Day 20: The Lazy Halloween Skeleton Costume DIY

October 31, 2014 | Posted by Chelsey

Day 20: The Lazy Halloween Skeleton Costume DIY

Alright folks, today is the day! It’s officially Halloween. Yeah! Are you a in need of a last minute costume, well you came to the right place. My Lazy Skeleton Costume is super easy to make (I made a free printable for you), and all you have to do is print it onto iron on paper, and iron it onto a lovely piece of clothing. Ta dah!

The supplies you’ll need to create this project:

HP Iron-On Transfer Paper
A pre washed white article of clothing (I used a dress, but maybe you want to use something different like white sweatpants and a white sweatshirt, etc. )
Free Skeleton Costume Printouts (see below)
Skeleton map (see below)
Scissors
Iron

To check out the original post and download the free skeleton bones printable onto iron on paper and head on over to the HP Create blog.

Have a Happy Halloween! To see the other 50 DIY Days of Holiday Crafts, check out this link.

– Chelsey

P.S. I’m a paid contributor on the HP Create blog. All printables are for personal use only. This is the 4th year for my 50 DIY Days. If you would like to check out the past projects, you can click on these links (sorry for any broken links, it’s hard to keep up to date with all the posts… always a work in progress): 2011 // 2012 // 2013!

Day 19: Chocolate Caramel Crack-ers

October 30, 2014 | Posted by Chelsey

Day 19: Chocolate Caramel Crack-ers

Last year I made some SUPER delicious treats: Chocolate Caramel Crack-ers. I call them “crack-ers” because they are almost impossible to stop eating. Hee! I’m sharing this recipe AGAIN since it’s so good and I believe it would make a wonderful gift for Christmas. Just put these yummy goodies in a jar, add a ribbon, and gift tag. Speaking of gift tags, you know how much I love making them, well I made a jar gift tag for this treat!

What you need to make this treat:

65 Werther’s Original Hard Candy, unwrapped
10 Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels, unwrapped
1 Tablespoon of butter
2 Tablespoons of water
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: 1/2 cup of coconut

To check out the full recipe and download the jar gift tags, head on over here to the original blog post.

Share a link in the comments below. To see the other 50 DIY Days of Holiday Crafts, check out this link.

– Chelsey

P.S. All printables are for personal use only. This is the 4th year for my 50 DIY Days. If you would like to check out the past projects, you can click on these links (sorry for any broken links, it’s hard to keep up to date with all the posts… always a work in progress): 2011 // 2012 // 2013!

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Categories: 50 DIY Days

Day 18: Swirl Gift Tag Printables (free to download)

October 29, 2014 | Posted by Chelsey

Day 18: Swirl Gift Tag Printables

I love gift tags, but I don’t like buying them. Why buy them when I can make them, or find them for free online? I make a ton of my own gift tags and have shared quite a few on the blog. I made these swirl gift tags for the holiday season, but they’d be perfect for any occasion. Check out the printable link below to get them for your gifts!

Supplies:

Swirl Gift Tags Free Printable
Scissors
Cardstock paper
Printer

Directions:

Step 1:

Print out the free printable gift tags that I made for you. You can click on the link above, or the image below, and right click + save the image.

Step 2:

Cut out the gift tags and place them on your gift.

As always, I’d love to know if you use my printables! Share a link in the comments below. To see the other 50 DIY Days of Holiday Crafts, check out this link.

– Chelsey

Day 17: Spooky Eyeball Apple Bites with Orange Cream Caramel Dipping Sauce Recipe

October 28, 2014 | Posted by Chelsey

Day 17: Spooky Eyeball Apples Bites with Orange Cream Caramel Dipping Sauce Recipe

I love caramel apples, but I don’t enjoy teeth-shattering-caramel. Hee. That’s why I made these little apple bites with a super yummy orange cream caramel dipping sauce. I made this sauce with some limited edition Orange Scream Milk, from TruMoo. These little “apple eyeballs” will be PERFECT for a little Halloween treat, or just for fun. Leave off the candy eyeballs and this could be a cute dessert for any fall holiday. Side note: even though I made it with the limited edition orange flavor, they also have yummy strawberry and chocolate flavor that would work perfect with this recipe.

Spooky Eyeball Apples Bites with Orange Cream Caramel Dipping Sauce Recipe

This recipe was adapted from this VERY informative post on the Bright-Eyed Baker.

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup of TruMoo Orange Scream Milk
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 Granny Smith apples
Candy eyeballs

Tools needed:

Tall, heavy-bottomed pot
Heat safe spatula
Measuring cups and spoons
Whisk
Oven mit
Trivet
Melon baller, or a metal measuring spoon
apple peeler
bamboo skewers cut to 5 inches long

Directions:

STEP 1:

Place the sugar in the Tall, heavy-bottomed pot. Shake the pot so the sugar settles evenly at the bottom. Put the pot over medium-low heat and set a timer for 8 minutes. When the timer goes off, the sugar should look the same. Set the timer for another 8 minutes and be sure to pay attention! Things will start to move fast from here (the sugar will start melting very soon).

While you’re waiting for the sugar to start melting, warm up the 1 cup of TruMoo Orange Scream in a microwaveable safe container. Use a spoon to stir the milk, set the milk near the stove. Also, place the trivet and oven mit near the stove.

STEP 2:

Nearing the end of your timer, you will start to smell the sugar heating up. Stay near the stove! It all happens fast. The sugar will start to look translucent and brown in some spots. When you see liquified spots, take your heat-safe spatula and carefully spoon the melted/liquified sugar over the unmelted sugar granules. Continue this step until the sugar melts. The whole idea is to NOT stir the sugar (just spoon the melted over the unmelted), and to keep it from burning.

When the all of the sugar is melted, continue to GENTLY stir until the sugar is rusty golden brown. This will happen fast.

STEP 3:

When the caramel is the appropriate color, remove the pot from the stove and place it on the trivet. Put the oven mit on your stirring hand (this next step can splatter and will burn your hand if you don’t wear the oven mit).

Pour in half of the milk and quickly stir. The caramel will bubble and splatter (good thing you’re wearing a mit), and that’s normal. Continue to stir until the bubbling stops. Add the rest of the milk to the pot and stir. Put the pot back on the burner and set it to medium-low heat, stirring constantly.

Note: you might see chunks of the caramelized sugar that appeared/are stuck to the pot and spoon when you added the milk. That’s totally ok! It happened to me. You’ll be heating the caramel more on the stove, so the chunks will melt in the next step.

STEP 4:

Continue to cook the caramel for an additional 10 – 15 minutes (and make sure all caramel chunks are melted).

Note: it’s not going to look very think on the stove, but will thicken as it cools.

STEP 5:

When you’re done cooking, remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the salt. Pour the caramel into a heat-safe container, cover, and let it cool to almost room temperature.

When the caramel is cool, it can be stored in the refrigerator.

Note: from what I’ve read, the caramel really needs to cool at room temperature. If you put it in the fridge while it warm, it won’t thicken up enough.

STEP 6:

Peel your apples. Use the melon baller to carve out little “apple eyeballs”. Stick the skewers in the top of the “apple eyeballs” and use a little bit of caramel to attach the eyeballs. Serve the treat with some yummy warmed up orange cream caramel!

I hope you enjoy this treat. The cool thing about this dessert is it’s made with apples, milk, and sugar. Not too bad for a dessert. TruMoo does not contain high-fructose corn syrup (a win in my book) and has calcium.

– Chelsey

Can’t get enough of TruMoo? Follow TruMoo on Pinterest for more delicious recipes and enter the Facebook contest for a chance to win weekly cash prizes through October 31! You can also enter the TruMoo Sweepstakes for a chance to win a family trip for four! I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. If you would like to check out the past 50 DIY Days projects, you can click on these links: 2011 // 2012 // 2013!

Day 16: Vanilla Extract Recipe and Free Label

October 27, 2014 | Posted by Chelsey

Day 16: Vanilla Extract Recipe and Free Label

If you bake a lot (or know someone that does), then this recipe is for you! Earlier this year I made my own vanilla extract and I was so surprised at how easy it was to make. It’s seriously two ingredients and is the perfect gift to give to the baker in your life. It takes about a month for the vanilla bean to set, so I thought sharing this DIY in October would be perfect. If you make it now the gift recipient can use the vanilla right away when you give it to them in December. I even made a printable label for the homemade vanilla (just print it out on sticker sheet paper and add the day you made the vanilla). Maybe you can make this vanilla and add it to a gift basket full of lovely baking goods?

I’ve been using this vanilla since March and it’s just as good (if not better) than the store bought extract. When you use all of the extract liquid, you can just add some more vodka (or rum) to the bottle with the vanilla bean in it. Seriously a money-saver when vanilla extract can be a bit pricey.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:

2 oz. dark bottle (I recommend Boston Rounds)
1 vanilla bean
2 oz. of vodka (or bourbon)
free vanilla extract label printables!

To check out the full how-to, head on over to the original post right here.

To see the other 50 DIY Days of Holiday Crafts, check out this link.

– Chelsey

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Categories: 50 DIY Days

Day 15: Spooky Halloween Terrarium

October 24, 2014 | Posted by Chelsey

Day 15: Spooky Halloween Terrarium

I made this lovely creation last year, and I still love it. Actually, I have it sitting out in my home right now. I shared a free printable to make your own, so check out the link below to see the original post.

Here’s what you need to make this:

a foam pumpkin from the Michaels
green floral foam
moss
wire
hot glue
X-acto Knife
wire cutters
scissors
a couple toothpicks

To find the full tutorial, head on over to the original Halloween Terrarium post.

Have a lovely Friday! To see the other 50 DIY Days of Holiday Crafts, check out this link.

– Chelsey

2 Comments

Categories: 50 DIY Days

Day 14: Shrinky Dink Scallop Necklace DIY

October 23, 2014 | Posted by Chelsey

Day 14: Shrinky Dink Scallop Necklace DIY

Yes, you read that right: Shrinky Dinks. If your an 80’s child (like myself) you may have created MANY trinkets and whatnots with this magical craft item. I can specifically remember making some Rainbow Brite Shrinky Dinks (It was awesome). These days I mostly make lovely jewelry and keychains (though I would totally make a Rainbow Brite necklace if I found a kit). These gold scallop necklaces look so pretty and really would make a great gift for this holiday season! You could also make these into little scallop earrings (just print the pattern at a smaller scale).

Supplies:

Scallop Necklace Pattern
Shrinky Dink Sheets (or shrink film)
gold paint pen
scissors
oven
hole punch
necklace chain
jump rings

Directions:

Step 1:

First, print out the Scallop Necklace Pattern. Place the pattern under a sheet of shrink film and trace the scallop outline with the gold paint pen.

Step 2:

When the gold paint pen is dry, cut out the scallop shape. Use the gold paint pen to fill in the scallop shape and let dry. When it’s dry, use a hole punch to cut out a hole at each end of the scallop necklace. Note: Don’t worry about filling in all the space on the scallops with the pen, you won’t even notice after it’s baked.

Step 3:

Following the directions on your Shrink Film packaging, bake your scallop necklace in the oven and let it cool completely.

Step 4:

Put the jump rings through the holes you punched out. Run the necklace chain through the jump rings, and you’re done! Note: The finished size of my necklace is about 3 inches wide (but the size will vary).

This necklace is ready to give as a gift, or if you have a 4-year-old (like I do) they may claim it as their own if you let them hold it (which is exactly what happened after help the necklace for the above photo, ha). If you DO want to give this as a gift, you can give it away in this pretty Gold Painted Gift box.

To see the other 50 DIY Days of Holiday Crafts, check out this link.

– Chelsey

2 Comments

Tags: jewelry, mothers day, printable

Categories: 50 DIY Days, diy, DIY Accessories and Clothing