Having carved pumpkins on your stoop is a fun Halloween tradition, but it's not always convenient. For one, it's messy and time consuming to carve a pumpkin. And where I live, a carved pumpkin can mold within 24 hours. This happened to me the first two years I lived in the Bay Area, and I don't carve pumpkins anymore. But with my fabric pumpkins, you can decorate with no mess, and the pumpkins last year after year so there's no waste!

These fabric pumpkins are perfect for putting on a chair or bed, on a mantel or kitchen counter, on a dresser, or even on a car seat or in the back window. I sell my pumpkins as a set of three that includes a larger pumpkin and two small pumpkins. The fabric I use is Halloween themed, but you can always message me to get custom pumpkins made, and the stem of the pumpkin is made with buttons. I love buttons! They just complete the look of these huggable cuties.

When Halloween gets too scary, just snuggle among your fabric pumpkins. Or have a fabric pumpkin fight. Just beware that button stem! If you purchase a pumpkin set on my Etsy site, make sure to enter BLOGPOST as a coupon code to get 10% off or buy them from me directly at the Lafayette Art & Wine Festival this weekend!

These hand-painted leaves are one-of-a-kind. They make classy gifts and can take your Halloween and harvest home decorating to a new level. Hang them on the wall, in a window, on a doorknob or door, or even on a large pumpkin. They make great conversation starters and memory stirrers.

Each wooden leaf measures 5 inches by 4.5 inches, and the painting determines what direction the leave points when hung. The paint is acrylic and has been coated to protect from weather and dust. A piece of ribbon has been attached to each leaf so that it can be hung or looped according to the customer's desire.

Many of the leaves share a similar theme but no two are the same. You can buy all the leaves that share a theme and hang them as a series or you can buy the leaves separately. One of my favorite themes is the trick-or-treating scene. There are three of these paintings, and with each, the viewer is looking at the porch of a home, a jack-o-lantern on the steps. In the background, the viewer can see two trick-or-treaters standing, poised to launch their candy-grabbing adventure. In one painting, the trick-or-treaters are dressed in giant candy corn outfits, in another the pair is dressed as superheroes, and in another the pair consists of a ghost and a witch. These paintings are my favorite because they remind me of my own Halloween experience as a child, but they also have a humorous charm that gives the viewer a warm feeling.

Another theme is Halloween at the beach. In one painting, a witch is lying on her back in the sand watching the sun set. In another, the witch has thrown her arms wide in a moment of abandon while her cat plays with a crab, and in another a jack-o-lantern enjoys a tropical drink while watching the sun set. I live in the Bay Area, and we don't have traditional seasons. It's usually nice enough to go to the beach year round. I like the idea of witches and pumpkins hanging out at the beach. I think seeing traditional Halloween characters outside their traditional setting makes for a pleasantly surprising and fresh scene.

Another theme is warmer and more harvest-centric. The two paintings that capture this are the ones with the crow on the pumpkin. In one painting, the pumpkin is a large and magical fairy pumpkin, and the crow is cawing. In the other, the pumpkin is a large, regular pumpkin, and the crow stares pensively and quietly from its top. These paintings have a classic, timeless feel and are probably the classiest of the leaves.

There are also stand-alone leaves like the painting with the books, the spooky scene of the werewolf in the pumpkin patch (look for the hidden black cats!), and the scene with the cat, bat, and rat hiding in the shadows behind a pumpkin.

I'm so glad I received the blank wooden leaves and was able to make these paintings! I think the leaf adds something special to the painting that a canvas couldn't. You can see and buy these leaves in person at the Lafayette Art & Wine Festival. I won't have them on Etsy until after the festival, but feel free to send me a message through my shop if you can't wait to get yours online! Once they're gone, they're gone.

I love cute things, especially when they add spice to my favorite holiday, and these Halloween charms are among the cutest of my creations. I love hanging one on a wine bottle I'm gifting or taking to a Halloween party, and they're also perfect to dangle from a pumpkin for that little extra somethin'.

The witch head charm adds a homey, harvest tone to whatever it's on. The witch head consists of a plastic egg, a felt hat with a ribbon and wooden star, a wooden nose and eyes, and baler twine hair. This is the biggest of the three charms and has the smallest loop. It's ideal for a pumpkin with a thin stem or a bottle of wine.

The cork bat is the most elegant of the charms, and it adds a touch of class to whatever it's dangling on. The body of the bat is a wine cork wrapped in black organza, and the wings are made from craft foam. Wine is my favorite thing to hang the bat on because of its cork body. They were simply made for and from each other.

The Frankencork is my favorite charm because it's just so adorable. The body of the Frankencork is, of course, a cork that's been painted and treated to be weather and dust resistant. Each Frankencork is slightly different from the next because the corks range in style and shape. I've chosen large corks, many with knobs, for these little guys. Screws have been drilled into the cork body, and big googly eyes complete the look. This charm is perfect for provoking smiles and warm, fuzzy feelings.

Of course, you can hang your charm on anything you'd like. I like hanging them in the window and on doorknobs as well. They're the perfect company for those spooky nights with company. You can pick up a set of charms this weekend at the Lafayette Art & Wine Festival, or you can buy them online at my Etsy shop. Be sure to enter BLOGPOST as a coupon code to get 10% off!

Decorating for a holiday is not finished without a wreath on the door, and the more unique the wreath, the better. I love making wreaths because there's so many creative things I can do with them, and I make sure that no two are the same.

When making a wreath, I let my materials guide me. I start out with a color scheme. For one wreath, I might intersperse strips of black material with strips of brightly colored Halloween material. The darker colors make a more elegant and subtle wreath for those who don't like to be too flashy. For another wreath, I might use a variety of bright fall colors. Once I've finished with the material, I consider what item will complete the look. For some wreaths, a variety of fake leaves is best. This year, I used maple and oak leaves. For other wreaths, an adorable witch head is the way to go. I think my witch wreaths are especially perfect for classrooms because they have a friendly look to them. For other wreaths, I weave in a string of lights and hang a painting in the middle to heighten the feeling of mystery that wraps the wreath like a foggy Halloween night.

The look of my wreaths are also determined by the size and shape of their hoops. This year, I gathered a large quantity of hoops in all shapes and sizes from tiny circles and egg shapes that are perfect for a window, cubicle, or classroom door to large wreaths for those large, grand doors. I also gathered a very exciting variety of materials and organza that make this year's wreaths pop with color, texture, and style.

Besides being one-of-a-kind, another benefit to the wreaths I make is that you can store them in a box and use them year after year. They make a unique gift among neighbors, and they are also perfect for a wreath swap with friends and family. Imagine coming home to a wreath on your door from someone you love who might live far away. Like Christmas trees and ornaments, wreaths are keepers and givers of memories. To approach a door with a wreath is to walk into holidays past, and to see a wreath on display is an invitation to share happy memories with those around you.

Spread some harvest cheer this year by decking your doors with autumn and Halloween wreaths. Don't forget, if you buy a wreath on my Etsy shop, enter the code BLOGPOST for a 10% discount. You can also pick up a wreath in person at the Lafayette Art & Wine Festival on September 19th and 20th!

September 23rd is the first day of autumn, but for crafters like me, the fall starts much sooner. September is crunch time for me, and I'm not just talking about those fragrant leaves underfoot. By September, I have to have my autumn and Halloween crafts finished or well on their way to being finished so customers have time to decorate with or gift them before the season is over. I also have to have my inventory ready for the fall festivals that happen across California (squeal!). It's a lot of work, and I often get confused about what time of the year it is as I'm finishing Halloween decorations in June, but I love fall so much that I don't mind.

Because my business is all about the handmade and heartfelt qualities of every item, my offerings each year depend on the supplies I come by. I'm often inspired by the random things I find at reuse shops or the scraps gifted to me from friends and family. This year, I was excited to turn needlework hoops I found at Oakland's White Elephant Sale into autumn wreaths, corks I found at San Francisco's Scrap into tiny bats and Frankenstein monsters I call Frankencorks, Halloween material into plush pumpkins with button stems, and wooden maple leaves into autumn paintings. I'll post a feature on each of these items later.

Autumn and Halloween bring back a lot of happy childhood memories for me, and these memories are in my mind as I handcraft each item. As I make each wreath, witch, bat, Frankencork, and pumpkin, I am playing in a big pile of brightly colored leaves, running from house to house in a penguin costume collecting yummy treasures and making people laugh with my penguin waddle, nearly drowning myself bobbing for apples, and sitting with my family carving pumpkins, covered in beautiful pumpkin gore. I hope the items I've made this year remind my customers of their own fond fall memories, and as they hang or gift what I've made, I hope a little of the magic I feel while crafting passes along with the item and cheers whoever sees it.

I wish you all a happy handmade autumn and Halloween! If you want to shop my fall items in person, come visit my booth at the Lafayette Art & Wine Festival this weekend (September 19th and 20th)! If you want to shop online, don't forget to use BLOGPOST as a coupon code and get 10% off in my Etsy Shop! I'll have all my fall items available on Etsy soon!