Sparkly Spiders

So, I saw some bendy, glittered spiders in a home store recently and thought...I could do that a whole lot cheaper. And as always, I shook it up a bit. These are very simple, do not take much time, and are next to impossible to botch in design or placement. So if you are decorating for an adult Halloween party, need a slightly messy kid-friendly project, or just want to incorporate some items into your home decor give this easy project a try for yourself. 

You will need: 

• Black pipe cleaners 
• Black pom-poms 
• Black glitter 
• Glue 

Roll pom-poms in glue. 

Dip coated pom-poms in glitter. 

Make holes in a piece of thin plastic with a hole punch for cleaning the excess glue from the pipe cleaners. 

Roll the coated pipe cleaners in glitter and tap off any excess. 

Hold four glittered pipe cleaner halves over one glittered pom-pom. 

Wrap the pipe cleaners around the pom-pom and twist. 

Bend the pipe cleaners. 

If you want to add a red spot cut a piece of red ribbon and glue it to the spider’s back. 

Voila! Not so scary sparkly spiders.

Finest Fly-out-the-door Fudge cookies

These were a huge hit both times I have made them in each of the three different flavor varieties. These cookies are super soft and succulent be ready to run that extra mile in the gym. They are worth it! The fudge cookies are great for fall football parties, the teachers’ workroom, and backyard cookouts because of their accessibility and pass-around-ability, while still sophisticated enough in taste to impress most any chocolate lover. And make sure you have enough ingredients for a second batch...they will disappear fast. 

You will need: 

• 3/4 c. butter 
• 1/2 c. butter-flavored Crisco 
• 1/2 c. brown sugar 
• 1 1/2 c. white sugar 
• 2 eggs 
• 2 c. flour 
• 3/4 c. cocoa 
• 1 tsp. baking soda 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1/2 bag dark chocolate chips 
• 1/2 bag chip flavor of your choice - mint (shown), peanut butter, butterscotch, nuts etc. 

Bake about 8 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Voila! Scrumptious, gooey, chewy, fudgey cookies! Yummm...

Halloween Decorative Platter - Heads will roll...

This is a ridiculously simple idea, but so easily attainable. I am always creating ways to use those great wedding gifts...like this silver cheese and cracker tray...you know the ones you just had to have, but at most serve food on them a couple times a year. Pull them from the confines of the kitchen cabinets and proudly display them over the next couple autumn months. 

You will need: 

• 3 Decorative skulls or small pumpkins 
• Small - medium oblong serving tray 
• Scrapbook paper 
• Tape 
• Scissors 

Measure the bottom width and length of the serving tray. 

I chose this great faux-antique handwritten sheet music print paper to give it that “Phantom of the Opera” feel for Halloween. Choose any paper you like, but keep a few things in mind. How is the color going to look with my three decoration pieces and the silver tray. Will it show up against both? Will the colors jive, are they complimentary colors, monochromatic? Buy a color wheel to keep on hand if your unsure about color pairing. If the colors are right next to each other on the color wheel, like a shade variance, for example, blue, blue-green, and green then you have monochromatic. But let’s say you have a basic primary blue and a basic green, typically this will not give you the look you want to achieve. Why, you say...I like blue and green. Well, I do too, but if you want your blue to look really great add a touch of orange to make it pop. The orange is it’s compliment or opposite on the color wheel. If a compliment color is not an option choose a contrast, like a dark color if you already have a light color. As you can see the skulls are shiny black so I chose an antiqued, off-white, matte paper to ensure the sculls visibility. If I choose to change from the sculls to pumpkins after Halloween the aged or burnt yellowey tones will give a monochromatic feature to the orange pumpkins. 

Measure the width at each end of the paper and make a small cut with your scissors at each end. If you want use a straightedge between the two points, draw a line and cut. Or do what I did and fold the paper between the two points. Then use that as your cut line. I had to cut a separate piece and fit the two together to achieve the length. 

If you want to prevent your paper from sliding fix it to your tray with a piece of tape. 

Add your glitter skulls or mini pumpkins and Voila!

It’s My Party and I’ll Bark if I Want To - Dog Birthday Parties

From Dash’s Point of View: 

I know I’m quite a lucky dog to have a birthday party, but really, let’s be honest here. I’m rather sure my parties are just as much for my parents as they are for me. Well, let’s just say, I’ve checked with the baby humans that live with my parent's friends and their parents do the same thing to them...like serving steak when they don’t even have teeth yet. Ya, we’re on to you. So, this year’s was pretty chill...really just a family affair, but I got great gifts and everyone...dogs, and people too, seemed to have a good time. 

In preparation for my parties my mom spends some time on the internet searching for new dog-friendly recipes. I think she enjoys the chance to expand her baking skills. Here’s a site where she found some good one’s: http://kooldogkafe.com/recipes.html. She knows all the dog-safe ingredients I really like so she googles recipes that call for those. If she can’t find what she’s looking for she looks for things with similar moisture content to substitute, for example, carrots instead of apples. If she needs to remove a moist ingredient, but doesn’t have anything to replace it with she just adds a splash of water (or low-sodium meat broth) instead. Water’s a safe ingredient and I’m not that picky. Speaking of safety, I can’t eat all the same foods as humans. Some people food is toxic to animals. You will want to check the ingredient list before beginning a pet-baking project. Here are a couple good toxic animal food resource sites: 

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/people-foods.aspx

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/people-foods.aspx

My mom chooses a different theme for my party each year, as you can see, this year we did fall colors and pumpkins...she really loves fall! She thought it would be a good idea to label the pupcakes for the party goer's doggie bags. Then my Grampy had to cut out little labels and glue them to each paper pumpkin on a toothpick. He was a good sport. The people always get a different treat. Like this year they ate a pie decorated with bone shaped cookies. It makes her happy to entertain pets and people alike.

My dad was not sure about throwing a birthday party for me the first time, but as usual around here, everyone knows the crazy flamboyant ideas are typically concocted somewhere deep in my mom’s mind. We just go along with them, but I will say they often turn out just right, especially when it comes to a party for me.

Any Occasion Gift - Veggie Bouquet

The nice thing about bouquets, whether floral, fruit, for food they can speak all languages and phrases...Thank you, I'm sorry, Miss you, etc. I may feel differently about fruit bouquets at some point, but as of now I just do not like them as a gift. As you know, if you read this blog, I adore flowers, but not everyone sees them as a necessity as I do. However, I was thinking what if the bouquet was more substantial...something that the bouquet recipient could actually make a meal or a side dish (or two) from. Sure you could incorporate fruit, but really who...a single family, not a cruise ship full of people...is going to eat a whole bouquet of just fruit before it goes bad? I go on fruit kicks, but this would not work in my house, so I created something that would. 

You will need: 

• A bundle of asparagus 
• Cilantro sprigs 
• Red lettuce 
• Carrots 
• Rubber band 
• Raffia 
• Grapes (optional) 

The idea is to incorporate as much color as possible while using as many vegetables that will coordinate into a meal. These ingredients are not set in stone, but they do make a nice salad. Substitute them however you would like. Just make sure you are making it visually appealing. You want to create layers, complimentary colors and height differences, and of course the obvious goal is to make it look as pretty as a bouquet of flowers. 

Bundle the the cilantro, lettuce and carrots with a rubber band. Lay the cutting of raffia on a clean surface. Align the asparagus over the raffia. You may need a second set of hands to roll the bundled vegetables into the center of the asparagus row. Use the raffia to bind the vegetables together into a bouquet. 

Add a small bunch of grapes tied beneath the raffia if possible. Another nice touch would be including a recipe card for a dish made from your chosen ingredients. 

Voila! A bouquet for any occasion.

Candy Corn Layered Candy Vases

As I stated in the last post I like setting out jars of candy corn...it’s just so fall! Layered candies in glass containers are also quite attractive. So, I combined the two. I admit this picture does not show the bottom layer that well, I failed to turn all the pumpkin stems toward the inside, and I definitely would have preferred a more golden lemon drop, but it is still a quick, easy idea to add a little bit of autumn to your home. Now that you have seen what to and not to do give it a try for your next gathering or use it as a candy dish throughout the season. If you have an hourglass shaped vase it works pretty well for a double candy corn look as you can view below.

Candy Corn Favor Cone

Though I do not particularly like the taste of the candy corn, I do rather like the way it looks, so, I fill jars with it throughout the fall season. My husband occasionally grabs a handful or two and it eventually disappears. Since I like the look, but not the taste I found inspiration for creating pretty, non-edible things in it’s likeness. 

This candy corn favor cone is prefect for multiple occasions whether you use it as a favor cone or a decoration cone is up to you. You could fill them with flowers in water picks or decorative paper shreds and string a number of them together for a festive mantle trimming, fill them to make memorable gifts for those special trick-or-treaters in your neighborhood, or if you are hosting a meal this time of year you may consider tying one of these on the back of each persons chair filled with goodies reflecting your party as shown. 

You will need: 

• Yellow, orange, and white construction or craft paper 
• Scissors (paper cutter optional) 
• Glue (tape optional) 
• Hole punch 
• Wire cutting pliers 
• Wire clothes hanger 
• Ribbon (suggested) 

Measure your colored paper into squares as follows: 

Yellow - 9”x9” 

Orange - 7”x7” 

White - 4”x4” 

Cut each piece into a square. 

Fold each paper in half. 

Roll each piece of folded paper into a cone shape. 

You may want to place a piece of tape over the seam to temporarily hold the cone in place. 

You may find it helpful to draw a line after folding your cone, but before applying glue. This way you can unroll the cone and it is still marked for the area to apply the glue. Then glue the cone together. 

Trim edges for a smooth top. 

Repeat until forming three cones. 

Place glue on the insides and tips of the cones. Then stack the cones one on top of the other. 

Punch holes on opposite sides of the yellow cone. 

Place ribbons over horizontal seams and tie in back. 

I chose a basic square knot and trimmed the ribbons to equal lengths. 

Bend a “U” shape to a comparable width of the opening of your cone and clip the wire. 

Bend wire ends at a 90 degree angle. 

Fit the wire through the holes and Voila!