Looking for easy Halloween pipe cleaner crafts to make with kids? These cute Halloween characters are made from colourful pipe cleaners, using simple folds and a few fun components to bring each one to life. Make a fluffy looking ghost, a friendly orange pumpkin, or a spooky spider for a quick seasonal craft that’s easy to customize.
These pipe cleaner Halloween crafts are perfect for classrooms, after-school activities, Halloween parties, or cozy afternoons at home. Kids can bend, twist, and wrap the pipe cleaners into shape, then add googly eyes and other small details. Make just one character or create the whole set for a fun little collection of handmade Halloween decorations!
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How to Make Halloween Pipe Cleaner Crafts
Materials:
- Pipe cleaners (white, purple, orange, green)
- Googly eyes
- Soft pastels
Equipment:
See the craft in action:
Instructions:
Find what you need:
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Make a pipe cleaner ghost:
- To make a pipe cleaner ghost you’ll need 12 white pipe cleaners.
- Fold a pipe cleaner in half.
- Repeat with the rest of the pipe cleaners.
- Gather the pipe cleaners into a bundle. Wrap another pipe cleaner around the bundle, about 2 inches in from the end (the side opposite the folds).
- Then fold the short ends up, wrapping them around to form a rounded ghost head.
- Bring the folded pipe cleaners down to cover the head.
- Repeat with the rest of the bundle, placing them evenly around the head.
- Shape the ghost, bending the folded ends out like a wavy ghost.
- Add self-adhesive googly eyes to the ghost head.If your googly eyes aren’t self-adhesive, attach with hot glue.
- Then use a soft pastel (or actual blush) to add pink rosy cheeks.
- Your pipe cleaner ghost is complete!
Make a pipe cleaner spider:
- To make a pipe cleaner spider you’ll start with 4 purple (or black) pipe cleaners.
- Line the pipe cleaners up and fold the bundle in half to find the center. Twist them together several times in the middle.
- On one side of the bundle fold the 4 pipe cleaners into legs so about 1/3 of the length goes out from the center horizontally, and 2/3 of it goes down vertically.
- Repeat on the other side and then separate them so there’s 4 legs on each side, evenly spread out.
- Grab a new pipe cleaner and begin wrapping it around the center of the bundle to make the spider’s body.
- Repeat with a second pipe cleaner to fill out the body and finish by tucking in the end.
- Then attach googly eyes to the side of the spider’s body. You can add 8 like a real spider, 2 for a friendly spider, or any number of eyes you’d like.
- Your pipe cleaner spider is complete!
Make a pipe cleaner pumpkin:
- To make a pipe cleaner pumpkin you’ll start with 10 orange pipe cleaners.
- Twist the end of one pipe cleaner to another to create a long pipe cleaner. Repeat with the rest of the pipe cleaners, so you have an extra long string of orange pipe cleaners.
- To form the pumpkin you’ll need something thick (about 1 inch), like a glue stick, to wrap the pipe cleaners around.If you don’t have a glue stick the right size you can make a tube from cardstock.
- Wrap the pipe cleaner length around the glue stick, placing the wraps right beside each other so they don’t overlap.
- As you wrap more of the length the glue stick will become full. Compress the wraps together with your fingers to get more room, and allow them to slide off the opposite end of the glue stick when needed.
- Once the whole pipe cleaner is coiled around, slide the glue stick out.
- Cut a piece of orange pipe cleaner about 5 or 6 inches long. Gather the coil together.
- Slide the pipe cleaner through the center of the coil and then twist the two ends of the short pipe cleaner together.
- Arrange the coil evenly around the pipe cleaner so it forms a rounded pumpkin.
- Cut a green pipe cleaner in half. Wrap one half loosely around a pencil or pen to create the pumpkin’s coiled vine.
- Fold the other section in half and then in half again, creating the pumpkin’s stem.
- Attach the vine to the stem and then slide them into the middle of the pumpkin.You can secure them with a dot of hot glue, if needed.
- Your pipe cleaner pumpkin is complete!
Helpful Tips:
- Fold in any sharp ends: Pipe cleaner ends can be a little poky, so bend or tuck the cut ends toward the inside of the craft whenever possible.
- Mix and match the colours: Traditional Halloween colours are fun, but purple, pink, lime green, or even sparkly pipe cleaners can give the characters a cute and colourful look.
- Use dollar store scissors: Inexpensive scissors or wire cutters are best for cutting pipe cleaners, since they can dull the blades of good scissors.
How many pipe cleaners do I need to make these Halloween crafts?
The number of pipe cleaners depends on which Halloween character you’re making:
- Ghost: 13 white pipe cleaners
- Spider: 6 black (or purple) pipe cleaners
- Pumpkin: 11 orange pipe cleaners and 1 green pipe cleaner
Plus it’s always a good idea to have a few extras nearby, in case you want to adjust the size or replace one that gets bent out of shape.
What other Halloween pipe cleaner crafts can I make?
There are lots of fun Halloween characters and decorations you can make with pipe cleaners! Try making a:
- Black cat
- Witch hat
- Spider web
- Skeleton
- Bat
Once you get used to bending and twisting the pipe cleaners into shape, it’s easy to experiment and create your own Halloween designs.
Can I make these Halloween pipe cleaner crafts bigger or smaller?
Definitely! Use more pipe cleaners for a larger, fuller craft or fewer for a smaller version. You may need to adjust the length of pieces like spider legs or pumpkin stems to keep everything proportional.
What can I do with my finished Halloween pipe cleaner crafts?
Set them on a table or shelf as Halloween decor or use them as party decorations. You can also add them to a classroom display, or make several characters for kids to use in pretend play.
These Halloween pipe cleaner crafts are a fun way to turn a handful of simple supplies into cute seasonal decorations. With a little bending, twisting, and shaping, kids can create a ghost, pumpkin, or spider that’s full of personality.
Set the finished crafts on a shelf, use them as Halloween party decorations, or make a whole collection in different colours. They’re easy to customize and just the right choice for adding a handmade touch to your Halloween decor.
Here’s even more Halloween craft ideas:
Now available
Low-Mess Crafts for Kids Book
72 cute and fun crafts that kids and parents alike can enjoy. All with as little mess as possible!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
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