Wedding Ornament

I found this cute idea at the blog:  From glitter to gum drops.  I had clear Christmas ball ornaments laying around and our wedding invitation nearby so I decided to throw an ornament together.  I am going to change the ribbon on it- just have to get to the craft store.   Sorry for the poor quality of pictures.  I took about 20 pictures and these are the only ones that turned out semi okay.

- Cut the wedding invitation into strips so that you can read all off the words.
- Roll each strip around a pencil and then put it inside of the ornament.
-  Add ribbon and other decorative items to the ornament.

This would be a great wedding gift or Christmas gift for newly weds.

Mummies

My friend, Stacie, had a Pinterest party.  We were suppose to bring a craft and/or a treat that we found on pinterest (relating to Halloween).  It was hard trying to figure out a craft I could bring that lots of people could make.  I found this idea on Pinterest and so we made them at the party.  

Materials: 

* Googley eyes

* Glue

* Cheese cloth

* Emptied and cleaned food can

Steps:

1.) Glue the eyes on the can

2. ) Cut strips of cheese cloth

3.) Wrap the cheese cloth around the jar

4.) Wrap some more

5.) Wrap until every spot of the can is covered.

6.) Fill with goodies

It can't get much easier!

The Cat in the Hat

Happy Halloween From the Cat in the Hat!

Every year I wait until the night before to decide what I will dress up as for Halloween.  This year I decided what I would dress up as an entire week before Halloween :)  It was nice to have a little bit of planning time.  I wanted to be someone that all of the kids could relate to and know who I was... The Cat in the Hat.

     

             

 Gloves

 Hat

 I cut an old white shirt and stitched it on a black long sleeve shirt. 

 I made the bow with felt, scissors, and a hot glue gun. 

 I made the tail by rolling up a piece of felt.

Mummified Pizzas

Garrett had class Halloween night.  I hurried home from work so we could have dinner together.  We only had a few minutes to make these mummified pizzas, so they aren't the best looking- but you get the idea.

What you need: English Muffins, pizza sauce, pepperonis, sliced olives, white cheese (we used pepper jack)

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This recipe is a MUST try.  I fumbled upon it in a recipe book.  It is so delicious that I highlighted it in my recipe book.  We will be having this soup more often, especially with the winter coming up.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

5 cups water

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon

2 cups carrots, chopped

2 cups broccoli, chopped

½ onion, chopped

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 can evaporated milk

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 cheese packet from mac and cheese box

1 cup cheddar cheese

Bring water to a boil.  Add bouillon and stir until dissolved.  Add vegetables. Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes or until tender.  Melt butter in medium saucepan on medium-high heat.  Stir in flour until smooth. Slowly add evaporated milk, stirring constantly until smooth and thick.  Add spices.  Mix in cheese packet and cheese.  Remove from heat and stir until cheese in melted.  Combine with vegetables and water.  Stir until smooth.  

For the future, I will add more vegetables.   Just typing the recipe makes me want to go make some soup!  De-lice!

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

   

 This Halloween I couldn't get enough of creating different Halloween crafts and foods.  Here is just one of the many treats I made.  While they are very cute and festive, they taste great too.  

Ingredients
2 Sticks Butter, softened (don't melt in microwave)
1 c. Sugar
1 Egg
2 T. Lemon Juice
2 t. Lemon Zest
1/8 t. Salt
3 c. Flour
1/2 t. Baking Soda
Red Food Dye
Yellow Food Dye
1/2 c. Granulated Sugar (for dusting)

To make dough:  
Combine butter and sugar in a bowl.  Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. I just used the juice from the lemon. Beat until well mixed. Add flour and baking soda, beat until well mixed.  Put dough in the fridge until chilled and easy to work with.   Divide dough into thirds. Press one-third of the white dough evenly into the bottom of a glass dish that is lined with parchment paper. Place another one-third of the dough into a bowl and add yellow and red food dye to make orange. Once it is a nice orange color, press  the dough evenly over the white dough. With the last one-third of dough, add the yellow dye.  Once well mixed, press that evenly over the orange dough. Cover and refrigerate until firm (more than three hours). Once chilled, take the dough out of the pan and place it on a cutting board. Cut into slices with knife.  Cut each slice into candy corn looking wedges.
To bake:
Grease cookie sheet. Bake for 5-7 minutes in a pre-heated 375 degree oven.  Place cookies straight into a bowl with sugar and coat. Let cookies cool.

These cookies lasted less than a day in my house.  We did give most of them away though :)

 Stack the dough

 Cut the dough

 Slice the dough into candy corns

 Put the candy corns onto a greased cookie sheet

 Bake and dust with sugar

Enjoy!  

Candy Corn Butterfingers

        Homemade candies are delicious.  My mom called me on the phone a few days ago and told me about a homemade Butterfingers recipe she thought I should give a try.  My husband loves Butterfingers, so I thought I ought give it a shot.  I was really hesitant because the recipe calls for candy corn.  First of all, I don't like candy corn and secondly, I couldn't imagine how candy corn would give the taste of Butterfingers.
      Garrett and I spent an hour making these delicious Butterfingers. Despite my first impression of the recipe, these homemade treats really do taste like Butterfingers.  From the mouth of my husband, "These are better than Butterfingers.  They are nice and soft!"
   

Homemade Butterfingers

* 1 lb. candy corn

* 16 ounces peanut butter (I used creamy)

* 1 lb. chocolate 

First, melt the candy corn in the microwave.  Put the candy corn in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  Stir.  Put it in the microwave for 15 seconds.  Stir.  Continue this process until the candy corn is all melted and a nice even texture.

Look at this bright orange color!

Next, Stir the peanut butter into the melted candy corn.  Once it is a nice even texture place it in a glass pan that is lined with wax paper.  Let it cool in the fridge or freezer.  We left it in the freezer for about 45 minutes.  

Take the candy out of the freezer and lay it on a cutting board.  

Cut the candy into strips.

Make the candy any size you want.  We made ours into bite size pieces.  

 Melt the chocolate.  Put the chocolate in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  Stir.  Then put the chocolate back in the microwave for about 15 seconds.  Stir. Continue this process until the chocolate is
melted.

Dip the chilled candy into the chocolate. Lay on wax paper.  

 Not only are they easy, they are tasty and pretty!  Enjoy!