Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Kawaii Kids #30 - Happy New Year!

Here's the last of the Kawaii Kids dolls.  It's a set of evening attire to celebrate the New Year!





I have to say that this has been a tough project!  It's been much harder to keep up with than I had expected.  Having said that, I love these dolls!  I want to compile them into a full color book at some point, and possibly expand them into other sets, not just winter holidays.  I'll be taking a bit of a short break before I get back into lessons.  I have some lessons I'm eager to share but I want to get them right!

And finally, here's the pdf of the entire doll set.  It's a very large file!  Enjoy and happy new year!!

Monday, December 30, 2013

Kawaii Kids #29 - Hogmanay (Scottish New Year)

This was supposed to go up yesterday but didn't! I'll post it today and there will be one more doll tomorrow (for a total of 30) as well as a PDF of the whole set to download.

Anyway, this doll celebrates Hogmanay - the Scottish New Year celebration.  My family is Scottish, but we're sort of American mutts who long ago forgot our ancestral ways!  Our family left Scotland in the 1790s and bought parcels of land in northern Vermont as a group.  It's a fascinating story, but I won't bore all of you with it :)

So here's a Scottish paper doll set to help start the New Year's festivities!


Saturday, December 28, 2013

Kawaii Kids #28 - Polish Folk Costume

In recent years, I have become fascinated with Eastern European costume.  My husband's family is Polish and Russian, and I want to learn more as much for my curiosity as it is for my sons.  Today's doll has little to do with any holiday, but I just love Polish fol costumes.  So here it is!  I love this, and I hope you do, too.

Just a few more days left to the year....!!


Friday, December 27, 2013

Kawaii Kids #27 - National Fruitcake Day!

All of the "big" winter holidays are done, so now for some fun ones!  Today is National Fruitcake Day of all things.  I've never actually had a fruitcake -- they just never looked all that appealing.  But these dolls sure do!  Here's a fruit inspired paper doll set for you to help celebrate the day!


Thursday, December 26, 2013

Kawaii Kids #26 - Happy Kwanzaa

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa.  Here's my attempt at a Pan-African doll for the occasion.  I'm still hoping to round out the year with a few more dolls....

Have a happy holiday!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Kawaii Kids #25 - Holy Family

Merry Christmas!  Yesterday I posted Santa & Mrs Claus, so make sure you grab that one.  Today is a bit more solemn.  I was raised Catholic and, although I haven't been to church in years, this is the time of year that I think about it.  I always loved having something I could relate to in Church.  As a young girl, it was easy to imagine a young mother and her son.

I don't want to dwell on religion - I believe what I believe and everyone else believes what they want.  Ultimately, though, today is a religious holiday and that's why I'm sharing this.

Have a happy and fun Christmas!


Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Kawaii Kids #24 - Santa and Mrs Claus

For those of you with kids (or who are kids) today is a big day!  If you're anything like my sons, it's an exciting day.  To help get through the excitement, here are Santa and Mrs Claus to color.  Enjoy!


Monday, December 23, 2013

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Kawaii Kids #22 - Tropical Holidays

When I think of Christmas, I think of winter.  And until a couple of days ago, we had a foot or more of snow in the yard so I was rather happy.  But the last day or so has been unusually warm and most of my snow is gone.  For some people, though, Christmas is a summer holiday.  Today's doll is for those of you in those wonderful warm regions.  Enjoy!


Saturday, December 21, 2013

Kawaii Kids #20 & 21

Today is another double post.  I was traveling yesterday and couldn't post.  We went to see my father's parents in one of the far corners of Vermont.  We don't get up there often enough & it was nice to see them.

And the trip inspired today's dolls.  The first is a country themed doll.  I'm an '80s kid and my mom was totally into Little House on the Prairie & all of the faux country/prairie trends of the '70s and '80s.  So the first doll is influenced by that.

The second is a cowboy doll.  As a kid, we listened to John Denver's Christmas album til we broke it!  We owned it on record, tape, and CD as a result.  So these dolls come from that.

I've got a few more dolls I'll be posting.  This 30 doll project was much harder than I anticipated, but I'm going to see it through! Enjoy today's dolls....!





Also - please don't laugh too loudly at my cowboy hats!  I know how silly they look :)

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Kawaii Kids #19 - Chinese Solstice

I've made a few attempts at multiculturalism on this blog.  I like to think I am respectful & thoughtful about the cultures I represent, but there's always a hesitation that I just won't "get" it.  Today is one of those dolls.

I know that the solstices are important to most cultures around the world in some way and, although today isn't yet the solstice, I thought that would be a good theme.  I chose China and created some Chinese winter outfits.  The Chinese celebrate the Dongzhi Festival, which focuses on balance and harmony -- two things I'm always attempting to attain! 

I'm pretty happy with them and might try to do another solstice doll or two in the coming days.

Enjoy!


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Kawaii Kids #18 - Santa's Elves

Today I've got a couple of elves to download.  Not much to say about them, really.  I think they're cute and will go well with #24 when we get to that (hint, hint!!) :)

In other news, Rachel over at Paper Thin Personas has some big new and you should all go check it out.  I love her work and seeing her recognized is thrilling.

 

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Kawaii Kids #17 - Saint Lucy and the Star Boy

Today is not St. Lucy's Day.  But I love the idea of St. Lucy and wanted to include it.  St. Lucy's Day is a Scandinavian tradition and my kids are, at least in some tiny part, Swedish, so I thought it would be fun to include it.

Girls dress as the saint and boys as her accompanying star boys, and so I've featured both here.





Enjoy the doll, and for those of you in the northern US (like me!!), enjoy more snow!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Kawaii Kids #15 and #16

Sorry I missed the post yesterday!  It was my son's birthday this weekend and we had a great party with family. My husband's is this month, too, so it's a crazy month!

In honor of their birthdays, I created a a December birthday doll.





So here's the December birthday doll.

Also, because I missed yesterday, here's another doll.  I made a Victorian doll, too.  I love this doll! And I hope all of you do, too.


Saturday, December 14, 2013

Kawaii Kids #14 - Prince & Princess

I'm not sure if this counts as a winter or holiday doll, but I love it anyway! This is my attempt at a fairytale prince & princess. Have fun coloring it!


Friday, December 13, 2013

Kawaii Kids #13 - Ice Skating

As a kid, I moved a couple of times.  We moved from Vermont, to Connecticut, to New Hampshire.  I always think of New Hampshire and the town I went to high school in as my "hometown".  I grew up in one of the most amazing little Main Street towns.  Idyllic doesn't begin to describe it.  Anyway, every winter the town would flood the public tennis courts for ice skating.  There was a little house where you could rent skates, grab a hot chocolate, and gossip with friends.  And the best of '90s music blasted over the loudspeakers.

It was the place to be in the winter.  And we went every night!  My sister & I would rush home to do our homework, have a quick dinner, and then it was off to skate til 9.  I loved it.  I'm still looking for a rink like that near me so that my kids can learn to skate!

So this doll is inspired by that.  The skates aren't all that convincing, but I think they work well enough!


Thursday, December 12, 2013

Kawaii Kids #12 - Angels

Still working on some dolls for December.  Today's features angels.  For anyone who doesn't know, there are several reasons why I like making vector illustrations.  First is the absolutely amazing crispness of the images.  I've always wanted that level of perfection and this is the best way for me to get it.  Second, vector images scale infinitely.  If I want a post card sized image or a billboard sized image, I can do that with no loss of resolution.  And third, I love to reuse elements that that came out great in a different image.  This is one of those projects.  The large feathers I used in the angel wings is something I made for an entirely different project.  I love not having to reinvent the wheel every time I want to create an image.  I think using a template or reusing elements actually helps me to be more creative.  If I already have a template, or a perfect element, or whatever, I can spend my energy solving other creative problems.

And that's why I'm so happy with these little angels.  I focused more on make a beautiful doll than on fussing over details!  So if you see me reusing stuff, don't think of it as "cheating" -- think of it as a shortcut to creativity!


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Kawaii Kids #11 - Poinsettia

Is it just me or are there some words that are just impossible to spell correctly? Poinsettia.  Seriously, I never get it right.  I'm thankful for spellcheck every day!

What I DID get right is this doll.  The poinsettia dolls are easily my favorite in the Kawaii Kids sets.  I love this doll so much!   This will probably be the first doll I color in.  I love it and I hope you do, too!



PS: the is my 200th post!  I never thought that would happen.  This all started as something to keep me creative during naptime and it has grown to so much more!! I make paper dolls (and other art) because I love to, and it means everything to me that other people enjoy my work, too.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Kawaii Kids #10 - Footie PJs

I still have several ideas I want to get to this December, but this is a fun one and today seemed like as good a day as any to post it!

I loved footie pajamas as a kid and these kids have Christmas patterned pjs for the holiday.

I'll try to post a doll tomorrow.  I had a freelance gig come in again (yay!) and it's taking up some of my time.  I should be able to meet my 30 day theme challenge regardless! 


Monday, December 9, 2013

Kawaii Kids #9 - Sugar Plum Fairy and the Mouse King

Here's the second part of the Nutcracker paper doll set.  Today it's the Sugar Plum Fairy & the Mouse King.  Definitely the most complicated dolls I've made for this series but I love them! I hope you do, too!


Sunday, December 8, 2013

Kawaii Kids #8 - Let it Snow!

As much as I wanted to get the second Nutcracker doll up today, it didn't happen. I'm hoping to get it up tomorrow.  Yesterday was a busy day for me - I took my oldest son to see Frozen.  It was tons of fun, but also exhausting!  Taking a not-quite-4 year old to a movie is an undertaking, especially for a boy who doesn't have a resting state!!  He was good, his cousins were happy to see him, and the movie was great.

So today's doll has a snow theme instead of the Nutcracker!  And go see Frozen.  Worth it.


Saturday, December 7, 2013

Kawaii Kids #7 - The Nutcracker

Today's doll is the first of two Nutcracker themed dolls.  I don't know much about the Nutcracker, aside from the fact that it's incredibly popular in Boston around Christmas.  And since I live near Boston, it seemed like a good theme to try out.

This doll is the little girl (Clara) and the Nutcracker/Prince.  Hopefully tomorrow will be the Sugar Plum Fairy and Mouse King but we'll see if I get it up in time!


Friday, December 6, 2013

Kawaii Kids #6 - Winter Wedding

I think most of us have seen cards & posters and such that have little kids dressed up in oversized wedding clothing.  Every time I look at this doll, that's what I think of!

I also think of how beautiful a winter wedding would have been.  Don't get me wrong, I loved my foliage filled, White Mountain wedding.  But the idea of snow, fur, and poinsettias is appealing, too.  Although if my winter gets any busier, I might go out of my mind.....!

Anyway, here's a winter wedding doll.  And for those of you dealing with the ice storm sweeping across the US, be careful.  Winter is both beautiful and brutal!




Thursday, December 5, 2013

Kawaii Kids # 5 - Happy Hanukkah

This is the last night of Hanukkah.  I thought it would be the perfect day to put up a Hanukkah themed doll.

I'm not sure how well the pattern will print, but both outfits have a snowflake & Star of David pattern.  I have to admit, I know WAY more about kosher than I do about any other part of Jewish faith and traditions.

Before I had children, I worked for the quality department at the R&D offices of Hood (yup, the ice cream company.  And yes, I had free ice cream, among other things.  A great company and a great job....).  My job dealt with the documents required to make sure our products complied with local and federal laws, as well as kosher laws.  Hood prides itself on having kosher products and works closely with local rabbis.  Because I dealt with documents, it was a big part of my job to maintain that compliance.  As a former Catholic from nowhere, VT, where Baptist was as close to diverse as we got,  it was very educational.

I hope this doll is inclusive & enjoyed.  And to those of you celebrating, “Hanukkah Sameach!”


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Kawaii Kids #4 - Crazy Sweaters

Today's doll theme is crazy sweaters!  My mother loves themes like no one else I know.  She buys holiday shirts for her four grandkids for every holiday on the calendar!  This doll is for her. 

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Kawaii Kids #3 - Snow Kids

Today's doll is snowmen! I want to do two snow themed dolls.  This is the first.  A snow family was a suggested theme & I wanted to make sure I got this up early!


Monday, December 2, 2013

Kawaii Kids Doll #2 - Gumdrops and Lollipops

Here's the next Kawaii Kid paper doll.  Today's doll has a candy theme.  It was a suggestion and what a great one! This doll was a lot of fun to make.

With all of these dolls, just click and download.  There will be a pdf at the end of the month.  Have fun coloring it!


Sunday, December 1, 2013

Kawaii Kids Doll #1 - Gingerbread

Today I'm starting my month-long paper doll posts.  These dolls are based on the Japanese aesthetic of kawaii.  I have to admit I'm not quite done yet with all 30 sets.  I'm still puttering away, but I WILL complete the set!!

As with so many of my dolls, all outfits will fit all of the dolls.  There is a boy & a girl.  These pages are designed to be colored & cut out. Just click & download.  I'm not posting pdfs til the end.  All for the dolls will be combined into one large pdf at the end of the month If you color one in and you want to share, please feel free to send me an image!

Anyway, here's the first doll.  Gingerbread kids! 


Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone in the States has a happy holiday.  I'm always thankful for my terrific family, good friends, and my dear readers.  Without all of you this wouldn't be nearly as much fun!



Friday, November 22, 2013

Fashion Friday - Sage

This is the last Friday before Thanksgiving and I really, really wanted to get a doll posted.  The holidays are already getting a little stressful.  We have Thanksgiving, Christmas, two birthdays, and a whole lot of family to see.  I have about eight weeks a year of sheer lunacy! On top of that, my oldest is sick.  Poor kiddo.

So today's doll was a quikie.  There's a turkey tee shirt (that's my mom's influence.  She loves holiday tee shirts!) and some Navajo inspired prints.  Those come built into Illustrator and I tweaked the colors some.  I wish I had done something a little more meaningful and authentic but there just wasn't time.  If you're looking for a more pulled together Thanksgiving doll, there are dolls available at the Etsy shop.  I'm very happy with those, and the black & white one for coloring has been popular.

Anyway, here's Sage.  And to all of you in the US, have a pleasant and happy holiday.  I plan on celebrating mine with locally made apple cranberry wine :)




Download Fashion Friday - Sage pdf here

Friday, November 15, 2013

Fashion Friday - Brynn

Today's doll is Brynn.  I honestly opened a baby name book I have hanging around the house & just randomly picked a name.  I've been on a really long pattern kick lately, and today is no different.  I've been getting into digital scrapbooking lately for the kids' grandparents/aunts/etc and I've been developing some patterns for that. This chevron pattern is one of them.  It doesn't tile perfectly, but I think this is small enough that seam lines aren't obvious.  I loved the colors and the challenge of creating this pattern.  Not every experiment is a success, but always a learning experience.  I'll post more about digital scrapbooking if that ever gets off the ground!

So here's Brynn wearing experimental patterns and looking rather hipster to me!  Remember, I'm not going to have my regular posting in December.  It's going to be a doll a day download.  I'm looking forward to it and you should too!







Monday, November 11, 2013

Fashion Dolls in Illustrator

It recently came to my attention (as in, today!) that I've never really written about my Friday dolls.  So today, that's going to be the topic.

If you happen to have Illustrator CS4 or later, you should be able to open any of the Friday doll pdfs in Illustrator and see them essentially the way I create them.  For those of you who don't have Illustrator, the following images should at least give you a glimpse of how I work.

I've discussed Illustrator several times, specifically here, here, here, and here.  These are the techniques I've used to develop the fashion dolls as well as the PaperJanes that I sell on Etsy.

First things first.  Almost everything I create -- traditional media or digital -- starts with a pencil sketch.


This is my original sketch.  I drew this during lunch one day at work.  I've been home with my oldest child for nearly 4 years, so this is obviously an old scribble!  It's just pencil on a large stickie note.  Large stickie note pads like this one make great travel sketchbooks for paper dolls.  The paper is just thin enough to see through fairly well.

At the time I drew this, I was working full-time, pregnant, and had gone back to school in the evenings to study graphic & web design.  I had finished my BA in Art History and after a couple years of working in non-art jobs (and missing art desperately), I decided to go back to school and get a certificate in something moderately useful!  The point of the story is that this is a simple doll that I scribbled out, and I started working on it in Illustrator before & after class so that I could really master Illustrator.

One of my teachers emphasized simplicity and I tried to embrace that with this project.  I wanted to create a doll with as few points as possible, as well as something that could become a flexible, easy to use template.





This image shows every shape and line in my Illustrator file.  There really aren't a ton of points.  Also, shapes that have a dot in the center (like the tabs) started life as a preset shape (ie: circle, rectangle, etc) that is already built in to Illustrator.  I'm a huge fan of working smarter not harder!

Here's a close-up of a head.  Each strand of hair is an expanded brush.  To draw the hair, I used the pen tool to create a line, applied a hair brush that I made (more on that later), then expanded the line.  One thing I like to do is draw all the strands in one thickness, say a 3pt line, then group these.  I duplicate the group, change the thickness to maybe 1pt, and layer it on top of the previous lines.  I expand both groups and fill one set with one highlight color and fill the other group with another highlight color.



I really go for simplicity with these dolls.  Aside from some rare cases, I use as few colors as possible.  Hair, for example, is always a base color with a darker outline and two highlight colors.  Just four colors.  Sometimes I use gradients, but most often it's just solid colors.  Most of the dolls, outfits, and hairstyles are developed like this.




This image is a break down of shapes and colors used on the doll.  The base is one shape with dotted lines to indicate cutting.  Those lines are just a dotted stroke.  Next are the shadow shapes followed by the face and body shapes.  The hair is broken into individual groups, too.

I use a small portion of Illustrator's options really.  I live by the pen tool and convert anchor tool.  I also frequently use the pathfinder tool to ensure perfect fit.  It's easy to add and subtract shapes with the pathfinder.  I recently started using the eraser and pencil tools as well.  And the appearance panel has become my new best friend.  I create complex patterns and textures on my outfits by layering fills in the appearance panel.  Very handy.

So that's a pretty basic rundown of the vector doll template.  I'm including my hair brushes as a zip file for anyone who wants to use those.

Here are the hair brushes as a zipped AI file.  It'll work in CS4 or higher.  I know, it's been a while since I upgraded my program :)

I've been working with this doll template that I don't remember all of the tutorials and influences that helped me develop it.  I do, however, have a short list of sites you should check out.

Cory Jensen: http://cor104.deviantart.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/PaperDollsByCory His work is beautiful! I was influenced by Cory's faces in developing the faces for my fashion dolls.  I believe he works in Photoshop but his dolls easily translate to Illustrator, too.

Von Glitschka: http://drawsigner.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vector-Basic-Training/165123836836626 Von is an amazing artist and a veteran Illustrator user.  He encourages pencil drawing as well as Illustrator.  He has several books available as well as lynda.com lessons.

Danielle Meder: http://finalfashion.ca/category/paper-dolls/  Danielle is a fashion illustrator who also creates awesome paper dolls.  I'm pretty sure she works in Illustrator.  Be sure to check out more than just her paper dolls.  Her work is elegant and lovely.

So hopefully this gives people an insight into how I work and some of my influences.  Any questions, let me know!


Friday, November 8, 2013

Fashion Friday - Lucia

I noticed that my Friday dolls have been a little pale lately :)  Today we have Lucia.  I loved this pattern and thought it would make a cute doll.  Other than that, not much to say about it.

I'm sorry there wasn't a lesson on Monday.  I'm kind of tapped for ideas at the moment.  I want to explore gouache and oils at the beginning of next year, but both of those require more prep time than I have at the moment.  Oils will be a challenge.  I haven't painted in oils since I was pregnant with my oldest son.  He's turning 4 in December, so clearly it's been a while.  That lesson may take months to fully post and I'm very excited at the prospect.  That's why I want to take my time and get it right.  I will gladly take suggestions in the meantime!

Speaking of... I started creating the Kawaii Kids for December and they are so cute!  I'm kind of obsessed with them at the moment.

So here's Lucia. Enjoy!







Download Fashion Friday - Lucia pdf here



Friday, November 1, 2013

Historical Fashion Friday - Mary

Today is November 1st.  It's starting to feel like the unofficial beginning of the Christmas/holiday season.  I am not ready for it at all!

Before we get into the frenzy of Christmas, I wanted to focus on something a little less material and a little more historical.  I didn't want to post a Halloween doll today and it's too early for Thanksgiving, so I want to split the difference!

I live in northern Massachusetts and I sometimes visit Salem.  Yes, THAT Salem.  I also recently found out that I have a distant ancestor who was involved in the witch hunts.  Yes, THOSE witch hunts.  I find colonial America fascinating, mainly through family history connections.  I'm not an American history buff, more of a genealogy enthusiast.  Basically, if it applies to my family tree then I probably know it.  If it doesn't, well, my knowledge is lacking.

So today's doll is Mary.  This doll is based on the information I found at the Plimouth Plantation website.  I live close enough that Plimouth Plantation is on my list of places to take (and probably bore) my kids.  Anyway, Mary is dressed in what the website says would be typical of a woman in the 1620s.  I made the apron a separate piece, as well as a hat.  The underclothes are NOT accurate at all.  I wanted this doll to fit with the rest of the fashion dolls and that's why it's designed the way it is.

I'm not sure about a lesson on Monday.  I'm kind of out of ideas at the moment! I'll be working on the Kawaii Collection for December.  I'm still taking requests for those (and lessons, of course) so any & all ideas are welcome! 



Thursday, October 31, 2013

Last Minute Halloween Treat!

If you're still looking for a Halloween treat, there are Halloween paper dolls on the PaperJanes Etsy site!  They're instant download for an instant project!  Pick from three skin tones or a black & white one to color.

I'll be trick or treating with a blue ninja & Super Why this year :)  I hope everyone has a safe and happy night!

Monday, October 28, 2013

Felt Paper Dolls - Part 2

Last week I started making felt paper dolls.  You can see part one here.  Today I want to finish what we started.  Last time, I had created a doll and one outfit, one hairstyle, and one set of shoes.

A note about these images: I used my tablet to take this pictures.  They aren't great!  I think it's partly the tablet's camera and partly the bad lighting in my laundry room.  You've been warned :)





Using the same method I used on the doll, I pinned clothing templates to felt and cut around them.  Although you could cut through multiple layers, I found that cutting one layer at a time worked best.  I wanted to work with the excess pink and purple felt in my collection.  Using a limited palette helps to create a mix-and-match wardrobe, too.




I have a lot of fun supplies hanging around, including iron-on patches and some ribbon.  Using a piece of felt, I ironed the patches on and used iron-on seam tape to add the ribbon.  Felt sticks to felt, so any item I used had to have a felt backing in order to stick to the doll.  Treat these like any other felt.  Use a template and cut out outfits.  It's a little bit tougher to cut this embellished felt, but still easy enough.




Here are two dolls, several hairstyles, and a wardrobe of mix-and-match outfits.  This is a quarter to half of each sheet of felt.  This is a super easy, super cheap little project!


For some of my items, I decided to glue pieces together.  I cut out all the pieces I wanted to glue together and organized them before getting out my glue gun.  That way, I could quickly glue everything all at once.




This is a close-up of a doll with a sweater set and jeans!  I used the felt with the ribbon and cut out a shirt.  Using the long sleeved shirt template, I cut out the sweater arms.  I glued the arms to the shirt.  I love this!




I don't really have sewing or embroidery skills and it shows here!  Using a pencil, I sketched in a face (right) and sewed in some eyes and a mouth (left).  The eyes are just embroidery floss threaded through in different directions and tied off.  The mouth is a very basic chain stitch.  Trust me, if I can do this, anyone can!  If sewing is REALLY not your thing, glue on some eyes & a mouth, or use markers.  Try different methods & see what works.


The colors aren't quite right here, but these are two completed dolls.  The doll on the right has an embellished outfit.  I took some small beads and used embroidery thread to sew them on.  I added stitching with yellow embroidery floss to the jeans so they looked more like jeans.  These were cut from the iron-on patch, but you could just as easily use iron-on seam tape and scraps of jeans from an old pair, iron it on to felt, and do the same thing.




And here's the little wardrobe!  I added beads to a few things.  I may do more embellishing before I hand these off to my nieces.

This was a fun experiment.  I still prefer paper to felt, but it was nice to think a little differently! Any questions, feel free to ask!

Hopefully I'll have a new doll up on Friday.  Halloween is a big day/night in our house, so we'll see if time allows....

Til then, have a happy, fun, safe, candy-filled Halloween!