The Orange County Register, October 22nd, 2000
I'm not sure what it is that makes Halloween crafts so much fun. But when that first pile of pumpkins arrives at the supermarket, I get downright giddy with anticipation.
When my daughters were little, the joy of creating perfect costumes filled the house with whimsy for weeks. Oh, the challenge of turning a 4-year-old into the small black terrier that accompanied Dorothy into the Land of Oz. Or who could be anything but blissful when turning an 8-year-old into Olive Oyl?
Alas, I'm out of the family costume business. The kids are grown, and have graduated from college and flown the coop.
But, I still get delighted dolling up the house for Halloween. I buy pumpkins, large and small, orange and a few creamy white. Bumpy gourds, autumn leaves, dried cornstalks and fake, feathered crows that look so real, they drive the dog to near madness.
I like decorations that can be easily converted to a Thanksgiving theme without much folderol. ``Busy'' takes on new meaning at holiday time. And although it's hard to beat a good old-fashioned jack-o'-lantern for drama on Halloween night, decorated, uncarved pumpkins can stick around until it's time to put up the Christmas lights.
``Halloween: 101 Frightfully Fun Ideas'' by Better Homes and Gardens (Meredith, $15.95 -- available online at www .bhgbooks.com, www. amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com and some bookstores) has several appealing ideas for decorating pumpkins that don't require carving. Long after the jack-o'-lantern candles are blown out, these beauties will still shine on.
Silver-Swirl Pumpkin: The elegant pumpkin on the book's cover is adorned with swirls of lead-free solder. It looks like a pumpkin wearing an assortment of '70s-style earrings. Adornments are made by cutting 2- to 8-inch lengths of solder (about 50 pieces, depending on the size of your pumpkin), then twisting them with needle-nose pliers into swirls, squiggles, zigzags or whatever you wish. Solder is sold at home center stores and some hardware stores. Start by bending the end of the solder into a small loop. Leave an inch at the end of the solder to bend perpendicular to the shape. The bent end of the solder will poke into the pumpkin.
Use an ice pick to make holes in the pumpkin 3 to 5 inches apart, then insert the bent ends of the swirls. When the time comes to toss out the pumpkin, the solder swirls can be pulled out, wiped clean and saved to use year after year.
(Things you'll need include: lead-free solder, wire cutter, needle-nose pliers, ice pick and pumpkin.)
The Crows' Hideout: This pumpkin looks like it's a mischief-filled bird roost for jet-black crows. Artificial birds, the type sold at craft stores (such as Michaels) perch on top of the pumpkin. They are sold with wire attached to their feet; the wire can be firmly pressed into the pumpkin or the birds can be glued in place. A scruffy-looking nail can be inserted in the pumpkin's front to hold a sign that reads Happy Halloween. The sign is attached to the nail by a curly, 5-inch medium-gauge piece of wire that has been twisted and curled around a pencil to shape it; the curly wire is attached to opposite ends of the sign.
Although the model in the book calls for cutting a peekaboo door in the pumpkin, I prefer to leave it uncut, to give it a longer ``shelf life.''
(Things you'll need include: two to three artificial crows, white paper or poster board, marker, pencil, medium-gauge wire, nail, pumpkin.)
Pretty Patterned Pumpkins: If you feel like a pumpkin Picasso, here's your proj ect. Use metallic paint to form a checkerboard pattern all over the pumpkin. Then make easy-to-do dots and scribbles using permanent markers.
The book suggests you make 1-inch checkerboard squares with teal metallic paint, then allow them to dry. Make dots in empty, nonpainted squares with purple paint (you can use a paintbrush or the eraser on the end of a pencil). Allow it to dry, then use permanent markers to make zigzags and dots.
(Things you'll need include: pumpkin, acrylic metallic paints, two 1-inch-wide flat paintbrushes, metallic gold permanent marking pen.)
``Halloween: 101 Frightfully Fun Ideas'' also contains ideas for spooky costumes and ghoulish goodies. I've included the book's recipe for Honey 'n' Spice Popcorn, a crunchy Halloween treat with the scent of pumpkin pie.
How about turning your ``leftover'' Halloween pumpkin into a turkey? The Casual Living catalog -- (800) 843-1881 or www.CasualLivingUSA.com -- sells a reusable kit for $9 that contains a painted wooden turkey head, wings and tail feathers. The pieces are attached to spikes. Insert them into a pumpkin, and you have a Thanksgiving centerpiece. Easy.
And when you finally harvest those ubiquitous pumpkin seeds, here's how to toast them:
Rinse strings from 2 cups pumpkin seeds and pat dry. Mix seeds with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon salt; stir well to coat. Spread in single layer on baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes in 350-degree oven. Taste; add more salt if desired. For variation, use olive oil in place of vegetable oil and add 1 tablespoon EACH dried rosemary and basil with salt; OR add 2 teaspoons chili powder along with salt; OR add 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper along with salt.
