My mom often sends magazine and newspaper clippings of interesting articles she’s read, funny comic strips, or projects for us to try. In organizing my desk recently, I found this October craft inspiration she sent to me years ago, probably before Luke was even old enough to hold scissors by himself, let alone a hammer not made of felt or plastic!
I was excited to try this craft with Luke this year. They’re called “junkins,” basically recycled art in lieu of the traditional jack-o-lantern. I like this alternative for many reasons, one of them being how much longer the decorated pumpkins last. After you carve a pumpkin, it feels like only a few days before your festive creation begins looking all moldy and rotten, decaying and shriveled up–a genuinely frightful sight.
Luke will have plenty of time to enjoy the gooey pumpkin guts tactile experience later this month when I take him to one of his buddy’s pumpkin carving parties. Until then, I think we’ll stick with making junkins this year.
“Mama, this is actually really sort of fun!” Luke commented as he hammered nails into the pumpkin he picked out at a patch earlier this week. He’s always looking for excuses to use a hammer or screw driver. In this project, he did both and more! The pumpkin walls proved a perfect canvas for this playful twist on recycled art.
I think the pictures are pretty self explanatory if you, too, feel moved to make a junkin this year. Luke sure seemed to enjoy the creative challenge in making his and did almost all of the work himself. He is very proud of his one-of-a-kind creation. I have to say, I’m a big fan of the colorful hair spikes (made from pushpins and pencil eraser toppers)! The possibilities are endless when it comes to these recycled art pumpkins. We definitely plan to make more of them, this year and beyond!
