Simple Halloween Ideas with No Pumpkin Carving

Gather Craft Items to Avoid Pumpkin Carving :

Look around your home; your craft room; or in your sewing basket. Gather items such as buttons, yarn, string, elastic, pom poms, glitter, fabric, left over paint, duct tape….get the idea? Essentially, grab anything you have and pile it all in front of you and your purchased pumpkin. You will also want to gather some glue, or short pushpins. Here are some inspiring ideas for all the items you may have collected:

By gluing buttons on your pumpkin for eyes, nose, and mouth, you have a simple, yet creative pumpkin.  Buttons can also be used to spell out scary words across your pumpkin. Take a look at this photo where buttons spell out ‘Boo!’ Use your imagination to spell scary messages across your pumpkin.

We love these pom pom pumpkin decorating ideas from BHG.

For a cute and cuddly pumpkin, cover it with colorful pom poms! Simply glue pom poms all over the pumpkin – voila! Your pumpkin is turned into a cuddly creature.

Pumpkin Decorating Ideas: Use Duct Tape

There are so many styles of duct tape on the market right now. In fact, decorating with duct tape is a big trend. Browse through your local craft store for a variety of duct tape styles. If you don’t want to purchase new duct tape, try using solid white tape and paste it Kris-cross all over your pumpkin in a random pattern, draw some small black eyes, or use black buttons for the eyes ; step back and admire your mummified pumpkin!

These duct tape pumpkin decorating ideas are a great no pumpkin carving idea from Home Talk!

Pumpkin Painting Ideas for your Halloween Pumpkin

What better way to make your pumpkins match your homes décor then by painting it with left over wall color? Grab that paint can from the garage ̶ you know the one that has that perfect color that you found for your kitchen or den ̶ then slather this color all over your pumpkin, allow to dry and presto – you have a pumpkin customized to your home.

Style Caster features pretty and cute pumpkin painting ideas here.

Try Pumpkin Stencils using Pumpkin Painting Ideas:

The great thing about these last minute décor ideas is that you only have to spend the few dollars on your pumpkin, the rest of the items can all be found in your very own home. Have fun searching your home for ideas to create your own creative pumpkin masterpiece.

For more Halloween Ideas for your home take a look at these.

Free Labor Day Patriotic Kids Crafts & Activities

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Here are just a few fun and free activities that your young party goers can do:

Patriotic Printables or Coloring Pages:

It looks like this Labor Day is going to be a hot one! So maybe set up a blanket or picnic table under a nice shade tree and turn it into a coloring station. Fill colorful bins with crayons and markers and print out some free coloring pages online. There are numerous sites that offer free or low cost coloring printables that follow the Labor Day theme. For example, Enchanted Learning.com has free printables that allow children to color in images of what kind of job they would like to do when they grow-up ̶ what a perfect theme for Labor Day!

We love these Etsy shops coloring pages for your kids:

Patriotic Printables

These printables are cute for 4th of July or Labor Day activities

Patriotic Kids Crafts: Make a Patriotic Flag:

What better way to celebrate this iconic American Holiday than by waving around the red, white and blue stars and stripes of our flag?

Children can easily make their own flags with construction paper, straws, and tape. Simply have them color a flag on a sturdy piece of construction paper and then tape or staple the straw to the side of their homemade flag. They will be sure to have fun waving their own creation while singing our anthem.

Another, easier option is to download printable flags such as the ones on examiner.com and have the children simply cut them out and glue or tape them to a wooden dowel or straw.

This patriotic banner kit is perfect for little hands to make from Etsy shop Sweet Pea Sprout.

Patriotic Sparklers:

A Labor Day bash is not complete without sparklers! Provide sparklers for all your party goers’ ̶ young and old alike! Just be sure to have Mom or Dad light the sparklers and assign a parent to watch over the kids while using them – the sparklers may be small, but they can get hot!

Have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend!

For more patriotic kids crafts on Stagetecture, click here.

Halloween season is here and creating fun homemade Halloween kids’ costume ideas make this time of year great! It seems that if you don’t get into the big box office store to buy your kids costumes now, then there will be nothing left by the time the first week of October arrives. But why rush to the store to buy a cheaply made costume that hundreds of other kids will also be wearing come Hallows Eve? Here are some really fun and inexpensive ways to dress your child for Halloween – you can rest assured your child will be the only ghoul in these one-of-a-kind costumes!

Image via: Pinterest

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Homemade Halloween Kids’s Costumes

Old Married Couple:

couple? This is the easiest costume! The boy simply wears a pair of black slacks  with a collared dress shirt, slick back his hair with some gel, put on a pair of black suspenders, carry a cane, and wear black-rimmed glasses  – voila! You have a nicely dressed gentleman. His leading lady will simply wear a pretty  cotton dress (think mad men style) and a proper ponytail tied high on her head. What could be easier?

Image via: Pinterest

Pinata

This costume will be too cute to ruin with a stick! To create a cute piñata costume for your child, simply get an old pair of pants and shirt that you no longer want to use. Then just cut strips of tissue paper about 3 inches wide and long enough to cover the width of the clothing.  Then slice vertically along the edge about halfway up each strip.  Glue these strips with a hot glue gun onto the old clothing, overlapping each one slightly over the other. It’s best to use typical piñata colors such as red, yellow, orange and green, and glue them on to form stripes (see photo).

Image via: CT Baker in the Acres

E.T. Phone Home

Here is an oldie but a goodie! Dress your child up like the young Elliott from ET (The Extra Terrestrial movie from Stephen Spielberg). Remember when he rode his bike with ET hiding in the front basket? Well, this scene is easy to recreate by simply having your child wear a red hoodie sweatshirt and prop a stuffed animal into the basket of their bike – just cover the animal up inside a blanket with only its head popping out, the same way ET did in the film. Maybe you could even find a stuffed ET somewhere online!

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

It’s the time of year when guests arrive at your door much more frequently. Yes, fall is the time of year when we host Thanksgiving, or our last outdoor cookouts, or those fun fall Oktoberfest feasts! So, what better way to greet guests than by adorning your door with the perfect front door fall wreath? Here are a few ideas to make your own fun fall wreaths – remember these are not just for the front door, they can be used on inside doors, closets, powder room doors, over mirrors – anywhere your guests will see!

We have a new wreath tutorial site – How to Make a Burlap Wreath.com

Fall for the Colors of Fall:

Image via: Pinterest

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Of course, what better way to bring the festive feeling to a wreath than to cover it in hues of burnt orange and browns? Take a nod from Mother Nature and fill a store bought grapevine wreath with glued on acorns, pinecones, and orange ribbon (wrap ribbon around the wreath to fill in any empty spaces). These vine wreaths are easy to find and inexpensive, allowing you to use your imagination and decorate to your distinct taste.

Twigs and Feathers:

Image via: Pinterest

Use a simple store-bought grapevine wreath as your base, but this time secure long twigs all around the circumference of the wreath (gluing for extra sturdiness if desired). Make the twigs long enough so that they fan out in a circular pattern all around the wreath. Then simply glue turkey feathers or peacock feathers sporadically around between the twigs (feathers can also be purchased at a local craft store). Finally, for the piece de resistance, tie a burlap bow to the side for a rustic finishing touch.

Orange You Going to Eat My Wreath:

Image via: Pinterest

Yes, you read that correctly! Decorate your wreath with oranges! Generously glue mandarins all around a grapevine wreath for delicious looking fall décor. No worries, the cold weather will keep the oranges from going bad too quickly!

For more fall front door wreath ideas and how to make a burlap wreath on Stagetecture, click here.

Are you looking for a family night favorite recipe? Bam! Emeril Lagasse has done it again with this sumptuous whole chicken, slow cooker roast chicken recipe. With the combination of fall carrots, celery, onions and garlic, this recipe will be your new go-to on all those busy work days. Try this meal along with the Crock-Pot recipe books we featured on Stagetecture!

Family Night Favorite: Slow Cooker Roast Chicken

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 Ingredients

1 whole chicken, 3 1/2 to 4 pounds
Kosher salt
Cracked white pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced carrot
1/4 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 lemon, juiced
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Image via: Pinterest

Directions

Are you tired of getting those processed and over priced dog treats from the store? Why not try a healthier and quite possibly more affordable option for your dog. This healthy dog treats recipe will make Fido love you even more.  Who better to give us a homemade dog treat recipe other than Martha Stewart? This sumptuous recipe will surely make Fido your best friend forever!

Healthy Homemade Dog Treats

Image via: A Quieter Storm

Ingredients

Makes about 5 dozen
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup brewer’s yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup low-sodium canned chicken stock, plus more for brushing

Image via: Pinterest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, wheat germ, yeast, and salt; set aside

2. Place oil in a large bowl. Add stock and flour mixture in three alternating batches, beginning and ending with stock. Mix well.

3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to about 3/8-inch thick. Shape biscuits using a dog-bone-shaped cookie cutter or by cutting around a store-bought dog bone with a butter knife.(Make biscuits that are appropriate for your dog’s size.)

4. If desired, you can spell out your dog’s name or a holiday message in the dough with a toothpick (wet the toothpick first so it won’t stick).

5. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.

6. Bake biscuits 10 minutes. Brush with stock; rotate baking sheets, and bake 10 minutes more. Turn off oven, leaving door closed. Let dog biscuits stand in oven to dry completely, about 1 1/2 hours. Wrap as a gift, or store in an airtight container at room temperature.

For more pet ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

It’s time to start thinking about fall decorating! Oh the crunch of leaves under our feet, the crisp clean air that drifts in through open windows, and the smell of bonfires burning just make me mellow and content.  Renewed by the cool breezes, it seems a perfectly logical time to renew our homes, as well. Decorating our homes for fall can be so easy, inexpensive and fun – just use nature’s bounty! Here are some great tips to decorate your home this season from the offerings of mother nature.

Decorating Your Fall Home With Organic & Natural Elements

Image via: Pinterest

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Take a Hike:

There is no better way to wind down with the family then by taking a wooded walk. Have the kids each bring a bag or knapsack and ask them all to collect items from the woods. Tell them that everything will work – such as pinecones, leaves, sticks, acorns, and even pebbles.

Once you are refreshed and invigorated from your walk, pour out everyone’s findings and begin to brainstorm. Here are a couple ideas, but be creative and come up with more yourself.

Make a Wreath:

One great thing to do with all those leaves is to press them flat in a large book for a couple nights. Once dry, you can glue the leaves onto a simple grapevine wreath that can be bought at any craft store. Using your hot glue gun, cover the wreath with leaves and fill in any blank spaces with acorns, pinecones or ribbon.

Image via: Many Hats of Mom

Make a Centerpiece:

The perfect fall centerpiece doesn’t have to be perfect at all! Line the center of your table with burlap, making a nice rustic runner. Then fill three large glass vases or urns with all your findings. For example, pour pebbles on the bottom of the urn, followed by layers of acorns, and leaves – keep repeating this pattern until the vase is full.

Image via: Twenty Three Oh One

Voila! Line these up along the center of the burlap runner and you have the perfect table scape.

For more autumn ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

The cooler fall weather is upon us! And as a typical early fall season tends to go, the nights and mornings are cool and the afternoons get hot. With these daily fluctuating temperatures, how do we keep your home energy efficient? Here are just a few tips to keep you and your home at just the right temperature this fall without breaking the bank.

Keep windows open or closed for fresh air:

Since the evening and early morning hours are the coolest at this time of year, it only makes sense to open your windows nice and wide at night.  I hear you, what about security? Well, consider just opening your upper floor windows while you sleep, allowing for fresh, cool air to come in while keeping the house safe and secure at the same time. (Keep an extra blanket near your bed, in case you get chilly in the middle of the night).  Make sure to close your windows and drapes around 10 a.m. before the afternoon heat sets in. This will ensure your home retains the cool air for as long as possible. The best thing about this plan? You can avoid turning on the costly air conditioner!

Line Dry Your Clothes:

Image via: Pinterest

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Yes, it seems old-fashioned, but line drying your clothes is not just for Grandma.  Our Grandparents did this because it was financially efficient.  Take advantage of these nice fall days and hang your clothes out on the line. After all, the sun is free!

Seal Your Windows:

Image via: Houzz

Sealing your windows is one of the simplest and most cost-efficient ways to make your home more energy efficient.  Inspect all your window and door frames for cracks or openings. Simply seal these cracks with a Low-expanding foam sealant. This will keep your doors and windows free of those chilly fall and winter drafts.

Image via: Houzz

Change Your Filter:

Another simple home efficiency step is to change your furnace filter on a regular basis, allowing for proper air flow through the ducts.  You may also want to have your heating system inspected and cleaned before the real chilly days of winter begin.

Use these tips this fall to save energy in your home on Stagetecture.

I just got back from a brisk, early morning walk and noticed the crunch of the first few leaves under my feet. Fall is the time of year most of us relish! The squash, pumpkins and apples are almost ripened and ready to pick. So, with that in mind, here is a Fall recipe courtesy of Cooking Light that highlights two Fall favorites – apples and pork!

Skillet Pork Chops with Apple and Onion Glaze

Image via: Pinterest

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Ingredients

1 1/2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed

2 cups  Gala apple wedges

1 tablespoon  butter, divided

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

4  (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork loin chops (about 1/2 inch thick)

Image via: Frugally Foodulent

 Preparation

1.Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Pat onions dry with a paper towel. Add onions to pan; cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once. Add apple to pan; place in oven. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until onions and apple are tender. Stir in 2 teaspoons butter, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove pork from pan; keep warm. Combine broth and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.

4. Add broth mixture to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook 1 minute or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Stir in vinegar and remaining 1 teaspoon butter. Serve sauce with pork and apple mixture.

For more recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

Labor Day is here and it’s time to celebrate!  Time for BBQ’s, back yard cook outs, and maybe the last pool party of the year. How about we get creative by adding a punch of the good’ol red, white and blue to our homes? The best way to really add the ‘wow’ factor to your décor is via the front yard, after all isn’t that the place that everyone sees first? Here are some great ways to turn the front of your house into the most patriotic on the block:

How to Add Patriotic Red, White and Blue to your Front Yard

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Dress Your Door

Why not turn your door into a huge American flag! It is super easy and makes a big impact to neighbors passing by.  Before long the entire neighborhood will be gathered at your door to admire your handiwork.

Simply cover the door with a long panel of craft paper and adhere with double-stick tape. Then paint on your flag! If you dare to get messy, then let the kids get involved. You could even use scrunched up tissue paper for the stars for a cool 3D effect.

Make a Yard Flag

This is one for the kids, but Mom’s be warned it will get messy! Use an old piece of plywood (whatever size you want your flag to be, but remember you will need to hang it, so you won’t want it too heavy). Then have the kids dip their hands in either red, white or blue paint. Direct the kids to use their handprints to create the stars and stripes of the flag as in the image below. Allow to dry and then you can add chain and eyehooks to hang from your front porch or tree in your front yard.

Voila, your home is fully Americanized and ready to greet all your Labor day guests. The great thing about these decorations? You can save them and reuse them again next year for your July 4th or Memorial Day celebrations!

For more holiday ideas on Stagetecture, click here.