Mr. Pumpkin Head

Materials and Tools:

pumpkin (fresh or faux)
oven-bake polymer clay in assorted colors
acrylic paint
paintbrushes
small wooden dowels or skewers
awl or large nail

Steps:

1. If using a fresh pumpkin, cut a hole in the bottom and remove the seeds.

2. Condition polymer clay by warming it up in your hands. Mold clay into many human or animal facial features, such as lips, horns, eyes, eyebrows, nose and ears. The more choices available, the more fun decorating the pumpkin will be. Make happy features, sad features, angry features or scary features. The sky's the limit.

3. Cut wooden dowels so they are approximately 2 to 3 inches long. Sharpen one end of each dowel. Insert the dull end of the dowel into the back side of each clay facial feature. The dowels will be used to secure the body parts in the pumpkin.

4. Following the manufacturer's instructions, bake the polymer clay in the oven until each piece has fully hardened.

5. The final step is to give your pumpkin a little personality by adding the facial features. If using a fresh pumpkin, the pointed dowel ends should be sharp enough to puncture the pumpkin's skin. If using a faux pumpkin, it's easiest to first poke a small hole in the pumpkin's exterior with an awl or large nail then insert the facial features.

Tip: Once Halloween has passed, don't forget to remove the facial features and store them away for next year.