Tuesday Muse-Day

Happy Halloween friends!  Halloween is just around the corner, and friends of mine are STILL asking for costume ideas.  I must admit I'm not that much help in this department... when I was little, my costumes were pretty basic; a witch, a vampire, something to do with a rainbow wig, and one year I was Roger Rabbit, which involved one of those plastic masks that made your face hot every time you breathed.

Speaking of my childhood, Mary Poppins was one of my all-time favorite movies.  To this day, I can still recite most parts of it.  And last year, my Mom and I saw Mary Poppins on Broadway (ah-mayyy-zing!).  Remember the Jolly Holiday scene? 

Well needless to say, I was swept up in nostalgia by the Mary Poppins halloween costumes I saw today on Make It Love It and just had to make it today's muse!

Does it get any cuter?

Ashley created the most amazing costumes for her kiddos... Bert, Mary and one of the penguins from the Jolly Holiday scene!  For all you DIY'ers, she even put together a step-by-step photo tutorial to show how she created them!  Her talent absolutely blows my mind... these aren't just costumes, these are hand-crafted pieces of wearable art that her children will be able to cherish for years to come.  The detail and workmanship she put into these outfits... wow... just, wow! 

Ashley is quite the wiz with her computer too!  Check out this amazingly adorable video she put together to tie everything together... Bert & Mary are so charming, and her little penguin with that squishy plush belly is pure sunshine.

Since we're talking about costumes, look at this costume I randomly came across. It made me laugh so loud, I had to share...

PaulScheer.com

Are you and/or your kiddos dressing up this year?

xoxo,
  Kim

Tuesday Muse-Day

Halloween is rapidly approaching, which brings to mind all things scary and spooky.  Today's muse is scary, but not in the way you might think.

For some reason, making decorated sugar cookies absolutely terrifies me!  I had a really bad experience attempting to make royal icing one time, and I think it scarred me.  But after seeing these quirky Halloween cookies, I may have to give them a second chance.

Check out these vampire fang cookies by Sugarbelle's!  I saw them posted by Baking cakes, and its good that pictures are worth a thousand words, because their post was in Italian :)

There are so many things I love about SugarBelle's cookie tutorial.  She writes like she is speaking right to you, so it reads more like a conversation, which makes it so much easier to follow.  She also gives you tips that she has learned along the way in her baking journey.  I always feel that baker-to-baker tips are much more valuable, because they are speaking from experience.

Also, her photography is awesome!  Each picture is crystal clear, allowing you to get the full impact of her subject.  Look at her adorable kiddos having fun with their vampire cookie pops. 

Humorous Fang Cookies (L-R): Fangs with a gold tooth, Lady fangs, Mustache fangs

These vampire cookie pops are so much fun because you can add little details to make each one unique.  Imagine how much fun these would be as props in an impromptu photo booth at Halloween party... then you can eat the prop!

xoxo,
  Kim

Tuesday Muse-Day

Whenever I'm surfing around the web and I come across really cool ideas, I bookmark them into my "Inspirations" folder under my Favorites.  It's the perfect little collection for me to choose my Tuesday Muse-Days from.  So while I was perusing my folder today, I couldn't help but notice that a lot of them are from one of my favorite blogs, Love from the Oven! 

Aesthetically, Love from the Oven is very pleasing to the eye. It's clean design makes it easy to scroll through and catch up on the latest posts.  Also, all of Christi's content is situated in nicely organized columns, which makes this occasionally-OCD heart go pitter-patter.  And her photography - wow!  It is so inspired, focused and bursting with color. 

I could go on and on, but today's muse is not her blog itself (even though it could be), but rather one of her recent Halloween blog posts which ties in nicely with our push-pop post from yesterday. Check out these beauties... Halloween Brownie Push Pops!

Isn't she a genius?!  Look at all of those fun, bright colors! And see what I mean about the photography? 

At first glance, one might think a treat of this calliber is something you could only find in a fancy bakery, but they are actually really easy to make!  However, before I share the link to her tutorial for these treats, just take a moment and marvel at all the layers of sugary goodness... don't scroll too fast, you don't want to miss a sprinkle!

Diet-shmiet, I would not even hesitate to eat that entire thing in 20 seconds take a few lady-like nibbles of this confectionary cylinder of yumminess.

If you want to impress the pants off of your friends and family, here is Christi's awesome tutorial: Halloween Push Pop Peeps!  

xoxo,
  Kim