Greeting Card Campaign: 10-31 Halloween

Click here to download Halloween Card

October 31st is, of course, Halloween or Hallowe'en, short for All Hallow's Evening.  This yearly celebration started out as a Christian feast day to remember the dead - especially saints, martyrs and faithful dead believers. The Roman Catholic Church Christianized the old Gaelic pagan festival Samhain, although some academics argue that Halloween originated independently of the pagan Samhain and has solely Christian roots. Whatever the case, the association of Halloween with tricks, treats, pranks, costumes, monsters and general scariness seems to hark back more to the pagan festival which was once celebrated by building fires in the dark and wearing frightening masks in order to frighten away the ghosts of any unsettled dead that might be walking around the evening before All Saints Day.

Nowadays Halloween seems to be more about dressing up and eating candy for the kids and dressing up slutty for adults going to parties than it is about any religious observance. Most churches these days like to offer an alternative "harvest" party for their young people to de-emphasize the "evil" associations that go with Halloween.  Send your sweetheart a Happy Halloween Card to let her know you're willing to scare off any ghosts for her and that she's your "greatest" pumpkin.

Just click on the caption below the picture of the pumpkin.  The link will take you to a pdf file in Google Docs.  Download the file. Don't try to print the file from within Google Docs. I use a lot of fonts and Google Docs doesn't seem to like them very much.  Instead, click on "File" in the upper left corner, then select "download" and copy the file to your own computer. Open it with Adobe PDF Reader or whatever PDF reader you prefer.  Print the card from there and it should be fine.

This is a side fold card, so when you print it, be sure to select "landscape" and if you have two-sided printing, choose "flip on the short side" so that the inside of the card is the same way up as the outside.

Don't forget to write something sweet inside for your best girl - something more than just your name. And heaven help you, don't forget to sign it. 

© 2013 by Tom King 

Wand-Making Made Easy

(c) 2012 by Tom King



Simple Wand with Scroll Markings

 What with the long winter evenings upon us, here's a little project you can start on in your spare time that is inexpensive, fun and will make you the hit of the neighborhood next Halloween.  With the end of the Harry Potter series, the movies move to television and begin their second life. J.K. Rowlings' brillliant series about the lives of children in a school for wizards actually has some very positive things to say to kids.  The series is not about magic being an easy bail-out the way so many kids movies have been.  It is rather about making choices and how if you choose to do right, things usually come out okay in the end.

Simple circular grooves with color variations.

One of the key characters in the series is Mr. Olivander, the Wandmaker.  He's an interesting character and provides most of the Hogwarts School children with their first wands. This past year I tried my hand at wandmaking and made some kids in my neighborhood very happy by sending them home, not with candy (my wife took care of that), but with their very own "first wands" complete with sales tags.

They are easy to make from hardwood dowels.  I use the thicker 5/8 to 3/4 inch dowels so that I have room to carve designs into them and so they aren't an eye-poking-out hazard.  You can find a description of how they are made on this Hubpages article.  The trick to really selling these wand is the individual tags for each wand. 

When I buy the dowels, I alway note the type of wood.  I've found dowels at Home Depot, Lowes and other lumber supply places made of poplar, oak and ash.  They aren't terribly expensive and you can get three or four 8 to 15 inch wands out of them.  You simply cut them into the lengths you want, Carve designs in them with a lathe if you have one or a Dremel-Moto Tool.  You can even make them interesting with a simple whittling knife if you have some skill at whittling.



Custom tags add authenticity



The key is to start early.  Carve the wands, then stain and varnish them.  There's a polyurethane wipe-on varnish that's great for this type of project.  You don't brush or spray it on, but wipe it on with a soft cloth. It's thin, so you'll need to add multiple coats, but it gets down into the carvings and adds nice colors and textures.

When you're done, you'll need to print up some tags for each want and attach them with a loop of string as shown in the article linked above.  The tags, like Mr. Olivander's wands will specify the length, type of wood used, the "core" used and the rigidity of the wand.  A typical tag might read:

Olivander & King

Wandmakers

Poplar - 12 inches

Core: Phoenix Feather
Pliant

By mixing up the tags and giving each it's own unique qualities and designs, you'll be creating a one of a kind keepsake for each child who comes to your door.

The only problem is that if word gets out, you may have to make a lot more wands next year.  The good news is, it's fun and you can find all sorts of wood for them just by keeping your eyes open.  If you have a lathe, it's even easier. Dowels off chairs, broom handles and even scavenged hardwood tree limbs can be pressed into service.  My dog, Daisy, and I found several likely branches on our rambles through the forest and the wands made out of natural tree branches had a mysterious and magical look to them that made them popular with the kids. 

If you take on the project, be sure and send me some pictures.  I'd love to see your work.

Have fun with it.

Tom