When you hear Halloween and pillowcase in the same sentence, you probably think of kids gathering candy. While that's a great use of a pillowcase, it's not the only thing you can use it for during this spooky, fun time of year. So, put on your creativity cap and see where the Halloween pillowcase can take you.

Decorations

Pillowcases can help spook up your house or yard for Halloween. Place a ball or bunch of plastic shopping bags in the top of a white pillowcase and secure with a rubber band to make a ghost to hang in the house or in a tree. Use black, lace, or transparent pillowcases and fishing line to hang up high outside for the illusion of a dark, scary wraith. Trace a skeleton on a white pillowcase and cut away the extra pieces; then tape it onto a door. You can even take the leftover pieces of fabric from your skeleton and tape them to your ceiling fan blades to emulate flying ghosts.

Crafts

Of course, you can make the traditional Halloween pillowcase to collect candy, but use markers to decorate the case. You can later insert a pillow and sew it up to have a festive pillow to decorate with in the future.  You can even make a fun game for your Halloween party or fall festival. Decorate a pillowcase (or use a fall-print pillowcase) and wrap it around an embroidery hoop. Now you have a basket for any number of toss games. If you need a craft that doubles as a gift, cut a pillowcase in half and let guests paint their "canvas". Secure it with a picture frame and now they have memorable art to keep.

Costumes

 While you may not think about it, pillowcases can make great costumes. These aren't limited to baby costumes either, you can do lots with any age youth and even come up with a few things for adults.  Here's just a few ideas:

• Yes, of course, you can make a ghost (but don't let Charlie Brown cut the holes!)
• Grab a tyedied case (or make one) to make a Hippy costume. This can be a dress (grab a rope belt) or a shirt (pair with boot-cut or bell-bottom pants). Add some peace signs, headband, flower, and/or round glasses.
• Get an animal print or brown case, cut one arm hole, then cut the opposing corner. Make some rough tears around the bottom and transform into a caveman or cavewoman. For added effect, use some of the torn scraps to wrap around your wrists and put a toy bone in your hair.
• Go all black and add black pants and a mask to become a ninja. For added effect, use cardstock and make your own throwing stars.
• Use a bunch of pillowcase scraps to wrap yourself up like a mummy. Double-sided velcro tape is great way to secure where pieces need to overlap and connect. Leave a few pieces hanging for a great effect. If you really want to spook it up, you can rub a little dirt or fake blood in spots on the costume.

While you can go buy lots of pillowcases and supplies for any of these ideas, that's really not necessary. You'd be amazed by what you can pull off with items just laying around the house. If you do go out for supplies, don't forget to check out thrift stores, dollar stores, and the discount bins at craft stores. No matter what you do, step out of your comfort zone and have a blast with your very own Halloween pillowcase.