Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Made these for a party this weekend - I love Fall! Recipe at Real Simple magazine HERE. They were SO easy to make and the frosting was delicious!

I've been having problems with my oven while baking lately - seems like all my cupcakes are getting a little too done on the bottoms. My shelf isn't too low, and my heat isn't too high. Not sure what the situation is? I've heard that different kinds of cupcake liners play a role in this?

Any words of wisdom, fellow bloggers and bakers?

Halloween Treat Bags - Stampin' Up!

I demo'd these little treat bags at my Stampin' Up! workshop this past Wednesday. Wouldn't they be perfect for your little ghouls and goblins to take to school for their classmates? Or to stick into the treat bags of the little gremlins in your neighborhood when they knock on your door on October 31st?


SU Products Used: Cast-a-Spell Designer Series Paper, Batty for You stamp set, Basic Black Stampin Write, Only Orange Stampin Pad, Green Galore Stampin Pad, Basic Black Cardstock, Only Orange Cardstock, 3x5 inch Cellophane Bags.

I purchased the eyeballs and pumpkin chocolate candies at my local grocery store - but you could fill the bags with all kinds of spooky novelties - think erasers, bouncy balls, spider rings, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Bite Sized Snacks

There's nothing cuter to me than "tiny" food. Perfect for small, informal gatherings, bite-sized versions of "regular" food are perfect for eating with your fingers.


Check out the mini lemon cupcakes topped with vanilla frosting and yellow sugar. Wilton makes a mini cupcake pan and most cupcake recipes translate just fine to the smaller pan - just keep a close eye on them because they won't bake for nearly as long!


For the mini brownies, I used the same mini-cupcake pan but instead of cupcake liners, I greased the pan with a healthy spritz of PAM. Divide your batter evenly - and remember that brownies don't rise the same way that cupcakes do - so fill each almost all the way to the top.

And it doesn't have to end there! You can go bite sized with non-baked goods as well! Think sliders, mini hotdogs, mini pizzas (use English muffins instead of dough!) and tiny quiche bites using teeny puff pastry pre-made pie shells.

Finger food is fun to make and looks adorable on the table. Try it for your next gathering!

Flower Pen Re-Do!

I recently got an e-mail from Angela in Arizona (Hi, Angela!) who was making flower pens for a bridal shower to use as favors and found the how-to on my blog HERE.

Angela was having problems with the floral tape she had found at Michael's and JoAnn's because it was TOO STICKY. Without a Hobby Lobby near her (this is where I purchase MY tape) I was determined to help her find a solution!

Here are two suggestions for anyone fighting a sticky tape situation!

1) Gently rinse finished pen "stems" with warm water and anti-bacterial soap. I know - it sounds crazy - but it takes away the sticky. I'm not a scientist, but I'm guessing it's something to do with the alcohol in the anti-bac.

2) Grab your handy mod podge and coat the pen "stem" with a thin layer, covering every little spot. What I love about this option is that it seals in any loose ends even better, and coats the pen with a nice sheen. You could get funky with it and use the glitter mod podge for a different kinda look!

Have you made the flower pens? I've heard from several of you that have! Drop me a line with pictures of your creations so that we can all oooh and aaah... and if anyone tries the glitter mod podge DO let me know... I think we could be on to something! : )

Full tutorial HERE!

Happy Wednesday!

Third Time's a Charm!

When Saucy announced her Halloween Charm Bracelet Swap I knew I wanted to participate right away! Halloween is one of my FAVORITE holidays, and this is the first time I've ever participated in a swap - what a great way to start!

Essentially, there are about two dozen of us making a set of 12 charms each. We mail them all to Saucy who divvies them up and sends us back a charm bracelet kit complete with twelve charms from the aformentioned bloggers. NEAT-O!

I knew right away that I wanted to do something with Shrinky Dinks to make my charms. This is funny, because I've never used Shrinky Dinks before. But in true Joanne fashion I figured I'd just work it out as I went along and it would be easy as pie!

Well... it WAS easy, in theory....

I just made some SILLY mistakes along the way...

Learning curve?

After two failed batches (trial and error folks, trial and error!) I finally had a finished product I was proud of.

To make my pumpkin charms, I used a pumpkin stamp stamped in black ink on paper, and with the Shrinky Dink plastic over the top I traced my pumpkins in black Sharpie marker.



Once dry, I flipped the plastic over and colored the pumpkins with an orange Sharpie marker.


I then cut them all out, and punched a hole in each with a regular sized hole punch.


After that they went into the oven for some shrinking magic!



I sealed the colored side of the charms with a coat of clear nail polish, which gave the charms a nice sheen, and then added 6mm rings to each.


Then it was time to package them individually for the swappers...



And wrap them up (just for fun - check out the ribbon!) and mail off to Miss Saucy!


I can't wait to get my charms back and assemble my bracelet - don't worry, I'll be sure to share pics!

So reader, what Halloween-y projects are you working on right now? Do share! And expect to see more SPOOKY things on Ready, Set, Craft very soon!