Store bought costumes are bright, and colorful. They come with some accessories and make it easy to put your look together. On the other hand, they are unimaginative, are made of thin, easily torn material, are limited in designs and they are expensive.

If you’re going to be heading out to a Halloween party, whether it’s a work party, a social party or even just a neighborhood party, why not take advantage of some creative ideas and make a costume that is uniquely your own?

With a few simple items, some of which you may have around the house, some you can get at second-hand stores, you can make some one-of-a-kind costumes.

* Waldo - You will need a red and white striped shirt and blue jeans, a red or white knit cap and some round framed glasses. Add other accessories as you can find them.

* Old Man - You will need a button down shirt and some pants, both in a couple of sizes too large so you can wear a pillow under them. A vest is a nice touch and an old suit jacket. For the jacket, the tackier, the better. Use an eyebrow pencil to paint on whisker stubble and a can of white or grey hair color spray paint. Grab an old wooden cane if you have one. Be creative, cuff the pants, wear argyle socks, mismatch your socks and/or shoes.

* Old Woman - you will need a large shapeless dress or housecoat, fuzzy slippers or running shoes with support hose rolled half-way down and some rollers for your hair. Put a hair net or tie a scarf over the rollers. Creative touches might include horn-rimmed glasses or glasses on a chain round your neck.

* Bag lady - a variation on the above but add some nice touches with a large brown shopping bag full of empty cans, an old coat and scarf and a knit hat. Use makeup to create lines and wrinkles.

* Nerd - wear a pair of pants that are too short, loafers, white socks, white shirt and red clip-on bow tie. A pair of dark-rimmed glasses helps and don’t forget to put tape on them. Slick your hair back with gel or another appropriate prodcut. A pocket protector with pens is a nice touch. Use a red makeup stick to dot on some acne on the face. A fanny pack and an encyclopedia are other accessory ideas.

Raid your closets, second-hand stores and the dollar store for costume ideas and accessories. Be creative, have fun and enjoy your individualism.

A corn husk doll is a traditional doll made by Native American children and also children of Colonial families in early America. No facial features are painted on the doll, also called the “faceless” doll.

The Native American legend says that the Creator made the first corn husk doll to help watch children while the parents were busy gathering food and doing other adult activities. The doll had a beautiful face and the power to walk and talk. One day after a rain, the doll saw her reflection in the water. She was so beautiful that she spent all the day gazing at her reflection in that pool of water instead of caring for the children and the Creator punished her by taking away her face and her ability to walk and talk.

To make your corn husk doll you will need cleaned and dried cornhusks. You can save your own the next time you buy corn from the farmstand and dry them in the sun or you can purchase them at craft stores.

You will also need:

*Twine or string
*Scissors
*Pipe Cleaners (optional)

1. Soak the dried cornhusks in warm water until they are bendable and soft.

2. Take six husks and arrange them with all the tips at one end and all the large ends at the other. Tie a string around them a about an inch from the top of the large ends.

3. Trim the large ends with scissors to make them straight and even.

4. Holding the cornhusks by the knotted end, turn down the corn husks over the knot to form the head.

5. Tie another length of string at the “neck”.

6. For the arms, take a pipe cleaner and roll another of your husks around it to make the arms. Tie the ends with string at the “wrists”. This will make the arms poseable. An alternative method is to take three strips of husk and braid them to make the arms.

7. Slide the arms between the husks under the neck knot.

8. Tie another string below the arms for the waist.

9. Take two thinner husks and tie criss-crossed across the chest and back and tie at the waist to form shoulders.

10. If this is a boy doll, divide the husks hanging down from the waist into two and tie with small strips of husk at the ankles, knees and hips to form legs. You can use pipe cleaner here too, to make the legs poseable.

- or-

If this is a girl doll, take some more husks and tie them at the waist to form a full skirt.

11. Tie small strips of husk around the neck and waist to cover the strings.

There are only two more weeks to Halloween. The time leading up to it is exciting for children, the anticipation second only to that of Christmas.

To keep little hands busy until they can get them on that Halloween night candy, here are some crafts that are fun for kids and require only occasional parental supervision. From macaroni skeletons to windsock ghosts, this site has spooky ideas for kids of all ages. Check out the costume ideas for great spooky looks kids can create themselves. Also fun are the games and “rancid recipes” but the ghost stories might be too ghoulish for young children.

Halloween is Here.

Kids get excited about Halloween and in addition to gleefully planning their costumed appearances on neighbor’s doorsteps, they are also mentally calculating how much candy they can carry.

For small children, a little plastic pumpkin with a carry handle is about right. Older children plan on a larger take-home so they will enjoy making their own trick-or-treat bags.

When we were kids, we took paper sacks from the grocery store or pillowcases to maximize our candy-gathering capabilities.

For an updated pillowcase bag, check out the local fabric store for some ghoulish holiday designs.

You don’t really need a pattern if you are even moderately talented at sewing. Just measure and cut from the fabric 2 rectangles 26 1/2″ x 40 1/2″ with one long side along the selvage. With the pieces inside out and the selvage edges together, sew a seam 1/4″ from the fabric edge on three sides leaving 2 1/4″ inches unsewn at the top of the long selvage side. Make a fold of 1/4″ turning down over the wrong side of fabric and press with an iron. Then fold down another 2″ of fabric and press. You can then stitch the top fold down. Turn the bag right side out. You can then thread a cotton rope cord through the top fold using a large safety pin attached to one edge. Tie the ends together. This project is easy enough for kids to create and they will have a unique drawstring Halloween trick-or-treat bag.

I found some great fabrics for Halloween at corinthian mills.