Ghoulish grub and bone rattling crafts for Halloween

Get into the spirit of Halloween whether it’s at home, at work, at school, or for a party. Making a craft or baking a spooky treat is simple and easy to do, and doesn’t require much more work than a regular recipe or activity would require. The best part is you don’t have to break the bank to participate in Halloween fun! Below, we’ve found some great recipes and craft ideas that anyone can take part in during the Halloween weekend that won’t take much time or effort on your part.

Trick or treating and wearing a costume are only one part of Halloween – make your own spooktacular decorations for your home or cook-up some wickedly good desserts for a party! [INSERT TWEET THIS LINK].

For a super-simple Halloween themed snack idea or party treat, try these Witch Brooms from Couponing to Disney. They’re really quick and easy to make, and you can add your own little designs and decorations to them! The amount of supplies you will need will depend on how many you want to make.

Ingredients:

• Pretzel sticks
• Peanut butter cup treats
• Assorted decorations (optional)

Note: these ingredients can be purchased as gluten-free options.

Instructions:

• Unwrap the peanut butter cups and place them upside down, so the narrower end is facing up
• Insert the pretzel sticks into the peanut butter cups so the will resemble a witch’s broom standing up
• If you want to add some flair to the broom sticks, you can alternatively use icing, sprinkles, and other baking decorations to the peanut butter cups.

Another great dessert idea that can also be made with gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and nut-free options, are these Frankenstein Rice Krispie treats from Big Bear’s Wife.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 10 ounces marshmallows
• 6 cups rice krispie cereal
• 10 drops yellow food coloring
• 10 drops blue food coloring
• Melted Chocolate/Candy Coating
•  Candy Eyes

Instructions:

• Melt the butter in a large pot and add the marshmallows. Stir until they are all melted!
•  Add in the food coloring and stir until it turns green.
• Add rice krispie cereal a little bit at a time and stir to combine.
•  Press rice krispie cereal into a buttered 9 x 13 pan. Press flat and let cool.
•  Let rice krispie treats sit for about 30 minutes.
•  Remove from pan and cut into squares.
• Melt chocolate according the package directions. Dip the tops of the Rice Krispie Treats into the melted chocolate.
• Lay on a sheet of wax paper (or a plate).
• Use some of the melted chocolate and “glue” on the candy eyes.
•  Fill a ziplock bag with some of the melted chocolate, snip an end off and pipe a stitch mouth onto Frankenstein.
• Let the Frankenstein Rice Krispie Treats sit for about 20 minutes undisturbed or until the chocolate had hardened.

If you’re feeling crafty, these Witchy Pinecone Owls from All Free Kids Crafts requires minimal materials – and they look really cute!

Materials:

•  1 pinecone
• Black craft felt
• Colored craft foam
•  Scissors
• Glue
•  Ribbon

Instructions:

• Gather a pinecone from your yard.
•   Cut out a triangular piece of black craft foam. Round the edges.
•  Cut slits in the piece on the rounded side.
•   Cut out two doughnut-shaped circles of black craft felt.
•  Fold triangle into a cone. Slide cone into one doughnut piece. Flip up slits to the underside of the hat.
• Glue slits to the underside of the hat. Glue second doughnut piece to cover up slits.
• Glue colored ribbon around hat.
• Cut out small diamond shape from craft foam in whatever color you like and glue onto pinecone.
•  Cut out two small black circles and two larger colored circles from craft foam.
• Glue smaller circles inside larger ones and glue onto pinecone.

Read more here.

However, if you’re looking for a little more complex craft – this one is sure to light up Halloween night! A Little Claireification has a great DIY Mummy Mason Jar Luminaries that is not only fun to make but will look great around your home afterwards.

Materials:

• Mason Jars
• 1″ Gauze Bandage
•  Googly Eyes
• Flameless Votive Candles

Instructions:

• Take a mason jar and wrap it with some gauze bandage tape.
• Hot glue on a couple of googly eyes
• Add in a little flameless votive candle (or a regular votive if these will be attended at all times) and boom! 

Happy Halloween!

Fall is here - and winter isn't too far behind!

Now that summer is definitely over, it’s time to start preparing your home for the fall and winter seasons. This means clearing out your closets, mudrooms, and bringing in the clothes, shoes, and accessories that you’ll need in the coming months.

To make room for your seasonal clothing – especially bulkier jackets – pull out any summer or spring clothing and take this time to go through your items. Donate anything that is old or too small. Also, think about how often you wear it or if you even wear it anymore. If you don’t like it, don’t keep it. Donating these items to someone who could use it is better than letting it take up storage in your closet or wardrobe.

Summer clothing is often light-weight and made out of in-expensive material that doesn’t last long. Don’t hold onto the items you know won’t hold up until the next summer.

Summer shoes can also be taken out and sorted through. Any flip flops that are falling apart, or flats that have seen better days should not be kept. Try on your other shoes to make sure they fit, and take this opportunity to repair any heels or pairs that need repair.  

Once you’ve decluttered your summer items, consider moving them to the back of your closet or another area that is out of the way because you won’t need to access these items on a daily basis. Clear storage bins can also be used to store summer clothes under the bed, or on top of a closet shelf.

Alternatively, a rolling rack can be installed in a basement or spare bedroom closet to hold your summer and spring clothing, and clear plastic bins can hold shoes. If you don’t have clear bins, make sure you properly label what items are in each container and who they belong to. Make sure they are stored properly – avoid having to re-iron creases in blouses and work shirts if you choose to store them in a drawer or container.

Once this is done, you can pull out your warmer jackets and sweaters, and store them in the front area of your closet, or the easiest accessible drawers and cupboards in your wardrobe. Pull out boots, hats, toques, gloves, and scarves. However, because Calgary’s weather is constantly changing and we can get mild weather even in the winter, consider keeping a few lighter pieces out, like a thinner jacket or t-shirt just in case. Also, if you’re planning on taking a winter vacation to a warmer location, it might be easier to store a few items from your summer wardrobe in an accessible location.

When you’re going through and changing out your seasonal clothing, the most important thing to keep in mind is organization and efficiency. By placing your everyday items in a location that is easy to access, you can stay organized in your daily routines. Swapping out clothing in your closet gives you more space for the items you actually need, and keeps the items neat and tidy and quick to take out.

Winter is fast approaching so make sure your home is ready for it! [INSERT TWEET THIS LINK]

Back to School - Locker organization tips

Lockers can be used to store a lot of important items, many of which have to be easily accessible because they’re used every day, and there isn’t enough time to search around for them. To start the school year off right, take some time before or after class, or during a break, to clean out your locker and set it up so that it functions properly for the rest of the school year.

-       Get rid of clutter: It can be easy to stash loose papers, old wrappers, and containers or non-essential items at the bottom of your locker, but they’re only creating clutter and taking up valuable space. Take some time at the end of each week to quickly scan through your locker, and either throw out, recycle, or take home the items that you don’t really need.

-       Designate space for school supplies: Don’t keep extra paper, pens, pencils, or other school supplies sitting loose in your locker. Instead, store them together in a case that you can take with you, or in magnetic holder on your locker door (like this one) so they’re easy to access and don’t get lost.

-       Hanging space: Keep your hanging space free for your bag or backpack, coats, and sweaters – don’t just throw these items onto a shelf or on the floor of your locker. This will keep your locker clean and tidy, and free up space for your books and other items.

-       Floor space: The bottom of your locker should be left for shoes, gym strip, or sports equipment and your lunch bag – anything that is potentially dirty, smelly, or takes up a lot of room. This will keep the items separate from your books and supplies. These items and others should also be stored here because they usually aren’t used as often as your books and don’t need to be within easy reaching distance.

-       Books: If you have a shelf, organize your textbooks and notebooks or binders by your class schedule and line them up with the spines facing you. This way, books are easy to identify and take out when you’re heading to your next class. Also consider colour coordinating your different subjects in case your books to get mixed up.

-       Schedules: Keep a copy of your class schedule on your locker door so that it’s always there for reference, especially during your first couple of weeks of classes. It’s also a good idea to keep a magnetic notepad or mini-white board to keep track of important assignments and deadlines, as well as anything that needs to get done like forms signed, supplies you’re low on, and other information.