From the Editor

We have a lot in store this Halloween season, which seems far away (the mercury hit 90 today, and my kids were swimming in our backyard blow up pool … however, some leaves on the trees are falling already, a foreboding sign of things to come for sure!)

Yours,
Chris Molnar
Editor, Halloween Alliance

 Add an Italian Twist to Your Halloween Recipes

By Liz Trementozzi

Halloween has in recent years spread across the Atlantic to the boot shaped peninsula known as Italy. Although the Italians do not celebrate Halloween per se, they do have their own rituals and festivities which are not all too far off.

One of these festive and colorful holidays is All Souls Day. It comes on the day after All Saints Day which is November 1st and honors the fallen Saints. However All Souls Day honors all those who have died. It is an Italian celebration which is not focused on death, as in a morbid fashion, but on honoring loved ones who have passed on.

One popular cookie sold in bakery stores throughout Italy is called, Bones of the Dead. Every region in Italy seems to have their own unique version of this cookie. A very simple Tuscan version of this cookie is as follows …

• Continue reading Add an Italian Twist to Your Halloween Recipes

 Like to Learn How to Haunt Your House Like the Professionals? (Book Two)

By Chris Molnar

In their first book, Lynne and Shawn Mitchell took you through a gorgeous and macabre world of Halloween prop-building to haunt your house. How to Haunt Your House, Book Two, I’m happy to say, is not a rehash of their first book, but a worthy companion that ambitiously expands on their haunting tutorials, while easily standing on its own with all new projects, styles and techniques, all presented in clear, glossy photos and instructions…

• Continue reading How to Haunt Your House, Book Two review

• Buy this book from Amazon

 Beading Jewelry for Halloween

By Collette Hunt

Each year I try to find interesting Halloween jewelry but all I find is lots of cheap trinkets. So last April I decided to take up beading. Now I make my own amazing Halloween jewelry. If you can thread a needle and tie a knot, you can bead! One of my favorites is this ‘String of Skulls Bracelet. Its simply a matter of stringing an interesting set of beads for the main line, then stringing smaller sections and sewing through one little bead at set intervals. Its quick, simple and great looking…

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 Making Body Parts and Monsters out of Fiberglass

By David Lay

Ever wonder how they made the costumes for Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers in Star Wars? Basically they did it the same way car bodies are made… in a mold with fiberglass, or a similar resin. In fact, so many things are made with plastics and resins today that it’s not likely you have any device that doesn’t have a molded part on it. I have seen some really complicated, and convincing, costumes made entirely from molded fiberglass, including whole suits of armor!

With the basic knowledge of how to do this, you can make almost anything you’d like. Below I will describe how to make a simple body part, but these concepts can be extended to almost any level to make extravagant costumes, monsters or even sets (think of the Jet in the opening scene of Mission Impossible II. That was made as a fiberglass model a bit larger than a minivan)…

Learn how to make body parts and monsters out of fiberglass

Have a great labor day weekend!

Yours,
Chris Molnar
Editor, Halloweenalliance.com