Cut apart two 18″ grapevine wreaths and untangle them to make a long twig garland. Starting at bottom left side of doorframe; attach siding clips or sticky hooks, spaced periodically around door frame. When finished, tie on grapevine garland up, over and down your doorway. You may need to use pipe cleaners or small wires to attach it to the clips. Add a strand of orange/amber lights to grapevine garland and intersperse fall leaves to give the garland a natural look. The effect is breathtaking especially in the evening. On the ground surrounding your urns nestle gourds, pumpkins & Indian corn with small hay bales.

If you have ferns or potted plants outside, simply nestle in pumpkins, gourds, and cat tails for a quick & easy fall look. A fall bow is a nice added touch.

Get the children involved by painting rocks. Simply gather rocks of various sizes. For pumpkins, paint them with orange craft paint, let dry and use permanent black markers to draw on silly or scary pumpkin faces. For ghosts, find long slim rocks and paint them white. Don’t forget to give them goofy or eerie black eyes. Have each child sign and date the bottom of their creation. Scatter your completed rocks throughout the yard, next to your mailbox & by the front door for a spooky effect. This is a very cheap craft to do with the kids each year and a great way to express their creativity!

If you have access to corn shocks simply poke a garden shovel into the ground, this will act as the base to which you tie your corn shocks to. A pretty fall bow or jute string will keep the corn shocks together and from blowing away. Place corn shocks at the end of your driveway, near a garden arbor, or anywhere you want a focal point. Surround shocks with pumpkins, gourds & hay bales. A scarecrow nestled near the shocks looks fabulous & adds interest.

I love to add old wooden wheels, a rustic garden tiller and an assortment of weathered watering cans throughout my yard for added character & texture this time of year. Light up the night sky by hanging lanterns in small tress & bushes. For added convenience & safety use battery operated candles. Stoke your outdoor fire pit, make some hot chocolate and gather with friends & family as snuggle under old wool blankets reminiscing over days gone by…..ahhh the perfect way to end the day and celebrate God’s Bounty!

Stay at home wife & mother with over 17 years experience in interior decorating. I am an Independent Consultant with Taste of Home Entertaining…a party plan business which allows me to stay at home with my 3 children while feeding the need to contribute to the family finances AND expressing my creativity! Previous owner of A Touch of Country in Grundy Center, Iowa for 14 years, a unique home furnishings & gift store. I love to help others create a feeling of welcome, comfort & beauty in homes all across America.

Visit my website at http://www.nataliemeester.tohe.com or email me at nataliemeester@yahoo.com for more information on how I can help you create the home of your dreams!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Natalie_Meester

Firstly, Electroluminescent Wire emits a homogeneous light with a wide range of vivid color. It is also known for energy saving, environmental protection as well as safety. It has low power consumption, using a voltage of 3V to 220V, in addition to using no heat radiation. This is nice for a number of reasons, but the first is costs savings. As versatile as it is, EL Wire can be used to light driveways, walkways, and more all while using less electricity than a standard desk lamp. Soon, we will start to see cities incorporate it into the city planning as it lightens dark streets, or could even take the place of cross walks or traffic lights eventually. It will not cause any environmental pollution and especially can avoid serious light pollution in big cities. Due to its low working current, it also does no harm to the human body.

Secondly, the wire is extremely flexible. It can be bent, knotted, cut, stretched, spliced, etc., and the lighting effect will not be compromised. The flexibility of EL Wire is similar to common phone wire. You may also cut it to nearly any length. Applications of EL Wire are simple. You can apply the wire with transparent adhesive tape, glue, clips, thread, etc. and the wire can be applied to any surface including glass, display windows, furniture, walls, clothing, accessories, automobiles, etc.

The functionality is so diverse, you can use a small amount to spice up your next Halloween costume, or even already be used in your favorite nightclub. El Wire has proven to be used just about everywhere you look at places like Burning Man. They will light up elaborate costumes, bikes, cars, vans and even the Man that burns at the end of the week is all done with EL Wire.

These are just a few benefits of Electroluminescent Wire. There are many more advantages that we are finding out daily. Keep your eyes out for the bright revolution.

Find the best deals on EL Wire while buying the latest in glow technology. Selling the hottest LED Lights and glow accessories direct to the public.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_McGavin

An interesting way to come up with ideas for costumes is to keep a trunk or box somewhere handy and fill it with miscellaneous items. This can help spark the imagination. For instance, load it up with old clothing, fabric of varying lengths, pantyhose, fashion accessories, artificial flowers, pipe cleaners and other craft supplies, aluminum foil, yarn, old sheets or curtains, etc. Nearly anything can be used. Instead of traditional Halloween bags for candy, use other items related to your costume and store them in the ‘imagination box.’ For example, you can implement items such as old pocketbooks, pillowcases, garbage bags, baskets, doctor’s bags, small backpacks, or even diaper bags.

Ever since my kids were old enough to participate in trick-or-treating activities, I have made their costumes. Once Halloween approaches, I begin asking them what they would like to be. Then I scour the house and our box of goodies to find whatever I might already have on hand, making a list of the items with which I need. Generally, these few items can be purchased at the local thrift shop or dollar store so there usually isn’t too much money invested in the project.

For safety reasons, I prefer to use make-up or face paint as opposed to masks. You can easily make your own out of food coloring and corn starch. This is not only safer than using masks, but it’s also cheaper, easier to apply, and comes off just as easily with mild soap and water. A simple cream can be made with one part corn starch and two parts food coloring to create the desired shade for your costume. Apply to the face with your fingers just like foundation. And with a few drops of red food coloring and a little corn syrup, you have home-made blood for those ghoulish costumes.

One year my daughter went as a witch. It isn’t as difficult as you might think to come up with creative ways of putting this outfit together. In fact, they can be as easy or difficult as you can handle. For the witch ensemble, I simply used a tattered black dress and a witch’s hat my daughter already had. I mixed up some green face paint and added a wart with an eyeliner pencil. For her hair, I used some fiery, red-orange yarn that I attached to the hat with Velcro. Add a small broom and there you go.

Another year, she was a butterfly. The butterfly was fashioned together by cutting a pair of wings out of some cardboard, which I decorated with multi-colored pieces of felt (you can also use aluminum foil and decorate with sequins, glitter, etc.). The body of the butterfly consisted of nothing more than a black sweat suit; however, a dark-colored leotard should work just as well. Wings can be attached in whatever way is easiest for you. They can be sewn onto the back of the sweatshirt or fastened with elastic bands fitted around the child’s arms. You could also try using Velcro for felt-covered wings. This not only sticks to the felt but to the shirt as well. Add an antennae headband and, if desired, some face paint. The headband can either be purchased from the dollar store for a couple bucks or put together yourself using an ordinary black headband with black pipe cleaners attached.

I transformed my son into a lively jack-in-the-box one year. This idea came about through my own childhood memories. My mother also made a lot of our costumes growing up. Aluminum foil would incredibly become a tiara, a wand, or antennas. Lacy curtains would suddenly become flowing gowns. Her creativity was amazing, and one costume in particular stood out above all others–a kitchen table. She had taken a simple cardboard box, cut out a hole in the bottom, and slipped it right over my head. After draping a tablecloth over the box, my protruding head became the centerpiece with a carefully placed ‘hat’ made from a pair of pantyhose and artificial flowers.

And from this kitchen table costume, another one was born–the jack-in-the-box. It uses the same ‘box’ concept and originality. I simply took a box, decorated it, and attached it to my son with suspenders (can use elastic as well). On one side of the box I fashioned a handle. He wore dark sweatpants and a regular long-sleeved shirt that I attached ruffles to. I painted his face to mimic that of a joker.

A few years back, my kids decided that they wanted their costumes to match. We looked around the house and soon enough found ourselves with a cowboy and an Indian. For the cowboy, my son donned a cowboy hat and boots, a western shirt, blue jeans and a denim jacket. All of which we already had. To accessorize the look, I tied (loosely) a red bandana around his neck and fastened the holster (complete with toy guns) around his waist. Once again, these were items that we already had on hand.

My daughter, of course, was the Indian. Her costume was also something we had just lying around. I took an old brown pillowcase and cut a v-neck hole in the bottom that was large enough for my daughter’s head to fit through. I then cut two more holes in either side for her arms. I hand-stitched designs around both the neck line and bottom of the ‘dress’ and with a pair of scissors, I carefully cut slits along the edges to give it a frilly look. If you don’t sew, that’s ok; you can easily use fabric paint to decorate the dress instead. To set off the dress, my daughter wore braided pigtails with a feathered headband around her forehead. The only item I purchased for this was a pair of moccasin slippers from the dollar store. To hold all their candy, my son carried a pillowcase ‘loot bag’ while my daughter used an old harvest basket lined with an orange towel.

Ever had the option of dressing up for work with the most original taking first prize? This one worked for me. Once again, I borrowed the idea from my mother, giving it my own twist–a tomato plant. For this costume, I wore a dark green leotard with green hose and slippers. I found a dark green table skirt and simply cut out holes to allow me to both slip it over my head and run my arms through. I pinned some green artificial leaves onto the leotard and table skirt along with little tomatoes made from Styrofoam balls that were painted red and topped off with green stems (you can also use tomato pin cushions found in craft stores). I finished it off with a green beret full of leaves. By the way, I took the prize.

I have found balloons to be quite useful for costumes; however, they should only be applied to those of older children or adults. Once again, safety is important and balloons tend to pop easily and small children can accidentally try to eat the balloon pieces. Balloons are inexpensive and come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. You can create one-of-a-kind costumes with hardly any work involved. Imagine a bunch of grapes (like that from Fruit-of-the-Loom). Choose a purple sweat suit or leotard and attach purple balloons carefully with small safety pins. Add some ivy vines and top it off with a matching hat full of ivy leaves. This could also be used for other berries as well with appropriate colored sweats and balloons. For instance, you could try raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries.

Then again, why not go out as Mr. Bubble? Wear white and use some white balloons to instantaneously become soap suds. Accessorize with a scrub brush and a hat or bag made up of bath materials such as sponges and empty shampoo, bubble bath, or soap containers. When you apply balloons to any costume, however, try not to put any on the backside. This could make it difficult to sit down.

Other interesting costume ideas might include a scarecrow using denim bib overalls, a plaid or flannel shirt, rope or twine for belt, a straw hat, gloves and boots. Stuff all the pockets with straw. Turn an old sheet into a ghost. Create a hobo from some old clothes and add a hat. Paint the face with a five o’clock shadow and fashion an old hankie to a stick. What’s autumn without leaves? Use a dark-colored sweat suit (with hood) and pin silk leaves all over it. Walk around carrying a rake and gather candy in a leaf bag.

Remember, a little imagination can go a long way; and best of all, it’s free to use.

This article was written by Nikki Phipps and was sponsored by DareToScare.com and the Dare To Scare Halloween Costume Search Engine [http://www.daretoscare.com]. Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must include a live link back to [http://www.daretoscare.com]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nikki_Phipps

If you are going to arrange Halloween party right at your home then there is less tension for you. With so many lights and people burglars will not strike on your home. But you never know. This is Halloween and people will come wearing different types of masks. Sometimes, it becomes really tough to identify them. Lots of make up and strange masks make it impossible to recognize the real person. You can install security cameras in your home. These hidden security cameras will record everything happens in the party. Later you can check if anyone was behaving odd or not from your invitees. Other activities too will be recorded in those cameras. This way you can ensure the safety of your home and family. You may feel that Halloween is a happy occasion and you won’t be able to take care of all those security things.

For that you have a handy solution too. You have definitely heard about locksmith services. Yes, this is a service that takes care of various types of locks and security system. No matter you are looking for home or office security you can for locksmith services for both. The price may vary but the protection will be foolproof for sure. It is about security and you need to pay certain amount for that. Nothing comes for free in this world. And when you are paying for a good reason you must stand for that reason. It is obviously better to spend a few dollars for a good reason and for the safety of your own home. Apart from the locksmith services you can opt for security alarms. But never turn off those alarms. You can obviously find some houses where one security alarm is installed but the owners have turned it off. It is always preferable to opt for some Locksmith services. Locksmith makes the life simpler and peaceful for sure. Thank you for reading our home security article.

Carmel Valley Locksmith provides home security and locksmith services in El Cajon, Encinitas, and Escondido Locksmith. He is a San Marcos Locksmith and also provides Encinitas Locksmith services.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Aguilar

Safety Tip #1: See and Be Seen

It’s usually dark when kids go trick or treating, and in their costumes, they can be very hard for drivers to see. Your kids will be crossing the street and walking along the sidewalk, so keep them safe from traffic by making sure they are clearly visible to drivers. You can do this in two ways. One, keep their costumes light. Dress them in light colors like white, or orange, or yellow. However, this only works for kids dressed as ghosts, pumpkins, or bananas. You can also outfit your child with a reflective vest or tape that will light up in drivers’ headlights. Make sure your children won’t be left in the dark – keep the little monsters visible.

Safety Tip #2: Arm Against Animals

Your neighborhood is probably full of pets, raccoons, badgers, and opossums. Protect your children from loose dogs or angry raccoons with animal repellent. Security Stores sell canine repellent that will fend off smaller animals and even stronger bear repellent that will get the big guys.

Safety Tip #3: Arm Against Bad Guys

Dogs and bears aren’t the only living danger children can run into. When it comes to Halloween safety, protecting your child from people who mean to do harm to them is parents’ number one concern. We sell pepper sprays that can effectively disarm a criminal and give your child time to run and scream for help.

Safety Tip #4: Make Some Noise

Personal safety alarms will draw attention to your child’s situation immediately. If a stranger approaches and tries to attack your child, they can set off their personal safety alarm, which will emit a high pitched siren to call for help. Often, the criminal will run away.

Safety Tip #5: Go Along for the Fun

The best way to protect your kids during Halloween trick-or-treating is to accompany them on the adventure. Younger children should always be supervised by an adult, and older kids, though they may not want a parent tagging along, will be safer with mom or dad around. You don’t have to ring to the doorbell for them. You can just hang back a little and observe, increasing the Halloween safety of your children.

Safety Tip #6: Examine Before You Eat

Your Halloween safety vigilance doesn’t end when you get home. Before your children eat any of their treats, inspect the candy for anything that looks suspicious. Homemade candies, though they can be a thoughtful effort by a well-meaning neighbor, are dangerous because you don’t know what is in them. The same goes for unwrapped candies – they may have been tampered with. Once you have confirmed that your child’s candy is safe, then you can let them go nuts. You’ll feel better knowing that all they’ll get is a bit hyper and maybe a sick tummy.

Safety should be your number one concern this Halloween, but once that’s taken care of, you and your family can have a spooky, scary, fun holiday filled with all the treats – and none of the tricks.

Ralph Winn has over 35 years of education and experience in the security industry. Are you one of the many Americans who have begun to look into improving their home security? This is an important matter and the Home Security Store offers the best protection against burglary and vandalism.

Stay up to speed with breaking security news and technology.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ralph_Winn

Every year in the United States, around 100 people die as the result of their clothes catching on fire.

Burn injuries are one of the leading Halloween injuries but also the easiest to prevent. Here are some tips to keep you and your child safe this Halloween.

Decorations/Indoor events:

-Place all lit pumpkins on a flat stable surface. If possible use a flashlight instead of a candle.

-If the pumpkin will be indoors, keep it away from any flammable material and never leave it unattended. -Sweep your porch of debris. If an accident occurs, dry leaves and brush can quickly spread a fire.

- Use flashlights instead of candles/flames for any lighting or decoration. With a little creativity you can make your decorations more festive and safer for visitors.

-Keep in mind that paper, dried flowers, and cornstalks are highly flammable and keep them away from any heat source.

-Make sure none of your indoor decorations are blocking exits.

-Check to make sure your smoke alarm is functioning properly. Every year 50% of fire related deaths in the United States involve homes without a working smoke alarm.

-This is also a good time to make sure you and your children have a developed an escape plan in case of a fire related emergency.

-If your children will be at another house or a school sponsored event, make sure both of you know and can easily locate exits.

Costumes:

-Try to purchase costumes and accessories labeled flame resistant or retardant.

-Make sure your child’s costume doesn’t have extended or trailing features. In addition to being a tripping hazard they can ignite easily.

-Look over every part of the costume and make sure that it doesn’t include anything highly flammable. It’s easy for a child to become distracted and a costume can catch fire in a matter of seconds.

-Tell your children to stay away from any open flames and other heat sources. Make sure they know the “stop, drop and roll” procedure. If you need a quick refresher:
Stop and drop to the ground covering your face with your hands and roll on the ground to extinguish any flames.

These tips were brought to you in part by The Burn Recovery Center who reminds you to have a happy and safe Halloween.

-William Gallahue

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious burn injury, we may be able to help you. Please visit Burn Recovery Center for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_Gallahue

Ghosts and ghouls will be about this October 31. But you must protect your little goblins from the real dangers that are out there on Halloween. Keep your kids safe and your holiday fun with these Halloween safety tips.

Safety Tip #1: See and Be Seen

It’s usually dark when kids go trick or treating, and in their costumes, they can be very hard for drivers to see. Your kids will be crossing the street and walking along the sidewalk, so keep them safe from traffic by making sure they are clearly visible to drivers. You can do this in two ways. One, keep their costumes light. Dress them in light colors like white, or orange, or yellow. However, this only works for kids dressed as ghosts, pumpkins, or bananas. You can also outfit your child with a reflective vest or tape that will light up in drivers’ headlights. Make sure your children won’t be left in the dark – keep the little monsters visible.

Safety Tip #2: Arm Against Animals

Your neighborhood is probably full of pets, raccoons, badgers, and opossums. Protect your children from loose dogs or angry raccoons with animal repellent. Security Stores sell canine repellent that will fend off smaller animals and even stronger bear repellent that will get the big guys.

Safety Tip #3: Arm Against Bad Guys

Dogs and bears aren’t the only living danger children can run into. When it comes to Halloween safety, protecting your child from people who mean to do harm to them is parents’ number one concern. We sell pepper sprays that can effectively disarm a criminal and give your child time to run and scream for help.

Safety Tip #4: Make Some Noise

Personal safety alarms will draw attention to your child’s situation immediately. If a stranger approaches and tries to attack your child, they can set off their personal safety alarm, which will emit a high pitched siren to call for help. Often, the criminal will run away.

Safety Tip #5: Go Along for the Fun

The best way to protect your kids during Halloween trick-or-treating is to accompany them on the adventure. Younger children should always be supervised by an adult, and older kids, though they may not want a parent tagging along, will be safer with mom or dad around. You don’t have to ring to the doorbell for them. You can just hang back a little and observe, increasing the Halloween safety of your children.

Safety Tip #6: Examine Before You Eat

Your Halloween safety vigilance doesn’t end when you get home. Before your children eat any of their treats, inspect the candy for anything that looks suspicious. Homemade candies, though they can be a thoughtful effort by a well-meaning neighbor, are dangerous because you don’t know what is in them. The same goes for unwrapped candies – they may have been tampered with. Once you have confirmed that your child’s candy is safe, then you can let them go nuts. You’ll feel better knowing that all they’ll get is a bit hyper and maybe a sick tummy.

Safety should be your number one concern this Halloween, but once that’s taken care of, you and your family can have a spooky, scary, fun holiday filled with all the treats – and none of the tricks.

About the Author

Let’s face it, not everyone can afford to spend a lot of money on elaborate Halloween costumes, especially if you’re living on a fixed income. Likewise, not everyone can afford to spend a lot of time making them either, especially those without sewing abilities. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could create your own costumes with little time or money invested? Well you can. In fact, there are numerous costume ideas that can be created yourself for next to nothing. Better still, there’s little or no sewing involved. All you need is a little imagination and some creativity, something most of us already have tucked away somewhere inside us. And if for some reason you don’t have it, I’m sure the kids do.

An interesting way to come up with ideas for costumes is to keep a trunk or box somewhere handy and fill it with miscellaneous items. This can help spark the imagination. For instance, load it up with old clothing, fabric of varying lengths, pantyhose, fashion accessories, artificial flowers, pipe cleaners and other craft supplies, aluminum foil, yarn, old sheets or curtains, etc. Nearly anything can be used. Instead of traditional Halloween bags for candy, use other items related to your costume and store them in the ‘imagination box.’ For example, you can implement items such as old pocketbooks, pillowcases, garbage bags, baskets, doctor’s bags, small backpacks, or even diaper bags.

Ever since my kids were old enough to participate in trick-or-treating activities, I have made their costumes. Once Halloween approaches, I begin asking them what they would like to be. Then I scour the house and our box of goodies to find whatever I might already have on hand, making a list of the items with which I need. Generally, these few items can be purchased at the local thrift shop or dollar store so there usually isn’t too much money invested in the project.

For safety reasons, I prefer to use make-up or face paint as opposed to masks. You can easily make your own out of food coloring and corn starch. This is not only safer than using masks, but it’s also cheaper, easier to apply, and comes off just as easily with mild soap and water. A simple cream can be made with one part corn starch and two parts food coloring to create the desired shade for your costume. Apply to the face with your fingers just like foundation. And with a few drops of red food coloring and a little corn syrup, you have home-made blood for those ghoulish costumes.

One year my daughter went as a witch. It isn’t as difficult as you might think to come up with creative ways of putting this outfit together. In fact, they can be as easy or difficult as you can handle. For the witch ensemble, I simply used a tattered black dress and a witch’s hat my daughter already had. I mixed up some green face paint and added a wart with an eyeliner pencil. For her hair, I used some fiery, red-orange yarn that I attached to the hat with Velcro. Add a small broom and there you go.

Another year, she was a butterfly. The butterfly was fashioned together by cutting a pair of wings out of some cardboard, which I decorated with multi-colored pieces of felt (you can also use aluminum foil and decorate with sequins, glitter, etc.). The body of the butterfly consisted of nothing more than a black sweat suit; however, a dark-colored leotard should work just as well. Wings can be attached in whatever way is easiest for you. They can be sewn onto the back of the sweatshirt or fastened with elastic bands fitted around the child’s arms. You could also try using Velcro for felt-covered wings. This not only sticks to the felt but to the shirt as well. Add an antennae headband and, if desired, some face paint. The headband can either be purchased from the dollar store for a couple bucks or put together yourself using an ordinary black headband with black pipe cleaners attached.

I transformed my son into a lively jack-in-the-box one year. This idea came about through my own childhood memories. My mother also made a lot of our costumes growing up. Aluminum foil would incredibly become a tiara, a wand, or antennas. Lacy curtains would suddenly become flowing gowns. Her creativity was amazing, and one costume in particular stood out above all others—a kitchen table. She had taken a simple cardboard box, cut out a hole in the bottom, and slipped it right over my head. After draping a tablecloth over the box, my protruding head became the centerpiece with a carefully placed ‘hat’ made from a pair of pantyhose and artificial flowers.

And from this kitchen table costume, another one was born—the jack-in-the-box. It uses the same ‘box’ concept and originality. I simply took a box, decorated it, and attached it to my son with suspenders (can use elastic as well). On one side of the box I fashioned a handle. He wore dark sweatpants and a regular long-sleeved shirt that I attached ruffles to. I painted his face to mimic that of a joker.

A few years back, my kids decided that they wanted their costumes to match. We looked around the house and soon enough found ourselves with a cowboy and an Indian. For the cowboy, my son donned a cowboy hat and boots, a western shirt, blue jeans and a denim jacket. All of which we already had. To accessorize the look, I tied (loosely) a red bandana around his neck and fastened the holster (complete with toy guns) around his waist. Once again, these were items that we already had on hand.

My daughter, of course, was the Indian. Her costume was also something we had just lying around. I took an old brown pillowcase and cut a v-neck hole in the bottom that was large enough for my daughter’s head to fit through. I then cut two more holes in either side for her arms. I hand-stitched designs around both the neck line and bottom of the ‘dress’ and with a pair of scissors, I carefully cut slits along the edges to give it a frilly look. If you don’t sew, that’s ok; you can easily use fabric paint to decorate the dress instead. To set off the dress, my daughter wore braided pigtails with a feathered headband around her forehead. The only item I purchased for this was a pair of moccasin slippers from the dollar store. To hold all their candy, my son carried a pillowcase ‘loot bag’ while my daughter used an old harvest basket lined with an orange towel.

Ever had the option of dressing up for work with the most original taking first prize? This one worked for me. Once again, I borrowed the idea from my mother, giving it my own twist—a tomato plant. For this costume, I wore a dark green leotard with green hose and slippers. I found a dark green table skirt and simply cut out holes to allow me to both slip it over my head and run my arms through. I pinned some green artificial leaves onto the leotard and table skirt along with little tomatoes made from Styrofoam balls that were painted red and topped off with green stems (you can also use tomato pin cushions found in craft stores). I finished it off with a green beret full of leaves. By the way, I took the prize.

I have found balloons to be quite useful for costumes; however, they should only be applied to those of older children or adults. Once again, safety is important and balloons tend to pop easily and small children can accidentally try to eat the balloon pieces. Balloons are inexpensive and come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. You can create one-of-a-kind costumes with hardly any work involved. Imagine a bunch of grapes (like that from Fruit-of-the-Loom). Choose a purple sweat suit or leotard and attach purple balloons carefully with small safety pins. Add some ivy vines and top it off with a matching hat full of ivy leaves. This could also be used for other berries as well with appropriate colored sweats and balloons. For instance, you could try raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries.

Then again, why not go out as Mr. Bubble? Wear white and use some white balloons to instantaneously become soap suds. Accessorize with a scrub brush and a hat or bag made up of bath materials such as sponges and empty shampoo, bubble bath, or soap containers. When you apply balloons to any costume, however, try not to put any on the backside. This could make it difficult to sit down.

Other interesting costume ideas might include a scarecrow using denim bib overalls, a plaid or flannel shirt, rope or twine for belt, a straw hat, gloves and boots. Stuff all the pockets with straw. Turn an old sheet into a ghost. Create a hobo from some old clothes and add a hat. Paint the face with a five o’clock shadow and fashion an old hankie to a stick. What’s autumn without leaves? Use a dark-colored sweat suit (with hood) and pin silk leaves all over it. Walk around carrying a rake and gather candy in a leaf bag.

Remember, a little imagination can go a long way; and best of all, it’s free to use.

About the Author