Everyone is an artist at Hallowe'en. You show it in the way you decorate your garden or carve your jack-o'-lantern. The crazier the better! Being artistic does not even help in doing the carving. The knife has a mind of its own. Or is it the thick flesh of the pumpkin which takes objection to being butchered?

One year, I got so frustrated with the hard shell of the pumpkins that I simply drew faces on them with felt pens and set them on big bags of leaves outside.

What is Hallowe'en?

Hallowe'en is a contraction of the words "hallowed evening," and the word "hallowed" means "holy." On the church calendar, November 1 is "All Saints Day" when we remember all the Christians who have departed from this earth. The evening before that is therefore "saintly" or "holy" or "hallowed," because these three words all have the same meaning. I know, I know, there are other ways of explaining the word, but this is the way I explain it to children.

That Jack-o'-lantern

You know why I like jack-o'-lantern? I love to eat the seeds. Most of the time, I don't even bother roasting them, although it is easy to do on a cookie sheet. When they are really crisp, you can eat them shell and all. I just eat them fresh, and it is easy to squoosh the flesh from the shell.

If you want to know what to do with your jack-o'-lantern, read the article which is linked below. Maybe you should show it to your mom.

What Else?

What else can you do for Hallowe'en?

Remember you don't have to know how to draw to do crazy decorations like ghosts, goblins, and jack-o'-lanterns, because they all have crazy shapes anyway.

And I hope that you like the colors orange, black, and white, because you can really make a splash with them. How about making your own hallowe'en cards? You want to start a little earlier in the month to make them. I have chosen pictures for this article which can inspire you to create some Hallowe'en decorations, especially cards. You can read the descriptions by holding the mouse on each picture.

Hallowe'en Cards

Here is my idea of how to make great Hallowe'en cards.

Supplies needed:

Card stock and envelopes. If you have some envelopes, cut your card stock to size or else buy a package of cards and envelopes. When I buy the packages of 50 at Michael's for 50% off, each card and envelope costs between 10 and 20 cents.

Fabric scraps or magazine pictures with a lot of Hallowe'en colors in them.

Tacky glue for the fabric scraps or ordinary white glue or a glue stick for magazine scraps. Tacky glue is needed for the fabric scraps to keep them soft.

Scissors

Felt pens for writing

Directions:

Cut the figures out of the scraps in the colors which you like.

If you can't find enough orange scraps or pictures for your jack-o'-lantern, there is nothing wrong with a red one or a purple one or any other crazy color. As long as it has the shape of a pumpkin, it will do. I always say, "It's my picture, and no one is going to tell me what color to make it."

So if the cut-out is made of fabric, you glue it onto the card with tacky glue. If it is cut out of a magazine picture, you use white glue or a glue stick. Mind you, the fabric glue can be used for everything.

The advantage of the tacky glue is that the fabric will remain flexible and will not get discolored.

When you have glued enough cut-outs on the card, you can put some script on the card with felt pens.

You can even add some decorations to the cut-outs that way.

I also like to glue a small cut-out on the inside of the card, similar to the ones on the front.

Likewise, I like to place a similar decoration somewhere on the envelope. If you are going to hand out the card rather than mailing it, you can cut out something Hallowe'enish in the shape of a stamp, too.

That's it. You can now give your classmates and teachers your homemade Hallowe'en cards

Greeting Card Poll

Homemade greeting cards are special, because they display the love and care of the person who created them. Do you make your own cards or do you buy yours? Check the first answer which applies to you.

I even sell some of the greeting cards which I make.
I make most of the greeting cards which I send or give away.
I make some of my greeting cards.
I buy all greeting cards.
I don't send or give away greeting cards.

See results of this poll

Related Articles

How About Eating Your Jack-o'-lantern?
Here's what to do with your jack-o'-lantern after Hallowe'en.

Silky Recycler Valentine

Make your own beautiful Valentine cards.

© Traute Klein, biogardener