Halloween Treat Bags & Our Trip out West

"When witches go riding, and black cats are seen.
The moon laughs and whispers, "tis near Halloween." 

~Unknown

‘Tis near Halloween…and on a crafting whim, I got out my scissors and glue and got to work making these fun and fanciful treat bags for our grandkids. The bags turned out even cuter than I expected, and they were super easy to make.

To make these treat bags you’ll need some plain lunch bags, decorative Halloween or autumnal papers, stickers, scissors, glue, and “in a spell” you’ll have some darling treat bags just waiting to be filled with all kinds of goodies for your special ghosts and goblins.

Materials Needed:

• standard size lunch bags
• decorative craft papers
• scissors
• glue
• ruler
• stickers
• optional supplies…die cut punches

Instructions:

• Gather all supplies needed
• Measure and cut out decorative papers to fit front and back side of the lunch bag
• Spread glue on front of lunch bag and adhere the decorative paper to the “smooth” side of the lunch bag (the side that does not have the folded bottom of the bag)

• After glueing the decorative paper to the front side of the lunch bag, open the lunch bag
• Cut out decorative paper to fit the back side of the lunch bag and glue the paper down the entire back side of bag (I left the sides and bottom of my treat bags in their original, kraft paper brown and thought the rustic sides made the bags look even cuter)
• To add a decorative trim to the top and bottom of the treat bags, use die cut punches or simply cut 2 narrow pieces of decorative paper in different, contrasting papers than the papers that were used to cover the lunch bags
• Cut the 2 strips of contrasting paper the same width as the lunch bag and glue the strips to the top and bottom of the lunch bag

• For decoration, add stickers to the front of each bag (I bought these Halloween stickers at Dollar Tree) After filling your treat bag with goodies, fold over the top of each bag and add another sticker for closure

• These turned out so cute!!! I’m sorry, I forgot to take a picture of my treat bags after I filled them with lots of Halloween treats and took them to our grandkids…however, they loved them!

Trick or treat, bag of sweets, ghosts are walking down the street.

Now for our trip “out West!”…

We just got back from a trip in our RV travelling through Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and all the way up to Utah. I don’t have enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe the sheer majesty and beauty of all we saw, but I’ve included just a few pictures I’ll hope you enjoy as you travel vicariously with us!

Golden pink and purple sunset in Canyonlands National Park in Utah

As we rounded some canyon bends in the road, my mouth would literally drop open when I saw the splendor that panned out before us, and the words to “How Great Thou Art” came wafting across my heart and mind as I looked at the awe-inspiring scenery.

The Needles Overlook of Canyonlands National Park

The Arches National Park in Moab, Utah

We were delighted when we saw these wild turkeys when we were driving through Canyonlands National Park in Utah! The turkeys were in the middle of the road when we first saw them, but as our truck approached, they scurried to the other side of the road…then politely slowed their pace and sauntered by, so I had plenty of time to take their pictures. (:

This petroglyph (a pre-historic rock carving) named Newspaper Rock is in Canyonlands National Park. When we walked up the pathway of the mountain to see it, I was enthralled, thinking of all the people that had walked along the same pathway we were on…over 2,000 years ago!

“Newspaper Rock is a petroglyph panel etched in sandstone that records approximately 2,000 years of early human activity. Pre-historic peoples, probably from the Archaic, Basketmaker, Fremont and Pueblo cultures, etched on the rock from B.C. time to A.D. 1300…In interpreting the figures on the rock, scholars are undecided as to their meaning or have yet to decipher them.”

Newspaper Rock is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

“O Lord my God,
When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee.
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art.

Aspens, with golden leaves shimmering in the autumn wind, outlined the outer edge of stately junipers, Douglas Firs, and Ponderosa Pines. As we drove by, Blue Grosbeaks and Black-billed Magpies swooped down in front of us, startled from their perches.

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!

~ “How Great Thou Art” written by an English missionary, Stuart K. Hine, based on an original Swedish hymn written in 1885 by Carl Boberg that was titled, “O Store Gud.”

From my cottage to yours ~ Trenda

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