Halloween Tidbits

By now, many of us have ideas decided upon for our Halloween decorations. Our yards and front doors, porches, decks, etc. are bearing colors of Season and are displaying pumpkins, apples, gourds, and other seasonal delights. All pumpkins do not have to have a Jack-O-Lantern design to shine into night and welcome little trick-or-treaters. Try carving star shapes, squiggles, circles, bats, cats, and witches. Metal cookie cutters with Halloween designs work too. Just use a soft mallet to pound cutter into flesh of pumpkin until you can easily remove it with flesh intact in cookie cutter. You can bake these shapes in an oven (350) until tender with some cinnamon sugar or butter sprinkled over. You have a wonderful pumpking creation as well as Halloween "garnish" for mealtimes. *************************** Cutting out Halloween designs from black paper or cardboard painted black and put in windows will "light" up when we turn our inside lights on. These shadowy figures will be emblazoned in windows - and your creativity did it. **************************** Decorate an "old" pail or bucket - hope you didn't throw it away just because there was a small "hole" in it and it couldn't hold water - all kidding aside, paint your bucket brown or orange and contrast with a pumpkin design or other Holiday emblem. Stencils work great - Fill with apples, gourds, baby pumpkins, fall flowers, and foliage, and tie raffia strands at either end. ****************************** Stuffed animals can be included in our Holiday planning as well. A cat especially can be dressed in a pointed hat, and cape and a simple dowel stick with tied yarn in yellow or orange makes a great broom. Felt can be cut into two triangles and glued or sewn together for a hat, with a band of orange material around circle brim. A felt cut out of a bat or other accent can be attached to hat.

The Best Gifts

Malls are everywhere - in every town, city, village and nook. They house thousands of storefronts and assorted units. The products they stock are numerous and array is mind-boggling. There are items for home, clothing, jewelry, plants, furniture, and gift assortments to pick and choose from. All these offerings lack one very special component - a personal touch. There is absolutely nothing wrong with purchasing a ready-made item - we are not all carpenters, gardeners, and artists. All people are not gifted with same talents and abilities. We are unique and what we produce or create is a shadow of ourselves. But mass-produced items are nameless, and machines will never add that very "special" touch that makes a gift item or home decor piece something that reflects person who bought it, person it is intended for, or lifestyle it is to be a part of.

The key to all this - best option, of course, is to make an item for someone else yourself. If you sew, quilt, write, or draw you have potential of dispersing treasures that are not duplicated, but are a memory in making. With time restraints and family and job commitments, many times making "things" yourself is out of question, or basically impractical. So, what does a person do then - simple, add a "touch" to whatever you buy whether for yourself or someone else. Look at your purchase as a base, a canvas that is incomplete and needs a little "help" in becoming a beautiful gift or addition to your home. Just adding a ribbon, or ornamental "pick" that matches Holiday Season or a touch of nature, such as a dried flower or leaf arrangement, will allow your purchase to cross over to "special". There is a coldness to just buying something, wrapping it up and handing it to someone. Take time, just a moment or two, and write a short verse, a favorite saying, sign a book with a date and occasion, etc. A simple, affectionate "touch" that will add so much value to whatever it is you are giving or placing in your home. a quick tuck here or there, a touch of glitter, or sparkle, and you have a "work of art", a symbol of friendship, or a token to hold near to heart.