It's September and in my book, that means it's time for Halloween!Or at least time for Halloween decoration making!My mother and I have always been huge Halloween fans. Of course, it helps when your Mom can pretty much make anything you dream up for your costume. Per her sewing abilities, I have been a skunk, dragon, chicken (real feathers) and various cats, not to mention a gazillion others.Since Martha Stewart became the Queen of Craft, Halloween has become an even bigger holiday for us. We are always trying to find inexpensive, yet impressive, decorations to create the spookiest Halloween!Lucky for me, my best friend (Farrah) co-hosts her Halloween party with me every year I am nearby. Along with her ingenuity and belief that anything is possible when we attempt it, we have come up with quite a showing when it comes to Halloween decor. However, it did not happen over one year - it's been many years in the making!Our first major Halloween project is still one of our favorites. Not only is it impressive, but it involves tools! The kind you have to plug in to use!The idea comes from the aforementioned Queen of Craft: Martha Stewart. It wasn't actually up on her website last year to make, only to buy (more on that later). However, it is up there this year and I'm going to tell you how to do it!
Witch and Cat Lawn OrnamentsTools:- Jigsaw- 2 - Sawhorses (or other steady things to put your boards up on)- Screwdriver- HammerMaterials:- 1 - 4'x8' sheet of 1/2" (or more) OSB sheathing- 1 - 4'x4' sheet of 1/4" - 1/2" OSB sheathing- Black paint (spray paint, latex paint, or whatever you have handy)- Conduit straps (3 - 4 for the witch, 2 for each cat - use metal not plastic as it will break)- Wood screws (length short enough to NOT pierce through the wood)- Witch template- Cat template- 6' length of metal conduit for witch- 3 - 3' length of metal conduit for catsDirections:The first step of this project is the hardest: printing the templates at full size. When we first made the witch, I thought to myself "I have access to a big printer! Why don't I print it on that?" To answer my own question..."because Martha Stewart's templates are easy to print in single 8.5x11 sheets and just tape together." But then, after taping them together, you need to cut out the templates. Why not wait until you use the jigsaw to cut them out? Because, how else are you going to trace around the shape if the shape isn't cut out yet? Ha!So - first step - print templates, tape them together and cut them out (with scissors).Next, tape the template to the OSB board and trace the shapes. Trust me, this is much easier than trying to tape the template onto the board and cutting around it. Not awesome. The jigsaw has a tendency to shred and tear.Why OSB and not plywood, like Martha says? Well, because it's cheaper. You can use anything that you might have laying around if you want except MDF. MDF will just turn to mush in the rain. Also, be sure to use a thicker material (1/2" or more) for the witch since she's tall. She gets caught in the wind easily and can get knocked over or have her top half cracked if she's too thin.Now a little info about using a jigsaw: it's very easy. Just remember to watch your fingers! Be sure the shoe (the plate on the bottom of the jigsaw that you set on the board) is always on the board otherwise there will be too much movement and you might cut off a digit. Or two. Also, you can do curves with a jigsaw. However, you cannot do tight curves in one try. Only because the thickness of the blade will prevent you from turning The last thing you want to do is force the jigsaw and cause the blade to snap. Remember to always use sharp blades. The beauty of the jigsaw is that it's fairly light and easy for us weak (ha, ha) little girlies to use. You can start and stop wherever you need to be with ease.Wear goggles, girls (and boys). Mostly because of the sawdust in your eyes, but also because you might get a splinter in your eye and that would be bad. Don't wear flip flops in case you cut something off and forget to catch it and it lands on your foot.Both of these last two points were ignored by my mother and I, however, we were lucky. Don't test your own luck.Please note that in the pictures below, Mom and I used the witch and cats that we had a few years ago for our templates instead of printing them out. 
After cutting out the lovely witch and cats, your next step will be to screw in the conduit straps to the back of the shapes. You should only need a screwdriver and some wood screws. Unless you like power tools, then you may want to use your cordless drill.
Next, paint those cuties! Black, black, black! We used spray paint, but Martha's instructions say to use black latex paint. Whatever you want. Every year, we do have to touch them up a little here and there but the spray paint never peels. It takes more spray paint to cover the shapes than latex though. Be sure to paint both sides. You can see both sides during the day and no one wants to see the unpainted back side of a witch!Don't forget the finishing details! Attach a cup hook for the lantern. We used a conduit strap for her broom so we can slip it in and out if we need to. The broom came from Walmart and we just spray painted it black.Finally, use something to pound the metal conduit into the ground and slip your decorations in...then let the fun begin!Oh. The back lighting....hmmm...we use some simple spotlights. Don't set the witch and cats up the same day as your party (or Halloween) because you will need to do a little adjusting with the lighting before getting the perfect spooky appearance at night.Also, if you feel like you have no craft skills at all, you may order these silhouettes at Grandin Road. They are crazy expensive though! $149 for the witch and $59 for the three cats. Especially when one piece of OSB is only about $10!The witch and cats look perfect in a cemetery yard setting. More on Halloween decorations coming soon!
These cupcakes are exactly what Martha says to introduce them: "all the features of a traditional coffee cake - tender cake base, crumbly streusel top, and simple milk-and-sugar glaze."They came out pretty yummy. I believe I over baked them just a tiny bit due to the fact that it is a bit difficult to tell by their tops if they are done. Be sure to use a cake tester to see if they are done in the middle.They are incredibly crumbly, which means messy. Very messy. Keep your dustbuster handy while eating them!My big suggestion on these cupcakes is for the streusel topping. Although it was my first attempt at making these cupcakes and I haven't perfected them yet, I would suggest adding a little bit of extra butter to the streusel topping, possibly 1 or 2 Tbs. I felt that even after some crazy usage of my pastry blender (first time use!) and some finger squishing of the topping, I blended it properly with a correct amount of crumbliness. However, even after coming out of the oven, the topping simply looked like brown sugar clumps hanging out on top of the cupcakes. The butter seemed to have very little baking effect and didn't brown the brown sugar to my liking. I believe that it would help to make the streusel less crumbly and more baked to add a little more butter.
Streusel Cupcakes
Ingredients:- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanille extract
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream
- Streusel Topping (recipe follows)
- Milk Glaze (recipe follows)
Directions:- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder,and salt.
- With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scarping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in vanilla by hand. Add flour mixture and sour cream; stir until just combined.
- Divide batter evenly among lined cups. Sprinkle half the topping over cupcakes, gently pressing it into the batter. Sprinkle evenly with remaining topping. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
- To finish, place cupcakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; drizzle evenly with milk glaze. Glazed cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.
Streusel Topping(makes enough for 24 cupcakes)Ingredients:- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp. coarse salt
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tsp. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
Whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in the utter using a pastry blender, your fingertips, or two table knives until combined but still crumbly. Regrigerate30 minutes before using.
Milk GlazeIngredients:- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 3 Tbs. milk
Whisk together ingredients until smooth. Use immediately.
Dear Martha Stewart,I love your new Cupcake Cookbook. I have to admit though that I noticed that only half of the recipes were actual cupcake recipes. The other half were muffins. That’s okay. I forgive you for leading one astray with the misleading name.In an effort to bake more, I have decided to attempt a Julie & Julia move and begin to bake each of your recipes from both the Cupcake Cookbook and the Cookie Cookbook. I began by making the Blueberry & Cream Muffins.I followed the recipe to a "t" minus the part where I was on the phone with my mother and I completely forgot to add the 2 tsp. of vanilla to the recipe. Not so good. Also, after I realized that the homemade cream would only last about 3 hours, I chose to just buy some canned whipped cream. I know that’s blasphemy, but I wouldn’t be serving the muffins within three hours.So, even with the vanilla missing, the muffins turned out quite good. I would think that with the addition of the vanilla, they would even be fabulous. My fresh blueberries were incredibly delicious and fresh, even for being the dead of winter.Overall, I would give this recipe a big fat A and will definitely make it again, this time with the homemade whipped cream. Mostly because I would be making it as a breakfast muffin and serve it immediately after baking it. The blueberries were so amazing all warm and yummy right out of the oven.Thanks for being so great, Martha.Sincerely,Carrie AnnBlueberries-and-Cream CupcakesIngredients:- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
- 1 Tbs. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature
- 2 cups fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish
- Whipped Cream (recipe add end of post)
Directions:- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard or mini muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt.
- With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each in incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.
- Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. Fold in blueberries by hand.
- Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until pale golden, about 25 minutes for standard and 15 for mini. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.
- To finish, dollop cupcakes with whipped cream, and garnish with berries. Serve immediately.
Sorry, I completely forgot to take pictures of these!
Witch and Cat Lawn Ornaments
