Halloween Family Photo Decals

In addition to our Black and White Halloween Mantle, I spruced up the family photos that hang up right by our mantle.

This was so fast and easy.

A little PicMonkey. 

A little vinyl.

A little time.

A whole lot of spook-tastic fun.

I turned myself into a nice little witch.

There is some trick and treating going on.

A big old eyeball.

A creepy crawly spider joined in on the party.

I made all my decals using PicMonkey. The first several pictures are part of the Halloween overlay options that they offer. I just added more bats and changed their sizes. I made the Frankenstein bolts and stitches and the eyeball using PicMonkey's geometric overlays.

I put all the pictures on a page and I am making them available in a PDF that you can download. Once you download the image to your computer,  you import it to your Silhouette software and make you own Halloween magic.

 

Download Here

I pretty much love PicMonkey, and I love all of the fun things that it allows you to do. Like these little decals for instance.

Head over to PicMonkey and play around with all of their fun Halloween tools and overlays.

Have fun!!

Black and White Halloween Mantle

Recently one of my kids asked me what my favorite color is. Hands down...

WHITE.

I love it. Love and love and love it.  Especially in my house.

So I kind of use it a lot.

If I had all the say-so, more moolah, and Little Men without a penchant for making messes, then it is quite possible there would be even more white around my house.

For Halloween this year, I actually did a little decorating. If you have been around this here blog for a bit, you know I don't typically decorate for Halloween. However, this year, I just couldn't help myself.

Mostly because of the idea I got in my noggin for this...

We have a pretty great mantle. It is big and spacious. The wood is pretty (yes I probably would love it a little more if it were white). There is only one little hiccup with our mantle area. There is a cabinet built into the wall above the mantle meant for a box TV.

It is a fixture that without some minor construction and the previously mentioned moolah, will not disappear.

So work with it I shall.

That is what lead to me dreaming up the giant EEK canvas.

After I painted the Ombre Eek Halloween Art, I added in some more pops of white and black.

I spray painted some cheapo plastic pumpkins. Seriously they were like .98.  I filled some milk bottles with dry black beans. Yup, ordinary black beans you can buy at the grocery store.

In one more attempt to hide the TV cabinet, I put up a wreath. I bought a plain grapevine wreath and then spray painted it black. I added a black and white fabric sash.

All this black and white, I still needed a touch of Halloween.

So I made this itty bitty witches hat for my little white owl. (I gave a sneak peak of this Owl yesterday on Instagram--@larissa-anotherday).

A little felt and some hot glue and Little Mantle Owl is all boo-tastic.

Eek..could you die?

For the finishing touches, I added a felt bat garland and a white pom pom garland.

Now we are practically ready for frights, cackles, and all things Halloween.

Well, except I have that whole 'gotta finish costumes' thing going on...

...so stay tuned for more Halloween fun...

I also might have that bat pattern for you...

Ooh and I have another fun and easy Halloween decoration idea involving vinyl...we all love vinyl.

Happy Halloween!

Apple Week: Apple Cider Caramels

Welcome back to Apple Week...or more appropriately known as Apple Week plus a few more Apple Days.  I just couldn't seem to keep it to a week...or uh should I confess I couldn't bust out the posts as quickly as I thought.

I tell you what people, life has been crazy.

I would go into the oh-so-glorious details, but in short it all comes down to being a mom is super time intensive, I have four rowdy awesome boys, and being their mom is always my top priority.

So Apple Week turned into a week plus, but hey that is okay, right?

I mean it is kind of like getting a birthday card a couple of days after your birthday, it just prolongs all the birthday festivities and goodness.

A win win for everyone involved really.

More apples, more birthdays, more goodies. Huzzah!

Today let's make caramels.

Double Huzzah!!

Apple Cider Caramels to be exact.

Dare we Triple Huzzah??

Oh I think we shall!

I love caramels, and these kind of made my whole day.  Like a little concentrated cup of Apple Cider all rolled up into a soft and chewy caramel.

Fall in candy form.

Why I don't mind if I help myself to one..

or two...

or three.

Enjoy everyone!!! Happy Fall!

Apple Cider Caramels 
I Heart Naptime

2 cups Simply Apple Juice
1 cup heavy cream, divided
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cloves
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 Tablespoons water
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup butter, cut up in cubes

In a saucepan, boil the apple juice down for about 20-30 minutes until it is reduced to about 1/3 cup. Set aside.

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment paper. In a bowl, combine 2/3 cup of the cream, the spices, and the reduced juice. Set aside.

In a heavy pot, combine the sugar, 1/3 cup cream, water, and corn syrup. Cook over low eat until the sugar dissolves. Using a candy thermometer, simmer until the syrup reads 230 degrees. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the cider and cream mixture. Add in the butter and continue to whisk until it is completely combined.

Return the pan to the heat, cook over low heat, stirring frequently until the temperature reads 244 degrees (soft ball stage) and then cook for another 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour the caramel into the prepared 8x8 pan. Let the caramel cool completely at room temperature.

Once cooled, cut the caramels into squares or rectangles. Then wrap in wax paper.

Apple Week: Apple Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Sriracha Butter

Apple Week continues!! Today I am putting the lovely little apple in my very favorite kind of food.

My favorite food of all time is a sandwich.

I love sandwiches. When eating out, I am pretty sure I could always eat anywhere that serves sandwiches.

When I am pregnant, which I am NOT currently...just thought I should clarify that, I don't eat lunch meat. It kind of breaks my little hungry heart to give it up. I mean seriously, when I am at my hungriest, literally growing another human, I can't eat my very favorite food.

Oh well, their cute and squishy little faces are worth the sacrifice, right? Right!

You can guarantee though, the day I have that wee little squishy baby and we are all cozied into our room, Hubby has been sent out for a sandwich. Which I quickly inhale shortly after he hands it to me...I mean I did just have a baby and all.

So knowing that I love myself a good sandwich, and figuring that I have probably tried my fair share of sandwiches, you can feel secure my opinion of the awesomeness of this sandwich.

Because it is AWESOME.

I mean let's break it down people...

This sandwich has--

cheese
bacon
apples
white bread
butter...special butter at that

Did you see those sandwich all stars?!?

There really isn't one main star...although if you follow me on Instagram (@larissa_anotherday) you know how I feel about bacon.

There is however, a best supporting character. It would be this homemade sriracha butter. The slight heat that comes from this butter perfectly compliments the apple and the bacon. This butter is the secret weapon of this sandwich.

I use thick slices of homemade white bread. I know white bread is a little out of fashion, but trust me a good grilled  cheese sandwich really demands it.
 

Start with the bread.
Add a good slathering of the sriracha butter.
Next layer a slice of Muenster cheese.
Layer apples next.
Then add on a slice of American.
The bacon comes next.
Then finish with another slice of Muenster.
Last, top it of with the last slice of bread.

Grill it.
Slice it.
Smell it.
Eat it.
Love it.
Marry it...uh strike that...I am already married.

Oh Apple Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich, how I love thee.

The weather is getting chillier. Perfect time to make yourself a grilled cheese sandwich.

Get your sandwich on!

Apple Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Sriracha Butter

Sriracha Butter (recipe from Martha Stewart):
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
2 anchovy filets, minced
2 Tablespoons sriracha hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

sandwich:
white bread
bacon
golden delicious or granny smith apples
Muenster cheese slices
American cheese slices
sriracha butter
butter for grilling

In a small bowl, make the butter, by mixing and mashing all the ingredients with a fork. I know you might be scared of the anchovies, but you can do it. Just DON'T skip the step just cause you are afraid. Once all the ingredients are well incorporated, set aside and make the sandwich.

Make the sandwich by starting with a slice of bread. Slather some of the sriracha butter on the bread. Then layer the sandwich with the Muenster cheese, apples, American cheese, bacon, Muenster cheese, and another piece of white bread.

Warm up a griddle. Melt several tablespoons of butter on the top of the griddle. Place the constructed sandwich on top of the melted butter on the griddle. Cook on the first side until it is golden brown. Then flip and cook on the second side until golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Slice in half and serve.

Apple Week continues tomorrow!!

See ya then!

Apple Week: Apple Picking Tote How-To

Welcome back to Apple Week! Yesterday there was a little break from all things apple for a Monsters University and Visa Gift Card giveaway. Don't forget to go and enter yourself!!

Now we are back for this Apple-tastic week.

In years past, we have used everything from plastic grocery bags, plastic storage totes, our shirts, and/or strollers to gather our picked apples. Nothing fancy, but it always got the job done.

This year I wanted to make an apple picking bag that was a little more fun and a little more lovely.

This bag was SUPER easy to make. Basically I upgraded an already made white canvas tote. You know the ones you get in packs of three from craft stores. Yep, this apple picking tote started out as one of those plain Jane bags.

Here is what you need:
plain white canvas tote
red and green Tulip fabric paint
1 apple cut in half
foam craft brush
red belting
1/2 yard coordinating printed fabric, I used gingham
thread

First, paint the bag.

Slip a small stack of newspapers inside the bag to keep the paint from bleeding through. Apply red paint to one half of the apple with a craft brush. Use the apple as a stamp. Firmly pressing the paint-covered apple where you want it. Repeat each time you stamp.

I chose to do rows of three by three. I did more of a randomly placed pattern (aka not perfectly straight). Your kids could totally help at this step.

I did nine red apples and one green. You could do any combo you wanted.

Allow the paint to dry for about 2 hours, or bring out a hair dryer and speed up the process (which is what I do because I am SUPER DUPER impatient).

With your tote painted, now we just have to add a few more pretties.

Measure the handles, and cut two strips of belting, that will be sewn to the handles, to the same size. Measure the bag. Cut two rectangles of fabric measuring 1" wider than the width of the bag and 1 1/2" taller than the height of the bag.

Pin the belting underneath the tote handle, centering the tote handle. Then sew the tote handle to the red belting.

Sew the rectangles of fabric together, right sides facing,  down one side, across the bottom, and back up the top. Leaving the top open. Hem the top by folding down a 1/2", ironing, and folding down another 1/2" and ironing again. Turn the bag out.

Insert inside the tote, wrong sides facing. Pin the hem of the lining to the top of the canvas tote. Sew around the top securing the lining to the tote.

DONE!

See how easy that was.

Go from a simple white tote, to a fun apple picking tote in no time!

Now all you have to do is fill it with glorious and delicious apples.

Hope you are enjoying Apple Week.

Come back tomorrow for more!

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Tatertots and Jello,