# Puffy Halloween Art > Kids squeeze homemade puffy paint inside printed Halloween creatures, such as a cat, bat, ghost or pumpkin, on thick paper or cardboard. An adult then microwaves the art for 10 seconds and the paint puffs up. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/halloween-art-projects-puffy-halloween-art/ - Ages: 3–7 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium - Time: prep 10 min, activity 20 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class - Skills: fine-motor, art, colors ## Materials (one batch) - Homemade puffy paint in Halloween colors (e.g. orange, black, white) - 1 piece Squeeze bottles - 1 sheet Printed Halloween creature outlines (cat, bat, ghost, pumpkin) (household) - 1 sheet Thick paper or cardboard (household) - 1 piece Microwave (household) ## Safety - An adult runs the microwave. Microwave only for the short time given (10 seconds) and watch the paper or cardboard the whole time. - Let the art cool for a moment before kids touch it after microwaving. - Do not put anything metallic in the microwave with the art. - Homemade paint is not food. Supervise young children, who may get it on their hands and faces and may mouth it. - Squeeze-bottle caps can pop off. Check that they are screwed on tightly before handing bottles to kids. ## Before you start - Make puffy paint in Halloween colors using the recipe from our Fall Tree Art puffy paint post, and fill one squeeze bottle per color. - Print a few Halloween creatures (cat, bat, ghost, pumpkin) on thick paper, or prepare them on cardboard. ## Steps 1. Set out the squeeze bottles of puffy paint, one for each color. 2. Give each child a printed Halloween creature on thick paper or cardboard. 3. Squeeze the paint carefully inside the outline of your creature. 4. Fill in the rest of the figure with other colors. 5. Add a face or details with a different color. 6. Adult: pop the cardboard in the microwave for 10 seconds. 7. Watch the paint puff up and come alive! 8. Let it cool for a moment, then show off your puffy creature. ## Tips - Give a younger child a larger figure with fewer details. Older kids tend to fill up their figures carefully and try to do a neater job. - My almost 3 year old is all about exploring and getting as much material as she can on paper and on herself, so dress for mess. - The kids get really excited every single time we pop the art in the microwave. Close your ears, since the squeals will deafen you! - The colors are completely up to you. If the child wants a purple cat, sure why not? ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013) The kids enjoyed this fun Halloween art project with some [**homemade puffy paint**](https://www.funlittles.com/fall-art-activities-fall-tree-art/)! The recipe and the entire process is endlessly fun for kids- I mean "squeal-worthy" fun. The kids get really excited every single time we pop the art in the microwave. If you are new to homemade puffy paint, you can get the recipe from our previous [**puffy paint**](https://www.funlittles.com/fall-art-activities-fall-tree-art/) post. [**Art activities for kids**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/art-projects/) are somewhat of a common occurrence around these parts and since it is October we want to do more Halloween art projects - our previous one being our [**easy spider web art f**](https://www.funlittles.com/halloween-art-projects-crayon-resist-spider-web/)or kids. I made puffy paint in Halloween colors. The colors part is completely up to you. If the child wants a purple cat, sure why not? I printed out a few Halloween creatures and the kids got to work. They are so used to the homemade puffy paint art projects. My preschooler taking care to squeeze out the paint inside her "Halloween Cat" This Halloween art project really helps the child with her/his fine motor skills. Older kids tend to fill up their figures nice and carefully and would try to do a neater job. My older child is very meticulous and thorough when it comes to art projects. My almost 3 year old is all about exploring and getting as much material as she can get on paper and on her self. You can see the difference in their ages very clearly through their squeezing mechanisms. For that reason it is better to have a younger child do a larger figure with fewer details. While painting our pumpkin the cap fell off from the squeeze bottles and all the puffy paint poured out and made a tiny orange puddle! We puffed it up in the microwave like that and got an eerie looking pumpkin. Spooky puffy bat always makes an appearance in our Halloween art projects. Ghostie made by my 3 year old. And the famous "spooky cat" by the older one. Check out the cat's fangs! **The process:** - Make puffy paint following [**this**](https://www.funlittles.com/fall-art-activities-fall-tree-art/) recipe - Create a fun Halloween art project - Use a thick paper or cardboard to create your art - Pop the cardboard in the microwave for 10 seconds - Watch the paint puff up and come alive - Close your ears since the squeals will deafen you! **Thanks for reading** Visit our category page for more [**Halloween Art Projects**](https://www.funlittles.com/category/halloween/)