Clever, kid-friendly Halloween craft ideas

Jack-o-lanterns and cheesecloth ghosts getting old? Try this clever (and easy) kid-friendly project. --Emma Hardy

Because they have magnets attached, you can put these spiders on a thin surface (curtains, tablecloth, etc.) and use a second magnet to move it around to scare your friends.

Head over to cookiemag.com for more clever craft ideas Halloween.

MATERIALS

• Thick black yarn
• Scissors
• Paper plate
• Pencil
• Black tempera paint
• Paintbrush
• Glue
• Spatula
• Buttons for the eyes
• Two magnets for each spider
• 
  

1. Cut a length of yarn about 12" long and set aside. Have the kids wrap wool around their hands about 50 times (loosely so that it comes off easily).
2. Carefully remove the yarn--keeping the shape--and put it on the table. Take the length of 12-inch piece from Step 1 and tie it around the middle of the bundle.
3. Cut through the loops at each end of the wool bundle to form a pom pom. (You can trim any ends that are too long.)
4. Have kids draw a circle in the center of a paper plate and four thick legs extending to the plate's edges on each side and cut it out.
5. Flip the cut-out shape upside down (so what was the underside of the plate is now facing up) and paint it black.
6. After it has dried completely, glue the pom pom onto the center of the circle (paint-side up).
7. Glue two buttons onto the spider to form the eyes. Glue one half of the magnet underneath the circle on the base.

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