Bunny Cakes

Pumpkin Picking 2010

My favorite pre-Halloween activity is *Pumpkin Picking with the Boys*.  Of course, location is everything.  Our favorite pumpkin farm, Wegmeyer Farms, is picturesque and full of amazing pumpkins.  I honestly could spend all day there.  Of course I would have to come home with a truck full of pumpkins, because I can't resist them.  The boys totally dig it too and show their attachment by referring to it as 'our' Pumpkin Farm. The owners couldn't be nicer, which makes the experience that much more enjoyable.  We capped off our day by picking up a Pumpkin Pie on the way home.  The boys looked at me with true love when I announced the new Pumpkin-Pie-on-Pumpkin-Picking-Day tradition.  Its the little things.  I am secretly plotting a return trip before Halloween.  I am sure I will get no complaints from the boys.  Here are some snaps from 'our' Pumpkin Farm...

-K

Happy October!

*October* is finally here.  Time to welcome pumpkins of all sizes and skeletons into your home.  Hang up those spider webs and get ready for Halloween.  I couldn't wait and put out our Halloween decorations last weekend (oops!). 

Sources:  A. Yes, I know skulls were so 2008, but I think these socks from J.Crew are awesome;  B. Knit skull onsie from BabyGap;  C. Halloween Cookie Cutters from Williams Sonoma;  D. Stop by your favorite farm to pick your own pumpkins;  E. Crystal Pebble Bracelet from J.Crew;  F. Clinton Trench from Anthropologie;  G. Black Glass Goblets from Juliska;  H. Pumpkin Treat from Williams Sonoma;  I. The perfect Halloween Cards from the talented Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co.

-K

Martha Stewart Crafts - Halloween 2010

Martha just released her *Halloween Collection* for her craft line.  I always look forward to her Halloween craft goods and they instantly get me in the mood for Halloween (even if it is months away).  This year her collection has lots of bright reds, oranges and greens and has a ton of vampire stuff.  I've already started bugging the boys to decide on their costumes so I can contemplate making them.  Looks like they are leaning towards Percy Jackson-like demigods dressed in battle gear.  This is not as easy as last year's costumes and would definitely push my sewing skills to the limit.  We'll see, for now I will continue to contemplate the heavy task, enjoy the last of the summer and head to Michael's with my 40% off coupons so I can stock up on necessary Halloween craft items from Martha.

-K  

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

Happy Halloween

Have a delightful Halloween!  Wishing you all lots of candy and Halloween desserts!

 

The Halloween Cat container is from Pottery Barn.  I used wired floral picks for the very first time today to add the berries to the arrangement...so easy, I can't wait to use them again.  And you have to love the nice Fall leaves!

-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 on 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.  Glittery spider and skull stickers from Martha's Craft Line were applied to the reverse side of the printed green paper to complete the labels.  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

Pumpkin Cookies

I used to not be a fan of pumpkin desserts.  My only reference being Pumpkin Pie, which is OK, but definitely not drool worthy.  Then I was introduced to the Pumpkin Roll (which A and I have tried to rename to a more appealing option, Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl, but the name just doesn't stick) and I became a staunch believer in pumpkin desserts.  So as soon as I read Amazing Mae's Do Not Make This If post on her favorite Pumpkin Cookie Recipe I knew I had to make them.  She warns those who have little self control to not make them--I quickly disobeyed.  And I'm glad I did.  The cakey pumpkin flavor was complimented nicely by the buttery glaze to produce a very yummy cookie.  The perfect treat for a Fall day (or any day).

 

-K

Glitter Spiders

If you follow Martha at all, then you probably know she loves to glitter anything and everything.  I have always wondered why she seemed so obsessed with glittering.  On a recent trip to Michael's craft store I picked up one of Martha's *Halloween Glittering* kits on sale.  I had no immediate project in mind and like many of my crafting supplies, it found its way into my shopping cart because it was on sale.  Then this past weekend while hubby was off watching the Giants lose, I decided to impress the boys with a glitter project.  I busted out the Martha Glittering kit and a bunch of spider rings and went to town.  The boys claimed the project as 'boring', but I had a hard time stopping.  After glittering a bunch of spider rings I wanted more.  As I quickly moved on to bigger and better Halloween objects I fully understood Martha's obsession.  The results were very easy to come by and very sparkly...who wouldn't love it!  And even though the boys thought the project was boring, they were oohing and ahhing at the results.

The glitter spiders are great to embellish Halloween treats or to add a little sparkle to your Halloween decorations.

-K