One More Day!

It's been fast approaching and our 3rd Annual Sugar Skull Decorating Party is almost here! I can't wait to share the amazing skulls our guests will create this year! I wish tomorrow would get here quicker...but I still have a ton of prep work (....and real work) to do!

Sugar Skull Tutorial in Photos

Dia de los Muertos is just around the corner, so it is time for me to get busy busy busy making lots of skulls. I have only had one Etsy order and got that completed and shipped out. Now time to get ready for my party! Here is a quick tutorial in photos of how to make the skulls. More info on sugar skulls can be found on an earlier blog post.

Mix up your sugary batch:

Scale it up to however many skulls you need to make, as a rule of thumb, 1/2 cup = 1 med sized skull
1 C granulated sugar
1 tsp meringue powder (available at any baking shop or online)
1 tsp water

Mix it up until all of the water is blended in evenly.

It will hold its shape similar to beach sand and be very lightly sticky.

I use a large spoon to pack it into the mold pressing each time you add sugar. You want to make sure get enough sugar packed into the forehead and chin areas. 

Now smooth off the back of the mold with the back of a butter knife. 

Take a piece or two of paperboard (cereal box) and wrap them in foil. Then take this piece and place it on top of the mold once it's full. Then flip the whole thing over. 

Next lay this down on wax paper, foil, or anything else you want to use. This needs to be a place where the skulls can rest over night to dry. Slide the backing out slowly. 

Now, pull off the mold and you have a sugar skull!

Let these babies dry over night and DECORATE!

When I make mini-skulls, I place a Christmas ornament hook in the back before I place the cardboard backing on the mold. Then glue the hooks in once the skulls are dry. Aleen's tacky glue works best for this and for decorating the skulls.

Now I need to get busy and whip up about 60 of these for my party!

XOXO

Vacation is a MUST!

Not sure that this post really needs a description other than that we are on Dillon Lake at the Frisco Marina. 

VACATION! VACATION! VACATION!  VACATION! 

my sis.

martina. thank you martina for lugging around the backpack 'o beer!

first stop.

pulling ashore.

 my view.

martina and i.

 the view on the way back. aren't the sailboats pretty?

i really hope you have enjoyed a vacation this fall, it is so necessary!
xoxo

Pumpkin? Yes, Please!

All of those fall recipes start coming out this time of year. At my house, the fall treat is soup. I make at least one batch a week and the boys favorite is always potato. We are trying to get a little more creative so I made a sweet potato curry soup recommended by a friend tonight and yum, it came out excellent. But much more than soup, the fall favorite with my family is pumpkin bars. I am making my third batch of pumpkin bars in 2 weeks because tomorrow is my Dad's birthday and these are his fave. I took my parents 5 cupcakes a few days ago and my Dad ate all 5 before I even left the house.

Cream cheese frosting is a bit boring, so I dyed it yellow in the last batch. These are the cupcakes we took to game night this past weekend.

Just in case you want to try them out for yourselves, here is the pumpkin bar recipe my friend Kelly shared with me:

mix:

2 C flour

2 C sugar

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp pumpkin spice

1 tsp cinnamon

add the following and beat until smooth:

4 eggs

1 16oz can pumpkin

1/2 C oil

bake in 15"x10"x1/2" pan at 350 deg F for 30 min. or bake as cupcakes at 375 deg F for 16 min. 

frosting:

1 large package cream cheese softened

1/2 C butter softened

2 C powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla 

I promise, you WON'T be disappointed you made them. Enjoy!

XOXO

hooked!

As the temperatures drop, my crochet hook gets moving! I am so excited that I have discovered the wonderful world of crochet how-to's on Youtube. I wanted to expand the number of stitches I can do because my hats were getting awfuly boring!

The puff stitch is super easy and looks very cute on a hat, I found me a nice little tutorial on Youtube and went to town! I've probably made at least 5 hats and have plans for many more. Check out these little cuties, they are baby size.

Fall is here and I am excited! The weather is lovely in New Mexico and the trees are just georgous. Love the yellow ones outside my window at work :) Makes for a better day when you are behind a computer!

Happy Fall...I gotta get going, lots of sugar skulls to make!

XOXO

No Helium Here!

These balloons are BIG and beautiful! If you have never been to a hot air balloon show, or the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, you are certainly missing out! Lots of great shapes this year and the weather was fantastic!

da da da da dah dah dah dah dah dah!

And a few from the previous night's glow:

Happy October!

xoxo