These two jolly Jack-o’-Lantern friends were inspired by a vintage Halloween decoration my mother found in a catalogue.  Several years ago, my daughter and I made the heads out of papier-mâché, using the tried-and-true Kindergarten method of newspaper strips applied to balloons with watery white glue. For the bodies, we wired together sticks from the yard, which we draped with muslin for the gowns.  The black cloaks were formed from two mens’ drawstring shoe bags.  The friends take their place every October on our dining room sideboard.  This year we surrounded them with bittersweet branches and used two mercury-glass hurricane candle-holders for support.

Anticipating a happy Halloween!