Halloween gear

We love Halloween in our house- especially the fact you can celebrate all month long without having to sport your costume! Thought I would round up some of the cutest Halloween gear for you and your littles that we’ve seen lately- including these amazing skeleton jammies!

girls | toddler boy | infant

boo sweatshirt |boo baseball tee | kids trick or treat | adult trick or treat |skeleton rocker tee | girls cat sweatshirt |girls candy corn tee | boys trick me tee| h&m eye sweater-in stores only

we are ready!

xox

aj

|mostly| diy halloween costumes

A little bit about me- I love halloween – which has been passed down to my daughter because she loves it too! Here are a few DIY kid and family costume ideas from our past few halloweens to get the ideas going for your next costumes!

Little Mermaid & gang

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Flounder{me} | tights | shoes | homemade tutu | yellow bodysuit {hand stitched the blue scales on} | wig | paint

Sebastion{my son} | costume

Prince Eric{good sport husband} | shirt | wig

Ariel{my daughter} | mermaid tail | long sleeve nude leotard {hand stitched purple ‘shells’ on} | wig | plastic crown {dollar store} with glued on seashells & jewels {hobby lobby}

Ursula{my mom!} | black strapless bra with tulle and body paint | wig

Tinker bell

costume | wings | shoes {old shoes we glued green glitter and a silver pouf to!

Confession- This was only a few weeks after my son was born so I recruited someone to make her costume. Last minute Etsy for the win!

Peacock

ruffle blue bodysuit | tights | homemade tutu | feathers {hobby lobby}

Pirate & her Parrot

me | pirate costume | faux leather pants | red lipstick

parrot | sewed felt onto an existing costume!

Happy costume designing!

spooky treats

Those that know me, know I love to throw a party! Especially a halloween one! Today I am going to show you some of my go-to halloween party food items. Easy, fast, and super cute!

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Monster cake, poison apples, mummy jalapeño poppers, ‘witch’s brew’ root beer, sugar cookie candy corns, popcorn hands, magic wands, cheetoh pumpkins and spider web cupcakes- oh my! All of these are so simple and fast to make- which is needed when you are throwing a party.

I typically shy away from your “normal” holiday colors. I’m a sucker for purple, black, and green for halloween.

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For instructions on each of these fun party foods- see below!


Mummy Jalapeno poppers

10 jalapeno peppers- slice in half length wise. {I left the stems on and seeds in for an extra kick!}
8 ounces cream cheese- room temperature
8 ounces jack cheese- shredded
1 scallion- finely chopped
2 t. Lemon Zest
1/2 tsp salt
1 package refrigerated crescent rolls
2 eggs- beaten
1 Package candy eyeballs {I purchased mine at Michaels- you can find them at walmart, amazon, target, etc}

Preheat oven to 400° F. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, jack cheese, scallion and salt together. Roll out the crescent rolls and separate into 4 rectangles- not the pre-cut triangles- with a perforation in the middle of each. Press your fingers into the perforations to seal them. You don’t want them splitting along the pre-cut areas. Cut each rectangle into 10 long pieces lengthwise.

Fill each jalepeño half with the cheese mixture. Wrap each jalapeño half with the dough, leaving a space for the eyes. On some I used a couple pieces of the crescent strips. Brush with egg mixture and place on baking sheet.

Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes. Once cooked, and slightly golden brown, remove from the oven and press the eyes onto them where you left an opening along the top. Serve while hot!


Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

2 Sticks Butter, softened
1 c. Sugar
1 Egg
2 T. Lemon Juice
2 t. Lemon Zest
1/8 t. Salt
3 c. Flour
1/2 t. Baking Soda
Purple Food coloring
Green Food coloring
Granulated sugar to sprinkle on top

Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Continue beating until well mixed. Add flour and baking soda, beat until well mixed. Divide dough into thirds. Press one-third of the white dough evenly into the bottom of a loaf pan that you have lined with foil, wax, or parchment paper. Place another one-third of the dough into a bowl and add purple food coloring to it. Once it is mixed evenly, press the purple dough evenly over white dough. In another bowl, add the rest of the dough and the green food coloring. Press the green evenly over the purple dough. Cover and refrigerate until firm (2 hours or overnight is best). Once chilled, flip over your loaf pan and unwrap your dough. Flip it back over and get ready to cut! Cut loaf crosswise into 1/4-inch slices using a sharp knife, trimming edges to make even, if necessary. Cut each slice into wedges.

Place 1-inch apart onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes in a pre-heated 375 degree oven. Place cookies straight into a bowl with sugar and coat. Place coated cookies on a baking rack to cool.


Monster Cake

1 of your favorite cake box mixes or your favorite homemade batter
Homemade frosting or store bought!
1 package Oreos
1 package Oreos Minis
Regular chocolate chips
1 Box of Junior Mints

Mix, bake, layer, and frost your cake! Any flavor or colors you like! Once assembled- you can make your monster eyes. Separate all your Oreos and place them in pairs. Then, take some leftover frosting and attach the chocolate chips to the mini Oreos, and the junior mints to the regular Oreos. Once finished, use a little frosting on the back of each cookie to attach them sporadically all over the cake! Super simple and sure to be a hit!


Poison Apples

2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups water
1/2 cups light corn syrup
black gel food coloring
6 {or 12 small} green apples. Make sure they are not waxed!

 

Grease a piece of baking paper and place on a tray/baking sheet. Insert a skewer/popsicle stick/etc in all the apples and set aside.

In a medium pot, combine the sugar, water, corn syrup and food colouring and stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. It should feel smooth. When the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat up and keep the sides of the pot clean with a pastry brush dipped into clean water to prevent it from crystalizing. Bring the mixture to a boil until a candy thermometer reaches 150°c/310°F, or hard crack stage.

Carefully dip the apples into the hot candy mixture and place on the wax paper to set and cool. Enjoy your poison apples! Not just for a party but, you could tie a ribbon to the stick and hand them out to friends as a fun treat!


Spider Web Cupcakes

1 box of your favorite cake mix
Homemade {or store bought} frosting & food coloring if you are wanting a color
1 Package Chocolate almond bark
Wax paper
Cupcake liners

Mix and bake cake mix according to directions- in regular size cupcake tins with liners. While they are baking, print out you favorite spider web template from here. You can print a few copies, or just slide it around, whichever you prefer. Place it underneath wax paper. Now, melt your chocolate almond bark according the package directions. Once melted, pour it into a plastic baggie and cut off one of the tips of the baggie- very very small cut! You are just wanting to make a tiny hole. Then, carefully trace your template on the wax paper. Repeat. Let them cool to harden.

Once your cupcakes are cooled, frost them and before the frosting hardens up a bit, carefully push one of your spiderwebs into the frosting. Voila!


Witches Brew Root Beer

2 oz bottle of root beer extract
2 cups sugar
1 gallon of water
Dry ice

Fill your container with 1 gallon of warm water- you want it warm because it will help the sugar dissolve. It also makes the dry ice more effective!

Add the root beer extract and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

Add the dry ice {do not touch it with your bare hands!} 10-15min prior to serving. You will need to let the dry ice do it’s thing for at least 10 minutes to cool and carbonate the root beer. Drink up!


Popcorn Hands

1 box unwaxed plastic, clear gloves
Homemade or store bought popcorn
1 bag of candy corn
ribbon
**optional: spider rings

Fill each finger of the gloves with a candy corn. Then stuff popcorn into the glove until full. Once full to your liking, tie off with a ribbon! Feel free to add a spider ring to one of the fingers for an extra spooky touch! Great for kid school parties!


Witches Hats

1 Package Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies
1 Package Hershey’s chocolate kisses
Homemade frosting or a tube of store bought in whatever color you prefer!

Lay out the fudge stripe cookies upside down on the counter/platter. Squeeze  small amount of frosting in the center and press on a hershey’s kiss candy {unwrapped}. Let set- and you’re finished! How simple was that!?


Magic Wands

1 Package of pretzel rods
2 Packages of white or chocolate almond bark (depending on if you are going to add food coloring)
Food coloring in the colors of your choosing.

Melt the almond bark according to the package directions- In mine above, I used the chocolate almond bark- pour it in to a tall cup. Next, dip your pretzel rods into the mixture and lay on parchment/wax paper to cool.

Then, melt the white chocolate (to be like the ones above) and separate into two bowls and add the food colorings of your choice. Once mixed, put the chocolates in to two separate plastic baggies. Cut diagonally across one of the bottom corners and drizzle the chocolate over the pretzel rods. Repeat with the other color(s). Let cool to harden!


Orange Pumpkins/Ghostly Bananas

Cutie Oranges
Bananas
Regular and mini chocolate chips
Black Sharpie

Draw a pumpkin face on each cutie orange with the sharpie.

Peel the bananas and cut them in half. Then place mini chocolate chips for the eyes, and a regular size chocolate chip for the mouth. Finished. So simple! Perfect for kid school parties!


 

Happy partying!

 

xox

aj

halloween costume ideas

October will be here before we know it, and that means dress up time!  If you haven’t started costume brainstorming, you need to get going.  Plan early so that you can find and/or order the pieces you need for the perfect look.  Need some ideas?

Random Awesomeness.

Thor.  Yes please.
Lucy.  I always think of the chocolate wrapping episode.  hahaha…
Goonies Sloth.  Such a great movie.  Here are some good Sloth clips.
Pug.  Because pugs are my favorite and this is funny.
Black Widow.  She’s such a bad ass.
Britney Spears.  Britney made a comeback this year, so why not take it waaay back?  Just add a blonde wig and “… Baby One More Time”.
Deadpool.  And for a few more bucks this one comes with muscles.
Pokemon Pikachu.  Pokemon are virtually everywhere these days.
Marilyn Monroe.  A classic.

 

Groups/Couples.

Suicide Squad
Deadshot.  Harley Quinn. Joker. KatanaKiller Croc.  Need help getting to know the characters?  Check out this fun little video

Old School Batman
Do you remember?!  The TV show was so great.  %$#BAM!  POW!@#  Batman and Robin, or  legit Batman and legit Robin.  And of course, Batgirl.

Beauty and the Beast
BelleBeast.

Cinderella
Prince Charming and Cinderella.

Snow White
Snow White. Evil Queen. Prince.

Already have a generic princess costume? (me too!)  Make it a couples costume by adding a  Frog Prince or Knight.

 

Kids.

Batman.  Because he’s totally cool, especially the Christian Bale one. (amiright?!)
Elsa.  Yah, that’s still popular.
Garden Gnome.  Expedia? Maybe an Amelie theme?
Future Golfer.  LOL!
Thing 1 and Thing 2.  Got twins?  This is perfect.
Unicorn.  Because it’s a UNICORN!  Too cute.

Older kids and teens were left off this list because they will undoubtedly have their own ideas.

So who or what will you be this Halloween?!!

Trick or Treat ya’ll!

xoxo

ash

 

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(Halloween 2015)