Well Crafted

– By Theresa Capuana and Ellen Highsmith Silver –

Halloween brings Trick-or-Treaters to our door. Greet them with our simple put-together Pumpkin Pals. Use your own clothes or past Halloween costumes, stuff them, add accessories from your closet and attach a pumpkin head, real or artificial. Make them cute or ghoulish - we took the cute route.

Seat them near your doorway and let the spirit of Halloween take over.

Materials

Clothes: long-sleeved and --legged garments such as sweat tops and pants, shirts, jeans, t-shirt to put over a sweat top. Recycle Halloween costumes from a previous year. A good source for used clothes and accessories is The Salvation Army Thrift Store.

Accessories: straw hats, visors or baseball caps, sneakers, bandanas, wigs, sunglasses, suspenders and belts.

Stuffing: plastic grocery or dry cleaner bags, thin plastic drop cloths (for outdoor locations). Newspaper, tissue paper, recycled gift wrap(for indoors).

Heads: lightweight artificial pumpkins.

15” dowel or straight stick or twig (to attach pumpkin head to body)

Pumpkin cutter, craft knife or drill (to make hole for dowel)

Black Foamies: peel and stick foam (for making pumpkin face features)Raffia or straw: (for hands)

Rubber bands

Duct tape

Large safety pins

Instructions

Slip rubber bands around the ankles and wrists of the tops and pants. Using crumbled plastic bags or paper, depending on whether you are locating your pumpkin pal indoors or out, stuff the garments to desired fullness. If using plastic drop cloths or drycleaner bags, cut them into smaller, more manageable pieces. Fill the garment so it's not too stiff to bend into position.

Arrange the top over the pants and onto a chair. Add more stuffing if needed. Safety pin the parts together if necessary.

Add additional clothing and accessories. Wait until heads are attached to add bandanas or scarves.

The pumpkin head can be attached to the body in two ways. Simply duct tape it on or run a 15” dowel or stick through a hole drilled or cut in the bottom of the pumpkin. Use the projecting end to push into the body at the neck.

If pumpkin head needs features, cut them from black Foamies. Arrange hat on head; pull backing from foam and position features on pumpkin.

Remove rubber bands from sleeves; place small bundles of raffia or straw into wrist openings. Tape in place if necessary.

Arrange legs and slip on shoes. Use tape or pin to hold in place. Do a final positioning, taping or pinning where needed.

Happy Halloween!

Where to go for supplies:

Michael's Arts and Crafts Store, 2 Waterfront Place, Port Chester, 937-3060, for pumpkins, raffia and Foamies

The Salvation Army Thrift Store, 34 North Main St., Port Chester, 939-1620, for used clothing and accessories.