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 It’s Halloween, and the children are all dressed up in their hand-crafted, store bought or make-shift costumes waiting for the festivities of the day to begin. Perfect Peggy is practicing for the bobbing for apples contest that could win her first place and an extra bag of treats. Little Johnny is placing a ‘kick me’ sign on the back of loud mouthed Marvin’s cowboy vest in hopes to see some great responses from his classmates. And Simple Sally is all giggles as she juggles oranges in her Homey the Clown outfit. Before the festivities begin, the teacher has all the children gather together to make holiday crafts. Today’s project is Halloween cards. A simple assignment involving poster board, glue, markers, crayons and an assortmen t of holiday fabric; these cards will make a great gift to bring home for family and friends. To start, the teacher hands each student an 8½ x 11” sheet of manila poster board. This will be the foundation for the card. The poster board is folded in half to look like a blank card. In each card, the teacher has the student write their own personal message to their friend or loved one for the holiday. Next, the teacher supplies the class with an assortment of colorfully printed Halloween and harvest fabrics to select for the cover of their cards. From funny monsters, haunted houses, and scary witches to flaming skulls, dancing ghouls and jak-o-lanterns, there is something for every kiddy bopper in the room. Big Betty finds a Betty Boop Halloween fabric that she says reminds her of herself, well, at least her name. While Gentle Jane nurtures her soft spot for cats with a black cat and pumpkin fabric.
 
With a good pair of children’s scissors and some Elmer’s Glue, the children cut and paste images from their fabric, and in some cases, the whole piece, right onto the poster board. The teacher encourages her students to let their imagination run wild as they combine different prints and designs into a collage fashion across the 8 x 5 ½” card cover. Some wrote “Happy Halloween” on the top half and placed their material on the bottom, while others cut out individual creatures of the night and created a spread of horror around their blank canvas to make unique works of art. At the end of the day, each child had a truly one-of-a-kind Halloween card masterpieces to bring home with them.
Here’s Sweet Susan’s card. She said it reminded her of her and her twin brother Shawn. Maybe later on when the sun has cast her warm orange glow across the sky, and the bright moon has awoken to offer his light in the dark night sky, they will go out trick-or-treating in merry fashion.
Check out our colorful harvest and nature fabric here! Check out our selection of holiday fabrics here!
Posts by J&O Fabrics StoreLabels: cards, children fabric, children's crafts, children's fabric, childrens crafts, childrens fabric, halloween, halloween cards, halloween crafts, halloween gifts, trick or treat fabric
When we think about Halloween, thoughts of ghouls and goblins, witches and warlords, and trick-or-treaters often come to mind. This is the one night in October where all the freaks come out to grab some candy, frighten old ladies, and put enough fear in the hearts of the young and old to last a lifetime. In preparation for the festivities of the night, many gather together in a frenzy of orange and black to bob for apples, feed their faces with every sweet treat under the sun, and parade around town in fashionable hand-made Dora and Spiderman outfits in hopes to win 1st place in the Kindergarten Costume contest. By sundown, these little kiddy boppers are wired up and ready to do some damage in their neighborhoods as they travel door to door in search of more goodies to fill their sugar craving vessels. To help assist our little addicts with the packaging of all their treats, we put our creative minds together and came up with a simple craft project that is both festive and functional. It’s the Trick-or-Treater’s Halloween Tote Bag, and it is adorned with some of the best Halloween novelty fabric this side of the sun. Our cute little bag is a softer and more concealing one than the old school plastic hollow pumpkin containers used by those from my generation many moons ago. In fact, the Trick-or-Treater’s Halloween Tote Bag offers two sturdy straps (as opposed to the black plastic one from the day), a wide canvas pouch, and the freedom to customize its exterior to fit your child’s personal taste. From haunted villages and flaming skulls, to funny monsters and creepy crawly’s, just the right print and design will give your child’s Trick-or Treat Halloween Tote bag a unique one-of-a-kind look that will surely stand out under the scary moon lit sky.  To start your Trick-or-Treater’s Halloween Tote Bag, the easiest way is to purchase a plain manila tote bag from your local craft store, dollar store, or online site. This first step is better suited for those who are either too busy to create a bag from scratch, don’t want to work that hard, or novices at the sewing game. Since we support the idea of the
least-amount-of-work-with-good-results-anyway idea, we encourage this method. The totes usually range in price from $1-$5 depending on the merchant. The size can range from small to large, so you might have to guestamate how generous your neighbors are with the treats to determine what size will be best for your little goblin or princess.
Next, select your special fright night fabric. Mix and match prints if you feel creative. The imagination is endless .A half a yard of 45” cotton fabric is all you should need to complete your project. If you want to be on the safe side to allow room for error, purchase a full yard. Whatever is left over, can surely be put to use in creative ways for the holiday festivities. Some of the best Halloween novelty prints can be found at J&O Fabric store. Pick from scary creatures to animated characters. They sky is the limit. 
Pick up a bottle of Tacky Fabric Glue or a roll of Stitch Witchery. These notions will allow you to secure your fabric to the tote bag without having to do any major sewing. A few tack stitches here and there will secure your material as needed. Both no-sew items can also be found at your local craft store or online fabric site. Cut two separate pieces of fabric to fit each side of the bag and glue or tape into place. Follow the directions on the labels for dry time and proper application. You can cover the whole side, cut out the images and glue them sporadically around, or just cut enough fabric to create a festive border on your tote. Use of a good pair of seamstress scissors or pinking sheers will allow for ease in cutting whichever design you decide on. Keep the handles bare or add ribbons and trim for thrills. If you want to get really creative, add gemstones or other Halloween notions where applicable to make your Trick-or-Treat Halloween bag truly
unique. When you are finished, step back and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Your project is complete! Now dress that little child of yours up in their Halloween best and step out into the night. The haunted wonderland awaits. Check out our scary selection of Halloween fabric here!
Check out our colorful selection of harvest fabric here! Check out our vast selection of other holiday fabric here!
Posts by J&O Fabrics Store Labels: halloweeen bags, halloween, halloween crafts, halloween fabric, halloween tote bag, trick or treat, trick or treat fabric
 Halloween for some is nothing more than a night of inconvenience as little snot nosed children from far and wide seem to flock to your door at the setting of the sun and beg for their fix of red 40, high fructose corn syrup , and of course, that powdered white stuff the FDA calls ‘sugar’. You know, the stuff that makes children’s heads spin and their mouths to run a mile in a minute flat. It’s the stuff that a junkies high is made of, and an addicts low craves for. For others, Halloween is the night of frights where you are guaranteed a front row seat at a double feature showing of Michael Myers in Halloween, and then an all night viewing on your favorite sofa of Jason the comeback kid in Friday the 13th Parts 1-10. For these individuals, Halloween goes hand in hand with devil worship, haunted houses and of course, heinous acts of terror. For the rest of us, Halloween is all about the wildest, most creative and of course, most fashionable costumes! Out of all the “secular” holidays we Americans celebrate, this one gives us permission to dress as scandalous ladies of the night , impersonate police officers, and cast spells on arch enemies with the stroke of our magic wands, all without punishment or apology. And if we are lucky, the perfect hand made costume incorporating fabulous Halloween material from our local fabric store, can win us a few extra bucks in our pockets and the title of “Queen of the Costumes” for the night. Maybe the ancient Gaels from the Celtic culture were on to something in their beliefs that on October 31st, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead became dangerous for the living. Even then, it was a practice to wear masks and costumes in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them. Interesting. Maybe the religious festivities born out of various European Pagan traditions better known as All Saint’s Day, brought just the right amount of spiritual undertone and mystery to conjure up the battle between good and evil that Halloween has been notoriously known for. Or maybe, just maybe the imagery and hype surrounding Halloween is just an amalgamation of nearly a century of work fro m the American filmmakers and the FDA to create a demand in the consumer’s minds for the dark, the mysterious and all that CANDY! Whatever the motivation to embrace this wickedly wild and spiritually festive event, one thing is for sure; it must be done in style. If you’re a trick or treater, carry the best bag to hold your goodies. If you are attending a costume party, make sure yours wins. And if you are joining the angels at the All Saint’s Day parade, wear the most colorful and festive outfit you can find. Hey, the freaks only come out once a year, why not join them!
Check out some of the coolest Halloween fabric on line right here! Check out the hottest skull & cross bone fabric here! Check out some colorful harvest fabric here! Posts by J&O Fabrics StoreLabels: all saints day, all souls day, costumes, halloween, halloween fabric, harvest fabric, holiday fabric, trick or treat, trick or treat fabric
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