Halloween History

goodies on the Hershey's site

Image via Wikipedia

While looking for pumpkin stencils today we came across the Hershey's Halloween pages, WOW! what a great resource! You could almost use that as a beginning and ending to all your Halloween activity needs. Of course it's all on the nice/kid-friendly side but still a great resource. Don't forget to look around their site for a coupon on candy to hand out on Halloween.

First, there are screen-savers and wallpapers but there's also clipart.








What we really like for our young daughter was the coloring pages. But there are also classroom resources to use too - awards, etc.

There are also instructions to craft some cute indoor hanging things (as well as other things). There are also Halloween party ideas including games to play. One that would be great for little kids is pin the wart on the witch which uses Hershey's kisses. They have the witch poster available for download on the site too.





And last but not least is a Boo-ing set for download. Although we haven't Boo-ed anyone ourselves, it's such a fun community idea! You  can buy kits out at the store to do this but why when you can download and print it right from the Hershey's site?? (although there are probably more sites too)





The only thing we didn't care for with the Hershey's site is the amount of clicking that you must do to get to the info. Not that it's excessive, mind you, but there are a few more clicks than necessary. Well there is one other thing. The content has been the same for the past 2 years. So if you've been there before don't be surprised to see no changes. It's great to still have the great ideas available but it'd also be nice to have a new one added each year!

 

 

Related articles

• Halloween Treats from The Hershey Company Come Dressed up for the Spooky Season (eon.businesswire.com)

The Haunted History Of Halloween 5/5

glow in the dark blood

Image via Wikipedia

Here are several recipes for non-toxic (but not edible!) glow in the dark blood.

Glowing Alien or Radioactive-Looking Blood

Mix equal parts white corn syrup and clear non-toxic school glue (the kind that washes off with water). Add liquid from a highlighter or some glow powder or paint from a craft store.

If you use liquid from a highlighter, you'll get blood that will glow the color of the highlighter under black light. Not every highlighter glows, so test it before using it. If you use glow powder or paint from a craft store, your glow in the dark blood will glow when the lights are off, providing you "charged" the blood up by shining a bright light on it first. Glow powder typically glows yellowish green.

I had great luck with this glowing blood. It was very bright and washed off easily with warm water. It likely will stain clothes, so watch out for that.

Glowing Bright Blue Blood

Petroleum jelly, laundry detergent, and tonic water glow bright blue under a black light. The easiest way to make blue blood that glows under a black light is to drizzle liquid laundry detergent on yourself (which is not edible, so avoid getting this into your mouth). Tonic water with corn syrup will make a thin blood. You can tint the blood with food coloring, if you like. Petroleum jelly can be applied as a thick, non-dripping blood.

Glowing Red Blood

You can make red blood that glows red under a black light by either mixing pink highlighter liquid in with any of the fake blood recipes or by adding chlorophyll to a recipe. You may be able to purchase chlorophyll, which fluoresces red in ultraviolet light, or you can prepare it yourself by grinding spinach or swiss chard with a small amount of alcohol (e.g., vodka) and pouring it through a coffee filter to get chlorophyll extract (use the part that stays on the filter, not the liquid).

The Haunted History Of Halloween 4/5

edible fake blood recipes

Image by kerryvaughan via Flickr
Fake Blood Recipe #1 - Cherry Flavor

• can of cherry pie filling
• 8 ounces cream (softened) cheese
• water

1. Use a fork or spoon to remove the cherries from the pie filling.
2. Mix together the pie filling gel with the cream cheese.
3. Stir in a little water to achieve the desired consistency.

---

Fake Blood Recipe #2 - Strawberry Flavor

• packet of stawberry glaze
• 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• red and blue food coloring

1. Mix together the strawberry glaze and the cream cheese.
2. Add a drop of red and a smaller amount of blue food coloring to achieve the desired color.

---

Fake Blood Recipe #3 - Sweetened, Unflavored

• 1/2 cup white corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup water
• 15 drops red food coloring
• 1-5 drops blue food coloring

In a bowl, mix together the corn syrup and the corn starch.

Add water until the mixture is the consistency of blood.

Mix in food coloring until you achieve the color of blood that you want.Note: If you use blue or green food coloring or one of the neon tints, you can make 'alien' or insect blood using this recipe.

---

Fake Blood Recipe #4 - Chocolate Flavored

• corn syrup
• red and blue food coloring
• cocoa powder or chocolate syrup
• corn starch (optional)

1. Sir red food coloring into the corn syrup until you have a deep red mixture.
2. Add some cocoa powder or chocolate syrup to darken and thicken the fake blood.
3. If the color still isn't deep enough, add a drop or more of blue food coloring.
4. Stir in a bit of corn starch if you want your blood to be thicker.

---

Related articles

• It's Mine!: The Evil Dead Fake Blood Recipe (geekologie.com)
• Halloween Food Fun: Save Your Appetite and Then Get Ready to Lose It (geeksaresexy.net)
• Stage makeup workshop facilitator (loganlibraryya.wordpress.com)
• Here's The Recipe For The Blood Used In Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD (geektyrant.com)
• An Andy Rooney Moment™: True (Fake) Blood (slog.thestranger.com)

The Haunted History Of Halloween 3/5

Party favor idea - candy men

 picture © Trey and Lucy

While looking online tonight we came across a cute party favor idea - candy men. There's a complete tutorial on this blog - Trey and Lucy.

The Haunted History Of Halloween 2/5

The Haunted History Of Halloween 1/5

3 face paint recipes

A Word about Face Paint
It is imperative to note here that before you cover your body with these homemade substances you will want to test them out first on a small area of skin to make sure that you are not allergic. You will also want to keep in mind that these homemade items can, and most often will, stain fabrics, so caution is advised.

Face Paint Recipe One
Face paint variation number one can be created in your kitchen with the following materials;

•  ½ tsp. water
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• ½ tsp. cold cream
• Food coloring (assorted colors)
• Plastic or glass containers with lids (to store your face paint in)

Once you have all your homemade face paint materials on hand begin by adding the 1 teaspoon of corn starch to the ½ teaspoon of cold cream.   Stir the two ingredients together well.
Next add in the ½ teaspoon of water and mix it until well blended.   This concoction will serve as the base of your face paint.
Proceed by separating the base paint into the jars or containers that you have available and add food coloring as desired.
Face Paint Recipe Variation Two
Homemade face paint variation two is made by combining the following ingredients;

• ¼ cup water
• 1 tbsp. flour
• ¾ cup light corn syrup
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• Food coloring (assorted colors)

If you are opting to use face paint variation two you will need to first mix the flour and cornstarch together.   Then add in the light corn syrup and blend well.   That will act as your base and then just like in face paint variation number one, you can add whatever food coloring as desired.

Face Paint Variation Three
You will need the following items to create face paint variation number three:

• 1 tsp. petroleum jelly
• 5 tbsp. corn starch
• 2 tbsp. vegetable shortening
• 1 tsp. all-purpose flour
• Food coloring (assorted colors)

To assemble face paint variation three combine together the flour and corn starch. Then add it to the vegetable shortening and petroleum jelly. Blend it together well so that there are no globs.  That will act as your base and then just like the other variations of face paint, you add in your food colorings of choice.

Original recipes found here.

WitchHistory: Who is Jack O'Lantern ?

fake blood recipes

A Word about Fake Blood Just like homemade face paint, there are a variety of fake blood recipes that you can experiment with. Some are food based and others are laundry soap based.  Precise measurements are not given with all of the recipes because they are meant to be played with until you reach the desired color and consistency of blood that you want for a particular application. For example, if you are using blood as “dried blood” it is going to be darker in color than blood that would come from a fresh wound. In addition, deep vein or arterial blood would be darker than say the blood from a surface cut. Thin consistency blood is good if you are going to cover a large surface with it whereas a thicker blood is better if you want it to trickle from somewhere like a fake wound. Furthermore, you will also want to be very careful when using homemade blood because it can seriously stain fabrics like clothing, bath towels and carpeting. Therefore it is not recommended to use it on anything that you do not want permanently bloody. Also worth noting is that laundry or dish soap based blood has a tendency to lather up if you are rubbing the surface it is on up against another. It is generally not recommended for use on the hands or legs for this reason. What follows next are several homemade fake blood recipes that you can try for yourself. It is best to mix them up in a large glass mixing bowl or an old plastic bucket depending on how much of the stuff you will need

Fake Blood Variation One
*Light corn syrup
*Red food coloring
*Chunky style peanut butter
 Image by Nefi via Flickr

---

Fake Blood Variation Two
*Water
*Light corn syrup
*Red and green food coloring
*Milk

---

Fake Blood Variation Three
*Peppermint extract
*Red and green food coloring
*5 tbsp. corn starch
*1/3 cup water
*2/3 cup corn syrup
*Milk

---

Fake Blood Variation Four (NOT EDIBLE!)
*Liquid Woolite
*Red and blue food coloring
*Cornstarch

---

Fake Blood Variation Five (NOT EDIBLE!)
*Ivory Snow laundry detergent
*Red and blue food coloring
*Cornstarch

---

Fake Blood Variation Six (NOT EDIBLE!)
*Light corn syrup
*Chocolate syrup
*Red and blue food coloring
*Clear dish soap
*Corn Syrup Blood

---

Fake Blood Variation Seven (NOT EDIBLE!)
*16 oz. Light corn syrup
*1 oz. water
*1 oz. laundry soap
*Red and green food coloring
*Condensed milk

---

Additional Information
In addition to homemade face paint and fake blood there are several other household items that can be used to create Halloween special effects such as bread crumbs and regular women’s cosmetics.
Those wishing to learn more about creating their own special effects and stage makeup at home should consult with either their local stage performers or other performance venue staff for more suggestions.
Original recipe found here.

The Tale of Stingy Jack or Jack of the Lantern

fake skin recipe

Image by danagraves via FlicHere's a recipe for fake skin you can use for your costuming needs. Although we've not tried this ourselves yet, this seems to be a recipe with ingredients everyone should have laying around the house.
Materials Needed:

• 8 TBSP flour
• 5 TBSP warm water
• Regular or Halloween face makeup

Instructions:
Mix together the flour and water, this will result in a dough like mixture. Then add the makeup into the mixture.

Use this mixture with a bit of regular Elmer's school glue it can be affixed to the face or body. Mold the dough or fake skin to desired effect and then let dry. Keep in mind that this will take quite a while. However after adding the makeup and the fake blood or other gruesome effects makes this simple dough come to life.


Original recipe submitted by Claudia Sandoval to About.com.

Marilyn Manson-This Is Halloween Music Video

Martha Stewart Halloween pages

The Martha Stewart.com has a whole index page for just Halloween ideas which is well worth the time to look through. The amount of ideas and patterns you can glean from this site is very worth the trouble it is to spend the time clicking through the slide shows that seem to be the rage on this site.

A few pumpkin carving ideas can be found by following links -

• Halloween Pumpkin-Carving Patterns and Pumpkin Templates
• Pumpkin Carving and Decorating Ideas
• Carve-by-Color Pumpkins

Related articles

• Halloween for Pets: Martha Stewart Screaming Fetch Toys (shoppingblog.com)
• Martha Stewart Previews Her Halloween Special (seattlepi.com)
• It's Never Too Early for Halloween - Two Books You NEED for the Holiday! (dreadcentral.com)
• A Spooktacular Halloween Starts at PetSmart (eon.businesswire.com)

way to draw in trick or treaters

Image by therapycatguardian via Flickr




There's a great idea in this blog post about how to draw in more local kids to your house for trick or treating.


How do you ask? Bribe them!


The blog post tells it in better detail but the gist of it is offer up a chance to win a jumbo Hershey's bar and they'll be knocking all night long. The way kids enter is to draw a picture on a piece of paper of a pumpkin - all ages then can enter.


This is such a great idea to drum up excitement for trick or treating. Be sure to check it out!

Related articles

• Denver Is Fifth Best Trick-Or-Treating City, According To Zillow (huffingtonpost.com)
• How late is too late for trick-or-treating? (timesunion.com)

This is Halloween - the orignal

more free printable pumpkin patterns

Here are some more options for free printable pumpkin carving patterns. We will only add notes to unique patterns instead of a complete explination.

• M&M's patterns - 10 - a few based on the
• Better Homes and Gardens - 40+ - have to click alot to find them tho
• eHow - 66 - the alphabet
• Cyber Haunt - 20 -
• DLTK - 38 - all in .gif form
• Family Fun - 12 - gotta click twice to be able to download
• Hershey's - 30 - divided in skill levels, all are .gif, one Reese's
• HGTV - 8 -
• History Channel - 24 - divided in skill levels
• Kraft Foods - 6 -
• Pumpkin Glow - 40+ - 11 different categories including patriotic, christian, etc.
• Pumpkin Masters - 4 -
• Reader's Digest - 13 - have to click through a slideshow, link to download pdf at bottom
• The Pumpkin Wizard - 200+ - 18 different categories, some are pay only
• Stoneykins - 100 - all in .gif

There are still many more available but we'll start with these for now!

Related articles

• Free Pumpkin Carving Template - Ghostbusters (pinkraygun.com)

whole pumpkin decorating ideas

Happened across some decorating ideas using whole pumpkins which is great way to keep your pumpkins for longer. We found it at the Disney Family Fun website which is always a great place to find holiday ideas for the kids. Look for the ideas here.

 

 

Related articles

• Entertaining Tip: Paint Mini Pumpkins Gold!Lonny (thekitchn.com)
• Forget Pumpkins - Decorate With Apples Instead (apartmenttherapy.com)
• Ribboned Pumpkins (organizeyourstuffnow.com)
• Brightly Painted Pumpkins (apartmenttherapy.com)

free Halloween picture

Image via Wikipedia

Don't miss out on your chance to get a free Halloween picture from Sears! Only good till Oct. 31, 2010 so make an appointment soon. Here's the link to the coupon. What a great way to remember this year's costume!


It would also make a great way to invite people to your annual costume party NEXT year.

48 Pumpkin Patterns and a How-To Guide for Free

Image by Paul-W via FlickrExtreme Pumpkins is a great website to get inspiration for a new look at pumpkin carving. And we just realized that they offer for free -- a pattern & how to guide for download. You will have to enter a name and contact info but there isn't a charge.  Here's the link to the page.
And be sure to check out the whole website as it's invaluable for info. Want an example? Here's an in depth experiment they did on ways to preserve your pumpkin for a longer time frame. For those of us that would like the answer -

The Answer? Chlorox Clean-Up Cleaner with Bleach. You could probably use any cleaner with bleach in it, but I used Chlorox Clean-Up in the experiment and it worked really well.

So, I suggest you go into the cleaner cabinet as soon as you are done carving and spray away. I spray all of the cut surfaces as well as the entire insides. Don't forget to do the underside of your pumpkin's cap, it doesn't get a free pass.

This one application seemed to increase the shelf-life of your pumpkin by 100%, all for just one spraying. I suppose you could do even better if you sprayed it every few days, but I didn't. After all, it's time on earth is fleeting.

Image by bon_here via Flickr

Related articles

• Justin Bieber Gets Carved Into a Pumpkin. It's a Bieb-er'-lantern! (jsyk.com)
• Halloween How-To: DIY Halloween Pumpkins (abcnews.go.com)

tip on Halloween candy

Don't forget to check out online printable candy coupons before you go out to buy treats for the kids this year. We're not sure how many coupons will still be available this late in the game but we did see some pressed festive cookie coupons available this week.

• Smart Source 
• RedPlum 

 

Related articles

• Halloween Tips: Keep The Candy In Check (fyiliving.com)
• Create a DIY Glowing Trick-or-Treat Bag with Battery Powered LED Lights [Halloween] (lifehacker.com)
• Freaky and Popular Candy Tops Halloween Giveaways from Stupid.com (prweb.com)
• The Halloween Candy Trap (bettyconfidential.com)
• How to Save on Halloween (money.usnews.com)

great site for yard prop design

http://www.fulcrumsites.com/haunt/ 

This is a great place to get ideas or actual plans for building your own yard haunt props! We get so many ideas from here and the list grows every time we visit. Here's a few that at the top of our list right now -

• One-armed grave grabber
• Grave Grabber 

They just put up a preview of their 2010 set-up and we're already adding to our list! Here's that link - http://www.fulcrumsites.com/haunt/html/resurrection_cemetery.html.

kids printables

Nick Jr. has quite a few Halloween printables available on thier website - these are great for kids! Go check them out - http://www.nickjr.com/printables/all-shows/seasonal/all-ages/index.jhtml