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Tote bag honors Johnny Appleseed

GET READY to trade hot daytime temperatures for crisp, cooler autumn days.

    by BY KATHY ANTONIOTTI, McClatchy Newspapers, McClatchy-Tribune
    Published 

GET READY to trade hot daytime temperatures for crisp, cooler autumn days. Fall officially arrives next week with the autumnal equinox on Sept. 22. Our minutes of daylight will get shorter as darkness descends faster each day.

The cooler temperatures also mean it's the perfect time for apple picking. In the Philly area, there are plenty of farms and orchards just a short drive away where families can pluck their own apples straight from the tree.

In some areas of Pennsylvania, residents this month will celebrate the life of John Chapman, an American pioneer and folk hero who introduced apple trees to our state and parts of the Midwest. You may know him as Johnny Appleseed.

This week's project is designed to honor both Chapman and his favorite fruit. You can use the bag to go (what else?) apple picking. I found instructions for this craft at spoonful.com/crafts/stamp-apple-picking-bag. I modified the directions for our use.

Supplies you will need

* Fabric bag (cloth grocery sacks work well)

* Newspaper

* Fabric paint (green and red)

* Brown paint pen

* Paintbrush

* Apples

* Paper towels

How to make it

Fold over some newspaper and insert it into the fabric bag, laying the bag flat so that the paint will not seep through. Use a brown paint pen to draw a tree trunk, and let it dry.

Ask an adult to cut an apple in half horizontally as level as possible. This section will be your stamp to make green leaves on your tree.

Pat the apple dry with a paper towel, and brush a thin layer of green fabric paint on the apple. Press it around the top of the trunk of your tree. Repeat several times (make sure to look for the star in the print). You may have to do a little touch-up on the leaves with your paintbrush.

After the green paint dries, have an adult cut an apple in half vertically. Using the side that still has the stem, pat the apple with a paper towel. Brush with red fabric paint, then stamp the apples on the tree as if they are hanging.

After the paint dries, follow the directions on the fabric paint bottle to "set" the paint.