Ghoulish grub and bone rattling crafts for Halloween

Get into the spirit of Halloween whether it’s at home, at work, at school, or for a party. Making a craft or baking a spooky treat is simple and easy to do, and doesn’t require much more work than a regular recipe or activity would require. The best part is you don’t have to break the bank to participate in Halloween fun! Below, we’ve found some great recipes and craft ideas that anyone can take part in during the Halloween weekend that won’t take much time or effort on your part.

Trick or treating and wearing a costume are only one part of Halloween – make your own spooktacular decorations for your home or cook-up some wickedly good desserts for a party! [INSERT TWEET THIS LINK].

For a super-simple Halloween themed snack idea or party treat, try these Witch Brooms from Couponing to Disney. They’re really quick and easy to make, and you can add your own little designs and decorations to them! The amount of supplies you will need will depend on how many you want to make.

Ingredients:

• Pretzel sticks
• Peanut butter cup treats
• Assorted decorations (optional)

Note: these ingredients can be purchased as gluten-free options.

Instructions:

• Unwrap the peanut butter cups and place them upside down, so the narrower end is facing up
• Insert the pretzel sticks into the peanut butter cups so the will resemble a witch’s broom standing up
• If you want to add some flair to the broom sticks, you can alternatively use icing, sprinkles, and other baking decorations to the peanut butter cups.

Another great dessert idea that can also be made with gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and nut-free options, are these Frankenstein Rice Krispie treats from Big Bear’s Wife.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 10 ounces marshmallows
• 6 cups rice krispie cereal
• 10 drops yellow food coloring
• 10 drops blue food coloring
• Melted Chocolate/Candy Coating
•  Candy Eyes

Instructions:

• Melt the butter in a large pot and add the marshmallows. Stir until they are all melted!
•  Add in the food coloring and stir until it turns green.
• Add rice krispie cereal a little bit at a time and stir to combine.
•  Press rice krispie cereal into a buttered 9 x 13 pan. Press flat and let cool.
•  Let rice krispie treats sit for about 30 minutes.
•  Remove from pan and cut into squares.
• Melt chocolate according the package directions. Dip the tops of the Rice Krispie Treats into the melted chocolate.
• Lay on a sheet of wax paper (or a plate).
• Use some of the melted chocolate and “glue” on the candy eyes.
•  Fill a ziplock bag with some of the melted chocolate, snip an end off and pipe a stitch mouth onto Frankenstein.
• Let the Frankenstein Rice Krispie Treats sit for about 20 minutes undisturbed or until the chocolate had hardened.

If you’re feeling crafty, these Witchy Pinecone Owls from All Free Kids Crafts requires minimal materials – and they look really cute!

Materials:

•  1 pinecone
• Black craft felt
• Colored craft foam
•  Scissors
• Glue
•  Ribbon

Instructions:

• Gather a pinecone from your yard.
•   Cut out a triangular piece of black craft foam. Round the edges.
•  Cut slits in the piece on the rounded side.
•   Cut out two doughnut-shaped circles of black craft felt.
•  Fold triangle into a cone. Slide cone into one doughnut piece. Flip up slits to the underside of the hat.
• Glue slits to the underside of the hat. Glue second doughnut piece to cover up slits.
• Glue colored ribbon around hat.
• Cut out small diamond shape from craft foam in whatever color you like and glue onto pinecone.
•  Cut out two small black circles and two larger colored circles from craft foam.
• Glue smaller circles inside larger ones and glue onto pinecone.

Read more here.

However, if you’re looking for a little more complex craft – this one is sure to light up Halloween night! A Little Claireification has a great DIY Mummy Mason Jar Luminaries that is not only fun to make but will look great around your home afterwards.

Materials:

• Mason Jars
• 1″ Gauze Bandage
•  Googly Eyes
• Flameless Votive Candles

Instructions:

• Take a mason jar and wrap it with some gauze bandage tape.
• Hot glue on a couple of googly eyes
• Add in a little flameless votive candle (or a regular votive if these will be attended at all times) and boom! 

Happy Halloween!

Unpack to Organize after Summer Vacation

View fullsize

Unpacking from a summer vacation is very similar to unpacking after moving your home. It might not be on as large of a scale, but like moving, unpacking from a trip is often stressful and tiring. The last thing you want to do after being on the road or in the air for multiple hours is have to unpack.  

Do yourself a favour and get the hard work done before the trip home! The way you pack up your belongings has a huge impact on what you will have to do once you get in the door. If you get in later in the day or the evening, unpacking your belongings in an organized way is often far from your mind – but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve got some suggestions to help you get organized before you even depart from your summer vacation. 

1. Get your laundry sorted out 

Don’t make yourself have to go through all of your clothes as soon as you get home. Instead, take a plastic bag with you before you leave on your trip, and throughout your vacation add your used clothing to the bag. This way, your dirty clothes will be separated from your clean clothes, and ready to be taken to the laundry room when you get back. 

2. Pack your essentials last 

They’re your essentials for a reason, so often they’ll be the items you pack last minute and need as soon as you get home. Instead of shoving them in any pocket or area of your suitcase that you can find, place all these items in pockets that are easily accessible, or at the top of your suitcase in the same area. When you open it up, everything you need to access right away will be in reach – no rummaging around necessary! 

3. Prioritize your items 

Items like shoes, sunscreen, books or magazines, and toys should be relegated to the bottom of your suitcase. If you don’t have time to unpack all of your bags when you get home, don’t worry about it. Give priority to your essential items, and then unpack based on how urgently you need to use your items. If you have multiple bags, it might work to categorize the items into different bags based on their level of necessity. However, make sure you know what bags have what items in them beforehand.  

4. Delegate  

Whether there is a group travelling or just yourself, don’t let anyone slack off when it comes to unpacking. Although some items don’t need to be unpacked right away, leaving suitcases half full of items for multiple days can just add unwanted clutter and disorganization. Make sure that you and other travelling companions know what needs to be unpacked and when. Lists, organizers, or even organizing and list apps (like Sortly) can help everyone stay on track of what essentials need to be unpacked and when.  

People go on vacations to relax - but there is no reason why this feeling has to go away when you unpack after vacation. Pack smart before you leave so you can easily unpack to an organized home![INSERT TWEET THIS LINK].