Top Tips for Crafters

No Mess Beading-- Keep a lint roller handy for picking up spills of micro beads and other small items. Scrape them into a bowl and place them back into their original container

Keep Thread Organized- Clean your thread drawer and keep bobbin threads from unwinding by securing filled bobbins with mini ponytail holders

Dried Leaf Place Cards

To dry leaves,lay down a sheet of newsprint, followed by paper towels. Arrange leaves on paper towels, then place a second layer of paper towels and a sheet of newsprint on top. Set stack in a phone book and place in a dry, ventilated spot for several days. To make place cards, use a gel ink pen to add guests' names

Fun Ways to Disguise Halloween Candy

Friendly Ghost Bags - Frosted plastic gift bags become friendly ghosts with a quick trim off the tops. For each bag,simply round the top corners with scissors and apply two googly eyes. Fill the bag with popcorn or Halloween treats, punch two small holes through the top, thread a black cord through the holes, and tie in a bow.

Ready to Roll- Recycle empty paper towel rolls into treat filled tubes. Cut the rolls in half or use toilet paper rolls and fill with candy. Then roll an unfolded paper Halloween napkin around each candy filled tube. Secure the ends with ribbon

Cagey Ghosts

Tomato cages come to life with this devilishly easy craft. Put of use tomato cages are a restless bunch. Come Halloween, they haunt front porches as glowing ghosts.

You need
Tomato cage/duct tape/string lights/twist ties/socks/sticks/marker pr craft foam/white twin sheet

To make one, set up cage as shown. To form the head,use duct tape to secure the rounded prongs of the cage. Thread the light through the cage, and secure with twist ties.

For each arm, ball up two socks and duct tape them to a stick, placed in the ground.

Add marker or pinned on craft foam facial features to a white twin sheet, then drape it over the structure.

Beef and Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups

Dinner for two? There's no need to make a whole pan of lasagna.

You need

1/4 lb ground beef
3 tablespoons chopped onions
1 jar pasta sauce
1 egg white
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon oregano
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 precooked lasagna noodles
1 cup fresh baby spinach

How to
Heat oven to 350. In skillet cook beef and onion. Drain and stir in 1/2 cup pasta sauce.

In bottom of glass baking dish, spread 3 tablespoons of the remaining sauce. In medium bowl, beat egg white. Stir in ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, oregano and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese

Spread 1/4 of the ricotta cheese mixture, spinach leaves and beef mixture over each lasagna noodle. Starting with short side, gently and loosely roll each noodle;place seam side down over sauce in baking dish. Top rolls with remaining sauce Cover with foil

Bake 30-40 minutes, Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake additional 2-4 minutes

Removable Tote Organizer

This handy three pocket pouch can easily be fashioned from a carpenter's canvas nail apron. Cut off apron straps. Sew buttons and loops of twill tape(12 inch strips folded in half) to opposite sides of the apron at the same spot, 1 inch from top edge and spaced to match up with tote's handle straps. Place apron in tote;wrap twill tape around tote handles, and pull buttons through loops

Cozy Fall and Winter Crafts

Wine Bottle Sleeve- A pretty felt sleeve adds quick style to a wine bottle and protects surfaces from drips and rings. Cut a rectangle of felt with pinking shears. Fold it in half and stitch or glue the sides together. Slip over a bottle and tie with ribbon. Cut leaf and acorn shaped from felt or thin cork to add to the ribbon.

Corncob Candle Base- Circle a tall candle with same size corncobs and their husks. Fold the husks of corncobs over the cobs. Cut the husks into triangular shapes. Stand the corncobs around the base of a candle and hot glue the together Wrap twine around the corncob circle and tie.