Halloween is a time for creativity; letting your imagination wander into the unexplored corners of your mind, the birth of new monsters, unleashing of ideas long since bottled… Sometimes the end result is reward enough, but you know what makes it even sweeter? Recognition. When you finally get to wear the costume that took you 8 weeks to make, the cries of “What an amazing costume!” make it so worth it. And when your neighbors do a double take and have to peer closer at your handmade yard prop: that’s one satisfying moment.

So if you haven’t already started, now’s the time to get cracking on your Halloween creations. When you’ve finally finished, enter them into the MAKE/CRAFT DIY Halloween Contest. Just upload your pictures to their DIY HALLOWEEN photo pool at Flickr by November 4th and your …

When was the last time you saw a creative use for a mini pumpkin? During Fall they’re usually displayed next to a bunch of other mini pumpkins, just sitting there and looking all tiny and cute. Or being painted on Kountry Kitchen-style or being made into kid crafts… Learn how to transform the little buggers into something cooler using these tutorials. Starting with a “ghost” white mini pumpkin you can make big creepy bloodshot eyeballs. I have a feeling we’ll make a bunch of these this Halloween to go along window sills, float in punch, and add interest to props.

For the more technically inclined, you might enjoy taking apart a bicycle tire …

3 easy pumpkin recipes for Halloween or year round. Vegan and vegetarian friendly.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to start carving pumpkins. If you’ve already carved one up, it’s time to get a new one because it’s probably not as good as a Zombie Pumpkin. Each stencil is hand drawn and stylized by Ryan, the one man show, to work perfectly with traditional cut-out carving techniques. You don’t need to be a master carver for these stencils to come out looking good. But I’ll stop gushing over how awesome they are and let you get to choosing. The site’s been recently updated for the 2006 season with a new design and new stencils. Some of the newest are Stubbs the Zombie (personal fav), Head Cheerleader, Gizmo (from the 80’s flick Gremlins), and in honor of Friday the 13th, Jason Voorhees.

Don’t forget that the stencils can be used for other …

While visiting a Pumpkin Patch is usually available throughout Autumn, it makes a particularly fun event during the month of October to help get you into the spirit. Patches vary from region to region, but many of them offer events like costume contests, hay rides, face painting, small haunted houses, corn mazes, and more Fall fun. It’s also a nice opportunity to support local farmers and see a variety of pumpkins that you might not see at your local grocery store. Best of all, visiting pumpkin patches is free! At PumpkinPatchesandMore.org you can find listings for pumpkin patches (and related events) for all of the USA, as well as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Local Harvest also offers a search that locates small farms, farmers markets, and other local food …

There are many traditions that we begin on October 1st, and decorating our computers is one of the easier ones. A quick online search and you can convert your desktop and chat program into a spooky experience that evokes Halloween spirit all month long. After Sean created us some amazing banners, I was feeling inspired and decided to make a few buddy icons for 365 Halloween readers. The larger sized ones are compatible with Yahoo Instant Messenger and MSN Instant Messenger, while the smaller ones are geared towards AIM and Trillian users. Of course, you’re free to use them as a message board avatar, on your MySpace, on your website, etc. Just be sure to right-click and “Save As” rather than trying to hotlink, and do not redistribute. …