Scary and Fun Crafts To Make For The Scary Halloween Season

One of my most favorite holidays is Halloween.  There are just so many different creatures you can make for scary, frightening and delicious you can make for your home decorating purposes. 

If you love to decorate for Halloween like I do and love Halloween creatures I think you'll like the gathering of Halloween crafts shown in the picture above.  Most are free e-patterns.  Some are free e-books or how-to articles on making that particular scarecrow.  

If you're eager to get started on your Halloween decorating just click on the pictures or links below for the decoration(s) you're interested in creating.  

Have fun with your "spooky" decorating!

A Bit Of a Challenge - Free Primitive Annie Witch E-Pattern

Free Primitive Andy Frankenstein E-Pattern For Halloween Decorating Fun

Boo! Hoo! Billy Primitive Ghost Ornament Free E-Pattern For "Nice" Halloween Decorating

How I Made My Quick and Easy Little Spooky Collaged Bottle Decoration

Care For Some Brew, Virginia Primitive Halloween Witch Free E-Pattern - She's Frightening!

How I Made My Harem Mixed Media Collage Shelf Sitter Witch

How I Made My Halloween Mixed Media and Collage Embellished Bottles

Hazard A Guess What I Am? Primitive Ghost Stump Doll Free E-Pattern

Mabel I Won’t Cast A Spell?” Primitive Witch Stump Doll Free E-Pattern

Halloween Haunted House Mug Rug Free E-Pattern

Halloween Haunted House Trick Or Treat Lined Tote Bag Free E-Pattern

Halloween Haunted House Embroidered Trick Or Treat Lined Tote Bag Free E-Pattern

Halloween Haunted House Mini Quilt Free E-Pattern

Alpacas At Spooky Hollow Wool Felt Mini Quilt Free E-Pattern

For more information on all my free e-patterns, e-printables and e-books please CLICK HERE.

Please respect My Terms of Use:  All patterns, e-patterns, printables, e-printables, e-books, graphics, tutorials, how-to's, articles and other e-products © 2004-2023 Linda Walsh Originals-Designs by Linda Walsh. All rights reserved. Commercial selling or reselling by any means prohibited without the written consent of Linda Walsh.

Patterns, e-patterns, printables, e-printables, e-books, graphics, tutorials, how-to's, articles and other e-products are for personal use only. You may not modify, photocopy, download, upload, post, transmit, display, perform, publish, license, reprint, create derivative works from, mass duplicate, re-sell, digitize, and reproduce in any other form (print, digital or electric) or commercially apply, embed, share, Email, or redistribution in any other means. Use of any of the above is prohibited without the written permission of Linda Walsh.

However, you may link to my website(s)/blog(s) and the individual page(s)/blog post(s) (including 1 picture) but do not copy, reprint or duplicate my website(s)/blog(s) or individual page(s)/post(s ) without my permission.

Items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns and E-Books are intended for personal use for fun or small scale personal and business profit as long as you credit us with the design. Large scale commercial use (i.e. mass production) of items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are by permission only.

Please see my Terms and Conditions for additional information.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.

Boo! Hoo! Billy Primitive Ghost Ornament Free E-Pattern For "Nice" Halloween Decorating

We all know that ghosts are supposed to be scary! That's their job - to scare everyone at Halloween, especially the little children. 

Well, what if there's a ghost that doesn't want to scare anyone - especially little children. 

A ghost that just wants to be friends with everyone and a ghost that doesn't just want to be visible at one time of the year. 

A ghost that wants to celebrate Christmas, and New Year's Day, and St. Patrick's Day, and Easter, and the 4Th of July, and any of the other holidays. 

A ghost that wants to have a family someday of 12 little ghosts running around. 

A ghost that is nice and kind and thoughtful and considerate. 

Well, that would be "Boo! Hoo! Billy." 

"Boo! Hoo! Billy" is tired of being viewed as mean and nasty and malicious. 

He's never been nor does he ever want to be anything like that. 

He just wants to be a normal person with a normal life. 

Is that too much to ask? 

"Boo! Hoo! Billy" doesn't think so. 

"Boo! Hoo! Billy" is a 7" primitive ghost ornament with a coffee stained white muslin cloth body and embroidered face. He is wearing a shredded shirt that he thinks fits him very well and isn't frightful at all. In fact, he will right proudly tell you that he made it himself. 

Not only is he a very friendly ghost, but a very handy one, too. 

He'll need to be after all if he wants to have 12 little ghosts someday. 

Wouldn't you agree?

“Boo! Hoo! Billy”, 9” Handmade Primitive Ghost Ornament - Halloween Series 

To view and download my free e-pattern please CLICK HERE. You'll be brought to Google Drive where you can view my free e-pattern. Then just download my free .pdf e-pattern. 

For more information on all my free e-patterns, e-printables and e-books please CLICK HERE.

Please respect My Terms of Use:  All patterns, e-patterns, printables, e-printables, e-books, graphics, tutorials, how-to's, articles and other e-products © 2004-2023 Linda Walsh Originals-Designs by Linda Walsh. All rights reserved. Commercial selling or reselling by any means prohibited without the written consent of Linda Walsh.

Patterns, e-patterns, printables, e-printables, e-books, graphics, tutorials, how-to's, articles and other e-products are for personal use only. You may not modify, photocopy, download, upload, post, transmit, display, perform, publish, license, reprint, create derivative works from, mass duplicate, re-sell, digitize, and reproduce in any other form (print, digital or electric) or commercially apply, embed, share, Email, or redistribution in any other means. Use of any of the above is prohibited without the written permission of Linda Walsh.

However, you may link to my website(s)/blog(s) and the individual page(s)/blog post(s) (including 1 picture) but do not copy, reprint or duplicate my website(s)/blog(s) or individual page(s)/post(s ) without my permission.

Items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns and E-Books are intended for personal use for fun or small scale personal and business profit as long as you credit us with the design. Large scale commercial use (i.e. mass production) of items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are by permission only.

Please see my Terms and Conditions for additional information.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.

My Halloween Mixed Media Spooky House

As you know from my previous blog post in September of 2021 I wrote a Linda's Blog post about how I had made the "Putz" chipboard beach house kits I had bought from AgedWithThyme Etsy Shop. Along with posting about the kits I also posted a little about what "Putz" houses were.  You know how I love history.... lol

Well, I so enjoyed making the beach houses so much I decided to make more of the "Putz" house kits I had bought.  There were 10 kits left so I decided to make one a haunted house for Halloween and two houses for the Fall season.  

The remaining 7 would be for the Christmas and Winter holiday season.  Some of the kits were larger homes 3" x 2" by 4" and some were tiny 2" x 2" by 2" houses, which would be perfect as ornaments for the Christmas holiday season.

I selected the haunted house and fall houses I wanted to use and set the other 7 house kits aside.

I decided to start with the two fall houses as it had a larger saltbox colonial kit which looked very similar to our home with a few exceptions.

After finishing my two Fall houses I set my sites on my spooky mixed media collage Halloween house. 

I had also decided to use a pine rectangle board as the base for this house as well as it would make my house a little sturdier and instead of painting the top of the wood base I would use paper scrapboard  to collage the top side and chose an orange colored paper with black spider images alll over it. The remaining sides and bottom would be painted dark brown.

For this house I used a separate chipboard front door alcove and two chipboard dormers.  I opted to paint all the sides and window frames of the house with dark purple acrylic paint but paper collage the roof of the front door alcove and roof of the two dormer windows. I would be painting the main house roof with a dark metallic acrylic paint.

As this was meant to be a spooky Halloween house I decided to paint the front door alcove, sides of the two dormers, and chimney with the dark purple metallic acrylic paint as well.   I chose a black and white check scrapbook paper for the front door alcove roof and two dormer roofs.

After gluing the roofs for the chipboard front door alcove and two chipboard dormers I then glued the bottom of the house to my wood base and proceeded to add the mixed media embellishments.  

Instead of using a chipboard fence for the edges around my pine rectangle base board I decided to use  strips of a Halloween scrapboard paper cat border I had found as the border for my base.  After sizing it for fit I glued it to my wood base.

The embellishments I had in mind included some of my paper scrapboard paper, paper images and sticker images from my Linda Walsh Originals Zazzle shop.

They also included mixed media fringe in two different colors, paper and wire floral, silk floral flowers, and a ton of Halloween scrapbook paper graphic images and sayings that I thought would be perfect for my spooky house.  

Once I was happy with the graphic images I had glued on I used a black stabilo pencil to blend in the edges of some of the graphics I had used.

It took a little while to create my spooky house but I was really pleased with it when I was done.

Here's how it turned out:

The photo above shows the left hand side of the house.

The photo above shows the back side of the house.

The photo above shows the right side of the house.

I was really pleased with my mixed media Halloween spooky house and hope you like it too.

 Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Mabel I Won’t Cast A Spell?” Primitive Witch Stump Doll Free E-Pattern

Mabel I Won't Cast A Spell! can’t decide whether to be a good witch or a bad witch. 

She’s watched “The Wizard of Oz” so many times your head would spin. 

And, sometimes, hers does. 

She is a witch after all.

Mabel is a free standing primitive witch doll with a cloth body, an embroidered face, and a full head of curly gray. She is wearing a lined cape, dress, fringed scarf, and lined witches hat. “Mabel I Won’t Cast A Spell?” is coffee stained throughout.

There is no confusion with Mabel. She knows she's a witch. 

In fact, she's a "teasing, taunting witch!" 

She may or may not cast a spell on her depending upon her mood.  

Lucky for us she's in a "Hey, Look At Me! I'A Model!" mood today and a little distracted. 

Otherwise we'd all be "frozen" in our chairs, literally.

Designer - Linda Walsh Originals

“Mabel I Won’t Cast A Spell?”, 7” Primitive Witch Stump Doll Free E-Pattern - Stout Series - Pattern Category - Skill Level - Beginner 

To view and download my free e-pattern please CLICK HERE. You'll be brought to Google Drive where you can view my free e-book. Then just download my free .pdf e-book by clicking on the down arrow in the top center.  

For more information on all my free e-patterns, e-printables and e-books please CLICK HERE.

Please respect My Terms of Use:  All patterns, e-patterns, printables, e-printables, e-books, graphics, tutorials, how-to's, articles and other e-products © 2004-2023 Linda Walsh Originals-Designs by Linda Walsh. All rights reserved. Commercial selling or reselling by any means prohibited without the written consent of Linda Walsh.

Patterns, e-patterns, printables, e-printables, e-books, graphics, tutorials, how-to's, articles and other e-products are for personal use only. You may not modify, photocopy, download, upload, post, transmit, display, perform, publish, license, reprint, create derivative works from, mass duplicate, re-sell, digitize, and reproduce in any other form (print, digital or electric) or commercially apply, embed, share, Email, or redistribution in any other means. Use of any of the above is prohibited without the written permission of Linda Walsh.

However, you may link to my website(s)/blog(s) and the individual page(s)/blog post(s) (including 1 picture) but do not copy, reprint or duplicate my website(s)/blog(s) or individual page(s)/post(s ) without my permission.

Items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are intended for personal use for fun or small scale personal and business profit as long as you credit us with the design. Large scale commercial use (i.e. mass production) of items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are by permission only.

Please see my Terms and Conditions for additional information.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.

My Haunted Mansion - Mill Hill Cross-stitch # MH14-1204

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays for crafting and decorating.  I love decorating my home with all sorts of Halloween creatures and pictures.  I don't have a lot of Halloween cross-stitch pictures so when I saw the Haunted Mansion Mill Hill #MH14-1204 cross-stitch kit I wasn't surprised that I was drawn to.  Haunted mansion, ghosts, Frankenstein, cross-stitch - what's not to love!

The Haunted Mansion Mill Hill #MH14-1204 pattern uses full cross-stitch and straight stitch highlighting as well as beads of various sizes for emphasis and depth. The Mill Hill patterns usually call for certain areas of the perforated paper to be left untouched like the background or border. In this case they were leaving sections of the light blue perforated paper border untouched.

In embroidering the cross-stitch I decided to once again utilize the rectangular wood frame jig that my darling husband built for me that I could tape the edges of my perforated paper to. The wood frame jig is a rectangular embroidery hoop of sorts, but without bending the perforated  paper. He had made it out of 1/2" x 1" pine wood strips with an adjustable center strip that I used for this 5.25 x 5.25 square design.

I had learned from previous mistakes that I needed to draw diagonal lines to locate the exact center of the perforated paper as in previous perforated paper cross-stitch picture I have done the picture was slightly off center by a few holes which caused a problem with inserting the needles in the holes along one of the edges of my frame. So, I lightly drew a diagonal line across each corner with a pencil to get the center point of the perforated paper.

A lot of the cross-stitch 5.25" by 5.25" pictures I have made were finished in small 6 1/2" by 6 1/2" shadowbox frames with 5" by 5" openings that I had gotten at Michaels when they went on sale one year.  I used up all the shadowbox frames I had gotten previously and have been looking for them ever since and hadn't been able to find that size again.

I did, however, find some 7" x 7" by 1 1/2" shadow  box frames with a 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" opening at Michaels last year and bought a few white ones and black ones when they were on sale.  I was hoping to use one of the black ones with this project.

The directions did not include any instruction for finishing the back.  I decided to finish mine with thin adhesive press-board paper.  I used an 8" by 10" Pres-On sheet that I cut 6" by 6"with kitchen scissors to fit my picture.  The shadow box came with a padded velvet sheet glued to the rigid back of the shadow box frame which was about 1/4" thick.  My cross-stitch picture glued to the thin adhesive press-board paper was about 1/8" thick so I knew this would be a good fit once I removed the black velvet padding fabric that had been glued to the rigid back of the shadowbox.

After adhering my cross-stitch picture to the 6" by 6" thin adhesive press-board paper I inserted it into the back of the frame and then inserted the 6" by 6" rigid back that came with the frame over it. The shadow box frame came with 8 metal clips to hold the rigid back inside the frame which I secured.  The press-board fit perfectly and was the right depth for the shadow box frame.

The pattern called for a blue colored wooden frame and for the border of the perforated paper to be left untouched like the picture shown below:

Personally, I don't like the dark blue perforated paper as I find it hard to count the holes and follow along as to where you are on your cross-stitch.    Since I always finish the background of all my cross-stitch pictures I decided to stitch my picture on the lighter brown colored side of the perforated paper.

However, I don't like seeing the perforated sections of the paper for the border as I think it makes the cross-stitch picture look unfinished and opted instead to finish the border with blue colored #3750 DMC embroidery floss sewn as a half cross-stitch using four strands of the floss. For the areas left blank within the picture I opted instead to finish them with blue colored #3750 DMC embroidery floss sewn as a half cross-stitch using two strands of the floss

The pattern called for some outlining.  Give I was putting this in a shadowbox I thought certain sections of the collage would benefit from some additional outlining so I decided to add more definition as follows:

1)  The pattern called for certain sides of some of the windows to be outlined.  I opted to outline all sides of all the windows instead.
2)  The pattern did not call for any outlining around the house.  I opted to back-stitch outline around all sides of the house using two strands of the dark gray floss.
3)  The pattern did not call for any outlining on the tree.  I opted to use two strands of the brown floss and back-stitch outlined along all sides of the tree and branches.
4)  The pattern did not call for any outlining definition around the roof of the house.  I opted to use two strands of the medium blue gray floss and back-stitch outlined the sides of all the roofs.

The pattern also called for a certain amount of beading within the grass, leaves, and trees.  I opted to use more beads in both the grass and leaves, as well as up within the tree.

While the end results of this design were wonderful some things in the kit and in the instructions could be improved upon so I'd like to offer the following constructive suggestions:

The cross-stitch chart was in black and white as was the floss color code and symbol key. Both were easy to read and very clear. While I had no problem with the chart and keys I did have a problem with the way the DMC floss was presented. All of the floss was tied together in one big knot so you had to separate the floss pieces yourself, sort them, and try to interpret which color belonged to which floss # and symbol key on the color chart.

If you only have a few colors to deal with this isn't a problem. However, if you have several different colors to choose from that are close in color then interpreting the chart can be tricky. You may assign the wrong color to the wrong symbol if the colors are too closely aligned. The key code chart should have contained the number of strands that were included in the kit so I would know how many strands I had for the different floss colors.

As I have done with other cross-stitch kits I've completed I had to design my own thread color sorter and symbol key. I took a piece of thin cardboard and cut a 1" x 9" long rectangular piece out to use as a thread sorter. I then punched holes in my cardboard strip in which to tie each of the different colors. Just above the hole I wrote the DMC floss # and just below the hole I added the respective cross-stitch symbol. I then inserted the floss threads that went with that # and symbol through the hole and tied them in a loose knot. This kit could be much improved if a thread sorter with respective #'s and symbols was provided.

The beads were contained within three small ziploc bags which was fine. The chart had footnote symbols to help distinguish which beads were within which bag.

My results with the totally finished background, border and frame is shown below:

Despite the relatively small issues I had encountered with the kit I was happy with the way my Haunted Mansion turned out.

As always, my comments are meant to be constructive to enable future purchasers to benefit from my experience and to enhance their ability to create a wonderful little cross-stitch design.

My Moonlit Treaters Mill Hill Cross-Stitch Picture

As you know I love the Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving season.   So, when I saw the Moonlit Treaters Mill Hill #MH14-1724 cross-stitch kit I wasn't surprised that I was drawn to.  Halloween, ghosts, witches, and Dracula - what's not to love!

The  Moonlit Treaters Mill Hill pattern uses full cross-stitch and straight stitch highlighting as well as beads of various sizes for emphasis and depth. The Mill Hill patterns usually call for certain areas of the perforated paper to be left untouched like the background or border. In this case they were leaving sections of the dark blue perforated paper border untouched.

Personally, I don't like the dark blue perforated paper as I find it hard to count the holes and follow along as to where you are on your cross-stitch.    Since I always finish the background of all my cross-stitch pictures I decided to stitch my picture on the lighter brown colored side of the perforated paper. 

In embroidering the cross-stitch I decided to once again utilize the rectangular wood frame jig that my darling husband built for me that I could tape the edges of my perforated paper to. The wood frame jig is a rectangular embroidery hoop of sorts, but without bending the perforated  paper. He had made it out of 1/2" x 1" pine wood strips with an adjustable center strip that I used for this 5.25 x 5.25 square design.

I had learned from previous mistakes that I needed to draw diagonal lines to locate the exact center of the perforated paper as in previous perforated paper cross-stitch picture I have done the picture was slightly off center by a few holes which caused a problem with inserting the needles in the holes along one of the edges of my frame. So, I lightly drew a diagonal line across each corner with a pencil to get the center point of the perforated paper.

A lot of the cross-stitch 5.25" by 5.25" pictures I have made were finished in small 6 1/2" by 6 1/2" shadowbox frames with 5" by 5" openings that I had gotten at Michaels when they went on sale one year.  I used up all the shadowbox frames I had gotten previously and have been looking for them ever since and hadn't been able to find that size again.

I did, however, find some 7" x 7" by 1 1/2" shadow  box frames with a 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" opening at Michaels last year and bought a few white ones and black ones when they were on sale.  I was hoping to use one of the white ones with this project.

The directions did not include any instruction for finishing the back.  I decided to finish mine with thin adhesive press-board paper.  I used an 8" by 10" Pres-On sheet that I cut 6" by 6"with kitchen scissors to fit my picture.  The shadow box came with a padded velvet sheet glued to the rigid back of the shadow box frame which was about 1/4" thick.  My cross-stitch picture glued to the thin adhesive press-board paper was about 1/8" thick so I knew this would be a good fit once I removed the black velvet padding fabric that had been glued to the rigid back of the shadowbox.

After adhering my cross-stitch picture to the 6" by 6" thin adhesive press-board paper I inserted it into the back of the frame and then inserted the 6" by 6" rigid back that came with the frame over it. The shadow box frame came with 8 metal clips to hold the rigid back inside the frame which I secured.  The press-board fit perfectly and was the right depth for the shadow box frame.

The pattern called for a blue colored wooden frame and for the border of the perforated paper to be left untouched like the picture shown below:

However, I don't like seeing the perforated sections of the paper for the border as I think it makes the cross-stitch picture look unfinished and opted instead to finish the border with black colored  DMC embroidery floss sewn as a half cross-stitch using three strands of the floss.

As I was inserting this into a black colored shadowbox, I wanted to differentiate the black background area around the picture from the picture itself so I inserted orange floss sewn in a back-stitch around the edge of the picture using 2 strands of bright orange DMC embroidery floss.

The pattern called for some outlining.  Given I was putting this in a black shadowbox I thought certain sections of the picture would benefit from some additional outlining so I decided to add more definition as follows:

1)  The pattern called for one strand of the black floss to be back-stitched around all the bats and chimney pipe of the house.  I opted to use two strands of the black floss instead.
2)  The pattern called for one strand of the black floss to be back-stitched around certain borders around the windows.  I opted to use two strands of the black floss and back-stitch outlined around all sides of the windows and the middle sections.
3)  The pattern did not call for any outlining definition around the frame and sides of the house.  I opted to use two strands of the black floss and back-stitch outlined the frame and sides of both houses.  I also added two strands of the black floss along the left hand side of the walkway.
4)  The pattern did not call for any outlining around the Halloween trick-or-treaters.  I opted to use two strands of the black floss and back-stitch outlined around the left hand sides of all three individuals, as well as around the ghost hat.  I also added two strands of medium gray floss along the right hand side of the ghost.
5) The pattern called for one strand of the black floss to be back-stitched to create the metal fence.  I opted to use two strands of the black floss instead.
6)  The pattern called for one strand of the black floss to be back-stitched around the witches hands, handle of the pumpkin bag, and Dracula hand.  I opted to use two strands of the black floss instead.
7)  The pattern called for one strand of the white floss to be back-stitched for the stars in the sky.  I opted to use two strands of the white floss instead.

While the end results of this design were wonderful some things in the kit and in the instructions could be improved upon so I'd like to offer the following constructive suggestions:

The cross-stitch chart was in black and white as was the floss color code and symbol key. The color code and symbol key was easy to read. The chart was basically easy to read except there was a symbol used in several sections under the metal fence highlighting that was not included in the symbol key.  I thought I could see what color they wanted from the picture on the front but it was too small to determine what to do there.  I opted to use two strands of the orange floss and cross-stitch those sections.

While I basically had no problem with the chart and keys I did have a problem with the way the DMC floss was presented. All of the floss was tied together in one big knot so you had to separate the floss pieces yourself, sort them, and try to interpret which color belonged to which floss # and symbol key on the color chart.

If you only have a few colors to deal with this isn't a problem. However, if you have several different colors to choose from that are close in color then interpreting the chart can be tricky. You may assign the wrong color to the wrong symbol if the colors are too closely aligned. The key code chart should have contained the number of strands that were included in the kit so I would know how many strands I had for the different floss colors.

As I have done with other cross-stitch kits I've completed I had to design my own thread color sorter and symbol key. I took a piece of thin cardboard and cut a 1" x 9" long rectangular piece out to use as a thread sorter. I then punched holes in my cardboard strip in which to tie each of the different colors. Just above the hole I wrote the DMC floss # and just below the hole I added the respective cross-stitch symbol. I then inserted the floss threads that went with that # and symbol through the hole and tied them in a loose knot. This kit could be much improved if a thread sorter with respective #'s and symbols was provided.

The beads were contained within three small ziploc bags which was fine. The chart had footnote symbols to help distinguish which beads were within which bag.

The kit included a cat button was to be sewn to the bottom right hand section on the bottom of the picture.  I didn't like the cat button so I decided not to use it.

My results with the totally finished background, border and frame is shown below:

Despite the relatively small issues I had encountered with the kit I was happy with the way my picture turned out.

As always, my comments are meant to be constructive to enable future purchasers to benefit from my experience and to enhance their ability to create a wonderful little cross-stitch design.

Ghosts

We all know that ghosts are supposed to be scary! That's their mission - to scare everyone at Halloween, especially the little children.

Well, what if there's a ghost that doesn't want to scare anyone - especially little children.

A ghost that just wants to be friends with everyone and a ghost that doesn't just want to be visible at one time of the year.

A ghost that wants to celebrate Christmas, and New Year's Day, and St. Patrick's Day, and Easter, and the 4Th of July, and any of the other holidays.

A ghost that wants to have a family someday of 12 little ghosts running around.

A ghost that is nice and kind and thoughtful and considerate.

Well, that would be "Boo! Hoo! Billy."

"Boo! Hoo! Billy" is tired of being viewed as mean and nasty and malicious. He's never been nor does he ever want to be anything like that. He just wants to be a normal person with a normal life.

Is that too much to ask? "Boo! Hoo! Billy" doesn't think so.

"Boo! Hoo! Billy" is a 7" primitive ghost ornament with a coffee stained white muslin cloth body and embroidered face. He is wearing a shredded shirt that he thinks fits him very well and isn't frightful at all. In fact, he will right proudly tell you that he made it himself.

Not only is he a very friendly ghost, but a very handy one, too. He'll need to be after all if he wants to have 12 little ghosts someday. Wouldn't you agree?

"Hazard A Guess What I Am?" seems to have a bit of a problem in that people are not sure that he's a ghost. Sometimes, he's not even sure himself. He can't understand this confusion because he thinks he's scary at times. He even scares himself.

Hazard is a free standing ghost doll with a cloth body, and an embroidered face with button eyes. He is wearing a vest and multi-colored fringed scarf. “Hazard A Guess What I Am?” is coffee stained throughout.

He's a little confused, but he's not scary. What's up with that? You see, "Hazard A Guess What I Am?" has a problem with his heritage. He isn't even sure he is from a ghostly line.

If you can't tell he's a ghost and his heredity is in question - how is he ever going to know?

Sometimes he looks like a ghost, he feels like a ghost, and he walks like a ghost. But, is he really a ghost?

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Halloween - A Time For Kids, Bud, and Dumbo Ears!

If you've been following my blog for years you know that I absolutely LOVE Halloween.  So, it should comes as no surprise that I would write about some of my Halloween memories.  I wrote the following post on Halloween on October 31, 2009 and thought you might enjoy re-reading it.  Enjoy!

Today is Halloween and while thinking about my own childhood Halloween adventures or misadventures I concluded that Halloween was definitely a time for kids, and maybe, well Bud, too!

My Irish twin brother and I always went trick or treating together and there was always a competition to see who could get the most candy. The competition would always end with him punching me and my crying. Sometimes they were fake tears which, unfortunately, my Mother always saw through.

One particular Halloween when we were teenagers we seemed to get a lot of gum. For some reason my brother and I thought it would be great to see how many pieces of gum I could get in my mouth. So, he kept feeding them to me and feeding them to me until I couldn't chew anymore. I couldn't move my mouth either as there was so much gum in there and, of course, I started choking. My Mother had to pull the gum out bit by bit and she was not amused. Needless to say we didn't try that again.

In the family right now my two twin grandsons (who are 4) and my grandson, Noodles, who is 10 will be out trick or treating in a few hours. Like all kids I'm sure they're excited by the thoughts of all the candy they will get and all the candy they envision they'll be able to eat.

Of course, they think they'll be able to eat it when they get home! That's not gonna happen. But, they can think they will.

It's a magical holiday when kids get to dress up. When I was a kid my brother and I would help my Mom make our costumes. Sometimes we had a lot of time to put them together - other times they were kinda last minute this will do costumes. You know - the sheets thrown over your head with two eye holes for ghosts.

Nowadays kids costumes (and adult costumes for that matter) are big business. Kids get to dress up as their favorite superhero, favorite monster, or favorite cartoon character. Sometimes the costumes are simple and sometimes they're much more elaborate. Personally, for me - the simpler the better. I like handmade costumes. Store bought costumes have just become way too commercial and way to much of a money maker for the costume and party companies. But, in today's fast paced work it's hard to find time to make handmade costumes.

While thinking about Halloween and looking through some of the old pictures I was reminded about some of the stories behind some of the pictures shown in my post. The first three pictures of the little guy in the tiger outfit are of my grandson, Noodles - one with Bud! What you can't tell from the pictures is that he was sick that day. Really sick - fever and all.

But, he wanted to go to the grocery store to pick out the candy and wanted to help fill the candy containers with all the candy. He also wanted to wear his costume - which was a little hot for a little guy with a fever! So, we filled up 4 HUGE bowls of candy.

Now you might wonder why so many bowls of candy. Well, the simple answer is that my grandson lives in a neighborhood where they get hundreds of trick or treaters. Hundreds. The door bell never stops ringing.

The two pictures of the geisha girls are of my twin granddaughters when they were very small. What you don't know about this picture is why they are laughing.

You see, about 30 minutes before my granddaughters were to arrive I decided that my husband should have a costume, too.

So, I cut two huge Dumbo ears (you know Dumbo the elephant) out of white paper and made a little Dumbo hat out of the same paper and taped them to his head. It was a crude last minute costume - but, the girls laughed and thought it was great.

They, of course, had no problem recognizing their grandfather with Dumbo ears.

While browsing through some of the picture albums I also found a picture of my twin grandsons from Halloween 2008. They were pictured with their Dad, but I decided to crop him out and just show you the twins in their Halloween costumes.

I'm sure their Dad wouldn't mind. Halloween is for kids after all. Or, at least I hope he doesn't mind! LOL LOL Then again - he's always been a BIG KID, too. Maybe I should photoshop him back in! LOL LOL

I'm still looking for a picture of my other grandson from Halloween. He was in a period for such a long time where he didn't want to have his picture taken. I have lots of pictures when he was really small, but haven't been able to locate one for Halloween.

So I decided that maybe I should photoshop a picture of him with a fake Halloween costume on and then tell him it's a real picture. Do you think he'd believe it? Nah! I don't think so either. He's too smart for that.

I decided instead to take a picture of him and distort it. To my surprise it distorted him in such a way as to create Dumbo ears.

Kind of looks like his grandfather with his Dumbo ears but cuter. At least I think so. Let's see what he says when he sees this post.

In any event, it's getting dark and the ghosts, goblins, and witches will be out. Yikes! Is that the doorbell already? Bud's barking. Better get his costume on. Come on, Bud - every dog needs a Halloween costume. Bud, now don't run away from me. Bud.

Hmmm... if he won't wear a costume maybe hubby will. Where did I put those Dumbo ears.

My Favorite BIG Halloween Dolls - YIKES! They're Scary! Or Are They?

Second to the Fall season as one of my favorite times to create and decorate is Halloween. I don't know why I like making witches, goblins, Frankenstein's, ghosts, mummies, and Dracula's, but I do. That's surprising as if I really saw one I'd probably have a heart attack. And, I cannot watch scary movies. Go figure! But, I do like to create them and the bigger the better.

So, I thought I'd show you pictures of some of my favorite BIG Halloween dolls and wood crafts that I made to decorate my house during the holiday season.

First, there is "You're Scary? You've Got To Be Kidding, Frankenstein!" I named him this way due to the expression on his face and his general "lack" of scariness. He couldn't scare a mouse let alone a human. But, every Halloween I put him in my hall with his own spotlight focused right on him for all the trick or treater's to see when they come trick or treating.

He stands 48" tall and is one of the BIGGEST dolls that I made. He was made based on a Tattered Treasures design.

He has a 3/4" thick pine wood body, painted green Frankenstein shaped head with bolts sticking out of the sides. He's wearing an old shirt of my husbands, and his wood legs are painted to look like plaid trousers. He has 4x4 cubes for his massive feet and a solid wood base. His vest is painted wood.

He's carrying a painted wood sign that says "Monster Mash! Trick or Treat!" and he's carrying a large rubber bat.

He also has a splattering of red blood everywhere and is adorned with raffia bows and tattered cloth. And, of course, he has the Frankenstein surgery scars everywhere. Maybe the red blood might scare some children, but his face surely wouldn't.

My next scary or should I say non-scary Halloween doll is a Frankenstein that thinks that he is being pledged to a fraternity. He's not, but he thinks he is. I'm not sure what is going on inside his head, but he thinks he's a college student not a Frankenstein. I'm not sure how he gets around campus with his feet the way they are. One facing one direction and the other facing another direction. He definitely can't climb stairs.

He's a 39" Frankenstein made based on a Tenderberry Stitches Design that I named "Pledge Me Frank!"

His body is made of wood and his head is made of cloth. His face is embroidered and he has black bead eyes and curly black hair. Wooden pegs hang out the sides of his head.

Frank is wearing one of my husband's old black sweatshirts and is wearing some of my grandson's old jeans. His thick wool socks were my brothers. That is, until they got holes in them and then became mine. He has the words "My Heart Belongs To You Witchie Poo!" embroidered on the front of his sweatshirt and is carrying a Halloween banner.

There actually is a cute story about Frank. I had decided to take him with me just as a decoration to a local craft show that I was doing at my mother's church one Fall. I had him positioned just outside my table and a little girl about 4 or 5 years old walked by him. He was about her height.

Well, she became fascinated by him and came back a couple of times and just stared and stared at him. She seemed to be fascinated by his feet.

So, I decided to ask her a question. I walked over to her and said, "Do you think there's something wrong with his feet?" She looked at me and shook her head "yes" and then looked at her mother and said, "Mom, can I have my feet like that!" Well, her mother, my mother (who was helping me at the fair) and I all laughed at the same time. Her mother replied, "I don't think so, honey!"

Another one of my favorite BIG Halloween dolls is a 39" mummy that is based on a Tenderberry Stitches design and which I named, "Mummy - Where's My Mummy?" He doesn't reside in our house during the Halloween season, but with my twin grandsons.

Their mother absolutely loved him the minute she saw him and wanted him for a Halloween decoration for the front landing of their house. So, of course, I gave him to her.

She also went home with hundreds of other handmade dolls and wood crafts that day. So much so that they wouldn't all fit in her car. That's another story and one we had a really good laugh over. Suffice to say I just love it when someone loves my handmade dolls & wood crafts enough to want to have them and display them in their homes. That, plus the fact that I was giving them to someone I love makes it all the more special.

In any event, back to "Mummy - Where's My Mummy?" He has a wood dowel body, cloth arms and a cloth head and is carrying a sign that says, "I Want My Mummy!"

His whole body is covered with gauze. Before I made him I figured that two large boxes of gauze would be enough to wrap all of him. Buy, was I wrong. I think my hubby actually bought close to ten boxes of gauze and I used all of it. That became one expensive mummy. Of course, I didn't tell my daughter-in-law that. Her mouth would have dropped at how much he cost to make him.

In any event, after I finished applying all his gauze I added a cloth serpent around his neck, a rubber snake, several patches, and a heart. I also applied several areas of black and gray blush to his whole body as I wanted him to look "dirty." It all had the right effect and I was happy with the way he turned out.

Last, but not least of the BIG Halloween dolls and wood crafts is a woodcraft that is probably one of my all time favorites. I named it "I Just Love The Fall!" and it was made based upon a Rustic Treasures design.

"I Just Love The Fall" is a 25" wide x 30" tall painted 3/4" pine wood craft featuring a large ghost, red barn, cat, fence, stars, and suspended moons.

Both the ghost and cat are wearing bandannas and a mixture of colored raffia is used throughout as decorative accents.

This wood craft usually resides in the dining room fireplace display and stays out for the entire Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving season.

I just happen to like it's rustic and primitive appearance which fits in well with all my other Fall, Halloween, or Thanksgiving decorations.

It is definitely one the favorite things I made with my husband. I actually think it's one of his favorites, too.

I hope you've enjoy seeing some of my favorite BIG Halloween Dolls and wood crafts that I use to decorate my home.