Handmade Halloween - Burlap Jack O Lantern
**update** An added benefit to this Halloween Decor is that you can remove the crumpled paper or stuffing and fold flat for storage. ** I belong to a Facebook group where people post pictures of things they have decorated. This woman posted a picture of her porch and it was decorated for Halloween. So cute. Amongst all her cute things were these burlap jack o lanterns and I asked her if she made them. She hadn't so I searched for them and I later found them online at AtHome. As luck would have it, it appeared that I had everything needed to make these so I thought I would give it a shot.
Ok, here is the real deal! Super Cute!! Funny story about AtHome Stores, I once wore my Hometalk shirt inside one and had to leave because I was mobbed with customers who thought I worked there and were asking me where things were located. In Michaels or Target, I could probably play along but this was the first time I had ever entered an AtHome store. 
I used a container that I thought would make a good form for my jack o lantern. I had orange burlap and then I painted some green. My orange rectangle should be a little wider and then I could have just painted part of it green but for now I was working with these sizes. I used the lid as a guide and roughly cut a circle for the bottom. The rectangle was about 13 inches wide with the green strip attached. I made it extra long and just cut off the extra when I got to the end of my circle. The circle was about 9 inches across.
I added the rectangle piece to the circle using hot glue. I never noticed what hot mess my glue gun was until I saw this picture. It looks like I don’t love it but I do. 
I worked my way about half way around the circle and then decided to add the face with masking tape. I began with the nose. (In hindsight, I wish I had placed the face lower, closer to the bottom.)
I used black craft paint and a dabber sponge applicator.
I didn't wait for it to dry because I have the patience of a two year old. I told myself I would be careful. That is one of the biggest lies that I tell myself.
I painted this triangle then just picked up the top two pieces of masking tape and moved them to the next eye.
For some reason, the mouth seemed hard but in the end, it turned out just like I wanted it to. I kept having trouble with the negative space aspect.
Also, I slipped some paper inside so the paint wouldn't go right on through. This is the back side of the face.
I cut off the excess burlap rectangle and hot glued the side closed. I used green jute twine and a large eyed needle to close the top.
I ended up removing the large plastic container inside and filling it with crumpled paper.
I wasn’t satisfied with that first stem so I glued some additional green painted burlap to the top and threaded green jute twine through. Then I cinched it like a drawstring bag.
Much better! I stinkin' love it and it didn't cost me a penny. I have a tutorial for the gingham pumpkins, you can find it here on Hometalk. They are so easy
Happy Halloween!!
One last picture, because it is so fun to decorate with these handmade Halloween projects. 🎃
Happy Halloween! 👻
A couple of things about the video... It took a total of 18 minutes so I sped up the time to around 4 minutes. At the end, when I am filling the jack o lantern with crumpled paper to give it form, it is hard to tell what I am doing because my hands are out of the frame. In this jack o lantern, I painted the top of the orange burlap green instead of adding it at the end. Instead of creating the face with masking tape, I used my Silhouette and contact paper and designed a simple face. If you would like a copy of my design, let me know. The orange burlap rectangle was 24 1/2 inches across and 18 1/2 inches up and down. The green was painted 4 inches down the 18 1/2 inches. The circle of orange burlap was approximately 7 1/2 inches across. These dimensions made a taller jack o lantern than the first one by 5 inches.
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So stinkin’ adorable!🎃
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Now that's cute! I will use this to cover my summer annual pots. And the bonus is that it will be easier to store some fabric covers all year instead of a bunch of pumpkins! Thanks for sharing!
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Doesnt everybody's hot glue gun look like that? 😂 where in the world did you Find colored jute?? I painted some here pretty recently but i didn't love it