Using Pumpkin Carving Stencils As Halloween Cookie Designs!

I HATE carving pumpkins.
I do, its true.
To be honest, it's more the hollowing out and scooping and the smell...ugh. I wish I liked it, pinkie swear!

I wish it so much that I constantly buy those pumpkin carving stencil books that are next to the checkout stand at the grocery store.
This year I was determined to do SOMETHING with the darn books. (or else I was gonna have to bring home an actual pumpkin!)

So I tried them out on a cookie....

Whoops....that's a bit blurry!

I tore out a page, reduced it by 50% on my copier/printer and threw it in my kopykake.

The silhouettes are painted with a little brush and black food coloring.

Waaaaaaay less stinky than a pumpkin.
This tree was a bit smaller than my ginormous pumpkin cookie  so I just added some tombstones on the sides and made the branches bigger.

You could also print these images out on card stock and cut them out. Then just trace around the image and color it in.
Or....y'know....buy a pumpkin and carve that.

Witch Hat Cookie Tutorial!

Do you have someone you'd love to give these cookies to?

Oh how they make me giggle!
These are inspired by a free printable  (by now y'all know how I love printables!) by Jenny at The NY Melrose Family

Wouldn't this be such a cute hostess gift!   You could print it out, pop it in a frame, and add some cute witch hat cookies!
Wanna make some of your own?

Bake some hat shapes using your favorite sugar cookie dough.
You can find the recipe I use HERE
You'll also need piping and flood icing in black and at least one accent color, I used orange, purple and electric green. If you'd like your hats to sparkle, you'll want either clear or matching sanding sugar.

The cutter I used is from a wilton set...here's a link:

Wilton Witch 4 Piece Colored Cutter Set

With your black piping icing in a pastry bag fitted with a number 2 tip,

outline the brim and black stripes of your hat.

Make sure to curve the lines where the cone of your hat would meet the brim, and on your stripes.

That will make it look nice and round!

Fill in with black flood icing and let dry completely.

Then, with your accent color in a piping bag fitted with a number 2 tip,

connect the edges of the stripes.....

and fill them in with flood icing!

Now, you can leave them like this, or you can add sanding sugar and make them sparkle.

(If you add the sugar, make sure the black is really dry!)

While the flood icing is still wet, sprinkle on your sanding sugar.

Be sure to cover all the wet spots!

Just dump off the extra.

That's it!

Super cute with sparkles or without!

An easy hostess gift for Halloween!

Just make sure your hostess has a great sense of humor....

You can find more great Halloween printables HERE!

And even more great Halloween ideas on my Pinterest Board!

Halloween shoes!

I never quite understood why witches wear all black.

I mean, I get the whole 'menacing, scary old witch, swooping down on a broomstick with a high-pitched cackle' thing.  Clearly, while doing that particular job, the plain, black outfit is appropriate.

But, c'mon.  If you were the type of person (would a witch be a person?) that could brew potions, had magic mirrors and turn princes into frogs....don't you think you'd show a little imagination in your fashion choices?

So after I thought about that for a bit....

What if you were a teenage witch!

...and you conjured up some fabulous new shoes!!!!!

And you couldn't wait to go to school and show your friends!

But then......

That girl....the one that likes the same boy you like....

conjured up shoes just like yours!!!!

*GASP*

And she got to school first!  

She was showing off her shoes before you could even get to the door!!!!!

So, you pull out your wand and aim it at her!

(now she's scared, you'll show her)

Oh no!  Someone heard you....here they come!

It's your teacher!!!!

Uh-oh, she's mad!

She's running!

Whew!  You put away your wand just in time.  She'll never know what happened...

Besides, purple roses are way cooler than orange...

Thanks for stopping by,

Lizy B