An ever-expanding family of scarecrows...Part I

 One family tradition we have is that we make scarecrows every Autumn. We started maybe five or six years ago, when we had just one child. We've added a new scarecrow (or a pregnant scarecrow!) practically every year since. Last year, with a newborn baby and three other kids six and under, I just didn't quite make it in the scarecrow department. But this year we are back...with a vengeance.

Normally, we do run-of-the mill scarecrows...hats, regular clothes, happy smiles, the whole nine yards. The only stipulation is that each scarecrow looks as close as possible to its real-person equivalent in color of hair, eyes and use of that person's cast-off clothes. The bad news: I don't have a lot of photos of those. One thing I can tell you: they are 100% more awesome than the store-bought ones, and we regularly have people tell us that they come to our house on Halloween just to see them. We also have people slow down just to look at them, kids pointing out the window. The picture above is probably the second year we did them, and they are pretty rudimentary. As with most things, we get better and better at them every year.

I have big fantasies of scarecrows to come: an alien theme, separate costumes just for Halloween night, the band KISS (I had to give that one up once we passed the four band members by in numbers), The Wizard of Oz...I mention this only as an encouragement to others who might have time to get more elaborate in their concept of the scarecrow. I've also thought a family of mummies would be fun. Pirates, the characters for the tv show 'Arthur', well, okay, I'll stop now.

This year, we're doing a 'Day of the Dead' theme. I've had a fascination with Mexican folk art since high school or college, and have been known to set up Day of the Dead altars, most notably when a beloved family member has passed during that year. I love the spirit of celebration of loved ones, the sense of humor with the skeletons doing every day acts of ridiculousness. I enjoy the reminder that we are all just passing through this life, and the veil between us and 'them' is mighty thin.

I  encourage you to embark on this scarecrow-making journey- be it by yourself, with your kids, even dragging your husband or wife kicking and screaming along with you (guess which one I am). It's easy. And did I mention how cheap it is? I have a rule that I use as much 'found' stuff around the house as I can- and random wood from the garage. This year my grand total for 6 scarecrows? Less than $5.00. If you own a glue gun, you're halfway there.

Next up: detailed instructions for scarecrows, plain, Day of the Dead, or any variety you please.