Two ingredient pumpkin cookies

Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration for these super easy cookies!  Two ingredient pumpkin cookies...so yummy!

 

Found about 14 different recipes pinned so decided to try them several ways.

 

The ingredients...1 box of spice cake mix and 1 can of pumpkin (15 oz.).  Make sure it is just pumpkin and not canned pumpkin pie mix.

Mix the ingredients together in the bowl. I mixed mine by hand, and there were specks of the cake mix still showing. I didn't want to overmix it, so I left it that way.

Spoon them out onto a tray (I greased my pan, and it is insulated...not sure if either is necessary).

I put half of the cookies on the sheet and baked at 350 degrees for 14 minutes.  I have a convection oven, so check them with a toothpick before you take them out to make sure yours are done.

 

When those were finished, they went on the cooling rack.  For the second half, I decided to add a handful of mini chocolate chips to the remaining batter to try them that way.

When they were all done, I decided to mix it up even more by trying to eat them different ways. With butter (delicious...like pumpkin bread). With icing (delicious...more like a dessert). The way they are (just the two ingredients), I would eat them for breakfast.  You could add whipped cream or ice cream for a dessert.  Very versitale cookie.

These are more like cake cookies vs. crunchy cookies, so if you don't like cakey cookies you won't like these. I love that type of cookie, as it's more like a muffin top...Which I adore ;)

Next time I'm going to try them with a crumble topping (like a coffee cake). I made some banana muffin tops like that, and they were to die for. Let me know if you come up with any other ideas.

Enjoy!

My daughters monster cake...so easy

Here's my daughter's monster Halloween birthday cake.

 

Used a glass bowl to bake the cake, iced per usual, then went over it with the spatula and patted to make it look like hair. Dotted with chocolate chips. Marshmallow eyes with m&m pupils. Stuck them on by just pushing them down into marshmallow. Popsicle sticks to place them in the cake.  Fruit by the foot piece cut for the mouth and marshmelow for the teeth.

So fast and so cute for a Halloween themed birthday party!

DIY Halloween Wall Art

Here's a fun Halloween craft project I took on one day last week. I love free holiday decorations, so when I came across some old frames that used to hang in my office, I decided to try to make some Halloween art out of them.

 

They are frames with a piece of tile art that hangs in the middle. Previously I had decoupaged a print out onto them and thought I could do the same with Halloween themed things.

 

Using supplies I had (craft paper, scrapbook shapes, ribbon, googley eyes) I decided to lay them on the floor and just start assembling them until they looked cute.

 

I am not a scrapbooker, but I think this project turned out to be a lot like a scrapbook page.

 

Once I had them all laid out, I stuck everything down with glue stick or hot glue gun, and voila, free Halloween decorations for my bar shelves :) Super easy and fun craft!

Halloween picture frames

I have tons of adorable pictures of my girls all dressed up for halloween, and where are they? Sitting in photo albums. So this year I decided to make some Halloween picture frames.

 

I took supplies I had (scrapbook pumpkin shapes, colored paper, letter stickers, googly eyes and old frames and created these : ) Just glued them straight to the outside of the glass (low temp glue gun).

 

Two frames that hold two of my daughters' many Halloween pictures. Currently they are part of my dining room tablescape. I must admit, the googley eyes are what started the project, the rest just fell into place.

Hoping to inspire you to pull out your old shots and display them this year!

Using Black Gauzy Draping For Halloween Decor

I have used that great, webby, gauzy, black draping throughout my house as Halloween decor and thought I'd make a compilation posting showing you several ways you can incorporate it.

 

First is the most obvious mandle draping.  I have stone on the top of my mantle which makes it stick fairly easily, so it was really simple, too.  This is two pieces just lifted in differnt spots to give a creepy but decorative look.

 

A second idea is as a cushion or buffer for candles.  In several cases I was looking for filler to make several of my Halloween decor items looks more "complete".  I used it under my black pumpkins to make them look larger and under my candles to make them look creepier.

 

 

I've also used the material as filler.  In this case its a skull in a cauldron.  I used the black fabric to help the skeleton sit up in the bowl (it's hard to see...you'll also note I've also added a piece of the bloody white guaze for the same reason).

One craft idea is using it around candles to turn them from white candles into Halloween candles.  I hot glued a strip around each one, simply sliding them on and off each year.  This particular fabric is a little different from the stuff they are selling at Dollar Tree this year.  I picked it up a previous year at a different story and it was a heavier weave, but I think the gauzier kind would look just as good.

 

 

Lastly, I have also used it as sort of a table drape to fill in around my dining table table scape.  Sort of like spider webs meandering through the different pieces.

 

Hope these ideas inspire your use of fabrics as part of your holidy decor this Halloween!

Using Pumpkins on Candlesticks.

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. My anniversary and my daughter's birthday both fall near the end of October, so this time of year has always been special to me. Being able to get into a second holiday (after Christmas of course :) makes this time of year even more special.

One of my easiest tips, which I'm sure many of you already do is use pumpkins on candlesticks instead of candles this time of year. Its and easy and inexpensive way to add Halloween or Fall decor to your home. Use real mini pumpkins, or buy fake pumpkins to use over and over again each year.

 

My first example is some glass beaded pumpkins I was given by my cousin. I use them on my black candlesticks I got for $1 a target as part of my dining tablescape.

 

Another example are these black pumpkins I use of some cute monster feet candlesticks I purchased at Michaels on Halloween clearance a few years back. I spray painted these black for two reasons. One, I thought they already had enough orange, and two these were orange pumpkins that started to flake, so the black paint gave them a second life.

So try pumpkins instead of candles and don't be afraid to make them the color you want!

Using permanent markers to update old candles for Halloween

A quick post to show you how I've used black permanent marker to update old candles to use for the holidays.

 

My first example above is my "witchy" fingers.  There are some old colored greenish tapier candles I have owned for a long time and have sat in my candle cabinet for years unused.  On a halloween decorating frenzy, I pulled them out and thought, "these are sort of spooky looking, but they need to be spookier to fit in with my Halloween stuff".  So I took a black permanent marker and drew a squiggly, jaggedy line all the way up the (like a candle cane, going around and up at an angle)  They turned out so cute.  My daughter is the one who said, "They look like witch fingers, Mom."

 

This next one I drew spider webs on.  These sit on my coffee table and look boring just white.   So I as sat watching TV I drew three spiderwebs on each.  Super simple, quick and free (my favorite).

 

My last is a random orange candle my mother gave me that had never been used because it didn't match my decor.  Naturally, being orange, it was destined to be a Halloween decoration : )  I kept it simple with the same squiggly, jaggedy lines, but this time they run up the candle.  It just adds a little touch to make it more than just an orange candle sitting there.

So there you have it.  Three ways (of many) to use black permanent market to update candles for the holiday.  Draw spiders, witch silhouettes, scary faces, ghost faces, jack o lantern  faces...the options are endless.  I'd love to see what you've done with candles and permanent marker : )