Crochet Mummy Gloves

Oh oh look! Crochet mummy fingerless gloves.

I wish my crochet ideas were this good. I also wish this wasn't distracting me from my current crochet project (a blanket for my father in law... wooooo, boring).

Mummy Loaf!

Yes, yes I got my wish from the last post -- snow in Georgia. And yes, I was snowed in. And double-yes: my internet was touchy the whole week and I'm still catching up at work.

But no, I couldn't make a snowman. By the time it was deep enough at my house it was already a melty-re-freezy mess. More like dried "Great Stuff" than snow.

So, without reliable internet, a serious inability to create my own "Snowhouse of Horrors," and no way to drive anyplace for a week, a girl does a little crochet and bakes many things with her new bread maker.

Now, I refuse to say that Mummy-Loaf (danish braid with blueberries and cream cheese filling) was a bad idea. HE WASN'T. Look at how cute his sweet little mug is - especially before baking!?!

I would, however, qualify that I'd do things differently next time. For starters, I would have actually thought about what I was doing before applying the Egg Wash. My CuisinArt recipe called for a whole egg + water combination, and I should have known that was for making it even more toasty-amber colored.

I want a paler mummy next time: egg white only, maybe? At least I'm going to finish off with a light dusting of powder sugar or a vanilla glaze/drizzle.

Also: one eye melted into his head, which ruined the 'mummy' effect after baking. Next time I'll save two berries and place them in as it comes out of the oven.

Still, it was a pretty successful ordeal. I followed this bread recipe with my bread maker (lessened all ingredients to make only a 1 lb loaf), then made a cream cheese filling by beating the following together:

• 4 oz cream cheese
• half an egg, beaten
• 2 tbs sugar
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• 1 tsp vanilla

To make a bread braid:

• Roll out the dough in a rectangle, about 12x8"
• Spread the cream cheese down the middle third (lengthwise)
• Top cheese with blueberries (leave a little space for the 'eyes')
• Cut the side thirds at 1" intervals to make strips
• Start by folding the bottom strips into eachother, then criss-cross fold the other strips all the way up -- this should mostly cover the blueberry/cheese filling, but there may be a few gaps here and there. At the next-to last strips, stretch them a little further down to leave a cream cheese opening where the eyes should be.
• Tuck the last (top) strips in to look like a head wrapping
• Bake 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees F until toasted and filling is set (mine took 30 minutes -- again, smaller loaf)
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool, dot the open area with two berries for eyes
• NOM NOM NOM (once cooled)

Serve your mummy plain, dusted with powdered sugar, or with a drizzly vanilla glaze. He is delicious with coffee and should be shared with friends.

Mummy Wedding Theme

Oh, I feel so rusty at this. This post is certainly not as full, thought-out, and complete as I would like it to be.

A while back (I'm sorry, I'm the worst ever at managing my life and doing things in a timely fashion) a very dear reader sent me a series of wonderful e-mails full of excellent finds.

One of the topics that stuck out most to me was the idea of a Mummy-themed Hallowedding!

Powerful Love, Egyptian Wedding by ajr51594 on Polyvore.com

I think the core of a Mummy Hallowedding would have to be an Egyptian theme; Mummies don't get nearly enough love, so thinking up some elegant yet spooky mummy touches is really worthy pursuit that I shall have to task myself with in the near future.

Whatever else you do, you've got to explore that pyramid cake. How cool is that?!

Location - If you were in Atlanta (and had a ridiculous sum of money) I would recommend you rent the Egyptian Ballroom at the Fox Theater.



the Dress - I could see the bride wearing a Cleopatra-style headdress, large beaded/gold collar necklace, a gauzy-white dress reminiscent of ancient Egyptian or even Greek dress (dress pictured below found at theKnot, Sarah Danielle / Destinations / Style: 5562) perhaps accented by some lovely blue or white sheer scarves or shawls around the shoulder (think Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra), and a wide Cleopatra-style collar (blue collar pictured below found at theNile's Etsy shop), and a beaded headdress instead of the traditional veil.


Bridesmaids - I'm think a one-strap style dress would be kind of nice, color of your choice (black dress above found at theKnot, B2 / Style: B2082). With big Egyptian-inspired earrings or scarab-beetle themed jewelery? Gold or silver strappy sandals seem good for both bride and bridesmaids.

Decor - Lotus flower candle-holders on the tables, perhaps mummy heads, pharaoh busts, or pyramid shapes.

I would bandage as many things in gauze as I could, perhaps even the chairs. Getting life-sized mannequins wrapped as mummies, or just pieces of them (hands, heads, etc) would be nifty.

Excess Thinking

• Gauze Garter - I haven't thought this through, but making a garter with mummy-gauze rather than lace might be kind of fun
• mummy hand hair pins
  
• Book of the dead guest book - gold, with hieroglyphic-styled designs
• Using cartouches in the decor
• You've got to see the mummy gift box over at this page: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/10/24/anticipation/
• I found some minimal mummy ideas over at Martha Stewart's site; unfortunately, I'm running out of time to finish up this post... *sad, sad face*

What do you guys think? Has anyone ever done mummy props, or designed a Pharaoh's tomb for a haunt that would be well-suited to padding out this idea? Any ideas for a Mummy-themed ceremony or reception?

Mummy Wedding by phantomPoe on Polyvore.com