Mummy Conversations

"What did one mummy say to the other mummy?"

This must be the year of the mummies here at Pretty Petunia.  I was sending a Halloween package to my favorite missionary and all of this mummy goodness just kind of rolled out of my brain.

So let's talk about Mummy Pretzels.  I LOVE chocolate covered pretzels.  But not just any chocolate covered pretzels...they must first be dipped in caramel.  Caramel makes everything better.  Most people like to use the long pretzel rods.  But not me.  I much prefer the Rold Gold Wheat and Honey Twists.  They are delicious.  And they provide a much better chocolate caramel to pretzel ratio!  Let's be honest.  The pretzel is merely the vehicle for all that other goodness.  Don't worry--there will still be plenty of pretzel at the bottom for a little "handle".

So go buy a bag of wheat and honey twists.  I'll wait.

Now you will need some caramel.  Obviously.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  I prefer the homemade caramel route.  But I do not discriminate.  Whatever is easiest for you.  Make some.  Buy some.  You will find no judgment here.  When your caramel is all warm and melty, dip the pretzel twist.  I like to pour my caramel into a glass cup measure with a handle.  Just hold the pretzel rod by one end and dip the other.  Easy.  Let it firm up on a Silpat mat (or a greased cookie sheet).

After your caramel has cooled onto your pretzel, you are going to dip it into milk chocolate.  I like to use the Guittard milk chocolate discs.  Melt them in a glass cup in the microwave at 30-40 percent power for 30-40 second intervals.  Stir frequently until the chocolate is melted and smooth.  Dip your caramel pretzels into the chocolate and tap off the excess.  Place them on the Silpat mat again or on a piece of parchment paper. Let them solidify.  You may want to pop them into the freezer for a minute or two.

Now melt some white chocolate discs in a plastic bag or in a squeeze bottle.  Use the white chocolate to stripe your pretzels.  Just snip the corner off of the plastic bag.  It will work fine!  We are going for a bandaged look here...so stripe away!

After the white chocolate has solidified, you will want to add some eyes.  Use the same technique that we followed here.

Package three or four to a bag.  Otherwise, how will they chat amongst themselves?

Top it all off with this bag topper!

And give them to all your favorite goblins and ghosts...of corpse!

Mummy Pops

 

Whew.  That was a long break.  Far too long.

Let's bring this blog back from the dead...with Mummy Pops!

You'll want to dig way back in the archives for instructions on how to make these delicious twix pops.  Dip them in the milk chocolate and definitely stripe them with white chocolate.  You want the white chocolate to look like mummy bandages.  I tapped the pop a bit while the chocolate was still warm to smooth out the lines a little.  Let the chocolate harden.  Then take some black circle sprinkles and "glue" them on or between the "bandages".  Use a small amount of warm white chocolate as your "glue".  I just dipped a toothpick into the chocolate and dabbed it where I wanted the eyes to be.  Then carefully place the eyes over the dabs and apply a little pressure with the other end of the toothpick to make sure they are really attached well.  I used a Halloween sprinkle mix.  It had green and purple and black circular sprinkles.  I think they ended up to be the perfect size for my little mummies!

Let your mummy pops set up really well before you package them.  I put them in a small plastic bag and twisted the plastic around the lollipop stick.  Then I secured the end with some clear tape.

To "dress" your mummy you will need some gauze.  I found a new roll of gauze in my first aid kit.  You want it to be about an inch wide.  Cut it into 6" strips and wrap each one around the stick.  I liked leaving a little "collar" at the top and some fringe at the end.  Secure it in place with glue.

And that's it!  You're done.  Aren't these the cutest little mummies you've ever seen?

No go...relax and unwind!

*****

I'm linking up with:

Skip To My Lou

Scarecrow Spree

 Now these are really something to crow about!

Remember this guy?  Let me introduce you to his country cousins...

This could very well be the fastest cutest treat you will ever make.  All you need is four simple supplies.

1.  Scarecrow wrapper (FREE--just click on the link)
2.  Chewy Spree or something similar (I bought mine at our local grocery store for 69 cents)
3.  Glue stick (I consider this to be basically free--just dig a stick out of your craft drawer.)
4.  2" straw or sinamay doll hat (I bought mine at Hobby Lobby.  A package of eight was 99 cents! I was hoping for a natural straw color.  All they had left was red.  But hey, it's a scarecrow--he'll take whatever you got!)

Print and cut out the scarecrow wrappers.  Wrap them around your candy tube and secure in place with the glue stick.  Put a hat on the scarecrow's cute little head and you are done!

I told you.  Fast.  And you get all this cuteness for under a dollar.  These would make great little gifts for friends or teachers.  Need a craft for a Halloween party?  I got you covered!

Now go make a whole corn field of them!

I am linking up with:

Skip to My Lou

Lil Luna
Whipperberry

(The plaid shirts were made using various papers from Weeds and Wildflowers Design)

You've been BREWed!

It's that time of year again.  Does your neighborhood participate in this fun little game of Halloween doorbell ditching?  We received a plate of darling and delicious goodies a few nights ago.  I've been wracking my brain and I came up with this idea for retaliation.  A fun pack of Halloween elixir!

Just follow these seven simple steps for some devilish fun!

1 Run to your nearest store and pick up a few bottles of root beer (any soft drink will do).  I really liked the look of the brown glass bottles.

2  Print out the labels and attach them to your jars.  Click here for the labels. After you print them, carefully cut them out.  You could get really fancy and print them on sticker paper.  Or just print on regular paper and stick them to your jars.  Sticky dots work pretty well.  Spray adhesive might be another option.

3  Spray paint your cardboard carrier a spooky Halloween color.  I had a partial can of black spray paint, and decided it would do nicely.  Frugality.  Let your paint dry completely.

4  Place your brew in the carrier and embellish with a tag and some ribbon from your scrap bin.  Again, frugality.

5  Sneak up on your unsuspecting neighbors in the cover of night.

6  Ring the doorbell.

7  Run. Run. Run!

**An alternate idea would be to gift these brews one bottle at a time.  They would make great teacher gifts.  I decided to embellish my bottle with a tiny witch's hat, some ribbon and a teeny tiny spider.

Happy Halloween!

I'm linking up with:
Whipperberry 

Halloween Treat Boxes

 When we were in China a few years ago, we saw some super tiny individual Skittle and M&M packets just like this.  They couldn't have been more than an inch high.  They were so cute that I just had to buy some!  I've been wanting to recreate a version of them ever since.  Halloween seemed the perfect occasion.  These would make the cutest party favors or inexpensive gifts!  But who needs a party?  Just tuck one into a lunch sack or a pocket and -POOF--instant celebration.

Supplies that you will need:

printable
paper
scissors or paper cutter
double-sided  tape
small candies

Step One:
Purchase and print out the files from my shop.  Just use plain old run of the mill printer paper.  You do not want to use card stock.  It will be too stiff.

Step Two:
Cut out the squares along the black lines.

Step Three:
You will notice that the faces of the characters are slightly off center.  There is a reason for that.  Place a strip of tape along the front left side of the printed square (as shown below).  Fold the strip over about a half inch or the width of the tape strip.

Step Four:
Turn your character square face down, with the folded edge on the right.  Place a strip of tape from the middle of the bottom edge to the lower right corner.

Peel off the protective paper from this bottom strip and stick down the folded flap.  You will also need to put a small strip of tape centered on the top edge.  Do not remove the protective paper on this strip!  You will need to wait to remove this until the very last step.  Your square should look something like this:

Step Five:
Remove the protective tape from the side of the square (the one that is folded over).  Bring the opposite edge of the paper over (this is the edge that doesn't have any tape on it)  and stick it to the tape strip.  This will in essence form a cylinder.  At the same time, seal the bottom of your container with the tape that is already exposed.  You want a flat sealed edge.  It should look something like this:

Step Six:
Fill your favor box with cute little treats.

 M&Ms, mini Reese's pieces, Skittles, and candy corn work best.  Anything small will do.

Once your boxes are filled you are ready to seal the open end.

Step Seven:
Seal the open end by removing the protective paper and pressing the edges of the paper together.  You want this seal to be perpendicular or opposite in direction to the bottom one.  In other words, the faces of your characters should be centered.  When you look at it head-on, the front surface should be triangular.

Step Eight:
If you have a paper crimper you could crimp the sealed ends of the tube.  I have a paper crimper.  Somewhere.  As you can see, this step is optional.  If you can find your crimper--go ahead and crimp away.  If not--all is well. 
Aren't they so much fun?  I think the mummy is my favorite.  Or maybe Frank.  It's so hard to choose.  To open your cute little Halloween favor, just gently tear off the top!  And enjoy!

Pumpkin Business

We carved our Halloween jack-o-lanterns quite late this year--like on Halloween day!  I know.  Life was just moving a little bit fast around here and that was the soonest we could get to it.  Anyway, I sent the kids out to the porch to get their pumpkins and they got busy creating all kinds of adorable.  Later that afternoon, as we were setting the finished lanterns out to shine, I noticed one lone pumpkin that they neglected to bring in.  Poor sad pumpkin.

It has been sitting on my counter ever since.  I look at it everyday and wonder what I am going to do with it.  Well today was the day.  I had a date with a pumpkin.  I decided that I would try making my own puree.  This is not a pie pumpkin--it's just your run of the mill carving pumpkin.  But, I figured that I didn't have much to lose.  And I didn't want this little guy to go to waste.

I have tasted pumpkin pies in the past made with real pumpkin and I have NOT liked them.  I am a big fan of Libby's.  But, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Let's do this.

I cut the top off of my pumpkin and sliced it down the middle.  Then I proceeded to slice it into manageable wedges.  Next I scraped off all of the seeds and stringy parts.  I cut my wedges in half and put them in a big stock pot.  Then I added a couple of inches of water and let them simmer until they were fork-tender.  I drained off the liquid and let them cool.

Once the wedges were cooled  completely,  I removed the skins with a paring knife.  Then I put the pulp into a blender and blended away.  I really went to town on this part.  The fresh pumpkin pies that I have tried in the past have been lumpy and stringy.  I think that is what turned me off.  So, I probably went overboard on the blending.  But, much to my surprise...it turned out beautifully!

I would say that this pumpkin was just a medium sized little guy.  Not small, but definitely not big.  He yielded about twelve cups of puree.  Not too bad.  Much cheaper than buying Libby's.  (worth it if it tastes good).  I have read that puree made from carving pumpkins contains much more water than pie pumpkins.  So, I dumped my puree into a fine mesh sieve and let it drain for quite a while.  I probably got close to four cups of water off of it by the time I was done.

I think the whole process actually worked.  And it really wasn't that labor intensive.  The hardest part was definitely cutting it down to a workable size.  Those pumpkins are pretty tough dudes!

I guess the proof is in the pudding...or pie...or bread.
 

(The coloring on this picture is a little off. The bread is actually a bit oranger than it shows--delicious!)

Tune in tomorrow for the recipe!

A Last Minute Treat

This is cutting it to the wire.  But.  As I was sorting the laundry this morning, I had an idea.  I just had to squeak it in before the holiday was officially over.

Here you go.

Trick-or-Treat!

(I think the mummy is my favorite!)

(The witch needs a hat, but I couldn't figure out how to make her one.  

I tried paper and fabric and felt.  The mixed media just didn't look right.)

BOO!

We were "BOO"-ed the other day. You know what that is, right? Someone anonymously leaves a plate of goodies on your doorstep. Attached is a little poem explaining that you've been "BOO"-ed and then you in-turn deliver treats to two other unsuspecting homes in the neighborhood. It's been a Halloween tradition in our neighborhood for many many years now. So, I've been thinking all day today about what we should leave on the doorsteps tonight. I wanted to do a little something different this time around. I noticed this the other day on Pinterest. Click here for the original link.

I thought it might be fun to do something similar.  This is what I came up with:




I just made a simple bag topper out of card stock.  We are talking old school.  I didn't use anything fancy.  Just paper, scissors, and glue.  I stapled it to a lunch sack filled with this yummy treat that I came up with a few weeks back.  (You know, one of those recipes I was experimenting with for my cooking class).

Then I added this little tag:

Just print it, cut it out, and back it with some cute paper.  Don't forget to add a bit of ribbon.  Super cute!
Now, if you want to get really fancy, have your daughter "ring and run" wearing this little number:

Happy Owl-o-ween!

P.S.  Don't tell my neighbors it was me!


Looking for another BOO idea?  Click here.