Today is the first day of Autumn so it seems like a great time to start sharing Halloween content with you. I like Halloween and my children love getting dressed up to go Trick or Treating. I think it’s safe to say it’s going to be very different this year but we can still enjoy celebrating it at home. As Halloween crafts go, this melted pony bead pumpkin suncatcher is fun and easy to make and a great STEM activity for kids.

Melted Pony Bead Pumpkins suncatcher equipment

Orange, white and green plastic pony beads
Metal pumpkin shaped cookie cutters
Baking tray
Aluminum foil
Drill fitted with ⅛ inch drill bit (optional)

How to make a Melted Pony Bead Pumpkin suncatcher

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Line a baking tray with foil to protect the pan and make it easier for the ornaments to release from the pan.

Place your cookie cutters on the foil in baking tray. Fill each ornament with a single layer of the orange and white pony beads. Place a few green pony beads at the top of the cookie cutters to create a stalk.

Use a toothpick or bamboo skewer to arrange the beads so they are not overlapping – this will affect how they melt so try and keep them to one layer.

Carefully put the baking tray in the oven and melt the beads. The time can vary based on the type of bead. Begin checking at 5 minutes. (My ornaments took 15 minutes to melt.) The ornaments are ready when the beads are melted and the hole in each bead has disappeared.

Remove the baking tray from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing the cookie cutters. To remove the ornaments, gently pull the sides of the cookie cutter away from the ornament.

If you want to hang your pumpkin ornaments, use the drill to create a small hole in the top of each ornament and thread with twine or string.

Note: Please be aware that the beads do release plastic smells/fumes as they melt. To avoid the smell, make sure you keep windows and doors open!

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