A HALLOWEEN THAT'S MORE TRICK THAN TREAT

Replica of the Addams Family House

Sometimes a scheduled blog guest has to bow out due to any number of reasons. Such was the case today. Our scheduled guest is in the middle of a move and found she just couldn’t juggle one more responsibility right now. It happens, and hopefully, she’ll be able to reschedule at a future date. 

Meanwhile, since we often like to promote recycling, reusing, and repurposing here at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers, and because Halloween is only a little more than two weeks away, I thought I’d repurpose and update a few older posts with a Halloween spin and an older book with a Halloween adventure. 

 

The Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series is set in Westfield, an actual New Jersey town. My author, Lois Winston, chose a real town, rather than making up a fictitious one, because she’d learned that many readers enjoy being able to make a connection between the settings in books and places they know.

 

If you’ve never been to New Jersey, you might have an extremely negative and erroneous image of The Garden State, associating it more with bumper-to-bumper traffic, industrial waste, crime-ridden cities, and obnoxious reality TV stars. Yes, unfortunately we do have our share of those. However, we also have beautiful rolling hills, mountains, beaches and the most spectacular skyline in the world right outside our windows (for those of us lucky enough to live on the western side of the Hudson River.)

 

We also have some very lovely, historical small towns that date back to pre-Colonial times. Many have appeared in TV shows and movies over the years. One such town is Westfield, which was supposed to go all out for its 300^th anniversary this year, but…well, Covid-19 had other ideas, and we’ve had to adapt.

 

Westfield was also the home of Charles Addams, creator of the Addams Family cartoons, which appeared in The New Yorker and were the basis for the television show of the 1960s and the subsequent movies and Broadway musical. Two years ago, Westfield created Addamsfest to celebrate our famous resident.

 

Addams was inspired to create his iconic cartoons by the Westfield Victorian home of his childhood. Unfortunately, the house burned down many years ago. In honor of Addamsfest, the town erected a replica of the house on a small patch of land in the middle of the lake in the center of town.

 

Addamsfest is still being held this year as part of our anniversary celebration but in a toned down, socially distanced, mask-wearing way, given our new normal. 

 

By the way, few years ago Westfield was named the 30^th safest place to live in the United States. Luckily, such surveys don’t include murders that are the product of my author’s imagination, like the ones that take place in A Stitch to Die For. 

A Stitch to Die For

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 5

 

Ever since her husband died and left her in debt equal to the gross national product of Uzbekistan, magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack has stumbled across one dead body after another—but always in work-related settings. When a killer targets the elderly nasty neighbor who lives across the street from her, murder strikes too close to home. Couple that with a series of unsettling events days before Halloween, and Anastasia begins to wonder if someone is sending her a deadly message.

 

Buy Links

Paperback

Kindle

Nook

iTunes

Kobo

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--A CELTIC HALLOWEEN WITH AUTHOR CORNELIA AMIRI

Cornelia Amiri and her muse, Severus the Cat, live amid the hustle and bustle of humid Houston, Texas, as does her wonderful son and granddaughter. She’s currently working on her 40th book —a sci-fi comedy romance with a Celtic goddess as the heroine. Learn more about Cornelia and her books at her website.  

Cool Things about Celtic Halloween and a Wolf Shapeshifting God 

 

As an author of Celtic/Paranormal/Romance novels, my favorite holiday is Samhain, the Celtic festival which gives us our Halloween traditions. Samhain, pronounced SOW-uhn, is the Celtic New Year, October 31st or November 1st. Samhain falls between the old year and the new; it is a day without time. Spirits of the dead and supernatural beings easily cross into our earthly dimension on this day, since the veil between worlds is at its thinnest.

 

In our modern Halloween celebration, one of our favorite supernatural creatures are werewolves. The ancient Celts liked shapeshifters probably even more than we do. All their gods had shape-shifting forms. 

 

For instance, the Welsh God Gwydion, that name means born of trees, which sounds very Druidry and for good reason, he’s basically the druid of the gods.  Along with that, he’s a powerful sorcerer, a master of illusion, a trickster, and a poet.  Plus, one of his main shapeshifting forms is a wolf. 

 

Gwydion is the hero of The Wolf and the Druidess. It’s set at Samhain rather than Halloween and instead of a werewolf, the hero is the Celtic god Gwydion. It’s my version of a sexy, romantic Halloween werewolf tale. And it does have a Little Red Riding Hood vibe.

 

The Wolf and the Druidess is the first book in my Druidry and the Beast series. All are all set in Iron Age Britain during one of the ancient Celtic festivals. The hero is always a shapeshifter god and the heroine a smart, strong druidess. All the druidesses are from different tribes, so you get to know a little about the tribal culture of those times. 

 

The series is complete at five books. All are available individually or together in a box set. 

 

The Wolf and the Druidess

Druidry and the Beast, Book 1

 

A Celtic Tryst with A Shape Shifter Twist

 

In days of old, deep in the dark woods, Druidess Seren discovers a wolf shapeshifting into the bare, muscular Celtic God, Gwydion. Seren's mind turns from the Samhain feast to wicked thoughts of Gwydion's gorgeous body. Is the love Gwydion and Seren share strong enough to overcome barriers between an immortal god and a mortal woman? Or will a warning of danger from beyond the grave destroy the sensual magic brewing between the wolf and the druidess?

Buy Link 

AUTHOR CORNELIA AMIRI TALKS ABOUT #SAMHAIN AND #HALLOWEEN

Cornelia Amiri’s superpower is turning her imagination into thirty-seven published sci-fi/fantasy romance novels (with the help of her muse, Severus the Cat.) Today she joins us to talk about Samhain and Halloween. Learn more about Cornelia and her books at her website. 

Ways Samhain is the Same as Halloween

Samhain, pronounced Sahvin, is the Celtic New Year. It falls on October 31st to November 1st, and it’s where we get many of our Halloween traditions. As an author of Celtic Fantasy Romance novels, my favorite holiday is Samhain or as some say Halloween.

The Celts believed that the veil between worlds was at its thinnest on Samhain. The dead easily crossed into our earthly dimension and were honored by their living kith and kin, who left plates of food out for deceased relatives, visiting for Samhain. 

Samhain was celebrated with games, (like hurling, foot races, and horse races) a rowdy feast, and a massive, blazing bonfire. In Ireland, druids held the Samhain celebration and lit the great fire at Tlachtga each year, about twelve miles from Tara.

Turnips, apples, and hazelnuts were popular food for Samhain. The ancient Celts carved out mangel-wurzels, a type of turnip, and placed tallow inside to use them as Samhain lanterns. The Celt’s believed that on Samhain, a type of shapeshifting fey—puca in Gaelic (pwca in Welsh and bucca in Cornish) spit on any unharvested apples rendering them inedible. That’s why the ancient Celts picked all the apples before the Samhain feast began. So, don’t buy any apples picked after Halloween, those puca could still be creeping around the orchards. 

Hazelnuts ripened in Autumn and were believed to impart wisdom as well as strength to anyone who ate them. Maybe I should try some hazelnuts and see if that works. Since Samhain was the end of the autumn season, any of the livestock (cows, sheep, pigs) deemed unlikely to make it through the coming winter were slaughtered at this time. So, there was a bounty of delicious boiled and roasted meat to feast on. And of course, there was plenty of heady ale or mead to go around.  

The Wolf And The Druidess  

In days of old, deep in the dark woods, Druidess Seren discovers a wolf shapeshifting into the bare, muscular Celtic God, Gwydion. Seren's mind turns from the Samhain feast to wicked thoughts of Gwydion's gorgeous body. Is the love Gwydion and Seren share strong enough to overcome barriers between an immortal god and a mortal woman? Or will a warning of danger from beyond the grave destroy the sensual magic brewing between the wolf and the druidess?

Buy Links

paperback 

ebook 

ANASTASIA STROLLS DOWN MEMORY LANE

Every so often I get the de-cluttering bug. Such was the case a few weeks ago when I realized I had way too much stuff filling up every nook and cranny in my house. So I held a yard sale last week to find new homes for all that stuff.

Afterward, I decided to tackle several years’ worth of paperwork that filled four large filing cabinets. When I was finished, my curb was lined with multiple cartons of paper for recycling. I’m sure I wasn’t the recycling guys’ favorite customer that pick-up day!

While going through all those files, I came across a Halloween Door Witch I created way back in...well, let’s just say quite a few years ago. Unlike today with Halloween having become such a huge decorating holiday, back then stores didn’t carry the plethora of Halloween décor they do today. People who wanted to decorate their homes had either a limited number of items they could purchase or had to create their own. Today you can walk into any big box store or shop that sells seasonal home dec items and find something very similar to my Door Witch.

In the mood for a Halloween mystery? The Kindle version of A Stitch to Die For is on sale for only $0.99 until the end of the month.

A Stitch to Die For

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 5

Ever since her husband died and left her in debt equal to the gross national product of Uzbekistan, magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack has stumbled across one dead body after another—but always in work-related settings. When a killer targets the elderly nasty neighbor who lives across the street from her, murder strikes too close to home. Couple that with a series of unsettling events days before Halloween, and Anastasia begins to wonder if someone is sending her a deadly message.

Buy Link 

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--NOT SO KEEN ON HALLOWEEN

Last year I wrote a post about why I hate Halloween. Well, another year has gone by, Halloween is only a few weeks away, and my feelings about the day haven’t changed. However, as much as I loathe Halloween, as a crafts designer, I have to put my feelings aside and create Halloween-themed crafts, as does my pseudo-doppelganger author. Featured above are some Halloween designs she created for the 2015 Halloween issue of Just CrossStitch magazine.

I have it on good authority that author Lois Winston isn’t all that keen on Halloween, either. Frankly, I think she uses me to exorcise her Halloween demons. Why she has to project her fears onto me, dumping her emotional baggage on me, is something I’ll never understand. Just look at the mess she got me into during Halloween in A Stitch to Die For. Even the jack-o-lantern cookie on the cover gives me the willies! With one glance at that diabolical pumpkin, you know Lois has it in for me.

However, if you like Halloween-themed mysteries, you should enjoy watching me deal with all sorts of things that go bump in the night—whether real or a figment of my author’s imagination.

A Stitch to Die For

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 5

Ever since her husband died and left her in debt equal to the gross national product of Uzbekistan, magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack has stumbled across one dead body after another—but always in work-related settings. When a killer targets the elderly nasty neighbor who lives across the street from her, murder strikes too close to home. Couple that with a series of unsettling events days before Halloween, and Anastasia begins to wonder if someone is sending her a deadly message.

Buy Links

paperback 

Kindle 

Kobo 

Nook

iTunes 

WHY ANASTASIA POLLACK HATES HALLOWEEN

Halloween is only eight days away. The holiday has become big business with consumers spending nearly 8 billion dollars annually, 2 billion of which is spent on decorations, another 2 billion + on candy. Adults spend over a billion and a half dollars on costumes for themselves, slightly less for their kids. Nearly 70% of the population will celebrate Halloween in some way. Count me in the minority.

I hate Halloween. There, I’ve said it. Need me to repeat it? I can shout it if you prefer: ANASTASIA POLLACK HATES HALLOWEEN!

Am I a curmudgeon? Anyone who knows me (with the exception of my mother-in-law who actually is a curmudgeon—and a communist one to boot) will tell you that’s not the case.

My feelings about Halloween hearken back to my childhood. I was a shy child, painfully shy. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for a shy child to ring a stranger’s doorbell and beg for candy treats? That wasn’t the worst of it, though.

The worst part of Halloween for me was the roving bands of teenagers who would lurk in the bushes and bombard unsuspecting trick or treaters with raw eggs. Egg shampoos might be good for your hair but not when they’re forced upon you in the dark, complete with the shells.

How I dreaded October 31^st! And still do. Of course it hasn’t helped that a psycho killer recently set his sights on my normally quiet street. Somehow I managed to survive, but the experience has served to reinforce my feelings about Halloween.

You can read all about it in A Stitch To Die For and the events precipitated by one of those killings in Scrapbook of Murder.

Meanwhile, if anyone knows how I can escape Halloween this year (keeping in mind I have absolutely no discretionary income, thanks to Dead Louse of a Spouse), I’m open to suggestions.

A Stitch To Die For

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 5

Ever since her husband died and left her in debt equal to the gross national product of Uzbekistan, magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack has stumbled across one dead body after another—but always in work-related settings. When a killer targets the elderly nasty neighbor who lives across the street from her, murder strikes too close to home. Couple that with a series of unsettling events days before Halloween, and Anastasia begins to wonder if someone is sending her a deadly message.

Buy Links

paperback 

Kindle 
Nook 
Kobo 
iTunes

Google Play

Scrapbook of Murder

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 6

Crafts and murder don’t normally go hand-in-hand, but normal deserted magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack’s world nearly a year ago. Now, tripping over dead bodies seems to be the “new normal” for this reluctant amateur sleuth.

When the daughter of a murdered neighbor asks Anastasia to create a family scrapbook from old photographs and memorabilia discovered in a battered suitcase, she agrees—not only out of friendship but also from a sense of guilt over the older woman’s death. However, as Anastasia begins sorting through the contents of the suitcase, she discovers a letter revealing a fifty-year-old secret, one that unearths a long-buried scandal and unleashes a killer. Suddenly Anastasia is back in sleuthing mode as she races to prevent a suitcase full of trouble from leading to more deaths.

Buy Links

paperback

Kindle 
Kobo 
iTunes 
Nook 

#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--CROSS STITCHED HALLOWEEN HAUNTED HOUSE

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought I'd share with all of you a cross stitched Halloween Haunted House designed by author Lois Winston and featured thirteen years ago in The Cross Stitcher magazine.

DECORATING WITH JEANIE--HALLOWEEN HOMES

Did you decorate your home for Halloween this year? Americans now spend more money on Halloween than any other holiday except Christmas. The National Retail Federation has estimated that Americans will spend $7.4 billion on Halloween this year. Yes, that's BILLION--with a B! And that includes $350 million on costumes for pets! This is a fairly recent phenomenon. Twenty or thirty years ago you’d rarely see the exterior of a home covered in orange cobwebs or giant glitter spiders, ghouls, and ghosts. Today they abound, along with witches, tombstones, orange lights, and pumpkins of all shapes and sizes.

The other day I took a walk through my neighborhood and was somewhat astonished by the minimalist bent this year’s Halloween decorating had taken. I’m used to my neighbors going all out, competing with one another for the most over-the-top extreme Halloween house on the block. Not this year.

During my one-hour walk I came across only one lawn cemetery. Understatement seems to be the theme this year with some homes only wrapping porch columns in cornstalks and others only tying a scarecrow to a light post. However, the most minimalist décor I came across was the house with two lone mini-pumpkins perched on the stair railing columns. You may have to squint to see them. I have to wonder why they even bothered.

What about you? Do you decorate for Halloween? Do you prefer to put up more generic autumn decorations such as wreaths made of red and gold leaves? Or do you just wait until after Thanksgiving and decorate for Christmas?

BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--GUEST AUTHOR CONNIE ARCHER

Connie Archer is the national bestselling author of three Soup Lover’s Mysteries with a fourth due out in March. Learn more about Connie and her books at her website. Today Connie joins us to talk about one of her favorite holidays. 

Halloween has to be one of my favorite holidays . . . there’s something about the season, the cooler air, the pumpkins, the red and gold of the trees and the macabre decorations of witches, skeletons, cobwebs and headstones that delights me. Horror films, ghost stories, trick-or-treating, bobbing for apples, haunted houses, corn mazes, and hayrides are just some of the things that mark this season. Costume stores have cropped up everywhere. In fact, in my neighborhood there’s one that’s open all year, just in case you have the urge to don some crazy gear for no good reason at all!

Hallowe’en, a contraction of Hallows Even or All Hallows Eve, is closely related to the Celtic Samhain (pronounced Sow-in). The Celts of the British Isles and Northern Europe celebrated this Druidic festival for thousands of years when the sun reached the fifteenth degree of Scorpio. It was the end of one year and the beginning of the next. In our century, this position of the sun actually occurs on November 7^th.

At this time, those spirits must be comforted with offerings of food and drink to ensure the tribe and their livestock survived the winter. Wearing costumes of animal heads and skins, the people of the tribe attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. At a deeper level, these rites were observed in order to make contact with the spirits of the departed who were considered sources of guidance rather than sources of dread. Druid priests built bonfires and the community gathered to burn crops as sacrifices to their deities. At the end of the celebration, they re-lit the fire of their hearths from the sacred bonfire in the belief that this would protect them during the coming winter.

Carved Turnip

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:

Traditional_Irish_halloween_Jack-o%27-lantern.jpg

Mass immigration from the British Isles and Europe during the 19^th century popularized the rituals we now know today. Immigrants brought their varied All Hallows Eve customs and a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. In Ireland and Scotland, the turnip had traditionally been carved during Halloween, but immigrants to North America used the pumpkin, which was larger, softer and much easier to carve.

The American tradition of trick-or-treating most likely dates back to early All Souls Day rites in England during which poor citizens would beg for food and be given “soul cakes” in return for a promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. The soul cakes to the poor replaced the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. This practice, “going a-souling” was eventually done by children who would visit houses in the neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

Samhain was a time for divination, and apples were often used to tell the future. An unmarried girl would peel an apple in one long strip and cast the peel over her shoulder. The peel was believed to reveal the initial of her future husband. Another practice involved cutting an apple into nine pieces while sitting before a mirror in a room lit by only one candle. Turning away from the mirror, the individual would eat eight pieces of the apple, ask a question and throw the ninth piece over his or her shoulder. The mirror would then display an image responding to the question.

But what is it about this date – October 31st? The eve of November 1? Or the time period when the sun reaches the fifteenth degree of Scorpio? It’s not the shortest day of the year; it’s not actually a time of harvest, yet so many cultures throughout the centuries acknowledge this night and day as significant.

In Poland, people are told to pray out loud as they walk through the forests so the souls of the dead might find comfort. In 19th century rural England, families gathered to burn straw on a pitchfork while kneeling in a circle to pray for the souls of the dead until the flames went out. In Spain, special pastries known as the “bones of the holy” are put on the graves of the churchyard. In Finland, visitors to cemeteries on All Hallows Eve light votive candles, referred to as the sea of light. Totenfest or Totensonntag is celebrated in some Protestant churches on this day. Kalan Gwav, also known as Allantide, is a pagan Cornish festival traditionally celebrated on this night. The Mexican Day of the Dead is marked by gathering to pray for the dead and bringing favorite foods of the departed to their graves. On the Isle of Man, Hop-tu-Naa, a Celtic festival, is observed. And in Scandinavian countries, a Norse ceremony called Alfablót involves sacrificing to the elves, meaning nature spirits or spirits of dead ancestors.  

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:

Jack-o%27-Lantern_2003-10-31.jpg

Could it be that the Druids were right? That among the stars are doorways to other dimensions including the land of the spirits? That on a certain night the veil between this world and the other thins, allowing spirits to warm themselves at the hearths of the living, and for those who are prepared, to make the journey safely to the other side?

Samhain or Halloween will be upon us soon. This is a time to complete the old and prepare for the new in our lives. Consider the last twelve months. If there are matters unresolved, now is the time to complete them and begin to look forward to the new year.

And don’t forget your pets. Here’s a Samhain ritual designed to honor the spirits of both wild and domestic animals: [http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/samhainoctober31/ht/Animals_Samhain.htm]

Happy Halloween!

A Roux of Revenge

Snowflake, Vermont, is known for its skiing in winter—and its soup all year round, thanks to Lucky Jamieson’s By the Spoonful. Autumn brings golden leaves, pumpkin rice soup, the annual Harvest Festival…and murder.

Lucky’s soup shop is busier than usual this October, with groups of itinerant travelers in town to work the Harvest Festival. One newcomer seems to take a particular interest in Lucky’s young waitress Janie, spying on her from across the street. Is the stranger stalking Janie?

After an unidentified man is found murdered in a van by the side of the road, simmering suspicions about the travelers are brought to a boil. But when Janie is put in harm’s way, Lucky must join forces with the travelers to turn up the heat on a killer…

Buy Links

paperback 

ebook 

HALLOWEEN SCAVENGER HUNT

Find this Halloween graphic somewhere at www.loiswinston.com
as part in the Halloween Scavenger Hunt

The hunt has begun!

As mentioned last week, from now through the 23rd, over 30 authors featured in Bake, Love, Write: 105 Authors Share DessertRecipes and Advice on Love and Writing are hosting a

Halloween Scavenger Hunt. It's now time to start hunting!

Here’s how it works:Participants visit the website or blog listed for each featured author to find a Halloween graphic hidden on one of the website or blog pages. The more sites you visit, the more chances you have to win. There are over 60 prizes with multiple winners. The list of prizes and the dates they will be given away is here.

Authors participating include: Lois Winston, Brenda Novak, Caridad Pineiro, Jessa Slade, Kathryn Jane, M.L. Guida, Skye Taylor, Cathryn Cade, Victoria Adams, Sharleen Scott, Kathleen Kaska, Erin Farwell, Daryl Devore, Cynthia Luhrs, E. Ayers, Chantilly White, Helena Fairfax, Molly MacRae, L.C. Giroux, Stacy Juba, B.V. Lawson, Ruby Merritt, Kay Manis, Ashlyn Chase, Kitsy Clare, Elizabeth Rose, Liese-Sherwood-Fabre, Sloan McBride, Elaine Joyce, Debra Goldstein, Barbara Phinney, Alicia Dean, Haley Whitehall, Terry Shames, Melinda Curtis, Lynn Cahoon, and Renee Field.

Here’s what you need to do: Visit Sloan McBride’s blog where she’ll have all the information posted, including links to the authors' websites/blogs and a link to a page to type all the answers. Or your can download the page of authors, websites/blogs, and for typing your answers here. The page will give you the authors’ names and links to their websites/blogs where you’ll search for the Halloween graphics. Rafflecopter will be used to determine prizewinners.

Here's the IMPORTANT part -- once you've filled in your answers on the scoresheet, you must email the document to Sloan at sloanmcbride@gmail.com.  She’ll review the answers and will enter your name the number of times that corresponds to the number of sites you visited and provided the correct answers.  

Happy hunting, everyone!

A SPOOKTACULAR SCAVENGER HUNT

Last week Lois Winston mentioned that there would be a scavenger hunt with lots of prizes in connection with the debut of Bake, Love, Write: 105Authors Share Dessert Recipes and Advice on Love and Writing. Well, it’s going to be a Halloween Scavenger Hunt!

For those of you who like dealing with the spooky, join us to do something cooky!

From October 6th through the 23rd, over 30 authors featured in Bake, Love, Write: 105 Authors Share DessertRecipes and Advice on Love and Writing are hosting a Halloween Scavenger Hunt. 

Here’s how it works: Participants visit the website or blog listed for each featured author to find a Halloween graphic hidden on one of the website or blog pages. The more sites you visit, the more chances you have to win. There are over 60 prizes with multiple winners. The list of prizes and the dates they will be given away is here.

Authors participating include: Lois Winston, Brenda Novak, Caridad Pineiro, Jessa Slade, Kathryn Jane, M.L. Guida, Skye Taylor, Cathryn Cade, Victoria Adams, Sharleen Scott, Kathleen Kaska, Erin Farwell, Daryl Devore, Cynthia Luhrs, E. Ayers, Chantilly White, Helena Fairfax, Molly MacRae, L.C. Giroux, Stacy Juba, B.V. Lawson, Ruby Merritt, Kay Manis, Ashlyn Chase, Kitsy Clare, Elizabeth Rose, Liese-Sherwood-Fabre, Sloan McBride, Elaine Joyce, Debra Goldstein, Barbara Phinney, Alicia Dean, Haley Whitehall, Terry Shames, Melinda Curtis, Lynn Cahoon, and Renee Field.

Here’s what you need to do: On October 6th, visit Sloan McBride’s blog where she’ll have all the information posted, including links to the authors' websites/blogs and a link to a page to type all the answers. If you want to have a handy reminder, you can also download the page of authors, websites/blogs, and for typing your answers here. The page will give you the authors’ names and links to their websites/blogs where you’ll search for the Halloween graphics. However, the graphics won’t be posted on the authors’ sites until October 6th. Rafflecopter will be used to determine prizewinners.

Here's the IMPORTANT part -- once you've filled in your answers, you must email the document to Sloan at sloanmcbride@gmail.com.  She’ll review the answers and will enter your name the number of times that corresponds to the number of sites you visited and provided the correct answers.  

FASHION WITH TESSA--HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

Will Doc McStuffin or Wolverine be ringing your doorbell today? Most likely you’ll see many of both, depending on the age and sex of the trick or treaters in your neighborhood. According to one survey, the top five kids’ Halloween costumes for 2013 will be the characters from Despicable Me 2, Monster’s University, various superheroes, Sofia the First, and Doc McStuffin.

You might also find a few creative DIY costumes among adults. According to one recent newspaper article some top trending ideas for costumes are Flo, the Progressive Insurance spokesperson; Grumpy Cat; the guys from Duck Dynasty; and homages to Sharknado.

Of course, we’ll still see lots of princesses, Disney or otherwise, along with witches. Zombies will still be seen prowling the streets, as well as the occasional vampire, and you’ll probably notice a Walter White here and there. Hopefully, you won’t open your door to find a Honey Boo Boo or twerking Miley Cyrus, but you never know.

Happy Halloween from all of us at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. Don’t steal too much of your kids’ candy!

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--HALLOWEEN CROSS STITCH

It's never too early to start thinking about Halloween. The holiday now ranks second when it comes to decorating our homes. This quick-to-stitch cross stitch design can be made into a Halloween ornament for decorating a tabletop tree, as a doorknob hanger, a plant poke, or stitched on goody bags filled with candy corn or other treats. What else might you use the design for? Post your suggestions in the comments section. -- AP 

FROM ALL OF US TO ALL OF YOU

The editors at American Woman,

Along with ghoulies and ghosties,

Long-leggety beasties,

And things that go bump in the night

Wish you all a Happy Halloween!

(and suggest you not gobble up all that candy in one sitting!)

DECORATING WITH JEANIE - THINGS TO DO WITH PUMPKINS

It’s that time of year again – pumpkin time. Monica S. writes for Feast Your Eyes!,  which is a company that does event-planning and catering in Toronto. Today she joins us to offer 15 suggestions for things to do with your pumpkin. -- AP

15 Things To Do with Your Pumpkin

Autumn is the season for cooler weather, amazing parties and most importantly, pumpkins. This time of year, you see pumpkins everywhere. Many believe that the only use for this large vegetable is turning it into a delicious pie or carving it for Halloween, but this is not the case. There is so much that you can do with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. Here are fifteen things to do with your pumpkin.

1. Make candleholders
One great way to utilize mini pumpkins is creating cute little candle holders. Whether you are holding a party in your home or planning an event, pumpkin candle holders are great additions to any autumn décor. Carve a hole in the top portion of the miniature pumpkins and place candles inside. For a more detailed look, carve designs on the outside.

2. Make pumpkin seeds

Instead of throwing out your leftover seeds, rinse them out and sprinkle them with a little salt or spice. Then place them in a 300 degree oven for about 45 minutes until they turn golden brown to create a tasty and nutritional snack. Pumpkin seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids, iron and zinc as well.

3. Paint your pumpkins
In order to use your pumpkins as beautiful decorations, paint them instead of carving. With the help of latex paint, you can paint almost anything on a pumpkin.

4. Pumpkin Bowling

Look for the roundest pumpkin you can find and then remove its stem, Afterwards use the round pumpkin instead of using the ball in a kiddies bowling set. Don’t expect the pumpkin to roll straight like a ball. That’s where the fun comes in!

5. Make a pumpkin gift basket
Instead of going to the store to purchase pre-made gift baskets, create your own by using pumpkins. Once you hollow out the pumpkin, you can fill it with flowers, jams and other gift foods to give to party guests or family members.

6. Use your pumpkin as a vase

 Carve out the top part of your pumpkin and clean the inside. Place a vase inside to hold the flowers. The other options is to hot glue flowers or candles on the top of the pumpkin.

7. Use as fireplace decorations
Once you have painted or carved your pumpkins, you can use them as fireplace decorations. Beautifully decorated pumpkins can highlight a focal point, such as a fireplace, in a room.

8. Pumpkin Games

Halloween parties can be fun; coming up with ideas for games can be a bit challenging. Find some really mini pumpkins to use for pumpkin bobbing, or play the passing pumpkin or even finding the pumpkin games.

9. Set up an outdoor pumpkin wagon
When you want to spruce up an outdoor space and give it that seasonal feel, set up an outdoor pumpkin wagon or two.

10. Carve a pumpkin

It’s something fun that people of all ages can do. You can either carve out something really silly and simple or you can carve out something really scary and spooky.

11. Bake a pie
Everyone loves to sit down and enjoy a delicious pumpkin pie with a nice cup of coffee or tea.

12. Plant and grow more pumpkins

When cleaning out your pumpkin, don’t forget to save those seeds for planting season.

13. Use as photo props
At a party or event why not set up a photo area with pumpkin props? A cute picture for guests to take home is a great idea that will ensure they remember the occasion.

14. Make a bird feeder

Make sure to use a small pumpkin in order to create the bird feeder. Cut your pumpkin in half and gut it. Then use a strong, sturdy rope to hang the pumpkin on a tree branch or your porch. You can use small sticks for birds to perch on by inserting them in the pumpkin. Don’t forget to fill the pumpkin with birdseed.

15. Make curried pumpkin seeds
Several delicious recipes are available for curried pumpkin seeds. With a few simple ingredients that include lime juice, curry powder and a few spices, anyone can make this tasty snack that can be served anywhere.

Overall, there are so many options when it comes to pumpkins. You can use them for food as well as a variety of creative crafts, décor and gift ideas. If you are planning a party or event, you can use these ideas to decorate the event space. Aside from these ideas, do not forget catering Toronto. A great caterer can make any party or special event even better. They may even have a few great ways to incorporate pumpkin into the menu.

Thanks for the wonderful suggestions, Monica! -- AP