Acrylic paint in cadmium yellow, orange, black, white, and pink, small tubes
Fine round paintbrush, size 2
Craft knife and self-healing cutting mat (adult step)
Pencil and eraser
Hole punch, 5 mm
Black craft wire, 26 gauge, 1.5 m
Strong PVA glue
Step by Step
Sketch three character shapes freehand in pencil on card: a cat face roughly 10 cm tall on black card, a teardrop ghost roughly 9 cm tall on white card, and a round pumpkin face roughly 10 cm in diameter on orange card. Keep the outlines simple and slightly irregular for a hand-cut retro look.
An adult cuts out all three shapes cleanly with the craft knife on the cutting mat.
Paint the character details: cat gets yellow eyes with black slits, an orange party hat triangle, and a jagged smile; ghost gets two wide dot eyes and rosy pink cheeks; pumpkin gets a dark navy witch hat painted on, triangle eyes, and a wide crooked grin. Let each character dry flat for 30 minutes.
Cut eight star shapes from yellow card, each about 6 cm point to point. Paint them with cadmium yellow acrylic for an even, slightly shiny finish and let them dry 20 minutes.
Use the hole punch to make one hole at the top of each character and each star.
Thread all pieces onto the craft wire in this order: star, star, cat, star, ghost, star, pumpkin, star, star. Leave 15 cm of wire free at each end for hanging.
Bend the wire ends into small loops around a nail or hook, curving the wire gently between pieces so it drapes in a natural arc.
Good to Know
Suits ages 10 and up; an adult should cut the character shapes with a craft knife for clean edges.