Marbled Pumpkins Project

In past years, residents at Arbor Terrace Crabapple have enjoyed fall outings to Burt’s Pumpkin Farm, a popular tourist attraction in Dawsonville, Ga., with hayrides, baked goods and more than 20 varieties of pumpkins. This year, in the interest of safety, the team brought the pumpkins to Arbor Terrace!

Using a selection of beautiful white pumpkins brought from the farm, residents created marbled pumpkins, a very messy but fun craft activity.

“I found this idea on Pinterest,” said Engagement Director Stephanie Mock. “I love all its senior craft ideas.”

Members of the Engagement team drizzled a few colors of nail polish into a bowl of water, creating a marbled pattern. Then residents dipped their pumpkins into the water, creating beautiful marbled designs.

“It was messy, but the residents loved picking out the colors for their pumpkins and encouraging others,” said Mock. “Also, it was a GREAT way to use up all the nail polish in the manicure bin so we could purchase some newer, fun colors of nail polish for our manicure time!”

To keep the activity safe, the team arranged the seating for social distancing, and all involved wore masks. Many assisted living residents took the pumpkins back to their rooms, while the memory care residents enjoyed decorating the common areas with their creations. The assisted living residents also crafted toilet paper roll pumpkins.

Everyone involved agreed: It was a fun way to get into the Halloween spirit and to decorate Arbor Terrace Crabapple during the fall season!