symmetrical shapes and gluing to a background and adding sparkly star stickers and even glitter! BUT the focus is on the “carving.” We did a simplified Sacred Heart of Jesus shape, but I’ve also included templates for the Eucharist, a simple cross, a more advanced Sacred Heart, a dove and a more advanced crucifix that should be pre-cut for younger age groups.
I hope you can find joy and value in this Halloween pumpkin art projects for your kids that celebrate the fire we have burning in our hearts for Christ as Catholics.
There are two options for this pumpkin project. The first one has a few more supplies and steps than the second. The second project is a variation that includes coloring the white paper pumpkin with Kwik Stix (solid paint sticks) and a gold glitter painted paper crucifix to make this recognizably Catholic and a different kind of sparkle option instead of traditional glitter. Enjoy!
VIDEO TUTORIAL:
🎥 Check out my quick intro to this project and a time-lapse video of the art tutorial.
PREP
Click the image below ⬇️ to get your FREE printable templates for this project
*This page contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission should you chose to make a purchase using my link.
Here is what you need to make this project for option 1:
- 12″x 18″ orange paper
- 12″ x 18″ black paper
- 9″ x 12″ yellow painted or regular yellow paper
- Green and brown paper scraps for leaf & stem
- White school glue
- Scissors
- Crayon or pencil
- Templates from the FREE download (blue box above)
- Glitter foam star stickers (optional)
- White liquid tempera paint
- Q-tip
- Glitter
CREATE
- Take the orange paper and fold in half. Starting at the top of the paper on the fold, with a pencil or crayon draw a large backwards C that goes all the way to the bottom.
- Cut along the line with the paper folded and open to reveal a symmetrical pumpkin.
- Pick a template and trace half of it along the fold of the folded pumpkin paper.
- While folded, cut out the shapes.
- Open to reveal a symmetrical “CARVED” pumpkin.
Glue to yellow painted paper and trim edges.
Glue to a black paper background. Add a stem and a leaf. Dip the q-tip into the white paint and add starts.
You could also add sparkly foam star stickers you can find at a craft store like Michael’s or Amazon.
Trace the cut out shapes with glue and sprinkle on glitter. Shake off excess and let dry.
OPTION 2: CRUCIFIX
This option takes less time and is a bit simpler and less mess than the actual glitter in the first option.
Click the image below ⬇️ to get your FREE printable templates for this project:
PREP
Here’s what you need:
- Gold glitter paint & brush
- Black crayon or oil pastel
- 12″ x 18″ white paper
- 9″ x 12″ black paper
- Green paper scraps
- Kwik Stix paint sticks
- Crucifix & cross templates printed onto card stock
CREATE
- Print the crucifix and cross template onto white card stock. Cut out the cross and set aside. Do NOT cut the crucifix out yet.
- Paint the crucifix with gold glitter paint. The glitter paint contains the mess of glitter and still adds such a beautiful sparkle to the project. Set aside to dry before cutting out.
- Fold the white 12″ x 18″ paper in half hamburger style, and draw a long curved line starting at the top of the folded edge for half of the pumpkin shape with a crayon. Take the cross template and line it up on the fold and trace half of it. Cut out the pumpkin white the paper is folded and the cross just like option 1.
- Place pumpkin onto a piece of large paper or a newspaper to protect the table you are working on. Using red, orange and yellow Kwik Stix, color the white paper pumpkin. I overlapped long vertical curved lines from top to bottom, overlapping and blending the colors. I also went over certain areas with white. Let it dry for a minute, then add some black lines with black crayon or oil pastel for the texture lines of a pumpkin.
Place the pumpkin over the black paper and glue to it. Then, trim the excess paper.
Finish the project by cutting out the crucifix (I recommend an adult doing this part), and gluing over the black cross. Add a stem and leaf to the pumpkin.
I would love to hear how this project worked out for you. Give us a shout out on Instagram and tag us using @littleholyhearts so we can celebrate you and your artists!
Hi, I'm Marisa!
Founder of Little Holy Hearts
And my mission is to help you transform art time with kids into meaningful moments that help their love for Christ and His Church shine in their art and in their hearts!
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