by Kristen Bagwell

Fall is here and we're loving the cooler weather! Halloween is the big topic of discussion in our house lately, and I am considering digging out the decorations already...which brings us to fun and easy Halloween crafts.

Many of you who know me are likely wondering why one of my sisters didn't write this for us. My younger sister is a jewelry-making photo-taking genius; my older sister has knitted enough baby clothing and made enough quilts to cover upstate NY (and we love her for it). Crafts and I generally do not spend much time together, but these are easy ones that any parent and child can enjoy...seriously! These are primarily younger-kid crafts...I'll share some older-kid ideas and food ideas in the next few weeks.

Palm Pumpkins
Depending on your child's age, this may be more for Mom than child. However, these could make great invitations or thank you notes! You'll need orange and green finger paints and whatever you want your pumpkins to appear on (paper, card stock etc). Simply dip your child's palm (no fingers) into the orange paint and press onto your paper surface. Ta da - there's your pumpkin. Then, using the green paint, dip a finger in and press the "stalk" onto the pumpkins. The older kids can draw a pumpkin patch, or use their fingers to make other shapes - mice in the pumpkin patch, bats, birds, etc...anything they come up with.



Handprint Spiders
This might be my favorite. You'll need black finger paint and a paper surface to decorate, and googley eyes if you're feeling adventurous. Have your child dip palm and all fingers except thumb into the finger paint, then press on to the paper with fingers pointed toward the edge of the page. Repeate with the other hand, making sure the palms overlap. Wait for the paint to dry, then paste on 2 googley eyes and voila! The older kids could make a background for this one as well, or paint a spider family with one -two big spiders and smaller fingerprint spiders with legs drawn on.




Pumpkin Spiders
For party decorating, this is a breeze! You can buy the pre-cut pumpkin shapes at any large craft store. Follow the directions for the palm-print spider except use the thumb this time. My daughter also gave this one a smiley face by making a line of fingerprints under the spider's "nose." Since the pumpkins are pre-cut, these can be made very quickly and in quantity if need be.

What are your favorite holiday crafts? Post your comments below, and Happy Fall!