Erin shares with us on the blog today and crafty idea that also helps build awareness to food allergies. Children with food allergies have to be more cautious than ever during Halloween and the teal pumpkin campaign was created to help build awareness. You can put a teal pumpkin out to show that you offer allergy free treats (generally not food related) and those suffering from food allergies can carry a teal jack-o-lantern or trick or treat bag to remind everyone that someone with a food allergy is present. Food allergies are on the rise in children and adults for a number of reasons and the need to spread the awareness continues to grow.
We just love these teal pumpkins Erin has created to show how you can get creative and show your support this Halloween.
Erin here!!! A friend of mine has a daughter with severe allergies, 28 different foods! Until you are around someone who has allergies or you have allergies yourself you do not realize how food centered our holidays are, one in particular is Halloween. Imagine being a little kid and not being able to have any of the fun items you given out during trick or treating for because eating them could kill you?!?! An great alternative is to offer kids with allergies a toy instead!! But how do they know you offer non candy items? Place a teal pumpkin or a teal sign saying you offer non candy treats!!! You can also share the awareness if anyone asks why you have a teal pumpkin and help spread the word.
Teal Pumpkin
I wanted to give something to my friend to show my support for her daughter, so I made her a glammed up teal pumpkin she can have outside her house.
What you will need:
- Pumpkin – Dollar Store
- Paint – Tattered Angels
- Ink – Prima
- Raffia – Floral Department
- Gold Balls – Floral Department
- Adhesive – Beacon
Step 1: I mixed the TA Cerulean and Jade paint to come up with the teal color of the pumpkin. I then used the TA Ebony for the stem. You can mix colors of Tattered Angels paints to create new ones or add black or white to darken or lighten the coors. I could not just paint a pumpkin and leave it, so I added some black shading in the grooves and then spiced up the top with some black and tan raffia and some gold glittered balls.
The dollar store pumpkin is made from Styrofoam and super light and the paint took to it like a charm!! I gave the pumpkin 2 coats of TA DIY paint letting it dry between each coat, then painted the stem black. Tattered Angels paints work well on all Styrofoam products. This is also a great project for recycling old faux pumpkins that may be dinged up or damaged, the teal paint will cover them up and make them look like new.
Teal Bucket
I then thought not only use the teal pumpkin at your house to give away non candy/food items but carry one around with you if you have the food allergy!!
What you will need:
- Bucket – McDonalds
- Paint – Tattered Angels
- Paper – Canvas Home Brands
- Rope – Canvas Home Brands
- Pumpkin Cut – Cricut
- Adhesive – Xyron
- Sealant – Mod Podge
Step 1: Paint a McDonald’s Halloween bucket with the blend of TA paints to get to get the teal color.
Step 2: Use a jack-o-lantern Cricut cutout on CCB Black Cardstock
Step 3: add some back trim to the top
Step 4: Use Mod Podge in a mat finish to seal it all in.
I painted both the inside and out. The paint did an amazing job of covering up the Scooby-Doo and the gang! You can also use the as your house pumpkin and actually put the non food items you are giving away.
Food Allergy Awareness Sign
Another alternative to painting a pumpkin for your house is to put up a sign. There are many signs you can find, there are a couple of examples below.
Step 1: Use a printable sign from www.foodallergy.org and print it out or you can paint your own version. Print your sign on Canvas Corp Kraft cardstock, matting it on white cardstock and adding a black horizontal border.
Step 2: Mist the white cardstock with TA Mist in Dragonfly (teal colored Glimmer Mist) for the background.
Step 3: Slide the sign into the Deflecto 9 x12 Plastic Wall Art Display Frame to keep it from getting damaged.
My sign will sit outside by the front door on Halloween for those kids who need an alternative to candy for Halloween!!
Here is another other sign that you can print and put up for our food allergy kids!!
Please help us share this project and also to help build awareness of food allergies during Halloween. You can copy any of these signs or logos or look on line for one that works best for you. The color teal is the awareness color, so paint pumpkins (real or styrofoam), paint buckets, make signs or create something Halloween with teal as the main color to show your support.
To see more of Erin’s work you can visit her Scraps of Reflections. Thanks Erin for these great ideas and for inspiring us.
Enjoy!!
'Teal Pumpkin Project – Food Allergy Awareness' has 1 comment
October 22, 2015 @ 7:59 pm Karen bearse
Great blogpost and tutorial!!! As someone who is allergy sensitive to gluten, dairy and chocolate(gasp) the holidays are pure torture from an eating stand point. Love this campaign!!!