Fun Halloween Crafts

October is just around the corner and with it comes the season of the witch, or Halloween as it's known to many of us. Halloween is the one day every year when it's actually considered okay to throw everything 'normal' out the window and instead choose those things which are scary, terrifying and extremely abnormal. It's a day when we just must possess that perfectly terrifying costume that makes all the neighborhood candy seekers scream in terror. And don't forget the tons of candy we buy and eat, the bright orange pumpkins we carve in crazy and frightening designs and the scary arrangements we put up on the outside of our homes, hoping to invoke the most terror out of the neighborhood kids for the least amount of money. We search various department stores, flea markets and yard sales hoping to find those perfect decorations at discount prices. My aunt prefers to make almost everything she uses for Halloween by hand. Which means that she spends the months before October busily hand crafting and sewing to have everything ready by October 31st. She has passed on some of her creativeness to me, as i enjoy creating homemade goodies for this special day of the year. The craft ideas below are just a few of our favorites.

To make homemade Halloween party invitations you will need some Halloween themed paper, scissors, glue, decorative paper of your choice and some envelopes to put the finished invitations in. 1. Cut out a photo you'd like to use for your invitations (and this can be anything from an image out of the Sunday comics to a scary image from your computer). Paste the image onto a piece of decorative paper using glue.
2. Using a color copier, make as many copies as you need so that there is one image for each invitation. Make sure they are the right size to fit your envelopes.
3. Print the invitation text directly onto the back of the color copies using a computer printer or, hand letter the text yourself on the back of each envelope. Another great idea for a Halloween craft is to create your own goodie bags to hold those treats for the neighborhood kids on Halloween night. To begin the creation of these original party bags you will need the following supplies, small black gift bags, Halloween ribbons, crepe paper or cutout pumpkins, crinkle paper and a gag gift( a can of silly string or a pair of wax lips should do the trick) and lots of different candy. And for the pumpkin decorating you'll need a hot glue gun and plenty of glue sticks, large and small sequins, sequin pins, glitter and markers.
1. Remove the handles from the gift bags and replace with Halloween ribbons.
Attach a paper pumpkin ornament to the front of the bag by threading orange ribbon through the eyes of the pumpkin and tying to the ribbon handles on your bag.
2. Fill the bag with colored crinkle paper, supplies for decorating the pumpkin, and the little gag gift or treat and candy.
This unique Halloween handout will be a hit with the neighborhood kids and it also works well as a party favor.

These fun pumpkin centerpieces will be the hit at any party or as just part of an arrangement on a table in your home.
To make these charming centerpieces you'll need a selection of pumpkins for decorating, a power drill, lollipops, a pumpkin decorating kit, newspapers or plastic tarp and bowls for collecting seeds.
The pumpkin carving tools you will need are a round hole cutter for cutting circles, keyhole saw, a large spoon for cleaning out the inside of the pumpkin, wood gauges in various sizes for carving the pumpkin and a linoleum cutter.
1. The first step in creating your pumpkin masterpiece is to scrub the pumpkin clean with soap and water and allow to dry thoroughly.
2. Prepare your work surface by covering with plastic tarp.
3. Arrange your pumpkin carving tools.
4. You are now ready to design your pumpkin in any silly, funny or scary way you want.
But to make the centerpiece you'll need to take the largest pumpkin and drill holes into it using the power drill. Place Halloween themed lollipops in the holes for a unique centerpiece idea. However you choose to decorate or carve your pumpkin the idea is to be original and most of all to have fun. For these and other great Halloween craft ideas visit www.bhg.com, www.halloweencrafts.com and www.parentshalloween.com