Sponge Painted Halloween Monster Craft for Toddlers

If you’re looking for Halloween crafts for toddlers that they can actually do themselves, this sponge painted Halloween monster craft is the one.

You cut a few sponge strips beforehand, and from there they take over completely – stamping, layering, choosing their own colours.

The results are brilliant. Every single monster looks different, and they’re all a bit wild, which is exactly right for Halloween.

What You’ll Need

• White cardstock (for the monster’s body)
• Paint in 3-4 colours
• Sponges (the rectangular kitchen kind work perfectly)
• Scissors
• A paint palette or plate for the paint
• A black marker
• Googly eyes
• Pom poms, feathers, or any other decorations you have on hand
• PVA glue or a glue stick
• And a craft apron – paint on clothes is not a fun outcome

How to Make This Halloween Monster Craft

Step 1: Cut the Sponges
Cut a rectangular sponge into thinner strips. Varying the lengths a bit gives you different sized stamps, which makes the monster’s body look more interesting. This bit is for the grown-up.

Step 2: Draw the Monster Outline
Use a black marker to draw a simple monster outline onto each piece of cardstock – horns at the top, legs or claws at the bottom. It doesn’t need to be fancy.

Step 3: Stamp the Monster’s Body
Dip a sponge strip into the first colour and press it onto the middle of the white cardstock in a roughly circular shape – that’s the monster’s body. Keep stamping, working outward, and use a fresh sponge for each colour so the paints don’t muddy together.

The trick is to overlap the colours slightly and vary the angle you’re pressing so some prints stick out a bit at the edges. It gives the monster that shaggy, hairy look. Toddlers will figure this out naturally – just let them go for it.

Step 4: Let It Dry
Put the monsters somewhere flat to dry completely before decorating. Acrylic paint dries reasonably fast but if you try to stick googly eyes on wet paint they just slide around. Go have a snack.

Step 5: Decorate
This is the part toddlers love. Put out a bowl of googly eyes, pom poms and feathers and let them go for it. Glue the eyes on, stick pom poms wherever they want, tuck feathers in around the edges. Every monster ends up with its own personality and that’s the whole point.

Done. Stand back and admire your monster.

Tips for Making This Halloween Monster Craft With Toddlers

• Set up one colour per sponge before you start. Toddlers will not wait while you try to separate paint colours mid-activity.
• Orange, green, purple and black are the obvious Halloween colours, but kids will pick what they want. A bright blue or hot pink monster is still a monster.
• Make a few. Once they get going they usually want to make another one, and a collection of monsters looks great as a window display.
• Use a Fitted Tablecloth or cover your table with newspaper first.
• Pop a Craft Apron on before the paint comes out. Paint doesn’t always wash out of clothes easily once it’s dry!

What to Do With Your Sponge Painted Monsters?

These look brilliant displayed in a window for Halloween – the paint catches the light. You can also hang them on a string across a wall, or tape a whole collection of them to the front door for trick-or-treat night. If your child made several, lay them out in a row and photograph them together. They’re super cute!

Want more Halloween craft ideas for kids? Check out our Halloween blogs for more simple, fun projects to celebrate Halloween.

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