Halloween Mystery Dinner~2013

It's that time of year!

 

We just moved in to our new home 2 weeks ago.

I was going to cancel our Annual Family Halloween Dinner this year,

or at least do something a little more "low-key"...

But my kids (mostly my daughter and daughter-in-law)

guilted  talked me in to it!

And honestly, it turned out fun!

We did get the kitchen unpacked & most of the main floor

"tidied up" a bit, so I felt better about hosting a party.

(Also, I am loving my new kitchen...more on that another time)

 

I even pulled out a few decorations, to liven the place up a bit!

I think everyone had a great time.

 



(Cotton Candy Spider Webs & "Vampire Bites")

 

 

This year's menu consisted of:

 

Mummy Snot: (Ranch Dressing)

Alien Pods: (Green Beans)

Mouse Droppings: (Sunflower Seeds)

Vampire Bites: (Candy Cup w/ all red candies)

Witch's Broom: (Fork)

Bony Knuckles: (Mini Garlic Monkey Bread)

Sticky Spider Web (Cotton Candy)

Brains: (Fettuccine Noodles)

Dragon's Blood: (Red Punch)

Scarecrow Noses: (Croutons

Moldy Bat Wings: (Salad)

EscarGROSS!: (Creamy Italian Chicken)

What IS That? (Pumpkin Spice Cake)

 

The stand-out favorites this year were the Mini Garlic Bread & the Pumpkin Spice Cake. I've linked to both recipes for you.

The garlic bread was super easy & I will be making them again.

 

How are you celebrating the season?

 

Happy Halloween!

This is Halloween

Is it just me, or is October CrAzY busy?

After  Fall break, the deer hunt, a ward party, 3 Halloween parties & the usual Halloween day festivities, I need a nap!!!

 

And since things weren't crazy enough, I decided to whip out a few spooky crafts.

 

I love me some cute mummies!

There are tons of cute versions of these little guys.

I started with the guy on the left.

I followed the instructions here: Mummy Jars

 

First off, it's kind of difficult to find the sheer gauze.

When I opened the package, I knew this was not the right stuff. I dug through my first aid kit & found some of the sheer gauze (looks more like cheesecloth) but it would need to be cut into strips...so I decided to go ahead with the gauze I bought. He kind of looks more like a ghost than a mummy.

I also don't like the mod-podge on this one.

Still, he's cute enough.

 

 I rummaged around trying to find something else to use. Everything else I had would have to be cut into strips, which I wasn't keen spending time doing. Then I remembered I have a box full of muslin strips from last year's Mummy project!

I tied 3 strips together and started wrapping the jar. I used hot glue to attach the beginning & end of the muslin on the jar, and placed a few strategic drops to hold everything in place.

Perfect! Quick, easy and so cute!

And look how cute he is all lit up!

(I used a battery operated tea light)

I made 3 of these guys.

 (Tabletop Centerpiece, my favorite decor this year)

 

 I might have a hard time putting him away!

 

I've also been making these candles.

Paper towel rolls, people!

These are fun to make!

I've made 10 so far and have 6 more to do (but not before Halloween!)

I went really drippy with mine. I think I went through 50 glue sticks!

 

I'd like to introduce you to a new blog friend:

House of Dewberry

Check out her awesome tutorials for making these candles.

And while you're there, check out some of her other fabulous, crafty ideas.

Make sure you visit her other site too:

Collettes Treasures

 

My notes on the candles:

*I didn't do the masking tape "sling" to hold the tea light. Mostly because I couldn't find my masking tape!  I stuffed some newspaper in the top of each roll & that holds the tea light just fine.

 

*I spray painted my candles. I still need to do the dry brushing too. That will give them some added dimension.

 

*Make sure you don't drip glue on the inside of the roll. I did on a couple of mine & it's a pretty tight squeeze to get the tea light nestled in the roll. In fact, one of them I have to put the tea light up through the bottom, which is a pain in the patootie! :)

 

*My candle heights are:

10 3/4 " (full paper towel roll)

8 1/2"

6 1/2"

 

I also did a few smaller ones (like the ones with my table centerpiece)

They are

4" (I used a full toilet paper roll)

4 1/4" (the other half of the 6 1/2" roll)

 

These are so fun to use everywhere!

I love the flickering lights~

And I love mostly cutesy Halloween stuff but like a little bit of spooky/macabre too. :)

 

Some other favorite decor this year:

Cheesecloth...everywhere!

Like this so much better than the spiderweb stuff. Plus it's cheap!

 



This cute little witchy owl:

 

Another votive for my flickering lights obsession!

Mini headstones from Dollar Tree~

Now, on to the party details!

Our friends invited us to a Costume party.

I'm not a big fan of dressing up~

This was our first ever costume party...

And since I've had many requests for a picture of our costumes...

Here ya go!

 



(Shane was the photographer, so this is the best picture we have. Doctored up a little bit with picmonkey)

Any guesses to who we are?

My wig freaked the kids out!!!!

I actually bought 3 different wigs (do NOT tell my husband!) trying to find the right one.

 

I took an appetizer to the party~

"Severed Zombie Fingers in a Blood-Red Reduction"

( Little Smokies in the slow cooker w/ a can of jelled cranberry sauce & a bottle of chili sauce).

It was a fun party.

The wig drove me nuts all night

And I didn't wear my glasses so I couldn't see anything,

but other than that, it was a fun party! :)

 

 

I also do a Halloween Dinner for my family every year.

The kids wanted a Mystery Menu dinner again.

For that I served up:

 

A. Witch's Delight on Shoe Leather

B. Skeleton Fingers

C. Raw. Slimy Squid

D. Cyclops Poop

E. Headless Horseman w/ Vampire Teeth

F. Werewolf Guts

G. Jellied Spider Web

H. Zombie Pus

I. Tombstones

J. Ghost Brains

K. Hunchback's Club

L. Coffin Crud

M. Dried Eye of Newt

N. Bones on a Slab

O. Ghostly Apparition

P. Scarab Shells

Q. Scarecrow Stuffing

R. "Thing"

 

Sounds yummy, no?

 

Here's a link to the dessert I served~

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

*I used 1 cup of pecans

And dang, this stuff is good.

Even better the next day~ as in "died and gone to Heaven" better. In fact, I think I'll go sneak the last piece right now!

 

Tonight will be the last "party". Shane's friends will be coming here for dinner before they hit the streets. I'll be serving Mummy Dogs, chips, carrots sticks, celery sticks, dip, deviled eggs & Pomegranate 7-UP. I forgot a dessert, but I don't think they need any more sugar tonight!

 

Now I really need a nap!

 

(Mystery Menu Code Key: A=Pumpkin Crunch Cake, B=Fork, C=Spaghetti Noodles, D=Green Beans, E=Candy Pumpkins w/ Candy Corn, F=Spaghetti Sauce, G=Grated Cheese, H=Ranch Dressing, I=Garlic Bread, J=Whipped Cream, K=Spoon, L=Parmesan Cheese, M=Sunflower Seeds,

N=Symphony Bar w/ a plastic skeleton, O=Napkin, P=Croutons, Q=Salad, R=Fork)

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

(Again, with picmonkey!)

 

 



Halloween 2011

It was a very busy Halloween weekend around here!

We started off with a last minute family party with Rick's family. Not a Halloween party, just a family get together.

I made these Sugar Cookie Bars and frosted them with my

Favorite Buttercream Icing.

They were a big hit!

The icing recipe is quickly becoming one of my most asked for recipes.

Sadly, my family still scraped the icing off!!!

I don't know what's wrong with them...

Then it was time for our 3rd Annual Halloween Party!!!

This year, I decided to do a

"Mystery Menu" Dinner:

 (I had a cute graphic at the top, but it's not one I can share...)

 We had so much fun!!!

Everyone was a good sport and played along.

My dad was the best at choosing his menu items~ he pretty much had it all figured out & was the only one who ate a mostly normal meal.

There was much laughing!

Everyone has commented on how much fun it was.

A great night, for sure.

I almost didn't do a Halloween Party this year...

So glad I did!

The Slimy Red Goop salad actually turned out for me. That's 2 Jell-O's that I've actually had work!

It was not very appetizing though. It had kind of a yucky texture. Hey~ but if you want the recipe, let me know!

The punch was also weirdish. It tasted great...but also involved Jell-O...which I don't think I dissolved enough before I added the cold liquid...so it set up a little and had an unpleasant texture as well.

So another Jell-O failure!

I'm happy to share that recipe too... :)

(Hey~ it was Halloween, so failures were funny....not distressing!)

On Halloween, I helped out with Shane's Halloween party at school.

I was in charge of the craft.

We made these cute mummies~

The kids loved them & so did the parents!

The kids did a great job, and they all turned out so cute.

It was fun to see how creative some of the kids were.

I used a 1x4 cut into 5" lengths.

Rick cut and sanded the boards for me & then spray painted them with an ivory paint.

I bought some muslin and ripped it into strips about an inch wide.

I had the kids tie 2 strips together and then they just wrapped it around the board.

Then we glued on the eyes...

And they were done.

Super cute!

Super easy!

Last of all was the Trick-or-Treating

These are the ghouls that made the neighborhood rounds this year:

Punk Rocker, Captain America, The Ghost of Lou Gherig, Gangsta

They spent the whole afternoon & evening together & had their own little party.

They cracked me up! They were so funny!!!

So glad for my neighbor who helped me get the boys together. It was great for Shane & really helped him make form some great friendships.

Now, Halloween decor is down and Thanksgiving is UP!

I'm hosting my extended family at my house this year.

So excited!

I might even make Jell-O!

Witch's Hat

My mom and I made these cute Witch's Hats last year & I never got around to posting them.

I know Halloween is still weeks away, but I wanted to post the instructions so you have plenty of time to make some cute hats of your own!

I don't have step-by-step photos, but these are pretty easy.

You can also see a photo tutorial here:

Witch's Hat Instructions

You'll need the following:

A witch's hat (I found mine at Target, in the dollar bins, I used the child size)

Plastic Grocery Bags or paper for stuffing

Mod-Podge

Brush

Ribbon or Tulle

Clothespins

Other embellishments if desired

Start by stuffing your hat with bags or paper, so you have a stable, workable form.

Then size the ribbon/tulle that you want to use for the band and the bow.

Mod-podge the area where the band and ribbon will sit, and then put the band & the bow on the mod-podge.

Now, the fun part! Apply mod-podge over the entire surface of the hat, including the band & bow.

As it dries, you can fluff and reshape the bow.

This is a good time to sprinkle with glitter if you would like to make it sparkly!

Now~ scrunch the hat down, and use clothespins to hold the scunches in place while everything dries.

When the hat is almost dry, remove the clothespins and the bags/paper stuffing.

When completely dry, add other embellishments, if desired.

I love how these turned out! I might make some more this year.

Happy Crafting!





Now, back to your regularly scheduled September~

Halloween, Part II...Finally

Let's get this wrapped up, shall we?

Friday night was "Party Central". Spencer went to a party at a friend's house. He was a punk rocker, complete with tattoo sleeves, piercings, and guy liner. And an angry face!

 Em and her friends had a party here at our house. They dressed up as "Peace", "Love", and "Happiness". They had fun making their costumes, and I thought it was a pretty creative idea.

Shane as a Dark Ninja.  A wet, Dark Ninja!  It was so rainy and cold, and he was not too thrilled with the idea of going out Trick-or-Treating.

Shane with the rest of the neighborhood boys. Aka, the "Boo Crew".

On Sunday, we had a family dinner and I made Mummy Meatloaf...this was kind of a pain in the butt to make! The meatloaf part was easy, but it took me much longer than I had anticipated to cover the face with noodles! The picture looks a lot better than it did in real life!

And Mashed Potato Ghosts...Let me just say, I love potatoes.  They are my ultimate comfort food! I have been wanting to try Pioneer Woman's Delicious, Creamy Mashed Potatoes and decided this was the perfect time. I loved these potatoes! So yummy...I was hoping my family would gush over them too...but I guess no one else loves potatoes as much as I do! They said they were "good" and "fine", and "okay". I was hoping for more along the lines of "out of this world!" or "Please, never make any potatoes but these!" I guess I'll settle for "good".  I'm not too sure my family is very impressed with all my culinary experimenting.

 I just threw the potatoes in a disposable Wilton piping bag, snipped off the end and made round, ghostly mounds of potatoes. I piped them on a cookie sheet and then popped them in the oven for a few minutes to warm them up just before serving. Have I mentioned how yummy they were?  I've yet to meet a PW recipe that hasn't been super yummy! I wonder if her family thinks her cooking is "good"?  :)

And for dessert, there were these: Candy Corn Cupcakes.  These are my first attempt (well, at least for a very long time) at making and decorating cupcakes. So I am ecstatic that they turned out as nice as they did! They are gonna have their very own post! 

Halloween Festivities, Part 1

Started out on Friday morning with the Annual Halloween Parade at the school. I love the Halloween Parade~ there are always some really clever costumes! I used to be clever with the costumes...now, not so much (read: store bought).

Shane was a Red Ninja.  The cute little girl in the Dorothy costume (picture below) is one of the girls in my Primary class at church.  It was fun to have all the kids that know me call out, "Hi Sister Jackson!"  Even kids that aren't in my class were saying hello.

(And I saw my celebrity crush again!  His kids go to the same school as Shane. How cool is that???)

 There were lots of parents in costume at the parade.  I didn't do my hair, and I stuck a hat on my head (like that's gonna help). So I guess my costume was frumpy housewife.  I was gonna post a picture...but I'm just not that brave!
After the parade, I rushed home to fix my hair so I could meet a friend for lunch.  We've been trying to get together for months...We had a great time. :)  We visited for 3 hours!!!  Could have gone much longer, but my kids were locked out of the house so I eventually had to go home.  Although Shane was resourceful and found a way to get in the house.  Little stinker!  He pulled the screen off a window, and slid the window open and crawled through.
 Hopefully we can get together more often...and next time I'll make sure the kids can get in the house!


In the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, I drove down to meet up with these wonderful friends for our

Second Annual Halloween Breakfast Meet & Eat! 

This year, we all wore our Pajamas, and promised to come looking like we had just staggered out of bed. Uh...some of us look much better first thing in the morning than others!

 Unbeknownst to us, we had picked a male dominated restaurant. 

Felt like we had invaded a "Gentlemen Only Club"

(by Gentlemen I mean truck drivers, construction workers, hunters and farmers, not that they aren't gentlemen, I just don't want you to have the vision of us surrounded by men sitting around in lounging jackets and smoking pipes! There was a lot of plaid flannel, maybe a rifle and a pitchfork or two.)

Oh well, we had fun anyway!

Emma & Darla

Lynette, Connie and a Pink Marshmallow Peep (me).

Make sure you read Connie's funny, witty write up: Invasion.

I think she already has her eye on a spot for next year!

Halloween Banner

I've been a little challenged with the Halloween/Fall decor this year.  I got my wreath up...and a few pumpkins scattered around...but that's all I got!!!  Obviously, I've been focused on other things (like a wedding:).  Now it's time to step up my game, since there are only a couple of weeks left until Halloween.

I found this super cute Happy Halloween Banner that Julie @ Leelou Blogs made.  Print, Cut, Create~ what could be easier?  AND...It's FREE!!! Even. Better.

Thanks Julie.

Happy Decorating

Spook Popcorn~ A Halloween Treat

Graphics available at pccrafter

Spook Popcorn

5 quarts (20 cups) popcorn (already popped)
2 cups salted nuts (nixed nuts, peanuts, almonds, cashews...whatever you like)
3 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup butter or margarine
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl, combine popcorn, nuts and marshmallows. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Add sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour over popped corn, nuts & marshmallows. Stir until marshmallows are melted and popcorn is well coated. Can be rolled into popcorn balls if desired.
This is a recipe I got from my mom. She used to make this and share it with the neighbors. It makes a big batch! Make sure you use a big bowl and a sturdy spoon.

My Notes:
*This stays nice and soft & gooey.
*I used cashew pieces and it was so yummy! My mom usually uses peanuts & they are good too.

 



 

Happy Halloween!

Cutest Stuff Ever!

Look what was waiting for me when I got home yesterday:

Tanielle at The Polka Dot Daisy has the cutest handwriting, don't ya think?


S L O W L Y opening the package...

The suspension builds;

Cue "Jaws" music... da dum, da dum...

Isn't this just oozing with sweetness and cuteness? Festive orange tissue paper and a handwritten note! I wish my handwriting looked like this.

The Goods! The Loot! The Stuff!

So cute! Even cuter in person. How creative, how clever! I love it all! Thanks Tanielle!

And, good thing no one was home when I opened the package! My family already thinks I'm nuts so I didn't need to add any more evidence to that theory! I'm just sayin'... :)

HAPPY FALL!