As the weather starts to get colder and indoor boredom sets in, give your children Halloween crafts to keep them busy. Depending on their age, this may or may not get them out of their cold weather funk. But even if they are getting a little older, there could be a lot of fun to be had if you can interest your children in Halloween crafts.

A good way to get them motivated is to have them gussy up the treats for the kids who come to your house to trick or treat. Get several bags of suckers and a box of tissues. Wrap the tissue around the round part of the sucker and tie a ribbon, rubber band, or even a twist tie right below the round part of the sucker. Make some eyes and an even an open mouth if you like and you have little ghost suckers to hand out on Halloween.

Another fun idea starts with drawing a spider’s body with no legs on a piece of construction paper. Cut some pipe cleaners to the appropriate length and have your children glue them to their spider’s bodies. Get creative with what you could do with the finished product.

If you are having a hard time coming up with ideas on your own then you shouldn’t have a hard time finding plenty of children’s Halloween crafts in any craft book. You could also get a craft book dedicated to Halloween to find some more spooky ideas to fill your Halloween with fun and fright.

Pumpkin Crafts for Kids

If you are in charge of a kid’s Halloween party at your house or school you will want to be ready with Halloween crafts for kids.

Pumpkin crafts can be easily made and will be lots of fun for everyone. Here are some Halloween crafts for kids that involve pumpkins:

Pumpkin Photo Card- Take a picture of each child with a Polaroid or digital camera. Purchase pre-made frames that will allow the kids to decorate them. Have markers, puffy paint, glitter pens and other decorating supplies available for the kids to use to decorate the frames. After the frames are complete you can tape each child’s photo on the inside.

Pumpkin Seed Necklace- All you need for this project is pumpkin seeds, white thread or Scrappers Floss and a needle. Prepare the pumpkin seeds ahead of time by cutting up the pumpkin and washing the seeds. Let the kids thread the pumpkin seeds onto the thread to make a necklace. When they are finished just tie the ends. You could also use orange beads with the pumpkin seeds. +

Pumpkin Candy Jar- Purchase clear 4" jars, orange pom poms, green chenille stems, black felt and candy. Glue an orange pom pom to the lid of the canister. Fold the chenille stem in half once and the fold again and twist. Glue it on top of the pom pom to make a pumpkin stem. Use the black felt and cut out a nose, eyes and mouth. Glue these onto the pumpkin and fill the jar with candy.

Other Halloween Craft Ideas for Children

Frankenstein is always a clever theme when it comes to Halloween decorating, crafts and parties.

First of all we will make a Frankenstein painted pot. All you need is a clay pot and some acrylic paint in various Frankenstein-like colors.

A cool accent will be the two push pins used to look like bolts. Have a wire cutter handy to cut off the pin part and then use a glue gun to attach the pins to the painted pot. You can put tissue paper inside and candy or other treats.

Next let’s try the Frankenstein laboratory hand. These Halloween crafts for children are great and easy to make. Take lime green construction paper and have each child trace her hand onto a folded sheet of the paper. Put the wrist on the fold while tracing and then cut out. Don’t cut on the fold! Open the hand shape and cut and glue pieces of chenille stems to the fingers on one side of the hand. This will allow the fingers to bend. Glue the hands together to form one hand. Cut fingernails of construction paper and glue on the fingertips. Glue a popsicle stick to the bottom of the wrist and add a spider ring to one or more fingers.

Another good Halloween craft for children is the freaky Frankenstein popcorn hand project. You will need disposable clear gloves, candy corn, popcorn and green curling ribbon. Put the candy corn in the glove first to look like fingernails and then add the popcorn. Tie the top with the ribbon and you are done.

If you’re new to cake decorating or cake sculpting, you’ll find the Jack O’ Lantern cake is fun and easy. And, if you’re already experienced, you will have all the more fun by adding intricate details. Either way, this Jack o’ Lantern Halloween cake is sure to light up faces at your next Halloween party.

Jack o’ Lantern Cake Instructions

Before you whip up a batch of buttercream, take out a piece of paper and sketch some Jack o’ Lantern faces. If you have kids at the house, enlist their help. Searching “Google Images” for Jack o’ Lantern will also deliver lots of ideas. Once you’ve narrowed down your favorites to a final selection, practice drawing it to make the piping easier.

Ready? Here we go!

1. Bake 2 Bundt cakes. Coincidentally, pumpkin works like a charm for a Halloween sculpture cake because of its firmness (see recipe below). Butter cake works well too.

2. After releasing and cooling the 2 cakes, level the bottoms.

3. Ice the bottoms with orange buttercream (non crusting is best for this project). Place one upsidedown, and the other on top, so the iced bottoms fit together.

4. Now, cover the cake with orange buttercream. As you smooth your icing, you can work with the natural indentions left by the Bundt pans that mimic the vertical lines on a real pumpkin.

5. Using the orange buttercream, pipe the outlines of the facial features. If you make a mistake, just smooth it and start over. 5. Now for the fun part! Here are a few ideas for creating the details of your Jack o’ Lantern’s face.

a. Fit an icing bag with a small star tip and fill with chocolate buttercream. Fill in the eyes, nose and gaps between the teeth.

b. After completing the step above, add details such as pupils to the eyes with icing candies, like M&M’s and black licorice.

c. To make your Jack o’ Lantern glow, use yellow gel instead of chocolate buttercream (remember not to cover the teeth and other places that would be left intact in a real Jack o’ Lantern).

d. Instead of piping facial features, bring Jack to life by modeling eyes, nose, teeth and any other features you want to add (eyebrows?) with rolled butterceam icing or marzipan.

Just like a real Jack O’ Lantern your Bundt o’ Lantern will have a hole in the top. Here are a few ways you can put the lid on Jack.

a. Cover an ice cream cone with green or chocolate buttercream and using icing, adhere this upside down over the hole in the top. Then using a large leaf tip, pipe a few green leaves around the top.

b. Model the stem and leaves with rolled buttercream.

c. Save just enough batter from the recipe below to make a cupcake. Trim it for the stem shape you want and adhere with icing to the top.

And here’s your pumpkin cake recipe!

Halloween Pumpkin Cake

Note: This pumpkin cake makes a great treat for grown-ups too, and it’s even more devilishly delicious with a buttercream and chopped nuts icing.

4 cups canned pumpkin

6 cups sugar

2 cup vegetable oil

6 eggs

6 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour 2 10-inch Bundt pans. Blend the pumpkin, sugar, oil, and eggs. Sift remaining ingredients into a separate bowl. Mixing as you add it, spoon the pumpkin mixture into the dry mixture. Blend well. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middles comes out clean (around an hour and 15 minutes). Allow cakes to cool in pans for 5 minutes. Release, and after completely cooled, decorate.

Serving Tip: This is even better tasting and easier to work with after mellowing overnight, covered in the refrigerator.

The Homemade Pumpkin Cake recipe is adapted from “Cake Decorating Made Easy!” Here’s what one reader wrote about our Video Books:

“Incomparable! I’ve not opened my other books now that I have yours…don’t decorate another cake until you’ve seen these Video Books!”

Pia, Lynnwood, WA

Last but not least, here’s one more tip. The quantity of liquid food coloring needed to concoct Halloween brown and black will bring a bitter flavor to your buttercream. Here’s what you can do to keep the ghoulish elements in the design and out of the icing:

• Instead of liquid food coloring, opt for the more intense gel or paste forms. Can’t find these locally? Try www.CandyLandCrafts.com

• Use chocolate for brown and start with dark chocolate for black (and you won’t need as much black food coloring).

• Skip the chocolate and food colorings, and use instead candy and cookies. String black licorice works great for outlining. Crush, dark chocolate cookies or crumble dark chocolate cake to use to fill in large areas, like around Jack’s teeth.

Happy Halloween Cake Making!

If cake decorating sometimes feels more like a trick than a treat, sign up for our free newsletter at http://www.CakeAnswers.com and receive devilishly delightful cake decorating tips, along with step by step videos (from the “Cake Decorating Made Easy!” Video Books).

The most commonly used decoration item is the traditional Jack o lantern. One can arrange them in a line or put them upon porch railings. They can be also decorated along the driveway or the walkway. Some other traditional decoration items like the candles and dishes of alcohol can also be paced with them. To enhance the effect you can even use blue Halloween lights for a ghostly look. You can also cut out free hand shapes from black or orange colored construction papers and hang them on the windows and walls for a spooky effect. You can cut out silhouettes of witches, cats, elves, bats, pumpkins, owls, spiders, cauldrons, peaked hats or broom sticks. You can search the net for more interesting shapes. Take their print out and trace them on these construction papers. You can also make lamp shades out of paper and hang real lights in them.

You can also create decorative items from a variety of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables like apple, carrots and turnips can be cut into monstrous faces and they can be hung from the ceilings or used as a candle stand. Halloween goblins can also be created from these vegetables and fruits. To make the heads one can use the Jack o lantern and for the body one can use a small sized pumpkin to make the body. The hands and the legs can be made from the carrots. The body parts can be attached to each other with the help of wires. Any Halloween party is incomplete without the ghosts. Ghosts can be created by hanging the Jack o lantern from an upright post. The Jack o lantern will be the head. The post can be covered or draped with a white curtain. The sheet can be tucked or just left free to flow in the wind.You can ask all the guests to come dressed up as characters from famous ghost stories to make the environment creepier. One can also draw skulls on paper and cut them out. These can be painted in bright colors that will glow in light. Hang these from the ceilings. These skulls will be moving around the room and will look absolutely spooky.

Give spooky names to the food. The cherry lollipops can be known as Acid Pops or the blood flavored lollypops and the dessert sherbet balls can be transformed into fizzing whiz bees. The cupcakes can be decorated in the form of spider webs. Halloween is known for spooky and creepy parties. These decorative items will set the theme for the party. But there are certain things that must be kept in mind that there are no kids below three years of age who may actually get scared. The party must not be spooky to the extent that it seriously scares people.

Keep it light so that everybody has fun at your party.

For any help on halloween party stuff, check out the info available online; these will help you learn to find the halloween lights!

Halloween is just about creating a theme and strictly abiding to the theme. You can also have a normal party with people coming in different costumes but it would be real fun if you set aside a theme for Halloween. Halloween is about having fun decorations making it scary and eerie.

Let us take some time in going through a few ideas that can make you Halloween interesting.

Idea #1 – Do you have a bush in front of your house? Or can you create one just for the occasion? If yes, you are about to be the point of attraction in your neighborhood. Make a note of the items required for this idea. You need a white sheet as per the size of the bush, a newspaper, permanent black magic marker or fabric paint and cloth pins. The idea is to make a ghost like figure by painting a ghost on the white paper, folding the white sheet, balancing the sheet with the newspaper and securing the figure with the help of clothespins. Sounds really simple but it is definitely going to scare the passerby.

Idea #2 – The other idea for Halloween is to make your house look very festive and very scary, both the inside and the outside. I will show you how to get a scary path way. You will need lots of brown lunch bags, orange paint, sand and tea light or votive candle. Paint the bags orange in color and cut it out to make a scary face of a pumpkin. Fill half of the pumpkin face with sand and put a candle in it and light it. Make lots of these along the pathway and it would look really scary.

Idea #3 – You will require orange construction paper, white construction paper, pencil, scissors, string, tape, glue and staples. Draw a picture of a ghost on the white chart paper and pumpkin faces on the orange one. Be sure to make it a free hand draw to get originality. Also leave some space on top of the chart so that you can hang it to make a garland of ghosts and pumpkin faces. Fold over the space and place the string by the fold. Secure the created articles using staples, glue and tape. The pumpkin garland would look good with a green string and the ghosts with a black string to have a good contrast. Hang them all round your house and start the party.

Apart from these ideas, tons of examples and ideas can be found on the World Wide Web, but the best information center is your brain. As said creativity is the master of all arts.

Abhishek is an expert at making Halloween Crafts and he has got some great Halloween Craft Secrets up his sleeve! Download his FREE 93 Page Ebook, “How To Make Your Own Spooky Halloween Crafts!” from his website http://www.Fun-Galore.com/99/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

Ghost Hand Puppet

Kids love playing with puppets and there’s hardly an easier puppet to make than a ghost. All you need is a white paper towel, or a white handkerchief, a rubber band and a black marker.

Ask your child to spread out her thumb and pinky, but keep the 3 other fingers together. Drape the paper towel over her hand and secure the rubber band around the three fingers. This will be the ghost’s head; the thumb and pinkie form the arms. Draw eyes and a mouth on the paper towel and the little ghost puppet is finished.

Ghost Lollipops

Dress up the lollipops you are giving away for Halloween by wrapping a white tissue or small piece of fabric over them. Secure it with a piece of string or a rubber band. Take a black marker and draw eyes and a round mouth on the ghost’s face.

Spider Webs

What would Halloween be without spiders and spider webs? Make these cute little spider webs with the kids and hang them in the window. All you need are 3 craft or clean popsicle sticks and some white or black yarn. Take two of the craft sticks and glue them together to form a cross. Glue the 3rd one right in the middle, forming a star shape. Tie one end of the yarn around one of the craft sticks in the center. Start weaving it over one craft stick and under the other. Keep going around, forming your spider web. Make sure you leave at least 1/4th inch of the craft sticks sticking out and secure the loose end by tying it to one of the craft sticks. Glue a small plastic spider in the center and hang your spider web up.

Witch Broom Pencil

Witch broom pencils make a cute Halloween gift that doesn’t involve candy. You can turn any pencil into a witch’s broom with a handful of household items. All you need is a regular pencil, some small twigs out of the yard, some string and a little glue.

Break the twigs into equal lengths pieces and line them up around the unsharpened end of a pencil. Make it look like an old fashioned broom. Secure the wigs with string, and then apply a thick layer of glue to keep it all in place.

Cauldron Candy Dish

To make this cute cauldron candy dish, start with an empty round plastic container (like a cool-whip container). Clean it, dry it, and then paint it black. Paint three small wooden balls black as well. After the paint is dry, glue them to the bottom of your plastic container. Add a handle made out of wire if you’d like and your candy dish cauldron is done. Just add some of your favorite Halloween candy.

Pumpkin Painting

Carving funny or scary faces into a pumpkin is a lot of fun, but it also gets quite messy and small kids can’t really do much since there’s a knife involved. Buy a few small pumpkins instead, or in addition to the big carving pumpkin. Use permanent pens or acrylic paint to draw funny faces on your mini-pumpkins.

Make a Halloween Costume

Would you like to quickly make creative Halloween costumes that you and your children will be proud of — for a fraction of the price of store-bought? Susanne Myers has put together a book to show you how — no sewing involved. Visit http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ebooks/halloween.html to learn more.

For more crafts and activities for you and your child visit http://www.kinderinfo.com

A fun craft is something that can keep you occupied for hours on end especially if you enjoy it. Here are some ideas that will hopefully set you on your way in preparation for your next Halloween…

Halloween Crafts Part 1:

If you live in a house that has a wood-burning fireplace, then chances are that you have access to tree stumps or large blocks of wood. These are great for making stands for your Jack O’Lanterns. You could use a chisel to slightly hollow out the middle of the stump so that the lantern can sit stably or simply use some Blu-Tack or Velcro.

Get some small or mini pumpkins and hollow them out to use as candle holders. If open flames are out of the question, you can put glow sticks instead of candles for a different effect. You can carve, draw or paint faces on the pumpkins too. Instead of pumpkins, you could use apples as well. Ensure that you choose apples that sit well and flat or cut off the bottom to make a flat surface. Remove the stem and cut around it deep enough for the candle. It is best to use taper candles for a better fit.

Get a large pumpkin and hollow it out to use as a salad bowl or to serve fresh vegetables. Cut off the top, hollow and clean it out and let it dry in the sun. You could carve a jagged edge design on the top. Do the same with some smaller or mini pumpkins to use for dips or salad dressings.

Make a scarecrow in your front yard. You need two pieces of wood, one put into the ground and the other nailed across for the arms. Use old jeans and a shirt and stuff them with newspaper. Add some straw for effect. You can use a plastic pumpkin for the head and draw a face on it. This makes a great Halloween craft for the whole family.

Tie glow sticks to helium balloons and let them float around the house. Ensure that some string extends below so that people can easily reach them if they get stuck somewhere or simply to play with them.

Use publicly available Halloween fonts on your computer to make banners or invitations for your party. It’s a fast, easy Halloween craft you can use instantly to enhance your party theme. Print them onto inkjet iron-on transfer paper and put them onto your favourite t-shirt or Halloween outfit.

Halloween Crafts Part 2. OK, Now We Are Getting Scary…

A visit to your local hardware store for some basic items and you could make your own tombstones transforming your garden into an instant graveyard. Paint them grey to resemble stone. Do not worry about the details as it will be dark, but do put on some exciting or scary wordings. By the way, your local hardware store is loaded with Halloween craft ideas.

Going trick or treating? Why not make a special jug to collect candies? Cut off the top two inches of a gallon milk jug. Soak to remove any labels. Paint orange. Once dry, paint or stick on eyes nose and mouth resembling a Jack O’Lantern. Use fluorescent paint for a nice effect. The jug can be kept for future reuse.

Using six pipe cleaners, you can make your own skeleton. Bend one pipe cleaner into two for the backbone. Twist another around the bottom of the backbone to make into the legs. Do the same for the arms. Join two pipe cleaners and twist them around the backbone leaving some space forming a ribcage. Twist the last pipe cleaner for a head and glue on some eyes. Hang with a rubber band for a bouncing effect. Your kids will love making halloween crafts with pipe cleaners. But be careful when cutting and keep them out of their mouth.

Using glue and food coloring, you can make a see through painting. Paint a Halloween image onto a piece of plastic wrap. Before the mixture dries, put another piece of plastic wrap on. Cut it out and hang it in front of a light source for a see through effect. You could also frame the plastic pictures using wood or cardboard if you want them to be longer lasting.

Halloween Crafts Part 3. The Real Scary Stuff…

Make some hand printed spiders. Apply black paint to your palm and 4 fingers leaving out the thumb. Place palm onto a piece of paper. Turn the paper 180 degrees and print again making sure the palm overlaps. Add some wiggly eyes using either paint or sticks. This is suitable for even 2 or 3 year olds.

Make your own blood. It is less expensive than buying ready made blood from the Halloween shops. It’s not difficult; all you need is Karo syrup and food coloring. While you’re at it, why not make some slime using glue, water and borax powder. This is an advanced Hallween craft, so take your time and be careful.

Using apples, you can make dried, shrunken heads. Peel the apples and coat with a mixture of lemon juice and salt to prevent browning. Carve out a face of eyes, nose and mouth. Do not worry about the finer details as they will probably be lost when the apple dries. You can use whole cloves for the eyes and rice grains for the teeth. Let the apples sit out in a warm place for about 2 weeks. If you don’t have 2 weeks, you can speed up the drying by putting them into an oven on the lowest temperature for about 45 minutes and then to dry out naturally for the next 2 days or so. Once dried, they shrink and deform into weird and scary looking faces.

Says Angie Maroevich, “You don’t have to spend a fortune on commercial Halloween supplies to have a great party. There are many inexpensive alternatives laying around the house or at your local store you can use to create a Halloween theme that will impress all your friends.”

About The Author

Angie Maroevich is an arts and crafts enthusiast, business owner, and athlete. Her arts and crafts articles and be found at http://www.craft-ideas-guide.com.

© 2004-2005 All rights reserved.

angie@craft-ideas-guide.com

If you have tried stamping, stenciling or even painted and drawn some bright aqua color, these may turn out to be something new with the help of paper craft. Paper crafts have many types depending on the theme and method used. One occasion is Halloween.

Just a little review, Halloween originates from the Catholic Church. This is a celebration of the Catholic Church to honor all saints. The traditional trick or treat has the belief that the souls of the dead play with the people especially the kids. They trick them and these tricks cause panic or destructions. This is just a paraphernalia or custom for the celebration of the festivity.

Halloween is a happy occasion for kids. They get a chance to dress up in different costumes, and play trick or treat on their neighbors.

Jack was a wicked Irish villain. According to the legend, he was not like by God or even the Devil. Because he was rejected, he wandered in the earth endlessly. He tried to look for a place to rest but the only thing he found was the warm glittering candle in a turnip.

From then, people on Irish especially the kids, celebrates this tradition. They make Jack-O-Lantern out of papers to replace the turnips with pumpkins. They use materials like paper plate, cardboard and ice cream container.

It only needs basic and easy steps to make this lantern. Children can do it with minimal assistance from the adults, like handling scissors perhaps, just for precaution. It’s a fun activity for children. Below are some ideas on how to make a paper Jack-O-Lantern.

One suggestion is to make it out of paper plates. First draw an outline of a pumpkin on the paper plate. To get an idea on how to draw it, you can try looking at pictures of a pumpkin, or ask help from adults.

After drawing the outline, cut out the pumpkin shape with scissors. Draw a face on the pumpkin cutout. Be imaginative and creative. It does not always have to be a scary face.

Next, color your pumpkin face. The traditional color is orange. But everything depends on your creativity. There are many materials you can use for coloring, like paints, crayons, or oil pastels. For a more 3D effect, you can try balling up several small pieces of orange art papers and using these to cover up the face using paper glue. You can also try crumpling several pieces of orange papers and gluing them on the face for a rugged Halloween effect.

If you use paint, allow at least two hours for it to dry completely. If you use crayons or oil pastel, make sure to fill out the often neglected white parts for a more solid look.

When your face is ready, stick it to a real pumpkin and display in your home. As an alternative, you can also put strings on the side and use the pumpkin face as a mask. This will cover your identity when you go trick or treating, or give you a scarier look.

Without paper plates, you can also use thick construction papers or other cardboards. Also try putting stems on the pumpkin for a more realistic effect.

For more information on Paper Plate Crafts and Vintage Paper Crafts please visit our website.

When it comes to crafting with your children, I think it’s important to take photographs of your crafting session. After they become adults, you can dig out these photographs and reminisce about the fun time that you spent together.

If you are looking to build some crafting memories with your own children this Halloween season, consider making one of these quick and easy projects.

Pumpkin Walnut Shell Magnet

empty and clean walnut shell halves

scrap of brown chenille stem measuring 1/2″ in length

orange acrylic paint and paint brush

scrap of cardboard

1″ piece of magnet

all-purpose white craft glue

child safety scissors

Paint the halved walnut shell orange with acrylic paint; let dry. Lay walnut shell down on a scrap piece of cardboard (or poster board); trace around it. Cut out this ‘oval’ shape and set aside. Glue the chenille stem so it looks like the pumpkin stem to the top of the walnut shell. Glue the cardboard to the back of the walnut shell and let dry. Attach the magnet to the cardboard.

Lollipop Ghosts

1 sheet of white felt, cut into 5″ squares

1 lollipop

2 (1/8″ diameter) wiggle eyes

6″ piece of 1/8″ wide black satin ribbon

scrap of black felt, to make ghost’s mouth

white tacky glue

child safety scissors

*optional* substitute an old white cotton T-shirt for the white felt

Place the lollipop in the center of your felt square. Fold felt over; secure it shut with the black satin ribbon by tying a bow. Glue 2 tiny wiggle eyes on the face. Using black felt, cut out a tiny circle or oval measuring approximately 3/8″ in diameter to use for the ghost’s mouth. Glue mouth on below ghost’s eyes and your done!

Ghost Foam Magnet

1 ghost pattern

1 sheet of white foam

1 piece black foam scrap

2 (1/8″ diameter) wiggle eyes

1 magnet

white tacky glue

child safety scissors

You can free-hand your own ghost pattern. Place your ghost pattern on top of the white foam; trace around it. Cut out your ghost. Using a scrap of black foam, cut out a small mouth (round or oval) measuring 1/4″ in diameter. Glue your 2 wiggle eyes onto the ghost’s face along with the black mouth. Turn ghost over; glue on a piece of magnet. Let dry.

Ghost Ornament

1 (3 inch diameter) Styrofoam ball

1 (8 inch square) of white cotton fabric

1 piece of black felt

1 (4 inch) piece of black satin ribbon, hanging cord

1 small straight pin (used in sewing)

1 (6 inch) piece of black satin ribbon

white tacky glue

child safety scissors

Center the ball on the square of white fabric; wrap fabric around the ball. Tie fabric shut by using the 6″ piece of satin ribbon and make a bow. (the ball is the ghost’s head). Tie the 4″ piece of satin ribbon into a loop with a knot. Using the straight pin, push it through the knot and attach it to the top of your ghost’s head. Add a small dot of glue to hold it into place. Using the black felt, cut out the 2 eyes and a mouth and glue onto the head. Let dry. These look cute hanging from trees!

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys spending her weekends in her craft room coming up with new craft ideas. You can visit Shelly online at http://www.workathomebusinessoptions.com or at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com

Stingy Jack was a terrible person. A blacksmith by trade, he spent most of his time cheating, lying, and stealing from the local peasants and any unwary visitor unfortunate enough to come in contact with him. When he wasn’t being a terrible person, he was at the local tavern becoming an obnoxious drunkard.

His reputation spread. He became famous for his ability to talk people out of their life savings. His “silver tongue” became legendary.

Even the Devil started hearing about Stingy Jack and he didn’t like what he heard. He was the “silver-tongued Devil” wasn’t he? No one else was going to take HIS place! So he decided it was time to pay Stingy Jack a visit. Stingy Jack had run out of time.

One dark and nasty night, Stingy Jack was walking up the dark lane after spending several hours at his favorite Tavern. He spied someone lying in the road and the figure was grinning nastily at him. When he got a little closer, he realized it was none only than Satan and Stingy Jack knew his time was up; it was time to pay his dues.

Stingy Jack approached ol’ Lucifer and said, “I know who you are and I am ready to go with you. But, before we descend into the bowels of Hades, couldn’t you and I go back to the Tavern and have a couple of rounds of ale to refresh ourselves before our journey?”

The Devil thought about it for an instant and, not seeing any reason not to go to the Tavern, he said to Stingy Jack, “Ok.”

They returned to the Tavern and spent a couple of hours drinking ale and, when it was almost morning, Stingy Jack turned to leave.

“Wait a minute,” said the Devil, “You invited me here, you have to pay the Tavern Keeper.”

“But, I don’t have any money,” said Stingy Jack, “You can pay him.”

But the Devil refused.

Stingy Jack thought about it for a second and then came up with a solution.

“I know what we can do,” he said to Lucifer. “You can turn yourself into a silver coin and I can pay the tavern keeper. When he goes into the back room to get another keg of ale, you can turn yourself back into yourself and we can sneak out the door.”

The Devil thought about it and was impressed with Stingy Jack’s plan. It was an idea worthy of him. So, he turned himself into a silver coin.

But, instead of giving the silver coin to the tavern keeper, Stingy Jack stuck it into his grimy pocket, under a crucifix he kept there.

The Devil was livid with anger. He couldn’t believe he’d been fooled by Stingy Jack!

Jack paid the tavern keeper with his own money and left the tavern. The Devil kept begging him to set him free and finally Stingy Jack made him a bargain. “If you promise to leave me alone for ten years, I will set you free,” he told the Devil.

What could the Devil do? He promised and Jack set him free.

The ten years went by quickly and Stingy Jack became worse than before. Everyone was afraid of him and his cheating ways and avoided him whenever possible.

Then, one cold, dark evening, Stingy Jack saw the same familiar figure lying in the road grinning at him again.

“Oh, no,” he thought. “Already!”

He went up to the Devil, who was now standing under a magnificent apple tree. “OK,” he said. “You’ve got me this time. I’m ready. But, before we go, could you do me a favor? For many days I’ve wanted one of those juicy apples from this tree, but they’re all at the top. I am old and cannot climb up there to get one. Would you do an old man a favor and go up the tree and get me one last apple to munch on during our journey to Hades?”

The Devil decided that this wasn’t an unreasonable request so he climbed up the tree and tossed down the best apple to Stingy Jack. Then, to his dismay, when he tried to descend from the tree, he discovered that Jack had carved crosses all around the trunk of the tree and he was trapped! Foiled again!

He begged and pleaded with Jack to let him down while Jack casually munched on his apple.

“Ok,” Jack said. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll let you down if you promise to leave me alone for another ten years and you must PROMISE you’ll never take my soul to Hades.”

“It’s a deal,” sighed the Devil. What choice did he have?

So Stingy Jack once again set the Devil free and laughed as he vanished into thin air.

Well, seven years passed and Stingy Jack came to the end of his life. He wasn’t too worried because he knew the Devil couldn’t claim his soul and he would be able to go to Heaven. He died with a smirk on his face.

When Stingy Jack swaggered up to the Pearly Gates, Saint Peter had a surprise for him. “There’s no way you are entering Heaven, Stingy Jack. We don’t let criminals and bad people like you into Heaven. Go back where you came from!”

Dismayed, Jack returned to earth and pondered his situation. Finally, he went to the Gates of Hades. “You win, Devil,” he said. “Let me into Hades.”

The Devil laughed. “I can’t let you into Hades, Jack,” he said. “I made you a solemn promise that I wouldn’t take your soul into Hades and I can’t go back on my word. You are cursed to wander eternally in the darkness between Heaven and Hell. ETERNALLY!”

As a dejected Jack turned to go, the Devil said, “Here. Here’s an ember from Hades to help light your way,” and he tossed an ember to Jack.

The only thing Jack had in his pocket was a turnip he had stolen (he loved turnips) and his pocketknife. He cut off the top of the turnip and scooped out the insides, carving holes in the sides so, when he put the ember inside, he had a lantern of sorts.

The Devil made sure that news of Jack’s predicament spread throughout the countryside. Local residents would sometimes see Jack’s lantern glowing dimly in the distance and avoid him. He became known as Jack of the Lantern, soon shortened to JACK O’LANTERN.

His evilness didn’t stop, especially on All Hallow’s Eve when it was easier for evil spirits to harass the living. So the local peasants began to carve turnips and rutabagas and put candles inside them to scare Jack away if he should approach their homes.

When the Irish came to America, they brought many of their traditions with them, including this one. It didn’t take long, though, before they discovered that it was easier to carve a PUMPKIN to put in their windows and on their porches on Halloween, then a TURNIP.

Here are some great ideas for a Kids Halloween Party and safe trick or treating: My Halloween Blog

Does anyone else care?

Do you consider yourself “insane” when it comes to your sewing projects? Have you wondered why you stress yourself out to complete a costume on time?

Many different answers can be given to these questions. We all ask ourselves: “Why am I sewing this project today?” and “Why do I love making historical clothes?”

Here are 5 ideas that answer the “why” we do the sewing we do.

1. To escape reality and play “dress up”
   Who hasn’t wished for that impossible, but thoroughly delightful, adventure of jumping into a movie scene or book page to become part of the story? Would you be the hero/heroine? How about the best friend? Or even the villain?
   Honestly, why else do we toil for days and weeks to find a pattern, fabrics and trims, practice familiar techniques and learn new ones, and basically make ourselves insane with completing a historical ensemble?
   You sit down to view the latest Jane Austen adaptation and then find yourself in love with a particular gown that you just have to have for yourself. Who cares if there is no other reason than to make something lovely to wear around the house. (Invite your friends over to view your latest vacation video over a scrumptious tea.)
   Few opportunities present themselves in our current society, to vanish for a moment our 21st Century lives, and relive a part of history. You could be a Crusader in the 12th Century or Rosie the Riveter in 1944.
   Even if you don’t celebrate the holiday of Halloween, the excitement of becoming someone else for a few hours is tempting and satisfying.
2. For a social event
   This may be the strongest motivator in creating clothing from the past.
   The Victorian Ball is coming up, and you don’t want to be the only one in modern clothes. The Halloween party is an 18th Century masked ball. New Year’s Eve is calling for your appearance in a 1920s jazz dress. You’ve been invited to the local Civil War Blue/Gray Cotillion – period clothing required.
   Making a historical outfit to attend social events with friends is a most rewarding part of this hobby. Embrace those whimsical costume parties and build your historical sewing techniques while having fun.
3. For a reenacting event
   For those with a love of historical information and a passion to share that knowledge with the current generation, you can thrive at living history events. Getting a chance to pass on what our ancestors lived through is a means to learn from the past to eliminate future mistakes.
   What better way than to combine your love of history with your love of historical clothing! And you have a perfect excuse to wear your historical clothes more often.
   Each event will have its own guidelines for accuracy. Some of you specialize in trying to get your period wardrobe exactly like the time you’re re-creating. But remember: you are a modern person and sewer; you can only get so close to duplicating the picture. But I say challenge yourself to it!
4. To recreate a family heirloom or historical piece
   Your grandparents’ 50th anniversary is next fall. You are planning the celebration – right down to the same cake and punch served.
   Now you have to find a way to re-create your grandmother’s wedding gown. Perhaps you have only a photograph to rely on. Maybe you have the gown but the dear woman is not quite as skinny anymore.
   Take this as a challenge to expand your sewing skills. Delve into the research of why the gown has lace only on the cuffs and neckline. Or why there was no lace on it at all.
   Why does a bodice found in an old trunk at the estate sale resemble 19th Century styles, but has fabric that recalls the 18th Century? If you can get your hands on a provenance (accurate historical ownership facts regarding an item), then use that in your research. Once collected, use your new information to copy the piece.
5. For personal achievement
   If you are new to sewing historical styles, you may seek the challenge of completing a project that you can be proud of. Just for the sheer enjoyment of the process.
   You may be looking for a new hobby to fill some free time. Everyone has their own personal interests of where they like to spend their time, whether that be sewing, music, sports, art, travel, etc. Perhaps historical sewing is an area that achieves personal fulfillment for you.
   Or maybe someone has inspired you to win an award at an event. Take that challenge!

Whatever reason pushes you to sew up clothing styles from the past, take pride in your work.

When that deadline is approaching, come back to these special influences about why you are sewing a particular project. Know that making historical clothing sets you apart into a unique hobby.

Happy Sewing!

© 2008 Brookwaite Enterprises and Cloak & Corset

Jennifer Rosbrugh is a Master Dressmaker and the Co-Owner of Cloak & Corset, the Premier Source to Historical Clothing Construction.

If you’re ready to jump-start your sewing projects, learn helpful hints, and have more fun in your historical reenacting, get your FREE sewing tips now at http://www.CloakAndCorset.com

Or visit the Historical Sewing Blog to see her latest creation that almost drove her crazy (and inspired this article): http://www.HistoricalSewing.blogspot.com
Click on the 1876 Evening Gown Label to see all her posts and pictures.

About Jennifer:
Always feeling like she was born in the wrong century, Jennifer has been sewing for over 20 years mostly making her own clothes and home furnishings. For the past ten years she has found a passion in historical clothing, studying the design and construction process. She is on the Historical Citizens Association (HCA) board and is the “Dressmaker” in Oak Street during Civil War events. Jennifer’s expertise is in historical clothing construction and her knowledge is the foundation of Cloak and Corset.