printable Keep Calm and Scary On **FREE DOWNLOAD**

Love the Keep Calm signage out there... I thought this Halloween version, Keep Calm and Scary On, from Craftily Ever After was fabulous!!!  Thanks to Jessica for the free download!

Spiderweb 7 Layer Dip

I will be making this for our Halloween dinner/party at my mom's.  How cool is that?  And it looks so yummy!!  Check out the recipe and how-to here.

Spider Cookies

Last weekend we were having a Halloween Party.  The boys and I decided to make these YUMMY spider cookies to take to it.  Really easy to make, fun to put together, and delicious to eat.  They're homemade Oreo cookies with cream cheese frosting and licorice legs.  Here's how to make the cookies:

Homemade Oreo
1 box Devils food cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup shortening

Mix all ingredients together.  Roll into balls- if you have a cookie scoop, it's quick and easy- and place on cookie sheet.  Bake for about 8 minutes.  Let cool and then frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream together cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar until well blended. 

Typically this is the point where you frost the underside of one cookie and sandwich with another cookie.  For these Spider cookies, however, put some orange food coloring in your frosting.  Frost the underside of a cookie and use some licorice strings to make some legs- I used Twizzler Pull-and-Peels.  Frost the underside of another cookie and sandwich together.

It might be helpful at this point to find a couple of kids to help you peel that licorice and put on the legs. 

You can also use this as a great teaching moment to talk about number of legs on spiders, making pairs, counting by 2s, (not licking fingers when we're making food for other people), etc...

 

Obviously the 3 year old didn't quite catch on to my 'teaching moment', but aren't those chubby hands the cutest things you've ever seen?
If I would have had the energy to load up the kids and head to the store, I would have picked up a bag of redhots for eyes for the Spiders- how cute would that be? 

Spooky Ghosts

I totally remember making these in Elementary School.  So cute!  Thanks to Just Sew Sassy for sharing the tutorial for these Spooky Ghosts.  I can't wait to make some with my boys- I even have cheesecloth on hand!

Halloween Paper Dolls

I am loving these Halloween Paper Dolls!  I think they are so cute.  Thanks to Gwenny Penny for sharing the pdf over at The Idea Room.  So cute and fun!

Halloween Luminaries

So many cute Halloween crafts out there right now - I'm especially lovin' the fun luminaries.

Like these Monster Jars from Crazy Domestic...

And these Ghost Luminaries from Crafts By Amanda...

So, for those of you who didn't want to do Halloween crafts before October, you'd better get craftin'!  Have fun with these!!

Cupcake Costume (for my friend, Jen)

My friend, Jen, loves the Cupcake Costume from Pottery Barn Kids (okay, who doesn't??).  But she is having a hard time justifying the $60 for her 2 year old. When I saw this post from Lemon Tree Creations for the Cupcake Costume, I knew I had to post it for her.  There is no sewing involved!

Halloween Bag Toppers

Seven Thirty Three has some adorable Halloween Bag Toppers you can download for free... wouldn't these be cute to top a little gift bag of caramel corn??

Halloween Subway Art

Here's a Halloween project just about anyone can do (even if you don't have a vinyl cutting machine), cause this baby is HAND-PAINTED.  Yup, you read that right - hand-painted Halloween Subway Art.  So refreshing to see a project completely handmade.  Of course, if you're like me and don't trust your painting abilities, you could always print the words in vinyl :)  Thanks to Sawdust and Paper Scraps for this tutorial!

Ghost Clings

Did you know you could make window clings using hot glue?  Neither did I... until I came across this tutorial for Ghost Window Clings from Greenbean's Crafterole.  Pretty clever if you ask me.

2x4 Pumpkin

Here's an adorable, simple fall craft... a 2x4 Wood Pumpkin!  I love decorating with pumpkins since you can put them up now and leave them up thru Thanksgiving.  Thanks to Brown Paper Packages for this fabulous idea!

Halloween Quilt Blocks

Looking for some inspiring ideas to make a new Halloween Quilt or Table Runner?  Check out the adorable Halloween Blocks over at Write it Down.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Told you they were cute!  Head on over to Write it Down for even more!

Halloween Ribbon Wreath

How adorable is this Halloween Ribbon Wreath?  I just love the glittery "31" - it totally makes this.  Thanks to Tatertots and Jello for this fabulous tutorial!!

Spooky Halloween Pancakes

Totally made these for dinner tonight- amazing!!  I went ahead and put all of the cinnamon in the pancakes and I did not think that it was too much with the cinnamon syrup.  I must admit, however, that my spider drawings were not nearly that impressive- but my boys thought they were pretty cool.

I've been in kind of a bad mood today.  I've already screamed at my kids (think poster paint and new carpet), I have a head cold, and I'm a little bit of a stress case.  To wind down I came to the computer to see what cute things are out there in blogland.  Because of my rotten mood, I kept looking at things and thinking "lame," "ugly," "too hard," etc.... until I came across this post for Spooky Halloween Pancakes at eighteen25 (guest post by TidyMom).  If you know my kids you know that I am totally serious when I say that I squealed with delight when I saw these...totally has changed my mood. 
I've mentioned before that pancakes are seriously the most popular food around this house- but don't know if I've ever mentioned the LOVE of Halloween around here (yes, I'm the annoying neighbor with the Halloween wreath and broomstick on her front porch the weekend after Labor Day).  Our two favorite things combined into one... my boys just might forgive me for the wailing and gnashing of teeth that happened about an hour ago.