Painting Pumpkins for your Halloween Porch

I saw this picture this year and felt so inspired by it!  I really considered getting faux pumpkins and painting them and then figuring out how to create this installation.  There are approximately 31 pumpkins on that porch... even if I only did one vertical installation - it would have been at minimum 6 pumpkins.  And for reasons I can't fathom - faux pumpkins are EXPENSIVE - at Michaels a 13" Orange Craft Pumpkin by Ashland is $29.99 - same size at Walmart $14.98.  So I settled on buying a few real pumpkins and painting them.  I really had fun with it!  

1. I never knew these smaller sized pumpkins are called pumpkin pie pumpkins.  Adorable.

2. I kept our color palette limited to black, white, dark pink, light pink, orange and tan.  Like the inspiration picture.

 

 3. I found the paint dries pretty quickly and that two coats looks great.

4. I found the perfect disposable paint trays - at Dollar Tree!  They're Styrofoam rectangles and really perfect for painting projects with kids!

5. While at Dollar Tree - I also got plastic cups that are now designated as paint water cups.

6. And I believe you can get foam paint brushes there.  DT FTW!

They look SO cute on the porch!!

A special thanks to my mom Debbie and my niece Gia for painting pumpkins with me!

Peanut Butter Ball Bats - Halloween Treat

This is a special Halloween edition of my blog!  My office is doing a Halloween Treat Competition and I am excited to share my entry with you ! 

I used this post from One Sweet Appetite as my inspiration, but instead of truffles, I made a favorite of mine - peanut butter balls. 

First step: make the wings. 

Print out a bat wing pattern and lay it under a sheet of waxed paper.  Then put your melted chocolate into a Ziploc bag and cut the corner.  Use your piping bag to trace the outline of the wings onto the waxed paper and then fill in.  I started out trying to make a fine outline, but then found that a thick outline produces sturdier wings.

My Dad insisted these were dinosaurs...

Then make your peanut butter balls - 1 stick of butter, 1 1/2 cups of creamy peanut butter, 1 tsp. vanilla and 4 cups of powdered sugar.  Mix together and form into balls.  Then refrigerate.

Halfway through the refrigeration, stick the bat wings into the sides.  I was so excited at this point - it was going to work!

Melt your chocolate - I like using a makeshift double boiler.

Get your pieces ready (using your cute bowls from World Market, if possible).

These are the eyes I used:


Baaaaats!!

POST UPDATE:  You'll be happy to know these bats won the "Most Creative" category!!