On the home front: Halloween tips

Handy in the South

Richmond jewelry designers Heather Tanton and Frankie Slaughter are included in the October issue of Southern Living magazine in a new feature called "Made by Southern Hands."

Tanton, who mixes contemporary and traditional styles, works with wire, chain, vintage charms and semiprecious stones. She also incorporates wax carvings which she makes into pendants. Her St. Tropez bracelet is featured in the magazine, but she also creates necklaces and earrings. Visit her Web site at http://www.motherdaughterjewelrysite.com.

The magazine feature also mentions a necklace made by Slaughter, whose work is inspired by the decade she spent in Asia. In addition to jewelry, she creates collages, clothing and ceramics. Visit her Web site at http://www.frankieslaughter.com. Halloween tips

Whether you like to celebrate Halloween with a good fright or a nonthreatening harvest theme, "Country Living Happy Halloween" can help you scare up a memorable holiday.

The book offers all sorts of Halloween treats -- jack-o'-lantern ideas, instructions for crafts and decorations, party tips, recipes and patterns for children's costumes. Even the die-cut cover doubles as a stencil for decorating a cake top.

As a bonus, the book comes with a coupon for a free 12-issue subscription to Country Living magazine.

"Country Living Happy Halloween" is from Sterling Publishing and sells for $17.95 in softcover.

It's time to . . .

As leaves start to fall, consider starting a compost pile. Leaves are the natural mulch that insulates tree roots and prevents erosion. If contained and allowed to decompose, however, they produce a wonderful soil amendment called compost. A container as simple as a 10-foot circle of kennel wire 4 feet tall will confine excess leaves and allow decomposition. By late spring, your composted leaves will be ready to use in the garden to improve stubborn clay soils and help sandy soils maintain moisture.

Richard Nunnally's
gardening Q&A, D3