Crepe Paper Party Favors ~
Have guests coming over and you need for a simple way to make nice party favors? Are you looking for an easy, yet pretty, way to present all that Halloween candy? Here's a cute way to do both:

Much of Victorian Halloween was enveloped in crepe, literally. Halloween tablecloths, packages, even some costumes, were made of crepe paper. What is crepe paper? Basically, it is tissue paper that is often coated so that it has weight, and sometimes shine, and can be presented in pleated form (which is why it may have been popular for costume dresses at the time). If you can't find crepe paper, tissue paper works just as well.

What you will need:
* Crepe or tissue paper
* Candy or small party favors
* ribbon

1. Cut large swaths of the paper into smaller, more manageable pieces. We've cut ours into 10" x 7½ " squares.

2. Place a small amount of candy into the center of the square.

3. Cup your hand under the candy, pull the edges of the square up around the candy.

4. As you bring the top of the paper up, encourage folds in the crepe or tissue paper, otherwise, the material will bunch and crumple unattractively.

5. Tie a cute ribbon in a knot to secure

6. Place in a festive bowl for your party!

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Vintage Looking Halloween Glitter Stars

There are several companies which now specialize in creating vintage looking stars, such as Bethany Lowe Designs, whose Halloween stars are seen above (www.bethanylowe.com). However, if you want to try your hand at creating these Halloween stars, see below:
What you'll need:
* This star stencil

* Cardboard, or heavy paper stock
* Rubber glue paste (NOT the while Elmer's glue)
* Glitter in the color of your choice, or VINTAGE glitter. This glitter is different in that glitters of the era were created using some form of GLASS, and it's shine is very different looking than today's glitter. Specialty craft stores often carry this type of glitter.

1. Print out star stencil, then enlarge 200% - 400% depending on how large you'd like your star to be.

2. Trace edges of the star onto your cardboard/stock paper

3. Cut the cardboard/stock into a star shape. You may either leave the star flat, or you can bend a small line down the middle of each of the star "legs" so that the shape is slightly raised.

4. Apply rubber glue liberally to the top of the star (the more glue you apply, the better the chance for LOTS of glitter to stick). Pour heaps of glitter to the area, then shake the glitter off. I like to do this over a bucket of some sort, so that excess glitter does not fall everywhere. I work in small areas, applying glue, glittering, and then moving to another area. You can also place a large amount of glitter in a large bowl and, after you glue one area, you can "roll" it into the glitter dish.

5. When you've finished, you can sew a thread through the top and hang the star, or simply use as a tabletop display. Sparkly!