These printables also work for the kids if you are to fill little treat bags with Halloween themed goodies.
You will find everything you need, including printables for the homeowner to tape on their door so others know they have already been booed.
Download from the above link for the best quality.
I hope these printables make it easy and fun to spread a little Halloween cheer in your own neighborhood! It’s such a simple way to bring smiles, make connections, and remind others that community can be full of surprises—in the best way.
Fun fact, my birthday is just 2 days after Valentine’s Day so I’ve always looked forward to the holiday and have always felt extra love surrounding February 14th and 16th.
With 3 young boys of our own and little Valentines being passed out by each to their classmates, I tend to think back on a personal memory of Valentine’s Day.
This year’s Valentines for the boy’s classmates are done and of course they include an allergy friendly option. Made Good granola bars are my go to. See below.
Do you remember the days of exchanging Valentines with your classmates in elementary school? One year in particular stands out for me and it’s because I was embarrassed and uncertain how to respond to a personalized Valentine in my bag.
The setting: 3rd grade, Mrs. Houston’s class. Oh how I loved her.
I remember the white paper bags that we decorated individually that were lined up under the chalkboard. A chalkboard. I just aged myself didn’t I? We had a week to fill all of our classmate’s Valentine bags with personalized goodies and notes.
I was in a unique situation at the school because my mother was a teacher there. I was at the school before and after “normal school hours” so I often assisted in the classrooms when help was needed by teachers. 
I was a busy bee as a kid and almost always needed something to do. I loved helping others and still do. I helped Mrs. Houston in the classroom one day during Valentine week and it was on this occasion that I noticed a unique envelope sticking out of my Valentine bag. I peaked at the white legal sized envelope and read what was written on the outside:
To: Amanda
Love: Andy
When Friday came, it was time to take home our Valentine bags.
My mom recently reminded me that I was too nervous to open this letter and made her read it to me when we got home.
Inside was a hand written note, “Will you be my Valentine?” and check boxes, Yes or No. Of course there were check boxes.
Also included with the note was a small 1 inch picture of him. Do you remember those tiny pictures that came as a 8×10 sheet that we used to get with our school picture orders and we’d pass them out to our friends? If not, I have definitely aged myself.
I still recall my cheeks flushing when mom read the note.
Such an innocent request but one that made me nervous and uncertain what to do or how to respond. He was a classmate. What would my response mean? 
I checked NO and returned the letter to him. <gasp>
When I told mom what I had done, I remember her saying, “AMANDA!” But it was said in a way of “Poor Andy”, knowing that I likely hurt his feelings. I can laugh about it now.
Looking back on this small life event, I now recognize 3rd grade was a time when I was beginning to worry about what others thought of me. 
Fast forward to today, I LOVE Valentine’s Day & I no longer care what others think. Life is too short my friends. 
I love the colors associated with Valentine’s Day. The bright pinks and reds tend to lift my spirits and evoke feelings of joy and anticipation for the upcoming season. Here in North Carolina, signs of Spring tend to show up shortly after Valentines which means longer days, vibrant blooms, and warmer days are near.
This Valentine’s Day, I hope you can celebrate love and connection. Use the day as an opportunity to express appreciation and gratitude for loved ones, friends and family.
Write the note. Send the text. Mail a card. Make the phone call.
Brighten someones day.
Do something for yourself.
Celebrate beautiful new beginnings.
Make that special treat. (If you need an idea for this, check out this post for two little Valentine treats.)
Below you will find a few printables which I created that you can use for writing a note or to include with a small gift for that special someone, friend, neighbor or family member.
Let’s spread love like confetti this Valentines and everyday—for Haven’s sake.
If you saw my post on Monday, you know already that I took on a cheesecloth ghost craft as a way to decompress. On occasion, I am reminded why I thrive when I create, paint a room or take on a DIY project in the home. It’s where I thrive and find Amanda, a moment of pause from mama and the joys and stimulation that role brings.
I am beyond grateful to be available for our boys, don’t get me wrong. There’s always reason to take time for yourself doing something that brings you joy. Filling that cup of joy will spill over when you step back into your role of mom.
This craft requires very few things:
Cheesecloth
Modge Podge
Balloons
Bowl for mixing
Drop cloth of some form
Supportive base to attach balloons
First, blow up the balloons at various sizes to add variation to your ghosts.
Next, drop the cheesecloth over each support and trim accordingly. Tip: Cut them slightly larger than needed so the cheesecloth can puddle nicely.
Mix the modge lodge with a little water to thin out the consistency. Soak each trimmed piece in the mixture, squeeze out the excess and slowly stretch it out to drop back over the base supports you made. I did two layers on each ghost.
Allow them to dry overnight.
Gently separate the balloons from the cheesecloth. Your ghosts may loose shape as you do this step but don’t worry, you can shape them back.
Next you will cut felt eyes or sew on black buttons. Hot glue them on to each ghost.
I decided to add paper flowers and ribbon to two of the ghosts to add a little extra flare, because I’m extra. Have fun with it and make them your own.
Fairy lights were the final touch I added to the ghosts. One long strand worked for all of them.
This tables cape will be a fun one to enjoy before a night out trick or treating. Our family has a tradition of filling up on a hearty bowl of my turkey chili with a side of cornbread before any candy is consumed. Be sure to save that recipe! It’s a crowd pleasure and simple to throw into the crockpot.
Valentines is my second favorite holiday. Perhaps it’s because my birthday falls 2 days after the day of love or the fact that I now realize I love the color pink, but I find so much joy in what the day brings.
Making the day special for your significant other, your children and your children’s classmates can be fun. It can also be a little stressful if you have an allergy kid like we do. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little anxiety over the treats our peanut allergy boy may receive and fear he may come in contact.
This allergy friendly Valentine treat made to look like a piece of candy will sure make for some happy kids. The Made Good granola bars are also free from the top 8 allergens and are in fact, delicious!
I created a simple printable available in two color schemes, neutral & traditional Valentine, that you can download for FREE by clicking, VALENTINE PRINTABLE.
Also included is a printable made to fit an 8×10 frame for a simple Valentine decor addition to your home.
If you want to create this same Valentine treat, below you’ll find a list of materials needed.
1 box of Made Good granola bars – found in the Valentine section of Target (It’s a 30 count for $6.99.)
1 bundle of tissue paper that you will cut down to size – slightly larger than the mini granola bars to allow for extra space for tying off the ends
String, yarn or ribbon that you may have at home
Printed Valentine tags, cut and hole punched to easily attach to the treats
I’d love to see how you make these tags work for your Valentine giftables. Be sure to tag @4havenssake on Instagram & Facebook where I will reshare all ideas for others to see as well.
Having kids brought more excitement back to Halloween. I now understand why it was so much fun for my parents to dress my brother and I up in costumes. I may still question the logic behind some of the costumes <Insert this throwback below>
A walking present? I need to ask my mom if I requested this number.
I hope you will find inspiration in my attempts to DIY some of our costumes the past few years.
Football Player & a Baby Football
The first year we had 2 boys to dress for Halloween, I kept it simple and went with a football player and baby football. We had an ECU jersey which was gifted to us as my husband is a proud Pirate graduate.
I searched Pinterest for a DIY football padding template. I used this one, Padding Template. The only thing needed for this, foam, scissors, string and hot glue. I happened to have all these items on hand from past home projects that required these items.
As for the baby football, I bought a brown onesie from Blanks Boutique . The quality of their products are wonderful. I always bought from them for majority of my monogramming and embroidery items I made for clients when that was a business of mine.
I cut strips of white fabric to mimic that of a football and sewed them with a simple stitch down the center of each. I set the stitch spacing to a wider length as I knew I’d also be removing the white fabric after Halloween to add a proper fall turkey applique for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. (I’m always looking for multi-purpose uses for things in the home and with clothing.)
Where The Wild Things Are
Our oldest loved reading this classic children’s book beginning at the age of 3. His love for the book inspired their Halloween costumes. This dragon caught his attention at TJ Maxx which I thought we could easily work into the theme.
Wanting to find an option that had multi-purposes for our youngest, I took to finding ways to make his costume. I found a sherpa onesie on sale for 50% off at Baby Gap that was the main necessity for him to become Max. Here is a similar option for less, baby Sherpa .
Between Michaels and Walmart, I was able to find faux fur that had wire inside and oversized tan buttons that I could easily add to the sherpa and remove after Halloween.
The crown was a party pack (Target) left over from our youngest’s 1st Birthday party (which happened to be the same theme). I hot glued a small bit of faux fur to the base of the crown, then lightly stitched it to the top of the hooded sherpa onesie. I used more of the faux fur to attach the tail.
Once again, the sherpa was put to use after Halloween as I was able to easily remove the stitched fur additions.
I cannot take credit for this idea. One of my close friends dressed up in costume with this family theme the year prior and we loved it.
There were pig headband sets but I knew our boys wouldn’t keep them on. I opted to make a template for the ears and sew them onto hats and a beanie for our youngest.
I first sketched out a basic template for the ears on paper, then used the paper template to trace onto pink fabric that I already had. I made the ears double-sided, with two different fabrics. You could also use inexpensive felt sheets. I first sewed the ear edges then flipped them right side out before stitching to the hats.
The alligator clip pig tails were at Target last year (2018).
Overalls were found at Target. This year’s inventory at Target has more trendy detailing on the denim. HERE
As for the noses and wolf mask, Amazon had the best deals:
This year’s theme is Toy Story. Our oldest wanted to be Woody and our youngest chose Buzz Lightyear, who he absolutely LOVES. I’ve just recently made the vest for the Woody costume which I will share soon. There will be more to come for this post once the final touches have been added.
Should you wish to buy a ready-made costume, here are some of the best deals I’ve found:
I don’t have a tutorial for how I made the Tin Man costume. I found an image of a similar costume and determined what I could buy fabric wise that would have stability and hold shape. A quick trip to the fabric store, I didn’t find a silver faux leather but did find it in black and decided to paint it. That idea worked!
I measured our oldest for shoulder width, body circumference and length and cut the fabric accordingly. I sewed the seams then painted it silver. As for the collar and shoulder detail, I also cut them to fit the body of the costume and hand stitched them to the bodice.
The scarecrow costume was fairly easy. The hat was made with black felt sewn together and adorned with jute and rattan. The fabric around his head and face was something I already had and had stretch to it. I cute out a hole for his face (not centered might I add) and loosely wrapped a piece of string to match the scarecrow look of the movie. We already had overalls and stuffed the pockets with rattan pieces. (Can be found at the $1 store.)
We had fun painting faces for the final family look.
It’s hard to believe Halloween is just around the corner. There were times when I was forced to DIY costumes because they had been sold out.
Fellow crafters I have a fun project for you. Share the idea with your friends and coordinate a time to host a “make and take” sign event like I did.
Fellow crafters I have a fun project for you. Share the idea with your friends and coordinate a time to host a “make and take” sign event like I did.
When I saw Ella Clair’s Fall sign on Pinterest, I was inspired to make it and take it a step further by having the reverse side of the sign a Christmas design. I’m all for multi-purpose home decor and the possibility of not having to store away 2 holiday signs was ideal.
Ella Clair’s design was more rectangular. I modified the design to accommodate this 2×2 plywood sheet and created a Christmas design in word for the reverse side.
You could also have a year round design on the reverse side in lieu of 2 holiday themes.
The first phase of this sign party started with good friends/neighbors on our street. We had the BEST time stenciling and hand painting our signs one cool evening in my neighbors garage. Collectively we had all of the supplies needed to paint the signs apart from the 2×2 plywood boards.
Here is what you need:
2×2 1/2 inch untreated plywood (You can get this exact size from Home Depot for around $6
Craft paint – Colors of your choosing. I had red & orange on hand so we just mixed the two with a smidge of black to make the perfect shade of rust.
Base paint – use any white paint you have on hand. We used White Dove by Sherwin Williams
Gray/Brown Paint – Used for the border, lettering and the arrow – Gargoyle by Sherwin Williams
Pencil
Printer
Painters Tape
Craft paint brushes
STEPS:
Paint the board using any white paint you have on hand
Once dry, use the painters tape to frame out a border on your board. I left approximately 1/2 inch from the edges.
Paint the border, including the edges on the sides and allow to dry
While paint is drying, print the fall design provided by Ella Claire, found here. Please respect her request that this is to only be used for personal use. If you visit her original blog post, she gives tips on how to add this template to a document as an image, then stretching it to the size needed. (I added the template to Excel as I found it easiest to stretch to the needed 2×2 size, much larger than her original)
Tape the pages together so the design lines up connecting the letters. You may have to trim some of the paper to prevent overlap.
Shade the backside of the design with a pencil as you will then place the shaded side down on your white background a trace the outline of the design.
Once you trace the outline of the design, remove the template and you will be left with the pencil outline to fill in with paint.
Begin painting the lettering. Don’t worry about any mistakes and uneven lines. You will distress your sign as the last step and can hide areas to make appear distressed and intentional.
Once your first side is complete, you will repeat the backside with the second seasonal design.
Distress both sides as much or as little as you’d like using an electric sander and 220 grit paper.
You may add a Polycrylic top coat if you think it will be outside and exposed to the weather elements. I didn’t complete this step as our sign is under a covered front porch. Paints are also permanent finishes once cured.
This simple DIY project is perfect for a rainy day. You can plan ahead and snag these hooks for 1/2 off when they are in the sale rotation at Hobby Lobby.
Materials:
1- 1×6 Pine Board (1 board allowed for the 3 different wall hooks you see pictured)
1 inch black screws (quantity dependent on how many hooks you plan to make)
Stain color of choice (we used Special Walnut by Minwax)
1/4 inch drill bit (attachment for your drill to make a hole in the metal wall hook)
2 inch black screws (quantity dependent on number of wall hooks you make)
This budget friendly DIY can cost as little as $40 for all 3 wall hooks. Hobby Lobby frequently offers their drawer pulls and metal wall hooks at 50% off. You can find each hook at these links – Single Retro Iron Hook, Triple Retro Iron Hook, single iron hook (not available online). If you don’t want to wait for the hooks to go on sale, you can use a 40% off mobile coupon for one item.
Steps:
Stain the board and allow to dry. Do not discard the towel used for staining as you will need it again to stain edges after you cut your board
While your board is drying, you will drill the holes in the metal hooks to allow for ease of attaching them to the wood board. Attach the drill bit to your power drill, mark where you want the holes for the screws, leverage the metal hook on an sturdy surface to allow for some overhang for your drill, securely hold the hook with one hand on the surface while you drill a hole, discard metal shards and repeat until you have 2 holes in each of the larger metal hooks. No drilling is required for the individual hooks.
Measure out the size you want for each wall hook. To utilize one board as we did, measurements are as follows: 1 Single Hook – 7 inches, 3 hook – approx. 23 1/4 inches & 5 hook – approx 41.5 inches.
Stain raw edges after you cut each piece
Center metal hooks on board and attach them using the 1 inch black screws
Once boards have completely dried, you can attach them to your wall using the 2 inch screws. We recommend finding the stud in the wall to ensure they are secure and withstand holding the weight of your goods over time.
Our 5 hook set was added above a shoe bench in our garage to create a simple hall tree and catch all for jackets & book bags.
If you love the look and just don’t have the time or tools to make these, you can send us a message at The Homestead Haven as we have them in our shop inventory ready to ship. (They’re currently not online in our Etsy shop and solely made for our vendor markets.)
Are you looking for candy free options for your child’s class Valentine party? I have a few options for you.
For our oldest son’s first Valentine party in pre-school, I wanted to send Valentines that weren’t sugar loaded. A quick search on Pinterest led me to Grace & Good Eats blog post and FREE Valentine Printables. Our printer had just run out of colored ink so I made use of some red and white gingham fabric and glued it to the heart on her printable. It turned out super cute.
Last year I had the same goal, offer a Valentine without candy, plus, we were sensitive to the fact there were so many food allergies in his class. I couldn’t pass up this cute option by my friend at Bon Bini. What a cutie, right?
You are a-maze-ing (You can find packs of mini mazes in the party section, sometimes at the Dollar Store too.)
Bon Bini Print design – Etsy
I hope this provides a resource for you to get creative with your little ones, to shop local, and offer up allergy free Valentines for your kid’s classmates.
If you want a cute printable for your home, check out this sweet design, also by Bon Bini Print.
Kisses & Cocoa Printable
All proceeds from the purchase are being donated to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC to help spread some serious LOVE this month.
Source for the Shiplap Mini, (pictured with the Cutie Valentine) – The Homestead Haven.
It can be styled with a wreath, also sold by the shop, or you can add your own seasonal wreath, kid artwork, add it in with a wall collage, etc.
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