After Halloween Costume Sale 25% OFF!

After Halloween Costume Sale!

Huge Savings 25% OFF Your Costume Order of $65 or More.

Use Coupon Code AFTER at Checkout

Hurry - Ends Nov 15, 2009!

Happy Halloween! SaWo - Altered Cabinet Card

I created this altered cabinet card as my submissions for this week's Saturday's Workout: http://saturdaysworkout.wordpress.com/ . I wish everyone a very Happy Halloween! ~ Kris

Happy Halloween

May the treats be many and the tricks be few...
• • • • • • •
Happy Halloween!
• • • • • • •
Bruce Elsass' vintage collection Country Living 2007

Happiest Halloween! (and a brief look back)

June 26, 2008 I started this blog; I had been engaged for less than a week (the summer solstice - June 20th, signifying our new beginning), I had a new dog for just over a week (my sweet little beastie), my beloved grandfather was still living and I had no idea where I was going with any of this blog thing.

Simply put, I wanted a place to keep my (in)sanity intact, and a blog seemed like the thing all the other brides were doing. It took me less than a day to realize I was not 'bride blog' material, at least not in the traditional sense.

Of all the bridal things I attempted to join and read and participate in, Introverted Bride is the only place that stuck (and I still adore Sabrina's blog!) and Halloweddings is the only community I am still posting to. But since starting Creepy Cupcakes (which is not very creepy and features almost no cupcakes) I have discovered a world of wonderful, supportive, like-minded ghoulies whom I cherish who have helped me make it to OUR BIG DAY.

Ours as in all of us - all of us who love Halloween - and ours as in me and my Husband-to-Be. From this post forward he will be simply "Husband." In a few short hours I will be making the promise of 'Til Death Do Us Part... I'm elated!

-------

Even more exciting is the future of this blog; it's going to be as devoted as ever to the Haunting Homemaker aesthetic. There will still be great finds for Halloween parties and (eep!) weddings featured. Best of all -- I'll have more time to explore ideas! So if you have something you want brainstormed, I'm your ghoul. ;)

For today, though, I've created a printable .pdf for those who might want to try their hand at some Victorian print luminaries (which I'm using as table decor at my wedding) -- these are 4 x 6:



I printed the images I wanted on vellum (make sure your printer options are set to "transparency"), bought 4 frames at the dollar store, removed the backs, secured the images to the frames/glass (the frames I bought really didn't require anything special, but I did a tiny bit of hot glue around the inside/edges), then hot glued the frames together at the sides. A little glass tealight holder sits inside. :)


Happy Hauntings, and don't forget to raise a glass to me tonight, or say an extra 'Trick or Treat' for yours truly!

Happy Halloween!

brilliant

Each year, I bake a Halloween-themed cake for dessert on October 31st. Because you just can't have too much sugar on that night.

Over the years, I've covered most of the usual suspects, from ghosts to witches to monsters to jack-o-lanterns to pumpkin patches to werewolves. Something I've never made, however, but often considered, is a Halloween gingerbread house. I've dreamed of one day creating something like this:

Or perhaps this:

Or maybe even an entire gingerbread village:

But inevitably, reality rears its ugly head and I am reminded of my . . . less-than-stellar decorating skills. I'm no stranger to gingerbread. I've attempted gingerbread houses at Christmas. And the less said about that, the better. So after a few moments of quiet reflection, all thoughts of Halloween gingerbread glory are banished from my mind while I plan my next monster cake.

Until this year.

Because someone in the Canadian Living Test Kitchen (probably someone like me) designed a Halloween gingerbread house for the shaping-and-frosting-challenged. And it is truly simple, yet brilliant.

A haunted gingerbread shack.

Slight errors in measuring the gingerbread pieces? No problem.

Sections deformed and misshapen while being transferred to baking sheet? It's okay.

Difficulty maneuvering a piping bag? Forget about it.

The beauty of the gingerbread shack? The more you screw up, the more authentic it looks. You can't go wrong. Had this been the typical gingerbread house, mine would have been a disaster. Edges not quite straight. Pieces unevenly rolled. Too long. Too short. Too crumbly. With the gingerbread shack, it's all part of the plan.

And the broken windows and giant rats just add to the charm.

(Nice gingerbread houses courtesy of Flickr)

Art Creation Friday #47

My ATC...

...and the inspiration piece.

http://artcreationsfriday.blogspot.com/ to see all the wonderful submissions this week.

what could it mean?

Is it a pumpkin cheesecake . . . or a pumpkin pi ?

I sense the mathematical gods are attempting to communicate with me.

Halloween Excursions

If you are a fan of Disney's spooky vintage shorts and are lucky
enough to live within driving distance of the Bay area then head
on over to the new WALT DISNEY FILM MUSEUM for the
HALLOWSCREEN event. Today and tomorrow only treat
yourself to a screening of Disney's classic haunted animated
shorts, including one of my all time favorites, The Skeleton Dance.
This timeless, macabre masterpiece with its beautifully illustrated
iconic Halloween imagery is a celebration of music, dance and
the art of animation. The perfectly syncopated quartet of dark
and mesmerizing dancing skeletons in the nightmarish graveyard
is a beautifully crafted work of art, sealing this films legendary
status as one of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time.

TGIF Challenge - Little Witches

http://thankgoditsfriday.wordpress.com/ to see all the darling submissions this week...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Last Minute Treat

You can bet your buttons I am nowhere near this computer right now. I'm probably drinking, laughing, and generally freaking out with my family and friends -- TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY! HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVE!!!

(Oh yeah, and we're getting married)

So - one final little project treat before the day we have all been waiting for: cheeky magpie's witchy treat hat

Now that would be pretty for a flower girl to carry -- tossing candy corn down the aisle!

We're so close I could just die... Happy Haunting, fellow fiends!

no escape

They sat peacefully in the autumn sunshine. Calm. Content. Unsuspecting.

Oh, they had heard the rumours. Seen their neighbours disappear. Only to see them return mutilated and disemboweled. Some barely recognizable.

But it wouldn't happen to them. It couldn't. After all, hadn't they been sitting here for weeks now? Untouched. Secure. No, they would escape the cruel fate that had befallen others. They were sure of it. Just two more days.

But it seems fate had other ideas.

Sadly, no one is immune.

ATC - Witching Hour

and the winner is . . . chocolate

It sounded too good to be true. Truffles that combined cream cheese, chocolate and pumpkin. All three flavours blending perfectly. The truffle dream team. But no. One of them had to dominate. Take control. Push the others into the background. The culprit: chocolate. Next time, there will be severe restrictions placed on chocolate's participation.

Here's what happened:

11 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted

4 oz. cream cheese

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup icing sugar

3 Tbsp. cocoa powder

cinnamon & nutmeg, to taste

Combined all ingredients. Refrigerated until firm. Rolled into truffles.

There was also something about kneading marzipan, tinting it orange, rolling pieces of it around each truffle, and indenting the sides to resemble pumpkins. Sounds impressive. But with only three days until Halloween, I refused to even consider it. Instead, I took the easy way out and rolled them in these snazzy orange candy sprinkles. Fancy.

They tasted great. If you like chocolate with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. And I do. But next time, the cream cheese and spice content will go up. Way up.

Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful...

2 days before Halloween and this is my front porch! In Parker, CO we've had 22 inches of snow and it's still falling. The last time we had this much snow the week of Halloween was in 1997. Luckily, most of my elaborate decorations are in the house, lol.

I certainly got my scare for this year!

One Cupcake is Poisoned

It's cupcake making day!! All day long, I'm making cupcakes.

It's fairly traditional in the south to have a groom's cake. But my groom isn't getting one cake, he's getting about 100 cup-sized cakes. Very, very, very chocolaty cupcakes!! And I made an adorable sign to go on the table:


Sliced my finger making it, but I'm happy with the results.

Now for that icing recipe -- makes an insane amount of icing. Probably twice as much as you need, but I think the original recipe claims 32 servings:

• 2 cups SOFTENED unsalted butter

WHIP IT. WHIP IT GOOD. (on a high setting, with a paddle attachment, until light and fluffy).

• 9 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 ^1/2 cups cocoa powder, unsweetened, sifted (I used about 3/4 cup dark cocoa powder from Hershey's -- yummy)
• 1 tsp (I used a tablespoon) vanilla extract

Beat this in with the butter. A little at a time, if you don't like cleaning cocoa powder off the ceiling.

• 1/2 cup to 1 cup whole milk (as needed for consistency)

The last step is to add the milk in, a little at time, still beating on high until it's the consistency you like. It will harden some in the fridge if you cool it for awhile.

This is an AMAZING recipe, both for taste and for getting good shapes with a piping bag (after cooling in the fridge).

Enjoy!! Happy (almost) Halloween.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Mummy Candles

Bless Cathie Filian, she does some nice crafty work.

Take this 'mummy candle holder.' Now that's a nice idea!

Candle holders not dissimilar from this one are easy to find at thrift stores, and it really makes for a haunted house-chic accent.

I always feel the Mummy is under-represented at Halloween, being so sorely lacking in appropriately spooky decor options for the average haunter -- but this is something fit for a tomb!

:)

frosty

The graveside mourners woke up with a layer of frost on their heads this morning.





They didn't seem to mind.

Created by Hand Challege - Halloween

http://createdbyhandchallenge.wordpress.com/

uh-oh

Three days until Halloween and of course, no costume yet. Why am I not surprised? Despite good intentions, it's always the last thing prepared. But it could be worse. Progress has been made. It has been started. In actuality, it was started weeks ago and then delayed. Partly because of other distractions and partly because it's one of those projects that I'm making up as I go along. Like most of my projects. And I'll be honest. There have been a few . . . missteps. Miscalculations. Disastrous choices.

Right now, it looks like this (and yes, my work table is used for air hockey in the off-season):

But that's okay. All will be well. Still plenty of time. It will be completed. It has to be. Because I refuse to run to Zellers on Saturday afternoon for a last-minute mask. The memories are still too raw.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Cuter than I like it...

What I really like about this project is the old chair COVERED in stained cheesecloth. It's too marvelous for words.

While the kitty pillows are cutesy and adorable (things I don't love), I'm really drawn to them for some reason. They are the kind of thing that would make a fabulous gift for a child's teacher. People really don't give enough Halloween presents, you know?

Anywho - it's getting so very close to Halloween, and this seemed like a quick, throw-together project for you last-minuters out there.

We're getting so close. :) :) :)

fearless

Overcoming my fear of vampires (or perhaps large blood-sucking insects) one cupcake at a time.

Excited

I haven't really been able to devote much time to the blog lately; forgive me if I'm not commenting enough on the blogs I read! I really miss you guys, but things are hectic; surely it's the same for you.

Finished are 80% of the centerpieces, I have tested cupcake recipes (remind me I found a chocolate icing that I must share), the guestbook pens are done, and the bridesmaids' presents have been gifted.

Somewhere last weekend Carrie Mae also had the BEST BACHELORETTE PARTY EVER. It involved a fantastic dinner, a macabre puppet show at the Center for Puppetry Arts, drinking, and dancing with random military guys at this bar where everyone looked at my friends and I funny. I may regret posting this, but photographic evidence exists (and yes, I've already told the Husband-to-Be about all of it):


The next day I climbed Stone Mountain with my German friends who are visiting (which has been fabulous!!):


This week I have a cold (albeit a mild one) and more office work to do than I can finish tomorrow. But I'm so very happy and excited!

And that's my update. :) Cheers, friends!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I'd Turn Back, If I Were You

A fast project for Halloween: spooky tealight bags. How-to at Martha's site, but this is an easy one for anyone with a craft knife. The bags really are most dramatic staggered up outdoor stairs or on a hill.

I recommend putting an empty glass jar (I keep all my old spaghetti jars, very unsurprisingly) in the finished bag designs and placing your tealight in that - less chance of the bag burning or tipping over. For that matter, use these outside preferably on a concrete surface that won't catch fire easily.

Sand works too, of course, but glass is just so easy to clean out - and at least for me, more readily available than clean sand.

inflatable memories

I can vividly remember the first time I saw a giant Halloween inflatable on someone's front lawn. I was driving along one evening just after dark, when there, high on a hilltop, sat the largest inflatable pumpkin I had ever seen. I slowed down. My head turned.

I didn't swerve. I didn't hit a tree. I didn't plow into a crowd of pedestrians. But I did admire it. It was bright. It was stunning. It was unique. It was the embodiment of Halloween. I had not seen its like before.

Then, suddenly, I saw its like everywhere.

The unique has become ubiquitous.

TMTA - Spooky/Halloween

I might have mis-interpreted the theme this week but there is definitely a skeleton in the witch, lol. Oh well....at least she is spooky.

http://tmta.wordpress.com/ to see all the spooky creations this week!

Halloween Gothic Arch ATC Swap

This is my ATC for the swap...

...and these are the fantastic ones I received (from top left):

Laura Carson, Hope Clinchot, Carolyn Utter;

Michelle Carrier, Heather Bloom, Phyllis Terrell.

Thank you Carolyn for hosting this wonderful swap and thanks ladies for these witchy, wonderful treats!

Halloween's Final Countdown

...and so begins the bittersweet week
of Halloween... sigh.
Final listings for the Halloween season
now in ETSY.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Another Stair Project

On the heels of yesterday's vampire shadow stairs post, a nice project for your front (or back) steps.

Our wedding is being held at my parents' home (I guess I always just assume that you guys know that!), and so I'm thinking about how to add a little outdoor ambiance.

The design at right is actually just printed on wood-patterned paper and spray-glued to balsa wood. That's cool, but I'm thinking of cutting out and decoupaging the letters on painted wood scraps we already have. Probably crackle-painted wood scraps.

Hurrah for wedding-quality Halloween projects that no one should have complaints about!!

warm and dry outside

What a difference a day makes. From winter jacket weather to t-shirt weather within a couple of hours. The tombstones enjoyed the unseasonably warm day as well. Stretched out on the grass in the backyard. Drying in the sun after getting a fresh coat of paint.

warm and dry inside

This weekend proved too windy and rainy for even the living dead.

This graveyard mourner wisely chose to watch over the cemetery from the relative warmth of indoors.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Vampire Shadow on the Stairs

I've had this project printed out for ages, and I'm finally ready to use it. On my parents stairs. At Halloween. For "the Wedding."

Today I cut out each of the pieces in some extra black fabric that I have; fabric seemed like a better choice than paper because it's more durable, can be cleaned, and I can tack it up with liquid starch to be removed at will from our painted risers, or with a good double-sided tape, or pins of some kind. Lots of options, and then it will fold away neatly for storage - all the crinkles can be ironed out next year! :)

It's not a difficult pattern, but you will want to make sure that your risers are the right height (even builders make mistakes sometimes!) and make appropriate adjustments as you cut out the template so that everything lines up like you want on the finished product (since our wedding is at my parents house, I'm actually winging it - I didn't feel like driving an hour just to measure stairs). You could do this by measuring the risers before hand, and if anything is "off" just tape all the template cut-outs together and measure new cut lines starting at the top of the head and working your way down. If you have to cut off a few inches at the bottom, it will still look good.

Want to see a really good example of this project in action? Check out Junie Moon's post.

Gothic Arch Challenge - Orange & Black

http://gothicarches.ning.com/