RECIPE OF THE DAY - CANDY APPLES

CURRENT MOOD: Mischievous.... muahaha!



 
WHAT YOU NEED 

• 12 apples
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 cups water
•  8 drops red food coloring 
•  Candy Thermometer

DIRECTIONS

1.) Insert craft sticks into whole, stemmed apples. On a cookie sheet place a layer of parchment paper.

2.) In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Heat to 300 to 310 degrees F according to your thermometer, or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms hard, brittle threads. Remove from heat and stir in food colouring.

3.) Holding apple by its stick, dip in syrup and remove and turn to coat evenly. Place on prepared sheet to cool and harden.

DO IT YOURSELF - WOODEN GRAVEYARD TOMBSTONES

CURRENT MOOD: Devilish! Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to everyone!



A Step by Step Guide - WITH PHOTOS!

WHAT YOU NEED
- A Wooden Board for your Tombstone
- Pencils & an Eraser
- Paint Brushes & Sponges
- Painters Pallet
- Painters Tape
- Acrylic Paints
- Permanent Markers
- Garbage Bag / Drop Cloth

Optional: Matte Clear Coat


DIRECTIONS
Step 1 -  Gather your supplies and lay out your garbage bag or drop cloth in your work space, your project will need time to dry so make sure it is somewhere safe.

In my example to the right I used some remnant cut outs from one of my dads companies jobs. It just so happened they were perfectly formed tombstones! 



Step 2 - Lay out your wooden board that you have picked to be your tombstone. Begin by sketching out how you want your tombstone laid out on a scrap piece of paper or directly on it. Use painters tape to transfer your design.

On your paint pallet begin mixing the colours you want on your tombstone, in other words... start mixing up a lot of grey paint if you don't already have some! You will need to make a good base background for the details that come later.

 Allow your project to sit until it is dry to your touch. (No paint comes off if you touch it.)

Step 4 - Begin the details, if you want an older looking tombstone start by adding some fake cracks and chips, show some depth by adding a bevelled appearance along the edges. Try adding some fake grass or moss to give more depth to the image your creating. Note that if you want it to stick in the ground properly you'll have to leave a few inches at the bottom to accommodate this.

Step 5 - Add words, classic ones that come to mind are R.I.P. but try to think outside of the box. Use historical characters like Edgar Allan Poe, or Shakespeare, add a funny joke or rhyme, the options are endless this is where you need to get creative! 

Step 6 - Once your happy with your finished design, spray a layer of clear matte over top to protect your project from the elements and lock in your design!

♥ EEGE0XX Mini Laser Show System

CURRENT MOOD: ... *yawn* ... so tired... bed time...



So I bought the EEGE0XX - Mini Laser Show System, about two years ago and it is still going strong. It cost me about $100.00 from a local DJ lighting shop at the time but is an amazing addition to any party and the great part is it can fill up a GIANT room with dancing laser lights with no real effort! So neat!

It has a great feature that allows it to either run automatically with no real pattern to what it is producing *OR* it will go along with your music of choice; so if you have some fast music playing the light show will be fast and change quickly but if you have slow music playing it will be very slow and leisurely in the changes!

I've used it many times inside and even tried it outside at the farm - you can literally see it off in the distance dancing on the trees, another plus side is it reflects great off of snow, multipurpose!  I had it going in the living room this evening and took a few pictures check them out below!

  

DO IT YOURSELF - Hanging Ghostly Ghouls

CURRENT MOOD: Sleepy... so sleepy that I feel like a zombie.



Here is an inexpensive alternative to buying a brand new hanging Halloween prop which generally can sell for as much as 75 dollars at a seasonal store, instead - make it yourself! In my example I spent under 10 dollars for the entire project, it is about 5 feet long and proportional to a human in size.

WHAT YOU NEED
- One foam skeleton head
- One coat hanger
- Different types of Fabric
- Hot glue OR sewing push pins

DIRECTIONS
1.) Begin by straightening out the head of your coat hanger, get help if you are not sure how to go about this and be careful! You can bend it with your hand or pliers work well as well.

2.) Take your foam skull and carefully push it onto the head of the coat hanger which you just straightened out. This is the basic form of your hanging ghoul. Head, neck, and shoulders.

3.) Now that you have the basic form you can start layering your fabric. In my example I used white, tan, and grey fabric I found in the remnant discount bin at my local fabric store.

•  Begin by layering fabric around the foam skull and draping it down like a cape, continue building layers to make it more realistic. Secure in place with hot glue or push pins.
• You can wrap some excess fabric around the coat hanger to give a more realistic form if you wish, which is what I did in my example but it is clearly not required.
• Tie a strip of fabric around the "neck" (straightened head of the coat hanger) to create more form, as well as give you something to hang your figure from later.

4.) Time for the details -  In my example I added some black vines, worms, little bugs and finally sprayed it with sparkle spray so it would catch more light, I decided to rip the top layer of fabric to create more depth and detail to the bottom of the cape. Add your own special touches to your Hanging Ghostly Ghoul to make it really stand out!

♥ PUMPKIN CANDLE - Bath & Body Works

CURRENT MOOD: Lost in the smell of a candle...



My newest addiction right now is the amazing smelling "Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" 3 - wick candle from Bath & Body Works... Oh my gosh does it ever smell fantastic! Honestly! I even got a matching dark metal pumpkin sleeve for it and I love how it looks! Sadly they are currently sold out of the candle or I would for sure go get more!

RECIPE OF THE DAY - Six Perfect Punch Recipes

CURRENT MOOD: Pleased!



ZOMBIE VIRUS 

INGREDIENTS
6       Cups chilled pineapple juice
1       Can of frozen limeade concentrate
1       2 L  of chilled ginger ale

DIRECTIONS
1.) Combine pineapple juice and limeade in punch bowl. Stir until
limeade dissolves then stir in ginger ale, serve to guests over ice.


BLOODY PINEAPPLE PERFECTION

INGREDIENTS
4       Cups pineapple juice
1       Cup orange juice
2       Cups ginger ale
8       Tablespoons grenadine syrup

PREPARATION
1.) Combine pineapple juice and orange juice in a large pitcher.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2.) Stir ginger ale into chilled juice mixture.
3.) Fill glasses generously with ice. Pour punch over ice. Slowly
drizzle 1 tablespoon grenadine over top of each serving.


BUBBLING BLACK PUNCH

INGREDIENTS
1       Can of frozen grape juice  mix
1       Can of frozen orange juice mix
1       Liter ginger ale

DIRECTIONS
1.) Stir together frozen orange and grape juice mix, and add water
according to the directions on the cans.  Refrigerate until you are
ready to serve.
2.) Combine with chilled ginger ale just before serving.


WITCH'S BREW

INGREDIENTS
1       2 gallon jug of orange juice
2       2 liter bottles lemon-lime soda
2       Gallons of orange sherbet
1       Cup peeled green grapes
1       Liter vodka (optional)
2       750 milliliter bottles champagne (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1.) Lightly stir the orange juice, lemon-lime soda, vodka, and
champagne together in the cauldron.
2.) Add the orange sherbet in large scoops. Allow the sherbet to melt
and form an orange layer over the punch.
3.) Float the peeled grapes on the mixture.

WITCH'S CIDER

INGREDIENTS
1       10 ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed
1       cup cranberry juice
2       envelopes unflavoured gelatin
1       2 liter of ginger ale
1       2 liter of sparkling apple cider
6       gummy worm candies

DIRECTIONS
1.) To make the frozen hand: Wash and rinse the outside of a rubber
glove. Turn glove inside out and set aside. In a 4 cup measuring cup,
combine the thawed raspberries and cranberry juice.
2.) Pour 2 cups of the raspberry mixture into a small saucepan.
Sprinkle the gelatin over and let stand 2 minutes. Warm over low heat,
stirring constantly, just until gelatin dissolves. Mix back into the
reserved raspberry mixture in the measuring cup.
3.) Pour raspberry mixture into the inverted glove. Gather up the top
of the glove and tie securely with kitchen twine. Freeze until solid,
or several days if possible.
4.) To serve: Carefully cut glove away from frozen hand. Place frozen
hand, palm side up, leaning against side of a large punch bowl. Pour
in ginger ale and sparkling cider. Garnish with gummy snakes.


ALL HALLOWS' NIGHT PUNCH

INGREDIENTS
1       Can of frozen Orange juice concentrate, thawed
1       Can of frozen Fruit Punch juice concentrate, thawed
2       2 L bottles of ginger ale
1       Orange

DIRECTIONS
1.) Combine the orange juice concentrate and one can of fruit punch
concentrate into a large punch bowl add water according to the
directions on the cans.
2.) Pour the both bottles of ginger ale into the punch, when you are
ready to serve it.
3.) Cut a large orange into thin slices and place them onto the top of
your punch.

DO IT YOURSELF - HALLOWEEN DRINK ADDITIONS

CURRENT MOOD: I'm feeling a little parched.



Impress your guests by incorporating some of these in to your drinks this Halloween!

1.) Shrunken Heads - This little character will look great in a brew of apple cider and it only adds to the flavor! Use your artistic talents and cut some creepy characters out of apples, make sure to core them before you begin, choose which kind depending on the type of flavor you are looking for, once you are happy with your design remember to mist some lemon juice on to them so they do not brown, the apples will float and your guests will get a kick out of the creepy characters you have created.

2.) Frozen Hands - Fill non-latex, non-powdered rubber gloves with water, tie the ends and place them in your freezer. Laying them flat is the easiest way to get the frozen ice out of the gloves, but you can always lay them over objects in your freezer to get a more realistic hand. Once the hands are completely frozen take them out of the freezer and dip them in warm water to remove them from the glove. They will look neat and keep your punch cold! Try using fruit juice instead of water so your punch doesn't become watered down!

3.) Bloody Streaks-  Add this to your punch bowl but do not stir it in, grenadine or pomegranate syrup looks like blood as it sits in the bowl; Perfect for a spooky Halloween party! Try using a tooth pick and "pulling: your lines to give a more blood like appearance.

4.) Bloody Ice Cubes - This is a great idea to add a little color to your favorite punch recipe. Begin by filling a standard ice cube tray with water and allow it to freeze slightly, enough that there are ice
crystals within the tray, next take red food coloring and put a few drops into the tray. Don't go over board with the food coloring as it will slowly disperse throughout the cube, if you add too much you with just be left with a completely red ice cube. You want to give the look of bloody sections in the cube not a fully red one.

5.) Blood Rimmed Glasses - This is geared towards adults, as it could be a little messy for small hands! In a shallow dish  mix honey with red food coloring, dip stemmed wine or martini glasses into the mixture and allow them to dry on paper towel. They will likely remain tacky for a while so make sure to hold your drink by the stem or base.  An alternative to this is mixing honey and red food coloring in a shallow dish and dipping it in red cocktail salt or sugar!

6.) Glow in the Dark Drinks - Try mixing drinks or making ice cubes from tonic water as it glows under a black light due to the quinine used to make it.

7.) Spooky Fog -  Using food grade dry ice pieces you can create and eerie fog that will add a spooky effect to any Halloween punch. Do not put the dry ice pieces into your punch directly as you do not want someone to accidentally consume it, another option is to put your punch bowl into a larger bowl and putting the pieces in the bottom of the larger bowl around the base of your punch bowl. Add some water to activate the dry ice and watch it envelop your punch bowl. It is very simple to do but it will give a lasting impression.