When Halloween rolls around, I feel like a pumpkin hoarder. I gawk at pumpkins from taxi cab windows, I marvel at the ones with no blemishes, and I can’t help talking to the mini ones in a baby voice. Weird, I know, but it stems from my years as a stylist, when the Great Pumpkin Hunt for the most photogenic pumpkin is on!

I’m always attracted to these little dudes because, obv, they are so cute, and you can just pop a few in your purse and whip up a craft later.

When my new, awesomely creative assistant Clare (you’ll be hearing from her on the blog soon enough!) came up with Tic-Tac-Toe pumpkin idea, I knew I wanted to make it happen. So I grabbed 9 jack-be-littles, painted X’s and O’s on the top with acrylic paint, and made a board on the floor with painter’s tape! Or you can throw down some sticks in your backyard and play in the grass—a great game for a fall festival party or backyard Halloween fete.

Here’s a snappy little video I made with the help of my son, Oliver. Enjoy!

All of the DIY possibilities on Halloween can be a little intimidating, right? If you want to add a homemade touch to your child’s candy collecting experience, but don’t have time to craft the costume from head to toe, consider making one of these super-easy Halloween trick-or-treat bags!

1. (Above) Use tape on a simple canvas tote to create a pumpkin, skeleton, or bat. From Parents.com.

2. I love this easy printable iron-on design from Julep! You can get simple canvas totes and iron-on printable paper from Amazon.

3. How adorable is this furry monster bag from Making the World Cuter? And better yet, it’s no sew.

4. Add a handle to this batty bag and it’s the perfect accent to a witch or vampire costume!

5. I love how simple these cute little googly eye bags from About a Mom are! Hot glue big ones to a canvas tote and voila! Insta-cuteness.

Pumpkin decorating very often involves sharp objects, precision, and muscle. If you have little people who are eager to help, those designs are pretty much off limits for anyone under the age of 12.

Here are three, no-carve pumpkin ideas I created for Parents magazine this year that only involve paint, pom-poms, and glue! I guarantee the first-aid kit will not be needed this year! Click over to Parents.com for the simple instructions…and for tons of other amazing Halloween fun!

(Photo by Dane Tashima on Parents.com)

I feel like the term Ikea hack is too commonly used. Therefore, I will not refer to these stools as an Ikea hack, but rather an Ikea upgrade?

I love how barebones some of their products are, like these simple Flisat stools that are perfectly sized for kids. They are just begging to be enhanced in some fabulous way! Here’s how I used our old Melissa & Doug wood blocks to create these sweet little critter chairs.

What you’ll need:

• Flisat stool
• Artminds décor paint
• Paintbrush
• Wood blocks
• 5” painter’s tape
• Scissors
• E6000 glue
• 5-inch screws
• Drill

Bunny

1. Paint stool seat with the paint. Let dry.
2. Paint 1.5” circles in two corners black. (Trace a roll of full washi tape to get a perfect circle!)
3. Adhere a piece of painters tape onto the angled surface of the wedge blocks, leaving about a ¾” border. Paint block and remove tape once the paint has set for about 20 minutes.
4. Assemble stool.
5. Glue ears in place as shown. Once the glue has set, about 2 hours, screw into the bottom of the stool and into the block to add further support.

Fox

1. Paint stool seat as shown. To create the scallop, mark the center of the stool about 2 to 3 inches up from the bottom edge, then trace an appetizer plate from that point to the outside edges.
2. Paint 1.5” circles in two corners black. (Trace a roll of full washi tape to get a perfect circle!)
3. Apply painters tape to the small triangle blocks to create the ears, leaving a ¾” border to paint orange.
4. Assemble stool.
5. Glue ears in place as shown. Once the glue has set, about 2 hours, screw into the bottom of the stool and into the block to add further support.

In the midst of the launch of my second book and back to school and prepping for all the fall crafty holidays, we decided to revamp Projectkid.com.

We hope you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for, and even what you never knew you needed!