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You are here: Home / Holidays / Earth Day / Milk Jug Jack-O-Lantern

Milk Jug Jack-O-Lantern

By Noreen 58 Comments




by Noreen Doll.

Milk Jug Jack-O-Lantern by Crafty Journal

Make an easy milk jug jack-o-lantern. It’s a great way to recycle an empty milk jug!

This craft is so easy your kids can do it with a little help from you.

Milk Jug Jack-O-Lantern by Crafty Journal

You can either cut the facial features, or draw them on with a Sharpie.

You will need to help with the cutting. It is sometimes easier to cut the jug if you start a slit with a knife and then use utility scissors to finish cutting.

What You Need

Empty Milk Jug

Orange Paint

Foam Brush

Black Sharpie

Scissors

Green Construction or Tissue Paper

What You Do

1. Wash and dry an empty milk jug.

 

2. If you are going to use a tea light in the jug, cut a hole in the bottom -near the back corner – large enough to fit the tea light in.

3. Turn the jug so the handle is in back. Draw features on the front and cut them out. Draw several faces on a sheet of paper till you find one you want to use.

Or if you prefer, you can put the face on one side of the jug. I do it on the corner so the handle will be in back.

4. Paint the milk jug orange.

5. You can just draw the features on with a Sharpie and use them that way.

6. If you are cutting the features out, outline the cut areas with a black Sharpie so they’ll show up better.

7. Cut a sheet of green construction paper about 6 inches x 9 inches. Fold it in half and twist it until it will fit snugly inside the top of the jug for a stem.

8. Layer the bottom of the jug with a little gravel or sand, so it won’t tip or blow over.

9. Put a battery operated tea light inside.

Tips

When you draw the face with a Sharpie – before you paint it, you can use alcohol to wipe off mistakes and redo the features.Β  If you do use alcohol, remember to wipe the alcohol off with water and dry it before using the Sharpie again.

If you try to remove the Sharpie ink on the painted surface, you will also remove the paint.

Noreen Doll

Crafty Journal

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Filed Under: Earth Day, Halloween, Kids Halloween, Plastics, Preschool Halloween, Pumpkin Crafts, Recycled Tagged With: Halloween, Jack-O-Lantern, kids, milk jug, preschool, pumpkins

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Comments

  1. Jill says

    September 2, 2012 at 11:31 pm

    Fabulous halloween lantern!!

    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

  2. Danni Baird says

    September 3, 2012 at 2:16 pm

    So cute and so easy! Gotta do this one!

  3. Dottie says

    September 4, 2012 at 4:27 pm

    This is great! You are very creative! Would love if you’d join our Countdown to Fall link party! Hope to see you there! Have a great day! πŸ™‚
    http://dixie-n-dottie.blogspot.com/2012_09_03_archive.html

  4. Shiloh says

    September 4, 2012 at 6:20 pm

    Haha! Very fun!

  5. susan m. jensen says

    September 4, 2012 at 7:43 pm

    So cute and easy. Thank you.

  6. Less Is More says

    September 5, 2012 at 12:51 am

    I made these last year and lined the walkway! I didn’t paint them though. This is really cute!

  7. Christine says

    September 5, 2012 at 10:48 am

    Oh so COOL!!! I will be saving my jugs to make some too!

    Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer… From Dream to Reality!

  8. Deborah Owen says

    September 5, 2012 at 11:18 am

    love this!

  9. amy says

    September 5, 2012 at 6:11 pm

    Great idea for making something festive out of “trash”! Would you share it here at the Great Pumpkin Party?
    http://www.oneartsymama.com/2012/09/the-great-pumpkin-party.html

  10. Crystelle says

    September 5, 2012 at 8:22 pm

    Super cute
    ! What a brilliant idea… Great way to be resourceful too πŸ™‚

  11. Capri + 3--Theresa says

    September 5, 2012 at 8:32 pm

    The jug jack’o’lantern turned out really cute. It would be fun for kids to paint it. Please stop by and link this post (and any other arts, crafts and play posts) to Artsy Play Wednesday on Capri + 3. I hope to see you there.

    : 0 ) Theresa
    http://www.multiples-mom.com

  12. Tracey says

    September 6, 2012 at 12:44 am

    Those came out great, I love the winking one! Thanks for sharing at the We Made That Linky!

  13. Kim (TheMoney-Pit) says

    September 6, 2012 at 4:12 am

    I’ve been saving my milk cartons for a few weeks now to make these! Yours are so cute!

  14. Angela at A Typical English Home says

    September 6, 2012 at 12:00 pm

    I made a ghostie version with lots of milk jugs last year, and fairy lights strung through them. Very effective! I like your idea of turning them into a jack o’lantern instead and might try that this Halloween (much fewer empty milk jugs cluttering the cupboard in the run up to October!).

  15. andiejaye says

    September 6, 2012 at 6:46 pm

    fun and easy! just the way i like it! thanks for linking this up to tip-toe thru tuesday!

  16. STLAVONLADY says

    September 6, 2012 at 8:30 pm

    I love this idea!! I have actually been saving my milk jugs hoping I would find s fund Halloween craft. lol Love it!!

    Glad I found your awesome blog from Happy Hour Friday! Enjoy your day. Julie from Stlavonlady – Scatterbrained In St. Louis

  17. Kathryn Griffin says

    September 7, 2012 at 9:52 pm

    That’s just crazy cute! Thank you for sharing this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see your prettiness again on Monday. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

  18. Marydon says

    September 7, 2012 at 11:29 pm

    This is wonderful! TY for sharing.
    Have a lovely weekend ~

    GIVEAWAY ends 9/9

    TTFN ~ Marydon

  19. Tracy says

    September 8, 2012 at 2:16 am

    I love this project! I’d love it if you’d join me on my T.G.I.F. Linky Party that I host every Thursday evening – Sunday and I’d love to be added to your list. πŸ™‚

    http://www.craftjunkietoo.com/2012/09/tgif-linky-party-65.html

    Hugs,
    Tracy

  20. Rose Cottrill says

    September 8, 2012 at 3:47 am

    Very creative. Visiting from Pink Saturday.

    PINK reminders is my entry.
    Have a great weekend!

  21. Christina @ Play Eat Grow says

    September 8, 2012 at 3:57 am

    This is such a neat idea and great use of empty milk jugs! And, they won’t rot. Score!

  22. Anu@MyDreamCanvas says

    September 8, 2012 at 4:04 am

    So cute!! I would love for you to stop by My Dream Canvas. Have a super weekend.

  23. LaVoice says

    September 8, 2012 at 3:03 pm

    My grand daughter would love this. I think you came up with a neat idea.

  24. Aubrey says

    September 8, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    I have just the kids to help me with this! What a great craft. Thanks for sharing.

  25. Katie Drane says

    September 9, 2012 at 6:31 pm

    Simple and clever, I love it! Thanks for sharing on Show and Tell Saturday:)

    Katie
    http://www.funhomethings.com

  26. BeColorful says

    September 9, 2012 at 8:09 pm

    So timely and fun. Love it. Thanks for sharing on BeColorful’s Motivated Monday.
    pr

  27. Julie says

    September 9, 2012 at 8:12 pm

    This is a neat idea! Great way to use up an old milk jug!

  28. Hilda @ From Overwhelmed To Organized says

    September 9, 2012 at 9:32 pm

    Very cute idea! We don’t get those kind of jugs here (Canada) but my parents are heading to the States in a few weeks so I’ll get them to bring back an empty jug or 2 πŸ™‚ Visiting from My Life’s A Treasure.

  29. Karri Reiser says

    September 9, 2012 at 9:47 pm

    So cute and simple. We go through a ton of milk at my house so I should have a whole pumpkin patch done by Halloween. Thanks for sharing at my Our Favorite Things Link Party.

  30. Lindy@Itsy Bitsy Paper says

    September 10, 2012 at 4:14 pm

    How fun! I hope you’ll link up to my Wickedly Creative Halloween Ideas Party.

    http://www.itsybitsypaperblog.com/2012/09/2012-wickedly-creative-halloween-ideas.html

  31. A Lived in Home says

    September 10, 2012 at 4:20 pm

    What a cute idea!! Great project for kiddos too! I would love for you to come link up to my Get Social link party that’s live right now. Come share your awesome blog! http://alivedinhome.blogspot.com/2012/09/get-social-sunday_8.html

  32. april says

    September 10, 2012 at 4:59 pm

    Hey girl you won the most viewed link giveaway at my link party! Come check it out and email me your address!
    http://www.thegingerbreadblog.com/2012/09/sweet-saturday-link-party-v55-features.html

  33. Britni says

    September 12, 2012 at 7:01 am

    Such a great idea! And cute too πŸ™‚

  34. Diann @ The Thrifty Groove says

    September 12, 2012 at 1:27 pm

    that is such a cute idea. I think I will make one with my 4 year old! Thank you for sharing at TTF. Have a fun day!

  35. Paula-Riverton Housewives says

    September 12, 2012 at 3:17 pm

    YAY! You were featured as our MOST VIEWED link over at The REAL Housewives of Riverton! We hope that you link up again soon! http://housewivesofriverton.blogspot.com/2012/09/riverton-housewives-round-up-32.html

  36. Michelle says

    September 12, 2012 at 8:34 pm

    Love this! I have a lot of Milk cartons just waiting to be re-purposed. Great tutorial. Thanks so much for linking up last week to Creative Thursday. Can’t wait to see what you have for this week’s party! Have a great week.
    Michelle

  37. Erin says

    September 14, 2012 at 2:32 am

    Those are so cute! I love your blog! I am a follower of your blog now and can’t wait to poke around more! πŸ™‚

  38. admin says

    September 14, 2012 at 2:49 am

    Thanks, I so appreciate all my visitors. And I really enjoy sharing my ideas!

  39. Jill @ Create.Craft.Love. says

    September 24, 2012 at 1:53 am

    Great luminary project! And less mess than carving a real pumpkin!

  40. Melissa Swenson says

    October 6, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    I would love it if you’d link these up to The Pinspiration Project! πŸ™‚
    http://adayinthelifeofamomandawife.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-pinspiration-project-linky-party-9.html

  41. lindsey @ Impatiently Crafty says

    October 19, 2012 at 2:13 pm

    What a fun kiddo craft! thank you for stopping by impatiently crafted Sundays!

  42. Linda says

    September 26, 2013 at 1:59 pm

    I love it!! I guess I’d better start saving some of these. I think a whole bunch of them would be cool….Thanks, Noreen

  43. Stella Lee@ Purfylle says

    September 15, 2015 at 2:35 am

    What a fantastic upcycle! I just had to tumble it.

  44. Natasha says

    September 15, 2015 at 12:27 pm

    Ah this is so cute and what a brilliant idea if there are no pumpkins left, which happened to me one Halloween! Love this. – Tasha

  45. Suzie@homemaker-mom says

    September 16, 2015 at 2:04 am

    This is neat! I might do this.

  46. Leslie says

    September 16, 2015 at 2:24 pm

    Love it! This is so easy and cheap it would be great to make at a party!

  47. Melinda says

    September 17, 2015 at 12:01 am

    And the AWARD for best use for a milk jug goes to :Craftyjournal! huuhuuh
    (crowd goes wild sounds- my phonetic abilities are slipping)
    Here from TUT.

  48. Noreen says

    September 17, 2015 at 4:11 am

    Thank you so much… I humbly accept my award! lol

  49. Linda says

    September 18, 2015 at 3:43 am

    This is so fun, Noreen!!!

  50. Mary Beth|Cupcakes and Crinoline says

    September 18, 2015 at 5:07 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing this adorable idea at Project Inspire{d} – you’re Jack-o-Lantern will be featured at this week’s What a Great Idea!

    Have a lovely weekend.

    mb

  51. Coombe Mill - Fiona Cambouropoulos says

    September 20, 2015 at 11:08 pm

    Another great Halloween idea. who would have thought that a little paint could transform a milk jug like this. Popping by from #CreativeMondays

  52. shantel says

    September 21, 2015 at 2:22 am

    now this is a perfectly awesome idea that I simply must try!

  53. Jann Olson says

    September 22, 2015 at 2:59 am

    Fun, fun! Love the faces! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

  54. Elaine says

    September 23, 2015 at 12:15 am

    How cute! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! Hope to see you again this week!! I pinned this to My 2 Favorite Things Pinterest Board!

  55. Heather H says

    September 23, 2015 at 2:49 am

    This looks like such a fun project! My kids love anything that lights up in a dark room. Thanks for sharing with the #made4kids linkup!

  56. sandy sandler says

    September 24, 2015 at 8:09 pm

    so spooky and fun!! Thank you so much for sharing on our bowdabra Saturday crafty showcase!

  57. Sherry says

    September 27, 2015 at 11:02 pm

    This is a great craft for kids. I’m going to try this with my grandson. He’ll love it. Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday.

  58. Coombe Mill says

    September 28, 2015 at 1:11 pm

    You are so creative with a milk bottle, I love your ghost toppers and now these too. Thank you for linking with me on #Trash2Treasure. Next month is all about Halloween so if you have any more brilliant ideas please join me again.

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