I love to decorate the house with handmade ornaments using natural materials as people used to do in olden-times. It reminds of a time before this season became so commercially focused and people made simple, handmade ornaments, decorations, and gifts.

These simple little felted wool acorn ornaments make a great needle felting project for anyone who is a beginner or for children who’d like to try out the craft (just mind those little fingers – felting needles are very sharp!)

Follow along the steps below and bring some handmade, natural charm to your home this season!

Making Needle Felted Acorns

what you will need

• Acorn tops
• Small amount of wool roving in colour of your choice
• Thin ribbon or twine
• Awl
• Scissors
• Glue
• Felting needle

Carefully poke a hole in the acorn top – be gentle and go slowly as the tops can crack easily. I find it best to make the hole close the the middle of the acorn top and not near the edge.

Using a small amount of wool, felt a small oval shape – if you are felting for the first time, just wrap a small bit of wool tightly around itself and then start poking it with your felting needle – this will start to felt the fibres together. Once you have a good shape, you can roll the ball around in your hands to further felt the fibres.

Cut a length of twine or thin ribbon and feed it through the hole in the acorn top. Tie a knot. You might need to enlarge the hole a bit if your ribbon or twine won’t fit through.

Pull the knot snug against the inside of the acorn top.

If using twine, you can pull the strands apart, then tie them at the top to make a hanging loop. If using ribbon, you can feed the other end through the hole and then make a knot, or tie the ribbon to itself near the base of the acorn.

Add some glue to the inside of the acorn top. I just used regular clear school glue, but you could also use a glue gun, if preferred.

Press the wool felted ball into the acorn top and hold for a minute or two to make sure it has good contact with the glue. Set aside to dry.

You can add other embellishments to your acorn ornaments – here I’ve added a little sprig of boxwood and tied it into the twine. You could also add a little bell, some dried berries, or other dried plants or flowers would look lovely too!

Enjoy hanging your lovely natural ornaments on the Christmas tree or around the house, or add as a nice little adornment for that special gift!

This is a fun little craft you can do to make your house a little more festive this season! It’s quick and easy and great to make with kids who like to paint. I had the idea to do festive doors as you see so many lovely doors at Christmas-time all dressed up with wreaths and garlands and even the doors themselves are lovely and ornate and have beautiful little details to replicate in a painted garland.

The best part of this craft is it is also low-waste as you can use any old cardboard envelopes or thin cardboard boxes (the thicker ones are a bit tricky to cut the shapes) and many people have an abundance of these coming in at this time of year.

I will include a printable outline for the door shape you can cut out and trace onto card in both large (about 8 inches tall) size and mini (about 5 inches).

Making the festive door garland

what you will need

• Recycled cardboard or brown Kraft paper cardstock
• White gouache paint
• Thin and medium thickness paintbrushes
• Festive ribbon or twine
• Antique-look bells or other trimmings

MethoD

1. Print out door template (if using), trace onto cardboard, and cut out.
2. Find some inspiration for festive-looking doors either in your neighbourhood or by searching online! Make some quick sketches so you have a few ideas to work with. You can reuse similar elements and mix and match to make your doors unique.
3. Using white gouache paint and thin to medium paint brushes, start to paint designs on your door shapes.
4. When all your doors are painted and dried, add holes to the top, string some festive ribbon or twine through and add bells or other embellishments as you please! I thought it would be nice to add some greenery around each door but didn’t get to it this time.

click on the image below to download pdf template

Our littlest one recently celebrated his third birthday and as a Very Hungry Caterpillar‘s superfan, I thought I’d try my hand at making Hungry Caterpillar cupcakes for the occasion. Being not very adept at cake decorating, I knew I wanted to keep things as simple as possible, while still coming up with something that at least resembled the famous little green and red guy!

The most time-consuming part of these is making the little faces, but even they don’t take too much effort. You can make the faces ahead of time and then have them ready to pop on the cupcakes when you’re ready to do the decorating.

While our older two didn’t really take to ‘cata-peeyah’ (as he’s known in our house) quite as much (maybe they came to the story too late), Arthur was quite taken with this ravenous little guy, and his tale of great hunger and subsequent transformation (spoiler!).. into a beautiful butterfly! He’s now memorized the story and so ‘reads’ it more to us now than we do to him.

I think the cupcakes turned out pretty cute and are quite easy to decorate, so if you’ve got your own little Hungry Caterpillar fan at home, I hope you’ll have fun giving these a try too!

how to make very hungry caterpillar cupcakes

Cupcakes

• Use your favourite cupcake recipe – I’ve used the Moist Vanilla Cupcakes recipe from lifeloveandsugar.com a few times now, and they’ve come out perfect every time!
• Be sure cupcakes are well-cooled before decorating.

How to Make Very Hungry Caterpillar Faces

I used the same recipe as for the Candy Bones and Eyeballs I made at Hallowe’en which make a moldable icing that hardens when left to air dry. You can make the faces ahead of time and keep them in a container in the fridge until needed.

ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons meringue powder
• 6-7 teaspoons water
• Parchment or waxed paper
• Tray
• Red, green and yellow food colouring
• Soft black licorice, such as this Australian Licorice

METHOD

• In a medium bowl, mix together powdered sugar and meringue powder. Slowly add the water teaspoon by teaspoon until the mixture forms a dough. Start out mixing with a spoon, then use your hands to mix. Knead dough until smooth.
• Divide dough into 3 portions – two smaller amounts and one larger. To the largest portion, add red food colouring, as much as is needed to make it a deep red. Mix until the dough is uniformly red.

I first mixed the dough with a spoon but then kneaded it with my hands to get the colour to mix in thoroughly.

Be sure to wash your hands between mixing colours!

• Do the same process for the two smaller portions of dough, making one green and one yellow.

NOTE: Keep the dough covered when not in use as it dries out quite quickly!

Making the hungry caterpillar head

Take a small portion of the red dough and roll into a ball, then flatten to a small oval/disc shape. Only make a few heads at a time as you don’t want the dough to dry out before you’re ready to add the eyes and nose.

Make sure you make the ovals small enough that they’ll fit on a cupcake, keeping in mind you’ll need room to fit the caterpillar body too. The ones I made were about 1 inch across by 1.25 inches tall.

Place ovals on a parchment paper covered tray, ready to add the eyes and nose.

making the hungry caterpillar eyes

Roll tiny balls out of the yellow dough and flatten to a small oval/disc. Do the same with the green and then place the green on top of the yellow.

putting the hungry caterpillar face together

Place the assembled yellow and green eye pieces onto the red face piece and press down gently to secure. If they’re not sticking, just take a drop of water on your finger tip and tap on the back of each eye and then try attaching to the face again.

For the nose, cut or pinch off a tiny piece from the soft black licorice and press into the face just below where you’ve placed the eyes.

Set aside to let air dry for a few hours. Make sure to be gentle when handling these as they’re quite delicate until they dry!

If making ahead of time, the faces can be stored in a container in the fridge until ready to use.

How to Decorate the Very Hungry Caterpillar Cupcakes – Putting It All Together

I was attempting to make the caterpillar bodies in a two-tone/ombre kind of look akin to Eric Carle’s lovely Very Hungry Caterpillar artwork. Not a complete success on that front as the two colours didn’t really come together until the last few cupcakes I decorated. Feel free to play around with the colours yourself, or just go easy on yourself and make them all in one shade of green!

Keeping with the style of The Very Hungry Caterpillar illustrations, I used a base of white icing/frosting, followed by some rainbow sprinkles for all the lovely colourful dots in the illustrations and then added our caterpillar friend piped in the middle, with a little sprinkle of yellow dusting sugar for his fuzziness.

what you will need

• Premade Hungry Caterpillar faces
• Vanilla icing/frosting – white and green
• Green food colouring
• Yellow sanding sugar, such as this one
• Candy coated chocolate balls or rainbow sprinkles
• Soft black licorice – cut into thin 3-4cm long pieces – 2 per cupcake
• Piping bag with an open star piping tip

vanilla icing/frosting

I used the icing recipe that goes along with the Moist Vanilla Cupcakes at lifeloveandsugar.com. I think next time I would double the recipe as I ended up a bit short and would have liked to make the caterpillars a bit more plump too! I guess mine turned out more like the little caterpillar before he ate up all that food…

Set aside half of the icing/frosting to keep white for the base decorating. With the other half of the icing, add green food colouring until it reaches your desired shade of green. I made two shades to mix together when piping on the caterpillar body. Just one shade of green will do perfectly fine as well!

prepare all ingredients before starting to decorate

Piping Bag

Prepare piping bag with open star tip, then add in green icing. If using two shades of green for an ombre effect, fill one side of the bag with one shade of green and place the other shade on the opposite side. There is a helpful tutorial at Sugar & Sparrow if you need help.

Candies & Sugar

Prepare your other decorations – rainbow sprinkles, yellow dusting sugar and black licorice cut into 3-4cm long segments.

Ice the cupcake using the white icing.

Pour the rainbow sprinkles onto a plate and roll the cupcake around on the sprinkles until you have a rim of sprinkles all around the base, leaving white in the middle to place your caterpillar.

Pipe a caterpillar shape onto the white middle of the cupcake, curving the icing around half of the top. As I said, I wish I’d made my caterpillars a bit more plump!

Press one of the premade caterpillar faces onto one end of the piped green body.

Just behind the caterpillar’s head, stick two of the black licorice antennae into the cupcake. Sprinkle some of the yellow sugar into the body of the caterpillar.

Your Very Hungry Caterpillar cupcakes are now complete and ready to delight the little birthday girl or boy!

Enjoy seeing your little one’s face light up when they see their favourite little caterpillar adorning their birthday treat

This paper heart mobile is just about the easiest mobile you could make and turns out so very pretty!

If you’re looking for a sweet little gift to make for a new baby’s nursery, or decoration ideas for a Valentine’s party, this is the post for you! You can make this mobile in no time at all and since it is mostly made with paper it’s also very inexpensive, and you might just have everything you need on hand already!

making hearts using paper punch or die cutting machine

I used a paper punch to cut out the hearts for the mobile – there are many options for paper punches out there. You can check out options at craft shops such as Michael’s, art supply stores or of course, Amazon.

For my birthday I was so fortunate to receive a Cricut Maker die cutting machine (so grateful, yet a bit terrified at the same time!) and so for my very first project I decided to stick to something really easy and manageable whilst learning how to use the machine – a page of hearts similar to the ones I cut out with my old paper punch. So happy to say, they were a success!

If you have access to a Cricut machine and would like to use my heart page SVG, please see the bottom of this post to get a copy. Personal use only, please! Not to be copied and redistributed anywhere else (for free or purchase), thank you.

paper options

I made the mobile above with hearts gradating in colour from light at the top to dark at the bottom and the supply list will reflect that. You can choose whatever pattern and colours you’d like, of course! Experiment with different kinds of paper, or make from recycled materials such as magazines or pretty packaging paper – anything goes, really!

what you will need to make a paper heart mobile

• Cardstock – 6 shades from light to dark – made mine with lightest pink to red
• Mobile ring – I used a gold one with a 9 inch diameter – found at craft or bead stores
• Twine – Two lengths of twine that are 50 inches long each
• Baker’s twine – I used pink and white – cut eight – 16 inch strands
• Paper heart punch
• Hole punch with capability of punch small holes – I use a leather punch
• Alternately, use Cricut die cutting machine instead of paper punch + hole punch
• White glue (optional)

paper heart mobile tutorial

Making the paper hearts

1. Choose six shades of cardstock – I chose varying shades of pink and red. Cut out paper hearts (either using a paper punch or Cricut machine) – you will need six hearts in each shade. Feel free to add more or less, depending on the look you’re after!

2. Punch two small holes vertically on each heart. I use a leather punch that works really well for this, but if you don’t have one, you can also just make holes using a large needle or an awl.

Alternately, if you don’t have a paper punch and would like to cut hearts on a Cricut die cutting machine, please see the bottom of this post for my free paper heart SVG. If cutting hearts on a Cricut, the centre holes will be made for you.

After all your paper hearts are ready to go, gather all other supplies – metal hoop, baker’s twine, natural twine, scissors and white glue (optional).

Making mobile base – attaching twine to hoop

We’ll start making the mobile by attaching the natural twine to the metal hoop.

1. Cut two lengths of natural twine that are each 50 inches long.

2. Wind the twine around the hoop 3-4 times, leaving a few inches for tying. Tie a knot and then another knot to secure. You can add a little dab of white glue to further secure the knot and keep it from sliding out.

3. Attach the other end of the twine across the hoop from the knot you just tied. Secure in the same way as the first knot.

4. Attach the second piece of natural twine on the hoop at a 90 degree angle to where you tied the first two knots, so you will have knots equally spaced around the hoop, ensuring the mobile will balance.

You will now have twine tied on four points around the hoop (image below)

5. Gather the twine together so that the pieces are even and then tie a knot so that you make a loop at the top that is about 2-3 inches long. This will be the hanging loop for the mobile.

Once tied, the top loop will look like the image below.

making strands of paper hearts & attaching to mobile

1. First decide if you want your hearts to go from light at top to dark at the bottom, or vice versa. Whichever you’d like at the bottom, you will thread that colour on first.

Thread your needle with a 16 inch strand of baker’s twine (for 12 inch length when finished + 4 inches for tying onto hoop) and make a knot in the end that is large enough it won’t go through the hole (will need to make knots on top of one another to make a larger knot).

2. Start by coming through the back of the heart in the bottom hole and then back in through the top hole.

The first heart should look like the above image, with the knot at the back of the paper heart.

3. Add on another paper heart in the same way as you did the first, by pulling the baker’s twine through the back and then into the top hole toward the back again.

4. Continue adding on hearts until you have as many of each shade as you’d like. I did 6 hearts for each strand, going from dark at the bottom to light at the top.

5. Continue making strands of hearts until you have eight strands total, or however many you’d like on your mobile!

6. Now you’ll tie each strand onto the mobile, between the places where you tied on the natural twine for hanging. I placed two strands per quadrant. Tie the stands on in the same way as you tied on the natural twine. You can add a little spot of white glue on each knot to secure it.

Your paper heart mobile is complete! Now find a lovely place to hang it or give it away to someone you love and warm their heart today

Please remember, if hanging mobile in baby’s nursery always make sure to hang well out of reach of baby or other young children.

hearts svg for cricut Maker

To save the SVG, please click on the image and once the image opens, right click on the image and save it to your computer. Please scroll down for more info regarding making the paper hearts on a Cricut.

When making the hearts on a Cricut, I made the canvas size 8 x 10 and used an 8.5 x 11 inch paper (US letter size). (See image below)

When selecting material size, select 8.5 x 11 in (Letter) in the ‘Material Size’ dropdown. I used the standard grip mat (green mat).

Clove orange pomanders are so fun to make and are a lovely way to make your home smell festive and fresh! I remember my mum making orange pomanders when I was little and loved having one sitting prettily in a glass dish on the piano at Christmastime, greeting us with it’s lovely scent coming in the house on wintry days.

There are a number of ways you can make clove orange pomanders and I’ll detail a few options in this post, so you can try your hand at making whichever strikes your fancy! Not only do clove oranges smell delicious, but you can also create pretty festive bowls to display them in and add a lovely natural touch to your holiday décor this season.

what is a clove orange pomander?

An orange clove pomander is a decorative ornament made by studding an orange with whole cloves. To make a pomander, you’ll need an orange, a package of whole cloves, and an awl, needle or other pointy instrument to poke holes in the orange so you can easily insert the whole cloves.

Start by poking the awl or needle into the orange to create a small hole, then insert a clove into the hole. Repeat this process until the orange is completely covered with cloves. The pomander will release a pleasant, spicy scent as the orange dries out.

To create a more decorative pomander, you can also add ribbon or other embellishments to the orange once it is covered in cloves. Pomanders are often used as holiday decorations, but they can also be hung in closets or drawers to add a pleasant scent to the air as well as to ward off pests such as moths (who dislike the smell of cloves).

using other citrus fruits

Not just reserved for oranges, you can also use other citrus fruits to make pomanders! I’ve used clementines to make smaller pomanders to hang on the Christmas tree and you can use lemons, limes, tangerines, etc. as you can easily stick cloves into these and they dry similarly to oranges.

4 decorative pomander ideas

Here are a few ideas for how you can make a variety of different clove orange pomander balls. Scroll down for details on how to make each type.

• COVERED – Completely cover with cloves, add twine through centre of fruit for hanging.
• RIBBON WRAPPED – Wrap a ribbon or cut a thin length of linen to wrap orange, leaving some parts of the orange showing. Add cloves to the uncovered parts.
• CARVED DESIGN + CLOVES – Use a tool to scrape off parts of the orange rind so that the white of the pith is showing beneath. I found using a lino-cut tool is really great for this, but you can also use the corner of a zester or other sharp instrument to a similar effect. You can then dot cloves along the design you’ve created.
• DECORATIVE DESIGN USING CLOVES – Make a decorative design over the surface of the orange – as simple or complex as you’d like! Using an elastic band around the orange is very useful for keeping your lines straight. A scrolling design is also quite lovely.

#1 – clove covered orange pomander

what you will need

• Firm, ripe orange, clementine or other citrus fruit
• Awl, needle or sharp instrument for making holes
• Whole cloves
• Twine for hanging (optional)
• Large needle (optional)

Step 1. If making a hanging ornament, start by cutting a long piece of twine and threading large needle with it. Going from the bottom of the fruit, push the needle all the way through from one side to the other and then back down and through, so your needle comes out close to where you went in. Make a knot at the top and tie a bow at the bottom.

Step 2. Using your awl or needle, poke a few holes in the fruit and begin placing cloves in the holes. Continue until the entire fruit is covered.

Hang on your tree for a lovely scented ornament or year round in the closet to repel moths.

#2 – Ribbon wrapped orange pomander

what you will need

• Firm, ripe orange, clementine or other citrus fruit
• Awl, needle or sharp instrument for making holes
• Whole cloves
• Ribbon or narrow length of linen or cotton – length will depend on the size of the fruit

Step 1. Start by wrapping your ribbon around the orange so that you go over the orange and down the sides, cross the ribbon at the bottom side and come up to the top again. Tie the ribbon in a bow at the top.

Step 2. Begin making holes in the orange at the parts not covered by ribbon. Place cloves in the holes, continuing until all exposed parts of the fruit are covered.

Note: If you find that the juice of the fruit is messing your ribbon as you work, alternately you can make light pencil outline at the edges of the ribbon, remove the ribbon and add all the cloves, then retie the ribbon once all the cloves are in place.

Add an extra ribbon at the top for hanging by looping under the top of the ribbon already in place then hanging on the tree or on a doorframe, etc.

Another display idea is to place your clove orange pomander in a dish to display along with other festive natural items such as pine, boxwood, cinnamon sticks, anise, etc.

PLEASE NOTE: Oranges that are not completely covered with cloves are slower to dry out and risk molding rather quickly. To lessen the chance of your pomanders getting mold, you can add make your clove design, then place the orange in a paper bag to dry out for several days. Once the orange has dried you can then add ribbon and hang up.

#3 – Carved design with cloves orange pomander

what you will need

• Firm, ripe orange, clementine or other citrus fruit
• Awl, needle or sharp instrument for making holes
• Whole cloves
• Lino-cut tool or citrus zester
• Elastic bands
• Pencil for marking

Step 1. If you wish to make straight lines of cloves on the orange, place an elastic around the fruit to use as a guide for placing the cloves. Use the awl or needle to make holes and then push the cloves into the holes. On the example below, I made one line of cloves around the centre and then made swirl lines using the lino-cut tool.

Step 2. Using a zester or lino-cut tool, make patterns and designs by cutting shallow lines into the peel.

Step 3. Place cloves along the lines you made with your cutter or zester.

Make a pretty and festive display by placing a bit of raw wool in a wintry bowl or mug and placing the pomander on top, then tuck bits of natural elements such as lavender, holly, boxwood or pine behind the orange. Add anise, bells, cinnamon sticks, etc. to the bowl for a beautifully scented, festive presentation.

PLEASE NOTE: Oranges that are not completely covered with cloves are slower to dry out and risk molding rather quickly. To lessen the chance of your pomanders getting mold, you can add make your clove design, then place the orange in a paper bag to dry out for several days. Once the orange has dried you can then add ribbon and hang up.

#4 – Decorative design orange pomander

For this orange pomander idea, you will make a pattern over the surface of the orange using cloves. You can make a freehand design or if you like a bit more of a plan, try using a pencil to lightly map out your design on the surface of the orange peel.

what you will need

• Firm, ripe orange, clementine or other citrus fruit
• Awl, needle or sharp instrument for making holes
• Whole cloves
• Pencil for marking

Step 1. Map out your design idea. Swirling patterns look particularly nice, though radiating straight lines can look just as lovely! You can use a pencil to lightly mark the design or gently scratch the surface of the peel using a needle.

Step 2. Begin punching holes along your pattern lines and placing cloves in the holes. You can space the cloves either close together or further apart, depending the look you’re after.

Display your pretty patterned orange in a wintry mug or bowl with other festive elements such as pine branch bits, boxwood, berries and anise.

PLEASE NOTE: Oranges that are not completely covered with cloves are slower to dry out and risk molding rather quickly. To lessen the chance of your pomanders getting mold, you can add make your clove design, then place the orange in a paper bag to dry out for several days. Once the orange has dried you can then add ribbon and hang up.

I love to use oranges to decorate the house around the holidays – their lovely vibrant colour and delicious scent make them perfect for making garlands, adding to wreaths or making ornaments to hang on the tree! It also makes a fun activity to do with kids as they love to get involved with the process of preparing the oranges, seeing the fruit change texture as they dry and then making decorations they can hang on the tree or add to gifts.

Here are four methods for drying orange slices that you can then use for decorating your home this festive season. The one I like best and which is relatively fast and easy seems to produce the best result is the dehydrator method, though understandably not everyone has a dehydrator to use, so just choose whichever method will work best for you!

4 easy ways to dry oranges

dehydrator method

Start by washing and thoroughly drying the fruit. Then, using a sharp knife, slice the oranges crosswise into thin rounds, about 1/4 inch thick. If you would like to use the orange slices for hanging ornaments, poke a hole at the edge of the rind, making sure that it’s quite big so it won’t disappear as the orange dries. You can also poke a needle through the flesh of the orange later with a string if you forgot this step – the flesh will be easier to go through than the rind once the orange is dried and the rind dries quite hard.

Place slices onto dehydrator trays, set temperature to 145 degrees Fahrenheit and leave to dry for 4-6 hours, flipping occasionally. You’ll know they’re done when they’ve hardened significantly and are no longer sticky to the touch.

Oven method

To dry oranges in the oven, start by washing and thoroughly drying the fruit. Then, using a sharp knife, slice the oranges crosswise into thin rounds, about 1/4 inch thick. Place the orange slices on a drying rack or a lined baking sheet and place them in the oven set to the lowest temperature setting, around 200 degrees Fahrenheit or your lowest oven setting.

It’s important to keep the oven door open slightly to allow moisture to escape. Drying times will vary depending on the thickness of the orange slices, but it usually takes about 4-5 hours for the oranges to fully dry. If you find that the oranges aren’t quite dry, leave them on racks on the counter until they’re fully dry.

hanging up to dry method

This method takes some time (a couple weeks) but the oranges do seem to retain their colour well this way. They also look lovely hanging as they dry and make quite a nice decoration even like that! I hung mine on a wooden hanger and they do brighten the room and smell so nice as they dry.

Start by washing and thoroughly drying the fruit. Then, using a sharp knife, slice the oranges crosswise into thin rounds, about 1/4 inch thick. Thread a large needle with a length of twine and pierce the needle through the rind, close to the edge of the orange slice. Pull the twine through, then tie twine to a coat hanger and hang to dry where there is plenty of airflow so that the oranges don’t start to mould. As noted, this does take some time so if you need oranges for decorating sooner rather than later, you might want to choose one of the other methods listed.

sun drying method

Another option is to dry the orange slices in the sun. This method takes longer, but it allows the fruit to retain its bright colour. To dry oranges in the sun, simply place the slices on a drying rack or a lined baking sheet and let them sit in the sun for several days, turning them occasionally to ensure even drying. Of course, if you are in a colder climate this method won’t be the best choice for you!

Uses for dried orange slices

I’ll have some more ideas coming soon in future posts but here are some ideas to get you started!

• Hanging ornaments – thread twine through the rind or close to the rind and decorate with other natural elements such as cloves and anise.
• Garlands – taking a length of twine, string or ribbon thread through the centres of the orange slices to make a bright and festive garland. Looks lovely over pine boughs or paired with a felt ball garland.
• Place in pretty bowls, teacups or mugs along with other natural festive elements and place around your home – they look festive and smell so lovely!
• Add a naturally festive touch to gifts by tying on with twine and adding a small branch of pine or boxwood beneath.

Gingerbread mummy cookies are so fun and easy to make for Hallowe’en and the kids just love them!

These mummy cookies are easy to decorate and are a hit at Halloween parties or gatherings. I added some little candy hearts to give them a little extra colour, but either way they are cute and fun for kids to make… and eat!

For these cookies I used my pumpkin gingerbread recipe, but you can use whatever is your favourite gingerbread cookie recipe. My next post will include my pumpkin gingerbread recipe, so you can give it a try too!

In the fall we cook a lot of pumpkin as I like to puree it and then freeze it since it’s tricky to find pumpkin at any other time of the year and as I’m a little bit addicted to pumpkin smoothies, I must have a constant supply of pumpkin at hand!

It’s become a bit of a family joke about how much I love pumpkin and how I’ll try to sneak it into anything I can! Naturally, I’ve added pumpkin to my gingerbread recipe and we’ve all agreed it works really well in these cookies – they turn out soft and lovely with a hint of pumpkin and are really filling too!

Of course, not only is pumpkin delicious, it’s also really good for you! Pumpkin is high in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and is also a good source of fibre.

If you aren’t able to roast and puree your own pumpkin, you can always use the canned variety. Though just be sure to use ‘pureed pumpkin’ and not ‘pumpkin pie filling’ which will have added sugar.

My next post will include my pumpkin gingerbread recipe, so you can give it a try too!

how to make mummy cookies

what you will need

• A batch of your favourite gingerbread cookies, cut into people shapes (or store-bought cookies, if you’re in a pinch! Even regular round cookies make really cute mummy faces)
• White royal icing – I used the recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction and it worked out perfectly!
• Small amount black royal icing
• Candy eyeballs
• Piping bag with flat tip (it was #6 basketweave tip in my set)

Make a batch of your favourite gingerbread cookies. Wait until they’ve cooled completely before icing!

Put a strip of the black icing across the face of the gingerbread cookie where you want the eyes to be.

Place eyes onto black icing and press down slightly to ensure they’re well-stuck.

Add the white royal icing to your piping bag with flat tip (I used #6 basketweave tip), and begin piping the icing onto your mummy in strips from side to side.

Continue piping strips across your mummy until you’re happy with your design. The first mummy I did I went a little overboard and the icing ran together in parts, so I think less is more in this case!

I added some little candy hearts to each one to let the mummies show their love! It was only later that I realised some of the mummies turned out with rather horrified expressions on their faces because of the way I’d piped them, haha. My son thought this was pretty funny as they looked quite aghast as they were being eaten!

I hope you enjoy making these mummy cookies as much as we did! They make a great treat to make for Hallowe’en parties and kids love to help make and decorate them too.

Happy Hallowe’en!!

These candy eyeballs and bones are so easy to make and make a great addition to your Halloween baking! The best part of making your own candy decorations is is that you can make as many as you want and customize them to your needs.

We wanted funny candy eyes for some mummy gingerbread cookies and these worked out perfectly as we could make them the sizes we wanted and make them looking sideways or cutely cross eyed, or whatever we wanted, really!

For the candy bones I used a silicone mold. They definitely don’t pop right out as easily as chocolate or candy melts would, and so need a bit of reshaping, but I think overall they were a success.

As the bones dry out they do take on a bit of a misshapen appearance, but I quite like them as they seem fitting for Halloween that way!

The candy bones make great toppings for cupcakes or cookies, and best of all – they taste very yummy! The kids asked to try them and then I had to secret them away so I’d have enough left for the photos for this post! My 2 year old kept calling out ‘boooones!’ after I’d hidden them away. I didn’t want him having too many though as he is not too crazy about brushing his teeth so we try to keep his sugar intake to a minimum (tips on turning a bit of a wild toddler into a star toothbrusher more than welcome!).

Anyway, a bit of a last-minute post before Halloween, but if you’re in need of cookie or cupcake decorations and don’t have them on hand these take only a few ingredients and are easy to make!

Happy (almost) Hallowe’en!

how to make candy bones and eyeballs

what you will need

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons meringue powder
• 6-7 teaspoons water
• Silicone bone tray (if making bones)
• Black gel food colouring for eye pupils (if making eyeballs)
• Small sharp knife
• Parchment or waxed paper
• Tray

method

In a medium bowl, mix together powdered sugar and meringue powder. Slowly add the water teaspoon by teaspoon until the mixture forms a dough. Start out mixing with a spoon, then use your hands to mix. Knead dough until smooth.

for making bones

Take small amounts of dough and push into silicone mold. Pull around edges of mold to release, then push from the bottom of mold to remove ‘bone’. You might need to reshape the ‘bone’ a little as it is hard to remove them without them getting a little misshapen!

Lay on a parchment or waxed paper covered tray. Let dry overnight.

for making eyeballs

First make up the black dough for the eye pupils – take a small portion or dough and add a dot of black food colouring. This is quite messy, so you might want to wear gloves… my hands are always dyed with something, so I didn’t bother with gloves, haha. Mix in the food colouring until the dough is a uniform colour. Set dough aside while you make the eye whites.

Note: If you have not worn gloves, wash hands very well to prevent transferring any dye to the eye whites!

For the eye whites, take a small portion of dough and roll between hands to form a long cylinder (mine was about 1/2″ diameter). Place cylinder onto cutting board or plate and cut small (1/4″ or so) pieces. Carefully place pieces onto parchment covered tray.

Note: Don’t let the eye whites dry out before adding the pupils as they won’t stick as well!

Add pupils to eye whites:

Take tiny bits of your black dough and roll between fingers, drop onto whites where you’d like to pupil to sit, then press down gently with a clean finger.

Let eyeballs dry several hours or overnight.

Use candy bones and eyeballs to decorate all your halloween cookies, cakes and cupcakes!

candy bones tutorial in photos

1. Mix powdered sugar, meringue powder together. Add water (a few teaspoons at a time), when dough starts to come together, knead with hands until dough is soft and smooth.

2. Press small portions of dough into silicone mold, then remove gently by stretching mold and pushing mold from bottom.

3. Place bones on parchment covered tray and let dry several hours or overnight.

candy eyeballs tutorial in photos

1. Mix powdered sugar, meringue powder together. Add water (a few teaspoons at a time), when dough starts to come together, knead with hands until dough is soft and smooth.

2. Take a small portion of dough and roll between hands to form a long cylinder (mine was about 1/2″ diameter). Place cylinder onto cutting board or plate and cut small (1/4″ or so) pieces. Carefully place pieces onto parchment covered tray.

Note: Don’t let the eye whites dry out before adding the pupils as they won’t stick as well!

3. Take a small portion or dough and add a dot of black food colouring. This is quite messy, so you might want to wear gloves… my hands are always dyed with something, so I didn’t bother with gloves, haha. Mix in the food colouring until the dough is a uniform colour.

Take tiny bits of your black dough and roll between fingers, drop onto whites where you’d like to pupil to sit, then press down gently with a clean finger.

Let eyeballs dry several hours or overnight.

These DIY Halloween treat bags are so fun and easy to make and are great for filling with candies to give to friends and reuse again next year!

I made my bags by cutting pieces of muslin and cheesecloth that were about 5 inches x 6 inches, sewing the top edge and then sewing around three sides to create a little baggie.

Then just stamp with either store-bought Halloween stamps or make your own with my DIY Linocut Stamp tutorial! These are a great project for kids to get creative at Hallowe’en and they’ll love giving out their handmade creations to all their friends.

to jump to diy treat bag tutorial, please click here

how to make diy treat bags

what you will need

• Small muslin or cheesecloth bags (or make some of your own!)
• Hallowe’en stamps
• Black ink pad
• Baker’s twine
• Hallowe’en tags (if using)
• Treats!

1. Gather all supplies and make up little bags by cutting 2 pieces of muslin or cheesecloth (I made mine 5 inches by 6 inches), sew along the top edges, then with right sides together, sew along three edges to form baggie. Trim seams and corners, turn right side out, and you’re done! These are pretty quick to make up, but you can also buy some small blank bags if you’re short on time!

2. Gather your stamps and ink pad and start stamping your designs!

Don’t worry if your stamping isn’t perfect, I think it adds to the rustic nature of the project

3. Once you’re happy with your stamped design, cut a short piece of baker’s twine, and add a little gift tag if you’d like.

3. Wait a little bit to make sure your ink is dry, though I found it didn’t transfer even when I touched them right away. Then have fun filling with yummy Hallowe’en treats!

Have fun giving out to all your favourite little witches, ghosts, and goblins! Not sure if any child dresses as a witch, a ghost or a goblin anymore, but I couldn’t think of anything that had quite the same ring

ghgHave you ever wanted a stamp that you just couldn’t find in the store? Or love a more ‘rustic look’ than those precise store-bought stamps offer? If yes, then you should try making linocut stamps!

If you’re not familiar with linocut printmaking, it is a type of printing in which you cut a relief into a piece of linoleum, apply ink and make a print either by hand or with a press onto paper or fabric.

I have loved this type of printmaking ever since I was introduced to it in highschool. The beauty of this type of printmaking is that it requires few tools and materials to get started and you can be as simple or intricate as you like in creating your piece for printing.

Creating linocut stamps is a great way for older children to get creative and is also a wonderful introduction to printmaking! After you have made your stamps you can then use them for making cards, wrapping paper, wall prints or even print onto fabric and use your designs in your sewing projects (just be sure to use fabric ink!).

I wanted to make some vintage-looking Hallowe’en stamps, so I dug out my old lino tool (the same one I had in high school!) and got to work. I had lots of fun making these little pumpkins, ghosts, bats and mummies and now I’ll have to put them to use making prints in time for Hallowe’en!

If you’d like to give this a try, please scroll down for the simple tutorial

how to make linocut stamps

what you will need

• Lino cutting tool
• Carving block
• Ink (I just used an ink pad for this tutorial but you can use any printmaking ink)
• Pen
• Paper
• Carving surface such as a wood block, tile, etc. or anywhere really you don’t mind getting nicks.
• Brayer *optional – a roller to ink your stamp if using printmaking ink

NOTE: The lino cutter pieces are quite sharp – please take care whilst carving!

1. Draw out your design on paper. Remember that any parts you carve out will remain white (un-inked) and any parts that are uncarved will be dark (inked).

2. Cut out a piece of linoleum just a bit larger than your design. Then trace your design onto the linoleum. I just traced around mine and then drew a similar face, but you could transfer your design directly by colouring the back of the paper with pencil, placing it on your linoleum piece and then tracing over your design to transfer the markings.

3. If you have transferred your design with pencil, go over with pen so it is easier to see your markings as you carve.

4. Begin carving using your lino cutting tool. I usually start off with the finest cutter to get the basic shape carved out and then go in with the larger cutters to carve wider areas.

It can help to pick up the piece to carve, just be careful to mind your hands as you go – the tool is very sharp and can slip pretty easily – I remember quite a few wounds from my highschool linocutting days!

5. If you’d like you can cut around the perimeter of your design so that it is a cut out stamp, or you can leave it as is if you want your design to have a background. Your tool should come with a tiny knife for doing this, otherwise an X-Acto knife or similar works well too.

6. Once you’re happy with your carved block, you’re ready to print! Before printing, make sure to sweep off your block and turn it over and tap it against a surface to get any remaining pieces of cut linoleum that might be stuck in the grooves of your carved areas.

7. Now ink up your stamp and try your first print! If you’re unhappy with any areas of the printed image, you can always go in with your cutter again and make some changes.

8. Have fun making lots of Hallowe’en themed prints!

ideas for using lino cut stamps

• Cards
• Wall print
• Wrapping Paper
• Fabric print
• Fabric wrapping for gifts (Furoshiki style)
• Hallowe’en bunting or banner
• Reusable treat bags

• Instagram

• Pinterest

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