Graveyard Halloween Dessert Table

It's Day 6 of the 13 Days of Handmade Halloween on my blog and today Sandra Garth of Sweet Sensations is sharing a ghoulish Graveyard Halloween Dessert Table.


I am super stoked to share my Halloween dessert table at Keisha’s 13 Days of Handmade Halloween round up again this year. Even though our children are grown and gone, I still enjoy this holiday with my granddaughter and sidekick Gabrielle. When our kids were little, we had the same menu every Halloween. Sloppy Joes, ham roll-ups, potato chips, a pumpkin shaped chocolate cake, and sherbet punch. Oh and candy of course.

Halloween is all about the sweet treats and although most of our traditional menu has gone by the wayside, the sweet treats are still in effect. I wish dessert tables had been on my radar back in the day. That way I would have had lots of help eating all of these tasty morsels. Anyways…each time I put together a dessert table keeping it economical as well as tasty is my intention.

Using what’s on hand, applying a few shortcuts, and digging deep into whatever creativity you can grab a hold of us is crucial. Keep in mind that if everything isn’t perfectly placed and evenly spaced it’s not the end of the world. Here are the particulars on my ghastly and ghoulish dessert table.

Graveyard Halloween Dessert Table

• Two-tiered Chocolate Cake - This cake is elevated on a drink dispenser stand. In between each layer of the cake is the same chocolate frosting as the outsides. Ghost suckers are popping out from the top tier. No worries, they’re friendly. I opted for a bottom border of crushed brownies rather than more frosting. The fence that surrounds the cake is gutter covering that came from Big Lots. I leave no section of a store unturned!

• Dollar Dollar Bill Y’all - Underneath the cake is a coffin from the dollar store filled with skulls that I had in my stash, which also came from the $ store. I dug deep into my hoarders bin for the skeletons trying to escape over the fence.
  
  

• Peeps in a Jar - The mercury glass jars at the back of the table were 80% off at Michaels. No way was I leaving those in the store. I pierced some plastic skulls, inserted nylon through, and then attached them to the jars with ribbon. The peeps on a straw were perfectly happy there. Halloween houses from days gone by elevated on Styrofoam platforms flanked each side.
  
  

• Get Ya Drink On - In the center of the table is Swamp juice (aka) Gatorade with themed straws. These little frap bottle have come in handy over the years. I could have easily made this an adult beverage by adding a lil bit of vodka but I decide not too. That doesn’t mean you can’t!

• Potato Sticks - I covered the cans with scrapbook paper to keep things simple. Back in the day, these treats were very popular. I ended up finding them not at my favorite grocery store but the local meat market. Go figure.
  
  

• Sugar Cookies - Served on silver glass trays, lightly frosted, and decorated with a powdered sugar glaze. I have one sugar cookie recipe that I always use. My kids said, “If it ain‘t broke don‘t fix it“.
  

• Candy Corn Marshmallows in round vases embellished with mesh ribbon and a button. Who knew marshmallows came in so many flavors?
  

• RIP Headstones and Bones - Candy melts on a bed of cake crumbs. I always slice the domes off my cakes to make them level. I crumbled the toppings for fake dirt. I waste nothing.
  

Oh and that cute mini ghoul is Gabrielle. Her payment for this photo shoot was all the sugar cookies she could eat. Her parents weren’t too happy about that but oh well!!

 Happy Halloween Y’all! 


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Sandra is just as at home in a thrift store as a high-end retailer. She also realizes that not everyone likes over the top desserts or lavish parties so she frequently offers money saving ideas and simple DIY projects. Her philosophy is that entertaining is as much about attitude as it is about the menu and place settings.


Thank you Miss Sandra Garth for that spooktacular treat!  Looking for more Handmade Halloween treats, view our archives here!

{13 Days of Handmade Halloween} Ogre Toes

This post is shared by Audrey from Sweet Cheeks Tasty Treats on how to make a super easy and fun Halloween treat! 

My son is a huge Shrek fan and that is where the inspiration for these treats came from. Here are step by step instructions so you can make and enjoy them too!

Ogre Toes

Supplies:
Circus Peanuts
Green Candy Melts or White Almond Bark tinted with candy coloring
Candy Fruit Chews, assorted colors

 First you'll want to get whatever candy coating you're using melted to a good consistency for dipping. I have a candy melter that works great for these kind of projects.

Next, to make the Circus Peanuts a little more toe-like, flatten them by pressing down on each one with the bottom of a glass until they are flattened.

Repeat this step with all of the Circus Peanuts you plan to use.

Then I used kitchen shears to cut the fruit chews into small pieces.

After all of the pieces have been cut, use something to press them into "toenail" shapes. I used a metal measuring spoon to flatten each piece.

Using a toothpick inserted in one end of the Circus Peanut, dip the entire "toe" into the melted candy coated until it is evenly covered. 

Remove the "toe" from  the candy coating and gently tap on the edge of your bowl to remove any excess candy melt.

Place each dipped Circus Peanut on to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to set. Top each one with a pressed piece of fruit chew.

Last step to really put them into over-the-top-creepy-cool status...use a toothpick to draw "knuckle" lines onto each of your Ogre Toes!

I'd love to hear from you if you plan on using these for your Halloween gathering!
Happy Treat Making!
~Audrey

Find more from Audrey here:

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{Announcement} 13 Days of Handmade Halloween 2013!

I am so excited to announce that I am hosting another run of the 13 Days of Handmade Halloween series! Last year, the 13 Days of Handmade Halloween series was a big hit and SO MUCH FUN that I decided to do it again with some more of my fave blog pals! This year's series with run from Monday, October 14th through Wednesday, October 30th!

Here is the list of this year's amazing participants!

Sunny By Design, Designs by SK, Vinyl Eloquence, Sweet Sensations, Three Little Monkeys Studio, Everyday Party Magazine, Painting Paris Pink, Hello My Sweet, Swish Printables, Miss Party Mom and Katerina's Paperie


Another fun addition to this series is a little partnership with Oriental Trading who provided some of the supplies for our bloggy ladies to use in their amazing Halloween creations!  I hope that you all will spread the word and get in on the fun by creating some of the ideas you will see here or some of your own.  You can share your photos on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #handmadehalloween2013.....BE SURE to grab a 13 DOHH blog button - located at the top of the page!

Be sure to check back daily as there will be freebies and prizes throughout the course of the series! Oh and in the meantime, Oriental Trading has a pretty dope SPOOKTACULAR Halloween contest happening right now - check it out!

{New Series} HANDMADE HALLOWEEN

I am excited to announce a new holiday series that I've concocted in my crazy lil' brain....I'm sure the concept isn't all that new, but WHATEVS, I'm going with it.  I've rallied up a few of my crafty party planning pals to bring to you......WAIT FOR IT.....13 DAYS OF HANDMADE HALLOWEEN!

GO AHEAD JUMP UP AND DOWN WITH EXCITEMENT NOW!

Starting Monday, October 15th and ending on October 31st during the weekdays, I'll feature a new handmade Halloween craft, project or idea!  I can't wait to share the first 'treat' with you....you'll 'drop dead'.  TEE-HEE

Feel free to save the image above and add it as a button to your sites or FB pages - ya can even Tweet!