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!

"Bugs & Kisses" Halloween Cookies!

I've been waiting to turn these fabulous printables into cookies since I saw them last year.

Tammy from Pink Peppermint Prints designed them and has them available to download for free!

Tammy is one of my favorite graphic designers and party stylists.   Her designs are always gorgeous. (plus she's lovely in person too!)
If you get a chance, pop over to her site and browse through some of her parties.
AH-mazing!

You can probably guess that these were my boys' favorite Halloween cookies this year.

Creepy and disgusting always goes over well with them.

In fact, it took them a couple of days to even notice the 'kisses' part.




For days they would sneak into the kitchen, grab a bug cookie,  stuff it in their mouths and sing...

"I ate a bug and I liked it!"
They crack themselves up.

They don't know it yet, but I saved a few to slip into their lunch boxes on Halloween.

(heh-heh-heh)

The lunch ladies are going to hate me.

click HERE for more Halloween printables!

Label Cookie Tutorial for Sugarbelle!

Sugarbelle, Miss Callye, has been one of my cookie idols since my icing adventure began.
She's also as friendly and gracious in person as she seems in her blog, a sweet southern lady through and through.
I'm thrilled  (seriously folks....like jumping up and down and doing a little dance) to be guest posting over on her blog today!!!

But...do you have any idea how stressful it is to choose a guest post for Miss Sugarbelle!
Oh my word. She's the Queen of Tutorials. Don't even get me started on her color mixing chart! That has saved me many, many days.
I agonized over what to send her and finally settled on this tutorial. I made these antiqued Halloween labels last year and they've always been some of my favorites.
And then....
I realized....
I sent her POISON!!!!!!
POISON!!!!

ugh.
Well, head over to The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle  for the full tutorial on how to make your cookies look old and antiqued.
Click Here for Tutorial
I would suggest, however, if you are making cookies  for your mother-in-law or your son's teacher.... maybe don't make one that says POISON.
(Oh my goodness)