Tween Art Club: Decorate a Jack-o-Lantern

Tween Art Club is back at the Central Library on Saturday, October 17, for a session that puts a little decoupage on the pumpkin. It's a monthly art club for tweens ages 8 to 12, led by Ms. Brianne, and this time around the kids get to decorate their own jack-o-lanterns.

If you're not familiar with decoupage, it's basically the art of decorating an object by gluing paper cutouts onto it and then sealing the whole thing with a clear varnish. Instead of carving into a pumpkin—which usually means a messy kitchen and a jack-o-lantern that starts to sag after a few days—the kids will be layering paper and glue to build their designs right on the surface. It's a way to get a detailed, colorful look without the knife work, and since it's a club, they'll be working alongside other kids their own age.

This session is part of the library's Halloween Happenings series, which runs holiday-themed activities across its branches throughout October. The Tween Art Club is one of those regular fixtures, meeting once a month for the 8-to-12 crowd, so if you've got a kid in that age range who likes to make things, this is one of the easier ways to get them into a creative routine. It's a low-pressure environment where they can just hang out and create something they can actually take home and put on the porch.

It all happens at the Central Library in downtown Kansas City on Saturday, October 17, starting at 11 AM. Since it's a morning slot, it's a good one to fit in before the rest of your Saturday gets away from you.