Strawberry Ghosts

Trying to eat a little healthier this fall? You are in luck! With this simple recipe you can make a serving of candy coated fruit to satisfy your cravings.

I am always trying to make fruits and veggies more appealing to my kids. This recipe is a sure way to get kids excited about strawberries, while giving them a little of the candy they desire.

Supplies:

Strawberries

White candy melts

Candy eyes

Parchment or wax paper

Directions:

Wash the berries and dry them on a paper towel.

It is very important that you remove all the exterior moisture before you dip into the chocolate.

If there is still water/moisture on the berries when you dip into the chocolate; it will clump up fast.

When the berries are dry melt the white chocolate/almond bark according to the directions on the packaging.

Dip the berries into the melted chocolate, working fast.

Place the berries on the wax paper.

Before the chocolate has a chance to harden, drop 2 candy eyes on each berry.

When all of the berries have eyes, you can place them in the fridge to help the chocolate harden.

You can enjoy these within 15 minutes or so.

These are perfect for sharing at a Halloween party! What a sweet little spooky ghost!

I bet you can't eat just one!

These are delicious, easy to make, and while they do have a candy coating, they are so much healthier than some of the options Halloween is best known for!

Make a batch and stop by to share a little BOO! with a friend or neighbor!

Or maybe just eat them all by yourself! 

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No Tricks Just Treats This Halloween

 Halloween is so close that the kids can almost taste all of that sweet candy they hope to come home with! I knew there would be no better time than now to share some of my favorite Halloween finds from the season with you!

Everything has been out of sorts this year, from the great toilet paper shortage that might keep your house from being TP'ed this season, to the widespread sickness and too much political pressure surrounding the election. This year is the time to go all out with costumes, decorations and treats! Personally, we are going to keep the tricks at a minimum, life has been tricky enough for everyone!

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To kick things off, no matter how last minute it is you can count on Gourmet Gift Baskets to send a great gift to your house, or a special friend. We love the Eat, Drink and Be Scary Bucket of Beer. It has something for everyone in it. A 6 pack of seasonal brews for the adults and a variety of great goodies for the kids. I love the black cauldron style bucket the treats and sips are shipped in. Plus, you can get this at your door in like 2 days time! For under $70, which is nothing to say Boo too!

If you want to bake something wonderful with the kids to share, I highly recommend the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie mix from Lehi Mills. This mix is easy to whip up and creates a really flavorful cookie that the whole family will love. This is a perfect solution for busy families that want to make some memories on a $5 budget.

If your kids aren't going to be doing as much trick or treating this year, why not treat them to some one of a kind zombie fun that will keep going long after Halloween has ended with World of Zombies. Not only are they fun loving toys, but they also have webisodes that kids will love. These are perfectly creepy yet friendly enough for kids of all ages to enjoy. Check out the toys and the show on the World of Zombies site.

Are you looking to make Halloween a little sweeter for the kids, get the bulk packs of Welch's Fruit Snacks for Halloween. You can 110 pouches of tasty fruity treats to hand out to all of the kids in the neighborhood. These are also ideal for families with multiple kids who need to take a treat to school for a classroom party. Order this multi flavor pack in bulk on Amazon for easy treating all season long!

This year, the costumes need to steal the show! Kids have already sacrificed so much this year, that we can't ask them to skip an epic costume! The Ultimate Party Super Store has some incredible option like this Hungry Howler Wolf-man costume for tweens. Retailing at under $30 this is an awesome and toasty costume for kids.

The Ultimate Party Superstore has a ton of options for kids of all interests and age levels. My daughter loves this Justice League Superman costume for girls. I love that they include the girls in the superhero fun! Get this one for under $42.

Gamer girls will delight in the Princess Peach costume. It is so cute for smaller girls and is super affordable at about $25. If you order now you can get the best costumes delivered to your door in time for Halloween!

My kids are both learning from home this year, so I am always looking for ways to sneak a little education into the day when they least expect it. (Hello Xtra Math App...) to keep things interesting and engaging, The Gross Anatomy set from Thames and Kosmos makes learning about the human body a squishy and squealy fun event! Order this fun set for $20.

Aaron's Thinking Putty is the best way to spread glow in the dark fun this year on a budget. For $3 you can get a can of really engaging can of mini thinking putty. This is a great treat to share with kids of all ages.  My kids are big Ghost Busters fans, so the Ectoplasm thinking putty was right up their alley!

If you aren't taking the kids trick or treating for safety this year, why not treat them to a fun camping set from Magformers? These are so much fun to play with and this set is under $40. It will keep the kids entertained all fall long! Grab it at Target for a fun treat the kids will love.

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DIY Pallet Halloween Tree

 I have developed a serious affection for pallet projects. I love how many ways you can re-purpose them! I came up with this easy DIY Pallet Halloween Tree using materials I had a home. 

This is such an easy last minute DIY project to add a little creepy decor to your or yard. You can use the things you have around the house to come up with something creep-tastic! I am already planning ahead to next year and how I will make this cuter with clearance Halloween goodies!

Supplies used:

A few pallet boards

A hand saw and or a circular saw

E6000 glue

Halloween ribbon

Halloween trinkets

Black paint

Directions:

Saw down your pallet boards so that you can form a tree shape. I used a 1", 3",  6",  8",  10" boards and a 18" board for the back.

Paint your boards black, allow to dry.

Glue your short boards to the longest board, black side out.

Place something heavy or use a vice to secure the boards to the wood and allow to cure and dry.

Now, you can start decorating!

I glued Halloween ribbon to the tree and then placed the "ornaments". I used bugs, spiders and creepy eyes as decorations.

Allow to dry again and place it in the yard or in the house.

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Play Dough Ghost Ornaments

This easy Halloween craft is perfect for anyone who wants to add a little boo to the holiday without having to spend any cash! You already have the ingredients to make the Play Dough Ghost Ornaments in your pantry! 

With the kids being at home this year, it feels like old times, we have time to craft in the afternoons again, and I LOVE it! With Halloween coming up, we decided to add a little boo to our decor with this easy homemade play doh ghost ornament craft. This is such an easy craft to make! It is perfect for all ages, from kids to adults.  You can make about a dozen of these (or more depending on your cookie cutter size) from a batch of dough.

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup salt

2 cup flour

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

Slowly add water, a few spoons at a time, until dough is smooth.

You will know you haven't added to much water if your dough is easy to handle and isn't sticking to your hands messily.

Knead by hand for 5 minutes and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 an inch thck.

I used a cookie cutter to cut the shape of ghosts.

Next, poke a hole thru the top of the ghost so you can hang it up.

I used a BBQ skewer.

After cutting my shapes, I used a black crayola marker to make the face of the ghost, on the raw dough.

Place  the dough on a cookie sheet and place it in a cold oven, turning up the temp to 200 degrees. Allow your ornaments to bake for about 90 minutes. Check them frequently to make sure they are not browning (if they are pull them out.)

Allow the ornaments to cool then feed a section of bakers twine or a string into the hole and hang.

Add a variety of faces to your ornaments for a boo-tiful variety of economical and adorable DIY Halloween decorations.

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Creepy Eye Sorting Bag

This creepy eye sensory bag is perfect for squishy Halloween color sorting.

Keeping the kids entertained, engaged, and learning is my goal these days. It can be a challenge; the kids are tired of being at home, playing with the same toys, and hearing me ask if anyone wants  to read a book together every couple of moments.

Last week, I was standing around looking at my craft supplies, feeling totally uninspired. I really wanted to give the kids some busy work, but didn't want to make myself too busy putting it together. A simple sorting sensory bag was exactly what they needed. And this one is perfect for fall, or anytime of the year.

Supplies:

Hair Gel; clear

Googly Eyes in assorted colors

Permanent Markers

Large Zipper Seal Bag

Directions:

Draw circles with permanent markers that match the colors of eyes you will be using.

Add 2 tablespoons, or 2 generous squeezes of clear hair gel to a zipper seal bag.

Add googly eyes.

Seal the bag.

Offer the bag to your child.

Encourage your child to move to eyes to their coordinating circle.

This is a great combination of sensory and color matching.

If you want to add an additional challenge to this activity, you could draw more circles in assorted sizes and encourage the kids to coordinate the googly eyes by size.

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Spooky Pallet Sign

Need a last minute Halloween decoration? These spooky pallet signs are perfect for a quick craft that adds a lot of character to your space.

I have been making lots of stuff with pallets. From my cute reclaimed black cats, to some sweet serving trays to share with friends. I also made a slew of these spooky signs and shared them with a few neighbors.

These are so easy to make.  You need no skills and no special tools.  You can truly create them completely from scrap materials. If you are able to find scrap wood in a 12-18" size, that would ideal. If not, a hand saw or circular saw will be useful  in cutting down a pallet to the size you want to use.

Supplies:
An MFD board
Paint in several colors
A small paint brush
A soda tab
A screw
A screwdriver.

Directions:
Place a soda tab in the center of the board, line it up so it is even with the board at the top.
Screw it in.
Flip the board over and paint it the color you desire. I went with a light orange.
Allow to dry.
When the base coat is dry, paint Spooky on the board. I did this by hand, but you can use a stencil to get perfect letters. I was going for a creepy look, and perfection wasn't needed.
When the spooky letters have dried, dip a paint brush in another color, like green, or purple.
Extending an index finger, tap the paint brush against the finger to create splatters on the sign below.
Repeat as desired.
Allow to dry before displaying.
If you are displaying outside, spray with a sealant.

Make a few in a variety of creepy phrases and decorate your space in spooktacular, splendor without spending a cent! You can make this sign in only about 15 minutes, asides from the waiting for the paint to dry. 

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Play Doh Pumpkin Faces

Play Doh Pumpkin Faces are perfect for hands on play on a fall day.

My kids want to carve a pumpkin or two every day. It becomes a whole thing. From the face, to the roasting of the seeds and then displaying. They really take things seriously at Halloween.

While I love to do pumpkins with them, I don't always have time to carve a pumpkin a day. This year I found a way to give them what they want anytime they want it with these play doh pumpkin faces!

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This is such an easy activity! All you need are 2 cans of play doh and a sheet of black paper and you are in business.

First, invite your child to cut out various shapes for the pumpkin face. Ovals, triangles, squares and creepy teeth are perfect.

Then invite your child to smash the orange play doh into the shape of a pumpkin.

Use green play doh if you desire a stem.

Now, let your child make as many faces as they want.

This is a fun way to keep them busy and happily making pumpkin faces for hours.

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Easy Ghost Window Cling

Halloween is near, and this cute little ghost will add a touch of fun to your windows without spooking your wallet! This is economical, adorable and easy to make!

We can't get enough Halloween crafts. Both of the kids and I enjoy creating frighteningly fun projects to get us even more excited about any holiday!

We were short on time one afternoon and wanted to make a cute and easy craft. This is what we came up with, a fun ghost for the window! This only took a few moments to complete and we loved it for a few reasons. The kids got to practice their scissor skills, which is an important skill for all kids, and they got to experiment with textures.

You will need {per 1 ghost}
 one square of white paper
4 small circles of black paper
2 slightly larger circles of black paper
A section of contact paper, transparent, to accommodate the size of the ghost you wish to make
Scissors
3 glue dots, school glue etc

Begin by placing your contact paper sticky side up
Add 2 black dots to the contact paper for eyes
Add one larger black circle of paper for a mouth
Cut the white paper to look like a ghost
Add the ghost shape over top of the eyes
Add 2 remaining eyes and mouth to the ghost
Stick it on a window for a spooky fun addition!

And there you have a super economical, fun and easy ghost craft for kids!

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Reclaimed Wood Black Cats

These reclaimed wood black cats are so cute! Best of all they are easy to make too! 

Over the summer I stopped by my local recycling center to drop of plastics and guess what they had? Stacks and stacks of pallets! For Free! I brought as many as could fit in the back of the SUV home and have been going back a few times a month to get more. I am loving the crafts I can make without having to spend any money with a pallet board!

I was inspired to make some cute black cats from my reclaimed wood because I need new decor. To make a long and sad story short, all of my holiday decor was ruined in a wet basement. I am starting from scratch this year.

So, instead of getting super stressed or pulling out a credit card to replace right away, I asked my husband to cut a few pallets down for me. I started creating some fun little things. I love that I have one of a kind unique decor now. I can't wait to make more. But, we will get into all of that in another post. For now, let's get to how I made these.

Supplies for Reclaimed Wood Black Cats

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Pallet boards in assorted sizes

A wood saw

Black Plaid Paint
White Paint
Halloween Ribbon
Fake Flies, Spiders, Bugs
e6000 adhesive

a small paint brush and a medium paint brush

Directions for Reclaimed Wood Black Cats

Cut down the pallets to desired size. I used 12",10" and 5" boards.

I used a small hand saw to cut a v into the end of each board.

Paint the boards with black paint and allow to dry.

Using the end of a  small paint brush (not the brush end) dipped in white paint, create the eyes.

Dot black into the center of the eye and push up then down to create the pupils.
Allow to dry.
Cut a length of ribbon to wrap around the board. Glue this on as the collar.
Glue a fly, bug or spider to the collar where the ribbon meets.
Allow to dry.
If you plan to display outdoors it would be a good idea to seal these with a clear coat .

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