Halloween Kids Game: Foam Head Frankenstein Bowling

Thank you FloraCraft® for sponsoring today’s fun craft challenge!

So, have you seen some of the amazing FloraCraft® Foam Head projects floating around out there? They’ve been cracking me up, so I was really excited to join in the fun and bring you my idea for ways to use FloraCraft® Foam Heads! See, my daughter is in preschool now, which means, every week there’s a sign-up sheet for something. I was persuaded to volunteer to bring a kids’ game to her Halloween party, so I picked a mix of cute and creepy, while being something that kids can play easily: Frankenstein-themed foam head bowling.

You hardly need anything to create this project. Mainly just heads, and happy helpers.

• 6 (or 10, for a more grown-up game) FloraCraft® Foam Heads
• Chalk paint or acrylic paint in your theme colors
• Appropriate accessories: in my case, hats on headbands for the ladies, and a sponge and a pair of screws for the mens’ bolts.
• Rubber ball, for bowling

Now, it looks like this was a big job and I had to recruit helpers. But truthfully? I could not keep these 2 away. BOTH asked if they could help. And with 6 heads, there was enough to go around, so – the more the merrier on the base coats!

One coat was a little light, so I let the heads dry for about an hour, and gave them a second coat. Then, they spent the night on the counter while I plotted what kinds of faces to give them.

On the men, I just painted the eyes and eyebrows, added some stitches, and left them bald. I know the original Frankenstein’s monster was portrayed with hair, but hey, I liked the extra green in the collection. I cut a few circles out of a sponge, coated them in black acrylic paint, and attached the sponge “bolts” with screws and a screwdriver.

I added pre-made Halloween hat hairbands to the ladies, and painted their faces and hair. I had originally intended for the ladies to be witches, but these creepy veils give them a bride-of-Frankenstein look. I love it! These two are my favorite. They make such a nice couple.

For the record, I attempted to paint one of the girls’ eyes open… and she just looked like a creepy mannequin. She’s there in the back. Painting their eyes shut looks much more romantic. :)

You can pick up your FloraCraft® Foam Heads at Michaels and Jo-Ann Fabrics (and I also found the hats I used in Michaels’ Halloween section). Paint them up however you like, set them up, and have the kiddos knock them down with a basic rubber ball! The bases are flat and stable, but they are lightweight and knock over easily – so this is a game that’s suitable for a pretty wide age range. If you’re playing outside, you can also pick up some FloraCraft Design It:® Simple Style Decorative Mesh and a pair of stakes to create a net to catch the flying heads, to make setting up the next turn easier!

What kinds of Halloween activities are you planning this year? Anything involving severed heads? ;)