Bunny Cakes

Vampire Love

If you remember my Twilight Fever post from early September on the boys' Halloween costumes, then you will remember I was trying to convince the boys to be twin Edward Cullens (aka handsome Robert Pattinson Vampires).  Well I am happy to report the boys decided to be Vampires for Halloween.  It was mostly because they couldn't find anything else they wanted to be and less because of my (fading) All-Powerful-Mommy-Influence.  I followed Martha's instructions for making the capes and added an embroidered patch to personalize each cape.  Overall the cape project was pretty easy and I would highly recommend giving it a try (you only have to sew two straight lines per cape).  I had a lot of fun doing their hair...check out my twin vampires:

And of course this post wouldn't be complete without my other Vampire Love fresh from the Vanity Fair photo shoot...

Photo by Bruce Weber

-K

Halloween School Treats 2009

OK, so I pretty much followed the same technique as last year to make *Halloween Treats* for the boys to share with their classmates: Stamp, Stuff & Sew.

 

At Micheal's I purchased Glassine-like favor bags (in the wedding section, 100 per pack) and stamped them with Halloween motifs (Martha makes great stamps -- not the clear kind, but the block kind).  Then stuffed them with Halloween goodies.  I enlisted the boys to help with the stuffing part and they quite enjoyed it.  Finally, I sewed the bags shut.  The sewing step is completely optional.  I was feeling lazy about the sewing part and was just going to fold over the tops of the bags and seal with a clear circle sticker, but I couldn't find them at the craft store (I didn't check any office supply stores though).

For their teachers the boys brought in mini-bundt cake brownies tied up to look like a giant piece of candy.  To make these use wax/parchment paper, colored tissue paper and cello to wrap up your baked goods, tie with bakery twine and add card.

 

-K

Glitter Spiders in Action

Halloween is almost here!  I wish I were a kiddie again so I could get dressed up and go out trick-or-treating!  What would I be?  Just what any girl would want to be (besides Edward Cullen's beloved)...a princess.  Princess Leia that is.  Okay, so I am too old to go out ringing doorbells for candy (not too old to be Edward's gal), so I will have to settle for some glittery Halloween decorations.  Here is how we put the Glitter Spiders to good use...

1.  Bling on a stack of pumpkins:

 

2.  A tie-on for a bag of Halloween Goodies:

 

3.  Extra spook an a Halloween Wreath:

-K

Halloween Football Treats

This Fall the boys took a break from soccer to try out flag football.  Though they missed soccer and their soccer teammates, football turned out to be a lot of fun.  For our traditional end-of-season treats the boys passed out these cute little bat 'tins' filled with Halloween Chocolates.  To give the bat tins some extra Halloween character we attached labels adorned with sparkly & spooky Halloween stickers from Martha's craft line.  Both the plastic tins and stickers were purchased at Michael's.

To make the treats, start by assembling the supplies: tins, sitckers, circle punch, chocolates & labels. The labels were printed on light green paper and then punched out with the circle punch.  The fonts for the label can all be found at dafont.com: the 'Happy Halloween' font is Bone; 'Connor & Jackson' font is Matchbook; Spider font is Trick or Treat BV; Football Helmet font is WC Sold Out B Bta; and the Bat font is KiddyHalloween.

Next, fill the tins with Halloween candies or other treats.  Then tie with ribbon and label.

Lastly, distribute the tins!

-K

Halloween Doors

When it comes to decorating the front door for Halloween I definitely prefer a simple treatment.  Pumpkins are a must!  Fall flowers or a few other select Halloween props look nice.  I think it helps to repeat the decorative item(s) and limit yourself to only 2-4 different kinds of items (too many may look busy).  Here are some nice examples:

 

 

 

 

 

 

{Top 2 images Martha Stewart, 3rd image Pottery Barn, 4th-6th images Country Living, last image Eddie Ross}

 -K

Pumpkin Love

*Pumpkin Picking* with the boys has become one of my favorite fall events.  We have been lucky enough to have found a great farm close by.  Wegmeyer Farms wowed us again with its excellent variety of pumpkins & super nice owners.  I could easily spend all day there (as could the boys), but then I wouldn't be able to stop myself from buying all their pumpkins!  Check out the eye candy below.  I definitely recommend seeking out a local pumpkin farm if you already haven't.

-K

Halloween Treat Buffets

If you are planning on throwing a Halloween Party check out these great examples of *Halloween Treat Buffets*.  It definitely makes me want to have a party!

This first example is from the ever-so-talented Amy Atlas...

These next examples are from the long lost (& loved) Martha by Mail...

Some current Martha examples...

And finally a Pottery Barn example from their current catelog...I love the cat buckets!

A late edition from Eddie Ross...

 

If I find any more worth sharing I will definitely add on...

-K

This Buds for You!

This year for Father's Day I decided to get a little cheeky.  Poor Hubby had to work on his special day so while he was at work the boys and I made sure he would come home to his favorite comfort foods: Beer (he's Irish) & Brownies (he's human).   

I used my fabulous new Lotus Nesting Plates and cans of Bud Light (Hubby's fav) to create a two-tiered cake stand and loaded it up with brownies.  The mini-bundt cake brownies were crowned with chocolate frosting and sprinkles to make them extra special.  If this doesn't say "WE LOVE YOU, YOU'RE THE BEST", then I don't know what does.

In addition to the *Beer & Brownies* we made a bunch of "We Love You" signs and hid them all over the house.  The boys and I put a lot of thought into the places where we hid our *Notes of Affection*.  We wanted Hubby/Daddy to be reminded of our love when he least expected it.  Here's some of our hiding spots:

Happy Daddy's Day!

-K

P.S.  This would also make a great Valentine's Day surprise for your Main Squeeze.

The Tale of Two Table Runners

We had a busy weekend this past Sat & Sun.  On Saturday we celebrated *Hubby's Birthday* with an informal (and very last minute) dinner.  The buffet table was set with a brown Greek key table runner, which was complemented by purple & white flower groupings and blue & white dishes.  I thought the overall look was masculine and celebratory enough (at least I would consider it to be masculine and there were no complaints from Hubby that it was too frilly).

Then on Sunday for our *Mother's Day Brunch* we changed the look a little by adding yellow to the color palette.  We replaced the brown Greek key table runner with a yellow-edged one and then added some yellow tulips to the bouquets.  The new look was the perfect backdrop to a wonderful Mother's Day.  

 

After back-to-back days of entertaining I was totally worn out and took full advantage of my 'Queen for the Day' title and lounged about carelessly.  Needless to say the day ended much to soon.

-K

Love Your Teachers

Here is a quick peek at the boys' *Teacher Appreciation Gift* for this year.  We went with (my favorite) heart-shaped brownies packaged in Martha's square cookie boxes (6 boxes for $7.79 @ Michael's--with a 40% off coupon).  The cards feature some of the boys' artwork.  I scanned their drawings and then combined them with an image I downloaded from Briar Press.  We also included a gift card...I was going to go with Panera, but the boys thought a gift card to the movies would be better.  A heart-shaped brad holds together the card with the image and the card with the gift card.  It is all tied together with some brown & white twine also from Martha (purcahsed at Michael's).

-K

P.S.  These would also make a great Mother's Day Gift.