Halloween Spider Puzzle: A How To Tutorial from All Fired Up

October 22, 2013

10_SpiderPuzzle copyHalloween is “creeping up” so we came up with a simple and super cheap craft that doubles as an age-appropriate activity the kids can enjoy leading up to the holiday. The great thing about this project is that it works for any age – from toddlers to pre-teens – because you can easily change the difficulty based on your needs.

What you’ll need: Grab an orange foam sheet (you can get one from Hobby Lobby or AC Moore for about 75 cents), some black and white paint, a wide brush, black sharpie, and pair of scissors. I had everything but the foam sheet, so this craft was less than $1 in total cost!

First, allow your kids to decorate the foam sheet. For younger kids, this will probably mean using an orange or green marker on the foam sheet for scribbles, but older kids can help draw the spiders web with a black sharpie.

Once sufficiently decorated, paint your child’s palm and four fingers (excluding the thumb) and print it horizontally on the sheet. Press down and wiggle each finger individually to ensure a good print. Lift their hand, re-coat with paint, and print their palm in the same place, but with the fingers sticking out the other direction. Add two fingerprint touches of white paint for eyes, and you’ve got a spooky spider print!

Write their name and the year in a corner, and place to the side to dry. Once the paint is no longer tacky, you can take a pair of scissors to the foam sheet and cut out custom puzzle pieces. I stayed with very simple large wavy pieces since the puzzle was for a toddler, but if you have an older kid who wants more of a challenge you can cut it into small or more random pieces for added difficulty.

It’s flexible and can withstand toddler crumpling and tossing, and can be taken out for years to come as a Halloween activity. If it ever gets too easy, just cut a few extra slices!

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