How to Make Reverse Trick-or-Treat Bags

I’m thinking this would be a good year for some reverse trick-or-treating.

Halloween candy bag

While I’m not really into Halloween, I do like it as an excuse to indulge in some of the junk candy that I don’t buy the rest of the year, and I’ll pick up a bag or two “just in case.”

I even did this when we lived in a third-floor apartment. Since I didn’t expect anyone to come up, I made a few little candy bags and brought them to my neighbors instead. Reverse trick-or-treat!

In the 2020 version, I’d mask up and leave the treats outside neighbors’ doors.

 

Craft materials: markers, tags, and tape

Materials + Tips

Here’s what I used, plus alternatives in case you want to make the project simpler or fancier or to use materials you happen to have already…

Treat bags – These are great to buy when they’re on sale after the holiday – unlike candy, they’ll keep! I got a pack of clear ones on clearance at Target several years ago, and I’ve used them for a variety of things since then, including sleeves for pressed flowers. Alt: regular sandwich baggies, small paper bags, gift bags

Crinkle paper – Upcycled from some other packaging (maybe it came from these costume mask kits-?) Alt: tissue paper, shredded paper, confetti, or skip it (It’s mostly there for color.)

Cord (for the bow) – I used what I had on hand from an envelope journal workshop. Alt: ribbon, raffia, yarn, bakers’ twine, nothing (Again, it’s just a festive touch.)

Shipping tag – I wrote our names on the back with a reminder who we were (i.e. “From: Phillip and Stephanie from upstairs”), since I suspected some of our neighbors  might recognize our faces but not our names. To be honest, I wasn’t sure about some of theirs, which is why there was no “To:” – just a “Happy Halloween” on the front. Alt: label, card, or make your own gift tags

Ultra fine tipped marker

Washi tape to keep the bag closed

Candy – make sure it’s individually wrapped!

 

Washi tape to close treat bag

Kids need a project?

If you are looking for something to occupy your kids or teens (hello, parents working from home!), here are a few ways they can help with these…

  • Color, stamp, and/or add stickers to bags.
  • Make Halloween cards or tags.
  • Cut construction paper into pieces to use instead of crinkle paper. (Or use a hole puncher / leaf-shaped paper punch to make confetti.)
  • Fill the bags – if they can be trusted around all that candy! (I barely can.)

On the tag or card, include the age(s) of any contributing young artists (i.e. “From Velma, Fred, and Daphne, age 3”), because that somehow makes it even cuter.

candy bag for Halloween


If you make candy bags, I’d love to see them! Tag @travelcraftjournal or #TCJreco on Instagram. Have fun!

Treats (no tricks!): Fall 2020

In these tricky times, here’s a virtual goodie bag full of classes, films, performances, and tours you can enjoy from home, as well as artisan wares you can shop from anywhere!

tissue paper flowers

For good stuff and in between these seasonal roundups, watch our Instagram stories!

Stay well and be safe, friends! Keep supporting artists, makers, local businesses, and causes when you can.  Nourish your soul.

 

tropical plants
Denver Botanic Gardens tropical conservatory, 2013.

Freebies

Badge Bomb:

  • Fun stay-at-home-themed coloring pages, activity sheets, and stickers. Download a PDF or request a free printed sheet with any order.
  • Free shipping on US orders over $50 + international orders over $75.

 

Black Lives Matter poster printable: PDF you can download from Dropbox, print, and hang up. Artwork by Stephen Powers. (Preview)

 

Denver Botanic Gardens virtual Día de los Muertos celebration: Coloring pages, classes, short film competition, and online mercado.

  • In Denver: Glow at the Gardens, Oct. 20-25. Reimagined for 2020, an evening of luminous displays and live performers. Advance purchase of timed tickets required. $17-21

 

Why I Love Where I Live sign

 

Monterey Bay Aquarium:

 

Museum of Craft and Design: MCD@Home has partnered with artists and community collaborators to create at-home projects based on museum’s signature programs and exhibitions.

 

Where to Go + When: Free ebook by longtime travel blogger Sherry Ott of Ottsworld. Email address required to receive the download link.

 

Why I Love Where I Live:

 

Chrysanthemums

Classes

Debbie Allen Dance Academy: Founded by Debbie Allen of Fame fame, DADA is a non-profit organization with programs to expand young people’s access to dance + theater.

 

Hanna Naegle yoga:

 

MyIntent:

 

San Francisco School of Needlework + Design:

  • Online classes on embroidery and other stitching techniques. Fees vary.
  • Virtual Stitch-ins: Weekly Zoom meetups where you can craft along with fellow fans of fiber arts. No RSVP required. Free.

 

Olney gallery in Phoenix
Olney Gallery, a Phoenix First Friday and Art Detour venue.

Virtual Tours

Artnet: Roundup of virtual art world events.

 

Fort Wayne Museum of Art: Take a virtual tour from home.

 

Mission San Juan Capistrano:

 

NYC virtual guide:

 

Phoenix-area virtual attractions:

 

Not Just Quiltz
Fabric at Not Just Quiltz, designed by Donna Abbots.

Shop Art + Craft

L.A. County Yarn Crawl Shops:

 

Not Just Quiltz: We met this vendor at the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival!

 

Orenda Tribe SPREAD LOVE + SHINE LIGHT Shop: Sale of art and artisan goods with 100% of proceeds going to critical aid on the Diné / Navajo reservation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Quilt-Craft-Sew Mall: Shop vendors from Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festivals online, since so many of 2020’s events had to be canceled.

 

Riders of the Purple Sage program
Waiting for the premiere of Riders of the Purple Sage!

Watch

Arizona Opera’s Reimagined 2020/21 Season:

 

The Loft Cinema:

 

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts concerts: Many upcoming Scottsdale Arts shows are either all virtual or in-person with a virtual option. Live stream tickets vary by show ($20-39).

 

SXSW Short Films: A collection of shorts that were selected for SXSW 2020, but couldn’t be screened when the festival had to be canceled last-minute, due to the pandemic. You can now watch them from home! Free.

 

The Loft Cinema

The Fight to Breathe

Black Lives Matter mural by Camila Ibarra

It’s a weird time to be alive.

It’s a weird time to be breathing.

Because this virus keeps spreading across the world, carried by breath. You could inhale sickness and never know where it came from. You could exhale death and never know where it landed.

Bighorn fire photo by Phillip.
Fires burning near the top of the Santa Catalina mountains on 6/10/20.

Because wildfire keeps spreading across the mountains in Tucson. Even far from the danger, we feel its burn in our eyes and throats as we breathe in the smoke.

BLM poster listing the names of people who've died from police violence in recent years.

Because violence keeps spreading across the U.S.

When you saw that an officer would block an unarmed man’s windpipe with the weight of his knee, did you feel your own throat tighten? When you saw how quickly police would turn on the people they’re supposed to protect, did you realize you were holding your breath?

When you remembered that air can still pass into your lungs, did you wonder what it means that you’re still breathing? And what we should do now?

Alleyway chalk drawings.

Some raged against the injustice by smashing windows and starting fires. Some by showing up in the morning to pick up the pieces and sweep up the glass. Some by activism and art.

Tucson Together mural by Jessica Gonzales
Tucson Together mural by Jessica Gonzales.

Tucson has a history of making art in response to tragedy, mosaics from shards.

After two nights of anger spilling into downtown Tucson streets, volunteers came to clean up.

Be kind

Over boarded-up windows, they painted the Ben’s Bells symbol – that bright green flower shape with the words “be kind” in the center. If you’ve been to Tucson in recent years, you’ve seen it. But you might not know the project’s story, that it began as a way for founder Jeannette Maré to work through the grief of losing her son, Ben. She threw her energy into spreading kindness and making ceramic windchimes.

Gadsden quote

Art is helping us navigate this perplexing time too.

Black Lives Matter Tucson held a Celebration of Black Lives on the U of A campus with speakers and music. You can see videos of it on their Facebook page, including this transcendent dance performance by Na-il Ali Emmert.

Hotel Congress with Camila on Canvas mural
Black Lives Matter mural by @CamilaOnCanvas.

There are new murals popping up around Tucson. One that feels particularly of the moment is by Camila Ibarra on the north wall of Hotel Congress. Her portrait of a face-mask-wearing Black woman with the words “Black Lives Matter” in her natural hair has this intensity, this electricity in every brushstroke.

Murals at MSA Annex

Muralist Joe Pagac has been connecting Black artists with downtown Tucson walls. Several murals have already gone up at MSA Annex. I was walking Quijote around there the other day and got to meet one of the artists, To-Ree’-Nee’ Wolf, who was in the process of painting an extension to her mural.

Mural by To-Ree-Nee Wolf
Artist To-Ree-Nee Wolf working on one of her murals.

A week after George Floyd’s death, there was a vigil in his honor outside The Dunbar Pavilion, an African American art and cultural center. There was a stage set up, where Tucsonans took turns at the mic, sharing stories of loved ones they’ve lost to police violence, about fearing for their children, about the need for grassroots change.

George Floyd vigil in Tucson

Because being Black in America – simply existing – puts you in more danger.

As nature photographer Gina Danza wrote, “Peace doesn’t come without worry, fear for Black womxn. There is never a moment where we can be fully at peace.”

We can’t let that continue to be the case.

Candles at a vigil for George Floyd.
Photo by The Dunbar Pavilion of candles lit in remembrance of George Floyd.

The Enough is Enough vigil wrapped up with a moment of silence – actually 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence – to remember George Floyd. As we lit candles or turned on cell phone lights to hold up, the speaker said, “When your arm starts getting tired, remember that at least you’re not on the ground with someone’s knee on your neck.”

Before leaving, people placed flowers and candles and handmade signs on a table in front of the stage, turning it into a kind of a shrine.

Tucson wildfire smoke
Smoke rising from the Bighorn Fire in the Santa Catalina mountains on 6/17/20.

Of course, the fight is far from over.

There’s been some rain, but the fire in the Catalinas isn’t out yet. There was a short reprieve, but the virus is spreading quickly. There has been some progress, but the violence hasn’t stopped.

We need to look out for each other, make sure everyone can keep breathing.

We need to be kind.

Black Lives Matter

Community in the Time of Coronavirus

While COVID-19 has thrown us all off balance, people are helping each other get back on their feet in some lovely ways – sharing their art, connecting people with resources, checking in on family and friends, donating where they can, helping the “helpers” on the front lines, and buying from their local mom-and-pop shops and restaurants. (All from a safe distance, of course!)

 

Coffee thank you

I’ve rounded up a list of various goodies to help you stay well, support independent artists and businesses, and give back.

 

Breathe background for Zoom video
Courtesy of Saywells Design + Why I Love Where I Live.

Free to Download

Adobe: Resources for creativity at home!

  • Coloring book pages by designers and illustrators. Each week, there’s a new set of pages with themes like “gratitude” and “alphabet.”
  • Short films about design.
  • Public domain images and fonts to liven up your paper craft projects!
  • Tips for photographing your plants and pets.

 

Badge Bomb: Fun stay-at-home-themed coloring pages, activity sheets, and stickers you can print and color.

 

Face masks
Face masks via Bluprint.

Bluprint: Patterns for sewing face masks and instructions for folding no-sew masks.

 

Native Seeds/SEARCH:

 

Why I Love Where I Live:

 

Lisa Congdon sketchbook via CreativeBug
Lisa Congdon sketchbook via CreativeBug

Workshops

Debbie Allen Dance Academy: Founded by Debbie Allen of Fame fame, DADA is a non-profit organization with programs to expand young people’s access to dance + theater.

 

Lisa Congdon: A couple of free online classes from an artist whose work always makes me smile.

 

MyIntent:

 

Rohit Gijare: Virtual dance classes on Sundays…

  • $5 semi-classical or Bolly fusion workshop with the Bollywood Boulevard choreographer.
  • $8 for both classes with code BOTH.

 

Skillshare:

  • Free classes demonstrating a variety of art, craft, cooking, entrepreneurship, and other skills.
  • Premium membership free for 2 months. (New members only.)

 

 

Arts + Artisans shop in Chicago
Arts + Artisans shop in Chicago

Shop

Arts and Artisans: 40% off everything through April 30.

 

Badge Bomb:

Stay Home Reward Sticker Sheet by Gemma Correll
Stay Home Reward Sticker Sheet by Gemma Correll on Badge Bomb.

 

Bookman’s: For every $25 gift card purchase, Bookman’s will add a $5 reward. For every $100, get a $25 reward!

 

Doggie Drawings Shop: Artwork by Lili Chin 20% off. This includes Dogs of the World prints and cute enamel pins of different dog breeds.

 

Corgi pin by Lili Chin.

 

Dogs and Donuts: Free delivery in Tucson for orders over $15.

 

Downtown Tucson Partnership: DTP Gift Card Incentive Program…

  • Buy a $25 gift card for one of over 60 downtown businesses through the Downtown Tucson Partnership + receive a free $10 bonus!
  • Participating businesses include restaurants, museums, shops, bars/breweries, salons, fitness centers, a hotel, and a theater.
  • DTP will announce each round of gift card sales on its site. (Hint: They’ve mostly gone on sale on Fridays starting at 6am and sold out FAST!)
  • They’ve also gathered a lot of resources to help Tucsonans navigate life during the pandemic.

 

hotel congress

Hotel Congress: Additional $25 when you purchase a $100 gift card.

 

L.A. County Yarn Crawl Shops:

  • Knitting Tree – Sale on discontinued and overstocked items.
  • Wildflower Studio – Shibui Knits Maai $14/skein (regular $17.50) + free digital pattern for M.1 scarf by Shelli Anderson with purchase of 4 skeins.
  • Zoe’s Knit Studio – Free shipping (or curbside pickup) on select kits. Email info@zoesknitstudio.com for details.

 

MAST (at Mercado San Agustin): Free shipping on U.S. orders with promo code MARCHON. Or 25% off any one item made by Mellow, Sofie, or Tasha with code LEANON.

 

MyIntent:

  • 50% off sitewide with code HERWORD50 (through May 10).
  • We featured a MyIntent necklace in a previous gift guide.

 

Arizona Hearts art print
Arizona Hearts art print by Phoenix Supply Co.

Phoenix Supply Co.

  • Today: buy 1 art print, get one 50% off!
  • Free domestic shipping on orders $40+.
  • I know founder/artist Melissa through the Phoenix design community, and she is a stellar human being!

 

Not Just Quiltz:

  • Bolt of the Week 25% off.
  • All bolt BATIKS and precut bundles 15% off (half-yard minimum).
  • Select colors of King Tut thread $19.95/2000 yard cone (regular $29.95).
  • Closeout fabrics $8/yard, while supplies last.
  • We met this vendor at the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival.

 

Seven Cups Fine Chinese Teas:

  • 20% off Bai Long Xu (White Dragon Whiskers) Loose Leaf Sheng Puer tea.
  • Free delivery within the continental U.S.
  • Select tea ware on sale.

 

Spirit of the Artisan:

 

Why I Love Where I Live:

 

Republica Empanada in Mesa
Republica Empanada in Mesa

Food (Arizona)

Phoenix Area

Cartel Coffee Lab, Tempe:

  • Free shipping (except subscriptions) with code STAYHOME.
  • Pickup available at original downtown Tempe location (on Ash).

 

Crown Public House, Phoenix: Weekday specials on green chili mac, wings, pizza, and more.

 

Peixoto Coffee, Chandler:

  • Buy 3 bags of coffee, get one free.
  • Free shipping or curbside pickup.
  • Make a donation to help them provide hot coffee to overnight hospital workers.

 

Republica Empanada, Mesa: $2 beer or $10 mix-and-match six pack with any order.

 

Tucson To Go: Reforma

Tucson

Several Tucson restaurants are offering $30 takeout meals for two, as part of Tucson To-Go! Even though it’s presented by Sonoran Restaurant Week, this deal is ongoing.

 

Agustin Kitchen (at Mercado San Agustin): Burgers and sandwiches (a.k.a. “handhelds”) are buy one, get one free from 2-4pm daily. Walk-up or call-in orders.

 

Beaut Burger (at MSA Annex): Buy one, get one free vegan burgers weekdays from 4-5pm. Walk-up orders only.

 

Cartel coffee

Cartel Coffee Lab, Tucson:

  • Free shipping (except subscriptions) with code STAYHOME.
  • Pickup available at Grant and Campbell.

 

Cup Cafe (in Hotel Congress):

  • 20% off Cup Cafe dishes to-go. New menu includes family style meals!
  • $2 off all pies and cakes by the slice.

 

Check out Tucson Foodie’s takeout guide or the lists that Brunch Babes Tucson has aggregated of current food, coffee, and alcohol options!

 

Julieannas In Yuma
Julieanna’s Cafe patio in Yuma

Yuma

Julieanna’s:


What is helping you find a sense of community during this time?

 

Chalk board sign
Good Oak Bar in Tucson

Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival: Part 2

While the Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival has great fabric and pattern vendors (some of which we featured in Part 1 of this post), that’s not all that’s there.

Quilt shop clock
Quilt shop cuckoo clock from Cheryl Ann’s Design Walls booth

You can find booths for guilds and organizations devoted to keeping handmade traditions alive. There also are lots of vendors selling tools, embellishments, and materials that go along with quilting and other types of crafting. It’s impressive how many of them have invented, made, or designed the products they’re selling!

 

Quilt, Craft, and Sewing Festival: Patterns + Fabric

Pauline Rogers of Pauline's Quilters World.

Tools

Pauline Rogers demonstrates the Sasher.

Pauline’s Quilters World – Pauline Rogers invented the Sasher, a small plastic tool, shaped to make it quicker to fold and press strips of fabric. She also created the Quilt As You Go technique and wrote The Quilt As You Go Handbook (QAYG).

Crafting for Australia

 

Sewing machine extension

Tailor Made Tables, LLC – Sewing machine repair and sewing extension tables custom-made to fit your machine by Dean the Table Guy.

  • Made in San Tan Valley, AZ.

 

Thread Cutterz sewing machine Thread Cutterz

Thread Cutterz demo

Thread Cutterz  – Invention featured on Shark Tank to easily cut thread or fishing line. You can wear it on a ring, or it can mount flat to the side of your sewing machine.

 

Susan Brown from Lakeside Scissors Sales

Lakeside Scissors Sales Products

Lakeside Scissors Sales – Specializing in hard to find small tools, they have bins and bins of scissors, pliers, magnifying glasses, and other gadgets.

 

Portable design walls

Cheryl Ann’s Design Walls – These are portable, freestanding fabric surfaces for laying out quilt squares. Instructors can use them for demonstrations. They’re also helpful at quilter get-togethers where design wall space is limited – like quilting classes, retreats, and guild meetings.

 

Uniquely Crafts LLC kits

Embellishments + Accessories

Stan from Uniquely Crafts LLC

Amy from Uniquely Crafts LLC

Uniquely Crafts, LLC – Family-owned business specializing in 5D Diamond Art Kits, a craft project where you create a picture using a special tool and a type of beads (“diamonds”) with a flat, sticky back. It’s kind of like paint-by-number with rhinestones.

  • We met both Stan and Amy Regal at their booth.
  • Amy designs their kits.
  • They offer a selection of 5D diamond kits for kids.
  • FB: UniquelyCraftsLLC
  • IG: uniquely_crafts

 

Custom Keepsakes baby dresses

Custom Keepsakes – Heirloom sewing and machine embroidery in the style of vintage handiwork. They had lots of adorable little dresses on display to showcase their Heirloom Collection.

Fountain Square Signs

 

Rashawnda Ogwel of African Everything

African Everything / Maendeleo Imports – I met Rashawnda Ogwel, who was standing in for her mother-in-law, the entrepreneur and importer known as “Basket Mary.” They continue to offer gorgeous handcrafted products from across Africa, like Ghanaian baskets and batik wall hangings from Tanzania.

Phoenix from the Convention Center

 

Wooly Felted Wonders Wooly Felted Wonders bag

Wooly Felted Wonders – A reusable alternative to dryer sheets or fabric softener, Wooly Felted Wonders are dryer balls made from 100% New Zealand wool and ethically handcrafted in Nepal. The company also sells other felted wool accessories, like bags, hot pads, and cat caves.

 

Nannette from Chenille-It

Chenille-It – This bias tape comes in a rainbow of colors and provides a shortcut for getting the frayed-edge look of of chenille in quilting and sewing projects.

 

Cork bags
Sew Many Creations projects

Sew Many Creations specializes in natural cork fabric, which is a renewable material that’s sturdy enough to use as a leather alternative for bags and wallets, yet thin enough to stitch with a regular sewing machine. They sell different colors and sizes of cork fabric, as well as patterns and hardware kits for bags. Owner Jessica VanDenburgh has also designed fabric lines for Windham fabrics and leads workshops and weekend bag-making retreats.

 

Threads of Courage series of novels by Jodi Barrows

Square in a Square – A series of quilting-centric novels by Jodi Barrows, who is also the creator of the Square in a Square quilting technique.

 

quilt craft sew - Nolke jewelry

Karen and Chuck Nolke were back with their ever-changing array of unique handcrafted earrings and scarf rings!

2018 Quilt, Craft + Sewing Festival

 

EGA Desert Threaders needlework project

Guilds

These organizations are devoted to a particular type of craft. They are usually open to anyone interested in it, regardless of skill level. While they may have annual dues or membership fees, you can almost always attend a meeting or two for free to see if you’d like to get more involved.

 

EGA Desert Threaders wall hanging

Embroiderers’ Guild of America (EGA), whose raison d’être is “because a world without needle art would be pointless” was represented by local chapter EGA Desert Threaders.

Modern Embroidery

 

Cactus pincushions

Phoenix Area Quilters Association (PAQA) – Organization with quilt programs, speakers, quilt challenges, blocks of the month, quilts for charity, prizes, and these adorable little cactus pincushions!

  • Meets on first Thursday of each month in Phoenix.
  • FB: PhoenixAQA

 

Lace making with the Lacey Ladies Lace project

Lacey Ladies of Arizona – Gathering of women who craft with or make lace. They host an annual Lace Day celebration in the Phoenix area in November.

  • Chapter of the International Organization of Lace, Inc. (IOLI).
  • Hosting the 2020 IOLI National Convention in Mesa in July.

 

ADWSG members with spinning wheels

Arizona Desert Weavers and Spinners Guild (ADWSG) – Friendly fiber arts group that sponsors informational activities and demonstrates weaving and spinning skills at schools, craft fairs, and other community events.

  • Phoenix meetings on the first Saturday of month (October through May).
  • FB group: ADWSG

 

Craft Camp

YarnFlowers sweaterkits
YarnFlowers sweaterkits. 

 




We were guests of the Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival.