Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween Highlights

Juice Box Monsters for First Grade

Mummy Candy Bars for the kids classmates

A sweet candy fairy and my pirate. He hates the beard.



carving time!

my pirate inspired pumpkin. I've always wanted to try this and if you have the right tools it's acutally not hard at all. I have carving tools from art school that I used for wood carvings so I pulled them out. If you have ceramic tools that you've used for clay those will work really well too.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Halloween Toes

It's that time of year, tacky or not, that I put something festive on my toes. It's just tradition and every year it's something new.
 
 

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Bacon Toffee

Bacon is in everything lately and even heard something about Toffee Bacon so I thought I would try it using one of my husband's favorite toffee recipes. It takes about 15 minutes to make and it's super yummy. I brought this to a party the other night and it was gone in no time. Plus the guys loved it too since there's bacon in it. Who doesn't love bacon?

Bacon Toffee







Makes 2 pounds

Directions

  1. In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until the mixture becomes a dark amber color, and the temperature has reached 285 degrees F (137 degrees C). Stir occasionally.
  2. While the toffee is cooking, cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
  3. As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, add 3/4 cup bacon into the toffee mixure. Pour mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate over the top, and let it set for a minute or two to soften. Spread the chocolate into a thin even layer once it is melted. Sprinkle the remaining bacon over the chocolate.
  4. Place the toffee in the refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Before and After Dresser Makeover


My mom and I laugh about this dress because I bought it for $14 at storage locker sale and it cost my $6 to paint it black some 15 years ago. This thing will outlast us all. It was fine the way it was really just wanted to change it up for my sons new room. So with some paint, a roller and some new knobs I bought at Lowes he has a new dresser. All for under $40 no less. Inspiration: Pottery Barn Kids


BEFORE
 

 
AFTER
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

a chair makeover

 
I've had these boring brown chairs for a while and thought they needed a change. My home is white, gray and cream and tan and I wanted something that would blend and transition to every holiday. So if I'm decorating for Christmas, my ORANGE chairs won't clash or Halloween and my Red chairs won't clash. Ya gotta think about these things, right? I wanted peices that pop, like pillows, art work, vases, throws, sooooo this is my chair transformation.
 
BEFORE

 AFTER