"Trick-Or-Treat Bag" Cards

Trick or Treat,
Smell my feet,
Give me something
good to eat!

And if you don't,

I don't care,
I'll pull down
your underwear!

This year I made my Halloween cards for my grandchildren out of plain white kraft bags, the ones with handles on them. They're folded in half, and with a little glue stick, adorned with scrapbook papers, die cuts, google eyes, ribbon, spiders and various "spooky" goodies! THEY ARE SOOOOO CUTE!


This project was so much fun. There are so many really cute Halloween papers and embellishments; there is no limit to what you can create. I used lots of knock-knock jokes printed from my computer to add to the pages...children think they're so funny.

"Knock, knock, who's there? Goblin. Goblin who? Goblin your candy too fast will give you a tummy ache!" And there's the ever popular, "Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? He didn't have any guts!" Or, "Why didn't the ghost go to the party? He didn't have any-body to go with!"

When the children are ready to go out Trick-or-Treating, they can open the card into a bag and use it for all of those candy treats!




This is a great project to make with your own children or grandchildren. The kiddies love putting lots of google eyes and spiders on the bags........ENJOY!

....

The Halloween Tradition continues...

The Fall Season has arrived, you can feel it, Autumn is in the air! Even though it is just September 22nd, my thoughts are already on Halloween! The planning, preparing, decorating, crafting....it's my favorite holiday.

Growing up in Michigan, this time of the year was always very picturesque...colors of gold, orange, red, and brown covered trees and grounds. Blustery winds, chilling frosts, crisp apples being harvested, donuts & cider at the Franklin Cider Mill and pumpkin patches everywhere.

Nick Glazier 2006

As a child, my father loved Halloween and told us stories about himself and his friends going out on Devil's Night, pulling pranks.....oh, the stories he did tell! And being very artistic, he always created the best pumpkins for our house. We didn't "Trick or Treat" in those days, we went "begging". We would call out "Help the Poor"! It's so funny how the times have changed. We still beg for candy, but we call it Trick-or-Treating.

The tradition of loving this holiday started with my grandmother, Lillian Gertrude Bouchie-Morneau, who was born on Halloween, October 31, 1898. She loved black cats. It was in her blood! She would also read tea leaves in your teacup and would tell your fortune. We loved having tea with her and couldn't wait to sit around the table, reviewing our cups with their patterns of tea leaves, imagining what they resembled...then waiting to hear our fortune.

This holiday, fun filled with costumes and treats and spooky, scary ghosts and goblins, was easily passed down to my own children, John, Deborah and Robert (all three still kids at heart!). We reminisce every year about the time we did this or that...the year the school buses would stop in front of our house so all the children could see our fantastic decorations...and how much fun we all had sharing it together.


With a pot of homemade chili brewing on the stove to make our holiday complete, it was and is one of our biggest traditions. It just wouldn't be Halloween without it. To this day, it's what we have for our dinner in MD, SC and CA...who would want to break with tradition? We call each other on Halloween night to talk about "the chili" !

Skeleton Nick 2006

It all started because it was cold in Michigan, the chili was warming; and as the children dressed for the evenings festivities, there was no time to sit down and eat before running out the door at dusk to beg for candy. So a bowl of chili could be eaten in scattered bites while donning costumes replete with makeup for the night of frolicking on the streets with all the other children.

Grandchildren, Chris, Mimi and Brad (son John & Katie's children), have all grown up and I miss all the fun we had together when they were little but we have great memories! And this year, Nana gets to celebrate with yet another generation of little ones, grandchildren Nick 6 and Girlie 1 1/2 (daughter Deb & Steve's children), in South Carolina. We are already planning by phone how much fun we're going to have and the fun things we're going to make...decorations, yummy cookies and costumes.

You just have to love this holiday...
Family Fun at its best!

(Stay tuned for pictures of Halloween past and present!)

Just to get you warmed up, these pictures are of my son and daughter-in-law last year in MD...I told you we go all out for this holiday!

John & Katie Corsaut 2007

I love the flowers!

Every attention to detail...aren't these homemade costumes the greatest!

Happy Birthday, MOM!

This is a very special day for a very special person. My Mother, the sweetest, kindest lady I know, was born on September 1, 1919. (Photo circa 1938)

Cecelia Marie Morneau-Decoteau

Mom, words can't express how blessed I feel to have a mother like you. Your warm heart is a true treasure and you share it with everyone. Most people do not possess that kind of beauty, but you do!

Cecelia Marie, September 1, 2008

Thanks for all you've done for me, all the love you have showered on me, and for being my mom. My wish for you today, and every day, is all the hapiness and joy you can hold! Happy 89th Birthday, Mom!

The card I made to celebrate mom.

I cut four chipboard panels 4x6", and painted them with black acrylic on both sides, joined them with black gaffers tape, then painted the remaining exposed edegs. On an excursion to Temecula, I purchased a large sheet of vintage ladies from TheStampin Post. I had them tucked away to use for this project. Cutting out each image, 3 1/4x5", I used Golden Gel Medium from Dick Blick's Art Store to affix them, a different lady was used on the front and back of two of the panels. On the other two panels I stamped birthday greetings and "I Love You" in gold, embossed them, then sprayed all of the pages with gold webbing. (This close-up shows the webbing and trim.)The panels with the ladies were decorated with gold strips of Magenta Style Stickers (also from The Stampin Post). Thin decor lines around the pictures took a bit of time but the end result was well worth it. I used another package of the stickers, gold floral squares, to further decorate the corners.

Outside panels

Inside panels

This was not a quickie project, it took some time for all the details, but it was so rewarding.....the card turned out great. I loved the antique effect given by the webbing.

And the main thing....mom loved it!