The Essential Guide to Planning Your Halloween Party and Decorations
October 31, 2009 / 1034
The Essential Guide to Planning Your Halloween Party and Decorations
As Halloween grows more popular by the year, grownups are now doing much more than passing out candy at the door. From decorating their homes, to becoming crafty with their pumpkins, to hosting parties for adults as well as kids, everyone joins in the spirit of the season. Let this guide help you prepare for one of the most entertaining nights of the year!
Decorate for Halloween and the Entire Autumn Season:
Halloween is indisputably one of those seasons when decorations make the difference in setting the stage for your guests and parties. Whether you’re planning a big Halloween blowout party, or simply want to make the mood festive for trick-or-treaters, begin decorating early and you’ll be ready for fun when the big day arrives.
- Setting the Stage for Halloween - The key to a great Halloween party is the atmosphere. Here are easy decorating tricks for turning your home into a Halloween treat. Read more …
Halloween Wallpaper Pumpkins
October 13, 2009 / 522
Download Halloween Wallpaper Pumpkins 1024×640 Read more …
Obama tops McCain in Pumpkin Poll
October 28, 2008 / 635
WEST HAVEN — It may not be scientific, but Ryan Wickstrand’s presidential pumpkin poll predicts Barack Obama will triumph over John McCain … at least on Halloween.The 30-year-old mastermind behind West Haven-based Zombie Pumpkins, an online business that sells stencils for pumpkin carving, keeps a running tally on his Web site of who is the more sought-after candidate.
So far it’s Obama over McCain, 63 percent to 37 percent.
“I’m no political expert,” Wickstrand cautions. “I don’t know, but for some reason I think that the people who carve pumpkins are a cross-section of America, so I would not be surprised if the percentages are similar.”
With Election Day only four days after Halloween, Wickstrand will find out soon enough.
“It’s a big election. We are going to have someone new next year,” he says. “Seems only right to get in on the media buzz.”
Wickstrand’s business works like this: About 180 of his hand-drawn designs are available at www.zombiepumpkins.com. Users can order, pay for and download stencils of their favorite designs — anything from Frankenstein to Ozzy Osbourne to Harry Potter — and use them to carve pumpkins. The business is in its sixth year, and Wickstrand counts 450,000 downloads so far this year alone. His is not the only pumpkin stencil Web site, but he likes to think his is unique in that he designs all the stencils himself. Read more …
Pumpkin Masterpiece News
October 28, 2008 / 995
It doesn’t bother Inegah Mandra that some of his best pieces of art end up in the garbage.Actually, the 35-year-old transplant from Bali kind of prefers it that way. Which really helps when your canvas is a pumpkin.
“I actually really like that part,” he said of the ephemeral nature of his work. “It means you always have a chance to start again.”
But it’s not like it’s easy to part with Mandra’s work. His pumpkins are intricate tapestries in orange where dragons chase each other amid flowers and symbols rooted in Asian mythology. Jack-o’-lanterns they are not.
Mandra doesn’t hollow out his pumpkins. They remain intact, his carving tools rarely cutting more than a few sixteenths of an inch into the apricot-colored flesh.
Pumpkins don’t offer a very broad palette to begin with, and by not hollowing out the fruit Mandra also gives up the ability to use candlelight shining from inside to produce a range of shades. So his colors are limited to dark orange, light orange and near-white.
“What I’m trying to do is make a contrast with those three colors and bring out the pattern,” he said.
Mandra isn’t a pumpkin artist by trade. He’s working part time at Cafe Lucky Noodle in Eugene while taking classes at Pacific University, preparing to be an elementary school teacher.
But his hobby is carving elegant masks and reliefs in wood, skills he applies to his pumpkins. He does it mostly for pleasure, but he’s taken on a few commissions as his work has become noticed and now does about a dozen stylish pumpkins each Halloween season. Read more …
Great Suggestions toward a Green Halloween
October 22, 2008 / 902
Here, we cover your bases to get your little goblins on the road to a greener Halloween this year. Keep in mind that the first rule of going green is always reduce. What you don’t buy is just as important as what you do buy. These tips come from greenhalloween.org and Kerry Kaufman of Green Plan-It.Treats
. Collect treats in a reusable bag. The good old go-to would be a heavy-duty pillow case.
. Don’t go overboard by giving oodles of treats.
. Cut back on candy by giving out some “treasures,” such as polished rocks, stickers, soy or beeswax crayons, glass beads, seeds or Play-Doh (you could make your own).
. To ease your fears of getting egged, make a basket with a mix of candy and non-candy treats and let kids pick what they want.
. Keep your eyes open for healthier treats from responsible companies (companies that make healthy food are often thoughtful about their packaging). Both Planet Organic and Community Natural Foods have healthy Salba snack crisps and organic lollipops on offer this Halloween. Community Natural Foods also has Denman Island chocolate pumpkins, Green & Blacks organic chocolate bites and Kettle Valley fruit leathers. Read more …Halloween Is Almost Here! Have You Gotten Your…
October 20, 2008 / 593
HALLOWEEN IS ALMOST HERE! HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOUR PUMPKIN YET? Pumpkin Breeder Talks About What People Like in a Pumpkin For adults and children alike, one thing comes to mind when thinking about October: Halloween. And one of the most popular traditions during Halloween time is picking out the perfect pumpkin. Whether at a pumpkin patch or the local grocery store, Americans across the country will be looking for the perfect pumpkin to decorate the front yard or turn into a jack-o-lantern. But what really makes a perfect pumpkin? Read more …
