Spooktacular Surprises
Sometimes I think I am a grandmother trapped in a not-quite middle aged woman's body. Why? Because I insist on expressing my affection and love for the young through copious amounts of sugary foods in pretty packaging. It's holiday time again and I love it! Squee!!!! Back when Kris Kross ruled the charts and the 1st generation of slap bracelets were popular (the kind of metal inside) I loved me some Halloween. I still do. But I never manage to get it together to make a great costume like I used to. It makes me sad just thinking about it. I still do love Halloween...although I'm not on the 'sexy/slutty' costume bandwagon. Go figure. I did it once... and that was enough. Even though I haven't dressed up the last few years I do love seeing my nieces/nephews costumes and helping them get into the spirit of the night. So this year I put together a small Halloween package for two groups: my nieces/nephews and my cousin who recently went off to college.
First up... festive cookies. I pulled out the best-cut-out-cookies recipe again and got to work. That was the easy part! What took patience was decorating. I mixed up some royal icing, gathered some squeeze bottles, some food coloring and sprinkles. Then I pulled a stool up to the counter and got to work.
An hour later this is what I had.
Secondly, I wanted to make some flavored popcorn. As of late I've been all about the maple spice popcorn mix when at home. But I didn't think it would travel well so I used a recipe for popcorn balls I'd been waiting to make. Caramel with a touch of cocoa, cayenne and orange zest.
Amahhhhzing!
As always I had to get my packaging together. Thanks to the internet and the DIY craze this wasn't too hard. I came across a post about making a Halloween party in a box and used that for my inspiration for my cousin's college care package.
Halloween Dorm Room Party
- decorative calavera garland
- sweet treats in a box
- bewitchingly beautiful nail polish in orange and sparkly black
- cocoa-cayenne caramel popcorn
- hand-made card
The whole package....
Just the pop-up card.
I got the template for the card from Can't Stop Making Things. And the chevron box from Party Box Design. It's amazing what you can find online for free! A little patience, a nice playlist, and half a day can make a world of difference when packaging treats!
For the younger set I just kept it simple. Sugar in it's various forms plus a hand-made card. Inside their treat bags I put: gummie body parts and insects, calavera suckers, bloody vampire fang candy and a Halloween themed kaleidoscope. I also threw in a candy bar... full size. I got the treat bag toppers and candy bar wrappers from Creature Comforts.
Sugar rush!
I made 2 sets of cards using some craft supplies I had around the house and a couple finds from the dollar store. The spider card as a web made of glue and glitter. Then is used one of those spider rings for the spider. I cut a slit into the card and pressed it through. The mummy card used some gauze and a couple of googly eyes. I wanted them to have a 3-D element of sort....
All packaged up and ready to go!
Now that it's officially November I will begin search the web for Holiday card designs and DIY food gifts. Until next time... stay crafty!
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