Go Natural Baby wishes you a safe and happy Halloween. Remember to bring your pets inside so they do not get too frightened by all of the ghouls and goblins running through the streets.

Are you ready to create some fun carved pumpkins for Halloween this year?  Here are a few sources for free and paid pumpkin stencils online.

Better Homes and Gardens offers 38 free downloadable pumpkin stencils. Here are two examples:

BHG also has from stencil to carved. A slide show that shows you the stencil and what it looks like on a pumpkin after it has been carved. They also have a design your own stencil maker. You need to give them your email address to use it. This is fun for small children to use (with your help) and they can create their own stencil.

Pumpkin Lady has a bunch of stencil patterns one can purchase and then download. I like that they offer Thanksgiving stencil themes. I usually keep two pumpkins uncarved for Thanksgiving and this year we may try to carve a Thanksgiving day theme. The Harvest (Thanksgiving) stencils sell for $5.00 for 12 stencils and the Halloween 2008 Stencils sell for $5.00 for 24.  They offer several pages of free downloadable pumpkin stencils. Our favorite place to get free downloadable pumpkin stencils for 2008 is at World Wildlife Fund! They have 10 animal stencils that you can download for free. Why do we like it so much? They let you know the difficulty level of each stencil, tell you aprox. how long it will take to carve the stencils, they give instructions, and have information about each animal. Turn your pumpkin carving into an educational experience. Would you like to share your decorated or carved pumpkins? Send us a photo and we will post them here.

It is not too late to get your fair trade candy for Halloween. Totally appropriate since October is fair trade month! Our friends at Global Exchange are giving away free chocolate with every purchase thru the end of October (simply add “free chocolate” in the customer comment field when you order. Fair trade chocolate would be a great hostess gift or favors for any party!

Global Exchange has fair trade chocolate gold coins. They are fair trade and Kosher certified.  3.5 oz bag for $4.75. A case of 12 Equal Exchange Chocolate Bars for $40.00 or 4 bars for $15.00.

Make a statement in your neighborhood and get the Fair Trade Tick or Treat Action Kit. This kit was first launched in 2005 and now includes: 2 bags of chocolate coins (34 pieces), halloween post cards, traditional mexican Papel Picado party streamers, an eco-friendly trick or treat bag, and a fair trade boo-tiful poster for your front door.  Use the contents of this kit for a Halloween party you are hosting. Bring fair trade practices into the consciousness of many with just a few items. Celebrations can be fun and educational.

What is Fair Trade? 

Fair Trade means an equitable and fair partnership between global marketers and producers in Asia, Africa, Latin America and other parts of the world. A fair trade partnership works to provide low-income artisans and farmers with a living wage for their work. Source: Fair Trade Federation

Why Fair Trade? 
Our consumer spending choices affect people’s lives around the world. The products we enjoy are often made in conditions that harm workers, communities and the environment. But increasingly consumers are demanding more humane, more environmentally sensitive products.

In today’s world economy, where profits rule and small-scale producers are left out of the bargaining process, farmers, craft producers, and other workers are often left without resources or hope for their future. Fair Trade helps exploited producers escape from this cycle and gives them a way to maintain their traditional lifestyles with dignity. (Source: Global Exchange)

Did you know that Go Natural Baby uses a certified (third party) fair labor factory in India to cut and sew our clothing? You bet we do, as parents and members of the human family we care about who makes our clothes and want to ensure that they are treated and paid fairly. Our factory provides a clean,safe work environment with no one under the age of 18 years old. Our factory workers are paid a fair, living wage and have access to health care. We will have our certification posted on our “new” website coming by November.

Our friends at Mexican Sugar Skull.com  gave us this article that explains Dia De Los Muertos, Day of the Dead (please see current giveaways). Visit them for all of your sugar skull decorating needs, Mexican Folk art, and much more. 

Mexican Day of the Dead is an interesting holiday celebrated in central and southern Mexico during the chilly days of November 1 & 2.  Even though this coincides with the Catholic holiday called All Soul’s & All Saint’s Day, the indigenous people have combined this with their own ancient  beliefs of honoring their deceased loved ones. 

They believe that the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31, and the spirits of all deceased children (angelitos) are allowed to reunite with their families for 24 hours.  On November 2, the spirits of the adults come down to enjoy the festivities that are prepared for them. In most Indian villages, beautiful altars are made in each home.  They are decorated with candles, buckets of flowers (wild marigolds called cempasuchil & bright red cock’s combs) mounds of fruit, peanuts, plates of turkey mole, stacks of tortillas and big Day-of-the-Dead breads called pan de muerto.  The altar needs to have lots of food, bottles of soda, hot cocoa and water for the weary spirits.  Toys and candies are left for the angelitos, and on Nov. 2, cigarettes and shots of mezcal are offered to the adult spirits.  Little folk art skeletons and sugar skulls, purchased at open-air markets, provide the final touches.

 Day of the Dead is a very expensive holiday for these self-sufficient, rural based, indigenous families.  Many times they spend over two month’s income to honor their dead relatives.  They believe that happy spirits will provide protection, good luck and wisdom to their families.On the afternoon of Nov. 2, the festivities are taken to the cemetery.  People clean tombs, play cards, listen to the village band and reminisce about their loved ones.  Tradition keeps the village close.  Day of the Dead is becoming very popular in the U.S.–perhaps because we don’t have a way to celebrate and honor our dead, or maybe it’s because of our fascination with it’s mysticism.

 MexicanSugarSkull.com

Reign Trading Co.  3838 Walnut Grove -  Rosemead CA   91770 626-307-7755