Halloween Eyeball Treats

I found the "cutest" eyeball treats online and just had to make some for my family. (those are not words I ever thought I'd say!!)

I've had the stuff to make these for quite some time and unfortunately a few life events meant we weren't at work as much as usual and I didn't get to make these for either of us to take in.  I did remember at the last minute yesterday and ran in and made a small batch just because I could!  We ate some and I gave some to the neighbor kids next door, who did proclaim them to be "cool".

Finding red sprinkles during the fall season wasn't easy, but my trusty cake decorating supply store of course had some.  And what fun would eyeball treats be without the bloodshot effects?

When I made these yesterday I couldn't find them on the blog that originally inspired me, so I had to wing it.  I did find it today though - eighteen25 blog.  I used white candy melts so mine aren't zombie eyeballs, but I still like them.

I'll put how I made them and feel free to click over to the original blog as her method is slightly different.

Ingredients

square pretzels

white candy melts

m&m's

red sprinkles

mini hershey's milk chocolate bar

(I used the convection feature on our microwave and made them in very small batches, but obviously this would work quite well in a regular oven.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place pretzels on a cookie sheet or small pan, then place a candy melt on top of each one.  Put in the oven just long enough for the candy melts to appear shiny, then remove pan from oven.

Carefully put an m&m UPSIDE DOWN on top of each candy melt, then sprinkle some red bloodshot sprinkles on each.

It was at this point that I realized I needed a pupil for each eye and couldn't remember how the original blog did it.  Keith pointed out the plethora of Halloween candy we had waiting on the trick or treaters to come, so I unwrapped a small Hershey's milk chocolate bar and microwaved it just until shiny.  I used a small, pointed butter knife, dipped it in chocolate and made a small pupil on each.

The salty and sweet taste go so well together and I might do these at Thanksgiving with an orange candy melt with brown m&m's..... and no bloodshot eyes ;)

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispie Treats

Sometimes things just work out that don't take a lot of thought... and this was one of those things.  

We were walking through the grocery store and saw these bags of marshmallows.  It truly was a light bulb moment for me and I had to grab a bag to try Rice Krispie Treats.

The bags are 8 oz, vs the 10 oz regular marshmallows, so I painstakingly figured out what the correct amount of Rice Krispies would be for this smaller bag.  So proud to figure it out, then discovered the good folks at Kraft had already done that for me and it was printed on the bag.  Sigh...  ;)

It was a little bit sad watching the cute little pumpkins melt and lose their shape.

These were really quite good, though I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't taste pumpkin in them.  I found them to be a strong spice flavor and I'm not so certain that kids would like them.  We did though!

And a quick note on the props in this photo and I didn't even realize it until playing with the photos after the shoot.  This ended up being a cool memory shot for me - the napkin was embroidered by my mom and the cutting board was made for me by my dad.  How cool is that??

Deep Thoughts:  "Family is a gift that lasts forever"

Shared with:  Inspire Me Tuesday

Friday's Fave Five #251

It's Friday - thank goodness!  Time to list 5 of my favorite blessings of the week.  Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is running this gathering, so head over and read more blessings.  :)

1. The neatest thing happened to me yesterday on the way to a doctor appointment.  Flipping through the radio channels I happened on the song "You're My Best Friend" by Queen and started singing along.  My beloved's beautiful face came to mind and I had the biggest smile - just a fun moment.  Then I pulled up to a stoplight and a big, bright butterfly flew past the window and it became a take my breath away moment.  I have noticed in the past few years that many times, just when I need it most (even if I didn't realize I needed it), the Lord will send a butterfly flitting past and it's always such a heartwarming moment.  I was telling this story to Keith last night and I told him it was one of those perfect moments in life that you truly want to wrap up and put in a box so that you can take it out and experience it time and time again.  God is so awesome!

2. Last Saturday I went to a crop for the first time in months and had such a fabulous time!  It was great to talk and laugh with friends and to come away from the day with a renewed excitement for paper crafts.  I managed to take one picture that day, just of the general area in front of me:

3. Tuesday was Grandparents Day at Brooklyn's school and Keith and I were fortunate enough to be able to go.  We all had breakfast together, toured the school with her and checked out the book fair (they are brilliant for scheduling the book fair when Grandparents Day was going on.  Coincidence?  I think not!).  She is getting to be more and more fun and we enjoy every single minute we get to spend with her.  And let me add too that we are so thankful that she still wants us to come!  :)

4. Good times....  One day after work we decided that a cherry limeade sounded good, so off to Sonic we went.  Beau was especially pleased when the sweet sound of his favorite words rang out - "Dogs get to go!!"

5. I stopped at Central Market on the way home from a doctor appointment and found a "new to me" kind of apple - Sweetango.  The sign said they were from Minnesota, so that grabbed me right off the bat.  The sign further said that they were juicy, sweet, with just a hint of fall seasonings.  I have a thing for offbeat apple varieties, so I bought two.  While they were quite tasty I would have a hard time saying they were so good as to warrant the higher price.  But if I have to splurge on something, really an apple isn't too bad... right?  ;)

Wishing all a very blessed week! 


Deep Thoughts:  

{Favorite Products} SweetBaby Cuticle Oil

This is a totally different kind of post for me, but I get so much good product information from blogs that I wanted to give back.  And once in a while you run across something that impresses you so much you really do have to share.

Let me start off by saying this is not a sponsored post.  In fact, the owner of this Etsy shop has no idea I'm doing this.  I will though give a shout out to ChitChatNails blog as her review is what led me to ordering this product.

I don't know if it's getting older, my body chemistry or what my hands come in contact with on a daily basis, but my cuticles dry out horribly.  I've tried a lot of products - and most do work - but for one reason or another I haven't found The One yet.

When I read the review on this cuticle oil it was kind of a light bulb moment.  A roller ball for cuticle oil - why has nobody done this before?  SweetBabybyDonna at Etsy does and it's wonderful!  I use the roller applicator on my cuticles and then rub it in with my fingers.  There is no lingering greasy feel and I love that.

I ordered the Caribbean Coconut because I seriously love all things coconut.  What a wonderful, light fragrance!  It was just enough to be fun and not enough to knock you over.

The cost with shipping was $12 and the applicator is a little bit bigger than the average lip balm container.  I thought it would last me a long time, but I'm finding I love how it feels and have been putting it on several times a day so maybe not.  Either way, I'm sure this will be my new 'go to' cuticle oil.

Hope this helps you to have pretty cuticles!

Deep Thoughts:  "God has you in the palm of His hand.  He has never once failed before and the good news is, He is not about to start now."

52CCT Challenge - Christmas Tree Card

So exciting to feel creative and play with my hobbies in the evenings again!

This week the 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown Blog is having a Color Challenge - use Red, White and Kraft on your card.  I love this color combination, so it was a lot of fun for me.

I went with an 'oldie but goodie' for this card and love how it turned out, even if the photo isn't worth a hoot!  (maybe I'll take a new picture tomorrow during the daylight)

Anyway...  I used the Cuttlebug Christmas Tree embossing folder, so this was a pretty fast card to make and is so pretty.  The tree has Candy Cane Stickles sprinkled throughout for added sparkle.  Cardstock is white, kraft and Regal Red - all from Stampin' Up - and I used pop dots on the red/white layer.

Deep Thoughts:  "Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!  How richly God has decked thee!

Fairy Garden with Bunnies

I have seen so many amazingly beautiful and intricate Fairy Gardens around the internet and love looking at them.  But honestly none has spoken to me quite like the one I saw at Debbie-Dabble (click on her name to go and see).  You know how sometimes you see something and it's not that you want to duplicate, but it sparks an idea and you run with it based on what you saw?  What I saw in her fairy garden was a great amount of fun to be had for Brooklyn and I.

This is what I ended up with, total cost about five dollars by repurposing some things I already had.  To start with, this pot never did get any perky posies this year, so rather than leave it looking like a ghost town I snagged it for this project.

I went to the local Goodwill and found a box of with Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, the fence and a small pot of posies.  That's when I decided my theme would be bunnies.

This shows off the little ceramic potted posies - too cute!  I also found a set of two bunnies, this little girl is one of them.

My original plan was to buy a few succulents to plant in this garden since they are so low maintenance.  But when Keith and I visited our favorite nursery we discovered the succulents were $5.99 each!  Instead I picked up two petunias at the mark down price of only .99 cents.  It's still hot in Texas, so they should last for a little bit.  And I'll just replace them in the spring.

And here's the little boy!  Then I found the little wooden house that has a nice hinged roof.  I think that Brooklyn will enjoy putting things in there.

The boy is sitting on a bed of shells and you might have noticed some behind the little girl above.  The thrift store had a brand new bag of shells for quite cheap.

I also wanted a little pond, so I sacrificed the half cup measure that I got in a set at Dollar Tree one year at Thanksgiving (since I knew there would be so many of us cooking in the kitchen at the same time I bought an extra set!).  Keith cut off the handle, then filed it smooth so that Brooklyn wouldn't hurt herself on the sharp plastic edge.  I thought it would be cute to put shells at the bottom of the pond, but once I added water the silly things floated!  Ah well, I suspect we'll still have fun with it.  And I don't plan on leaving water in it - I'll just add water when we're ready to play.

This was really a lot of fun to put together and now I can't wait for Brooklyn to come over and play with me!  :)

Deep Thoughts:  "Grandmas are just antique little girls!"


Linking to:  Friday Flair Link Party, Cottage Garden Party, Home Sweet Home, Simple and Sweet Fridays, Thrifty Things Friday