Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

We're out spooking up some scary fun. Haunted houses, trick-or-treating, and visiting with friends. I'll leave you with this montage of Halloweens past:

The Hubs as a ...vampire?

My cousins, sisters, and I always went around together on Halloween. That's me in the back row, far right, looking ever so frightening as a smiling, greaser vampire. Don't be jealous. 

Believe it or not, the first year of our marriage was the very first time my husband had ever carved a jack-o-lantern! Check out those smexy legs!

Bay was in kindergarten this Halloween, dressed up as a princess. 

All ready for trick or treat. Cowgirl Bay and mousey Tuna. 

Hubs's unit had a Halloween party this year. Bay was a devil with angel wings and Tuna was a soldier. 

Tuna has a flair for the dramatic. This pose was her choice for her annual costume photo. 

Hubs and I make a cute old couple, don't we?

a cute witch -- Tuna didn't want to be like everyone else, so we bought some stuff at Claire's and put together a unique outfit. 

Not so cute. Again, the dramatic flair! Tuna was a zombie last Halloween, our first in Germany. For the record, Germans don't traditionally celebrate Halloween, but the kids are catching on. They come around for candy, saying "sweets or sours" (in German), with any container they have: backpacks, pillow cases, purses, hats, whatver. They're almost never costumed. It's all about the candy for them. hehehe

 This year, Bay is dressing as Lizzie Borden, complete with axe prop, and going trick or treating (probably for the last time, at age 14) with friends before going to a teen lock-in. Tuna's going as a vampiress, following in her parents' footsteps. I think she'll look better than we did, though. Hubs and I are not dressing up this year. I have a few ideas for next year, though.

What are your kids dressing up as? What about you?

Halloween Week

Halloween week is here at last. Usually, I make a big deal out of this holiday. It's one of my favorites. Lately, though, I haven't felt like decorating much at all. I did make these awesome cupcakes today, though:

They were super easy to make, and a hit with all the neighborhood kids. My windows swing open, old farmhouse style, and I had a line of kids at my window waiting for me to hand over cupcakes. They all ran home and scared their mothers by licking "bloody glass" shards.

Here's what you do:

Make your favorite cupcake recipe and let them cool.
Prepare your favorite frosting. Or, you know, buy the canned stuff and cake mix and make that. Semi-homemade is cool. No judging here.

To make the glass shards:

Set aside a large baking sheet that has raised sides. Covering it with parchment might make this easier later. I didn't use parchment.

Mix 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring this to a boil without stirring it. Once it's boiling, stir it constantly until a candy thermometer reaches 302F.

Immediately pour this mixture onto the baking sheet, tilting it back and forth to spread your candy into a thin layer. Now, let it harden. It only takes minutes to harden, especially if you stick it in the fridge.

Frost the cupcakes and stick shards of "glass" in haphazardly, then drizzle and dot with red food gel "blood".

For a more realistic blood look, you can combine chocolate syrup and red food dye until it looks like blood. I was going for easy, though. The kids loved them.

Here are a few more great ideas for Halloween week:

Credit: Artsy Fartsy Mama

Credit: A Pumpkin & a Princess

Credit: The Diary of Dave's Wife

Credit: Rook No. 17

And here are the Halloween cupcakes I made last year. I bought the stabby knives at Michael's:

What are you crafting for Halloween? Check out my Halloween board on Pinterest for more ideas.

This post is linked to  Tutorial Tuesday, Show Me What Ya Got, Consider Me Inspired