Happy Halloween - Giant Spider Web and a Large Ghost Spider
This year we enhanced our tradition of Giant Spider Web decor for Halloween: bigger, better and more interactive, plus a large spider that was so easy to make out of our set of Crazy Forts construction toys (instructions below).
The Web
We reused last year's technique to build an even bigger web, this time in the middle of the yard. This way kids could go on both sides of it. I fully expected some child to get caught in it, literally, but to my surprise they were quite good at going through without pulling the threads. Any casual tugs were inconsequential because the plastic wrap is elastic enough.
Both kids were enthralled by the setup and spent about an hour or two giggling, running through and inventing games around it (see the video at the bottom).
Mara and Gaius discovered they could push croquet balls through different segments of the giant spider web (alternative direct link to the video: https://goo.gl/photos/BnyERcAbWD2cPVCZ9):
The Spider
We repurposed our Crazy Forts construction set to make a large spider. We have the glow-in-the-dark version of the set, which made it extra special with all the glowing joints. Here's how to make it.
The Skeleton: We used one center connector for the body, then eight legs all around, three segments each. Although all legs are in the same plane, we use the joints of each leg to give it a different shape and orientation to make it more realistic.
Stability: The body (center connector) is hanging from a tree with white silk thread because the structure was actually not self-supporting even after we anchored the legs in the ground. This is still quite realistic - who hasn't seen a spider descending from a high place hanging from his silk thread?
The Outer Main Body: We wrapped a paper lantern around the body center connector to achieve a spherical shape for the thorax, and another for the abdomen just behind it. To keep them together, we wrapped a layer of plain aluminum foil (the kitchen kind).
This step needs to be done *after* the stabilization, wrapping around the sustaining thread. The carcass does not really sustain any of the weight, it rests on top.
The Skin: Any black cloth will do for this. We opted for a black gauze material for the ghastly look: creepy black decorative cloth.
Legs: Cut eight long strips, about 6-8" wide; wrap a strip around each leg starting at the base, stapling the two sides together. If you are using the airy gauze cloth, double-fold it when applying the staple. For best results, position a staple right before and one right after each connector. Trim any extra cloth at the tip of the leg, and save the pieces for finishing details.
Body: Wrap the remaining cloth square around the body, starting at the abdomen and all the way around. We did not do any special patterning for the cloth, we just went in several layers around and tied the last two ends right at the mouth leaving the ends hanging as silky fangs.
Finishing Details: We used some of trimmed ends left from the legs to tie a little 'belt' between the two body spheres to emphasize the thorax vs abdomen line. We added some paper fangs stapled next to the long hanging cloth fangs. Mara wanted to add some 'sprinkles' so she cut orange paper into small pieces that we tucked through; these could also count as the spider's eyes.
As the very last step, Mara had the idea to gather up a lot of fallen leaves into a little nest right under the spider. This was an upvote to the sturdiness of the spider's design because it survived the many in&out trips of a 3yo to build and re-arrange the nest underneath.
She eventually called it a bonfire and decided to pretend-roast some marshmallows in it.
The end result was quite great and got several appreciative comments from neighbors. Both spider and web survived a few days of thick rain as well with zero damage. Thankfully, on actual Halloween night it did not rain at all so Trick or Treating was optimal.
Spooky nighttime view; as usual, the phone camera doesn't do it justice.
The Web
We reused last year's technique to build an even bigger web, this time in the middle of the yard. This way kids could go on both sides of it. I fully expected some child to get caught in it, literally, but to my surprise they were quite good at going through without pulling the threads. Any casual tugs were inconsequential because the plastic wrap is elastic enough.
Both kids were enthralled by the setup and spent about an hour or two giggling, running through and inventing games around it (see the video at the bottom).
Mara and Gaius discovered they could push croquet balls through different segments of the giant spider web (alternative direct link to the video: https://goo.gl/photos/BnyERcAbWD2cPVCZ9):
The Spider
We repurposed our Crazy Forts construction set to make a large spider. We have the glow-in-the-dark version of the set, which made it extra special with all the glowing joints. Here's how to make it.
The Skeleton: We used one center connector for the body, then eight legs all around, three segments each. Although all legs are in the same plane, we use the joints of each leg to give it a different shape and orientation to make it more realistic.
Stability: The body (center connector) is hanging from a tree with white silk thread because the structure was actually not self-supporting even after we anchored the legs in the ground. This is still quite realistic - who hasn't seen a spider descending from a high place hanging from his silk thread?
The Outer Main Body: We wrapped a paper lantern around the body center connector to achieve a spherical shape for the thorax, and another for the abdomen just behind it. To keep them together, we wrapped a layer of plain aluminum foil (the kitchen kind).
This step needs to be done *after* the stabilization, wrapping around the sustaining thread. The carcass does not really sustain any of the weight, it rests on top.
The Skin: Any black cloth will do for this. We opted for a black gauze material for the ghastly look: creepy black decorative cloth.
Legs: Cut eight long strips, about 6-8" wide; wrap a strip around each leg starting at the base, stapling the two sides together. If you are using the airy gauze cloth, double-fold it when applying the staple. For best results, position a staple right before and one right after each connector. Trim any extra cloth at the tip of the leg, and save the pieces for finishing details.
Body: Wrap the remaining cloth square around the body, starting at the abdomen and all the way around. We did not do any special patterning for the cloth, we just went in several layers around and tied the last two ends right at the mouth leaving the ends hanging as silky fangs.
Finishing Details: We used some of trimmed ends left from the legs to tie a little 'belt' between the two body spheres to emphasize the thorax vs abdomen line. We added some paper fangs stapled next to the long hanging cloth fangs. Mara wanted to add some 'sprinkles' so she cut orange paper into small pieces that we tucked through; these could also count as the spider's eyes.
As the very last step, Mara had the idea to gather up a lot of fallen leaves into a little nest right under the spider. This was an upvote to the sturdiness of the spider's design because it survived the many in&out trips of a 3yo to build and re-arrange the nest underneath.
She eventually called it a bonfire and decided to pretend-roast some marshmallows in it.
The end result was quite great and got several appreciative comments from neighbors. Both spider and web survived a few days of thick rain as well with zero damage. Thankfully, on actual Halloween night it did not rain at all so Trick or Treating was optimal.
Spooky nighttime view; as usual, the phone camera doesn't do it justice.
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