Gone Batty

We Have Gone Batty!

 



As you might have noticed through the years, Zoulah is a bit batty about Halloween, and so are all the Red Couch Family, minus the Professor.  

For years the Red Couch Family has lived on acreage.  We would never get any Trick or Treaters.  Sometimes, our friends would feel sorry for us and come over.  Last year, we moved and lived on a normal street, a subdivision street, a street where kids would go Trick or Treating.

And Trick or Treating they did come.  Witches, and Ninja Turtles, Spider Men, and Princesses all converged at our home.  We lured them there with Halloween lights and many Jack-O-Lanterns.  And Trick or Treating we did give out candy.  Of course we gave out more at the beginning because we were so happy to have the little ones at our doors.  And you guessed it......

 

WE RAN OUT OF CANDY!!!!  Zoulah thought it was shameful behavior on our part.  Zoulah thought it was scandalous behavior on our part.  Zoulah thought it was unconscionable.  This year we will be ready.  This is the closet door they will see as they peer into our spooky home.  The youngest Red Coucher, Talley, made these out of black cardstock.  Zoulah loves the little batties.

 

This is the cute sign they will see.

 

 

This is the cute face they will see....

 

 

What a night it will be......

 

Zoulah thanks you for dropping by for a "spell!"

Candy Acorns!!

 

Welcome to Red Couch Recipes.

 

I have a little candy crafting to share with you today.  It would be perfect for the little ones to make while the turkey is cooking.  I found them to be easy to make and delicious to eat!  All you need is some Tootsie Rolls and Caramels.

 

 

 

Heat the caramels and the Tootsie Rolls, separately, in the microwave for about 10 seconds, or until the candy has softened and ready to roll into balls or be rolled out.  If the candy is not ready in 10 seconds, just add a few more seconds in the microwave.  Do this in small batches (4 or 5 caramels or 4 or 5 Tootsie Rolls)  and really be careful when heating in the microwave.  Take out of the microwave and begin rolling  the caramels, into oblongish rounds for the "nut" part of the acorns.  They don't have to be perfect -- mine weren't :).

 

 

Roll out the Tootsie Rolls into a thin round.  Then cut the Tootsie Roll round with a small cookie cutter.  If you don't have a suitable cookie cutter, then just cut out a small round of Tootsie Roll.

 

 

Score the "caps"  or capules with a knife, making cuts both horizontally and vertically.  Then make a hole in the center with a skewer or toothpick so that you can insert the stem.

 

 

Press the Tootsie Roll "cap" on the top of the caramel oblong.  If your acorn is "out of shape" at this time, just press on it gently to get it back into shape.  Then roll a small amount of Tootsie Roll into a stem.

 

 

 

Voila, you will have lots of cute acorns in just minutes!

 

 

 

This kind of candy crafting is right up my alley!  I first saw these on Pinterest; they were pinned from Linet's Cake's  Facebook page.  There wasn't a tutorial, so I decided to blog about them and provide a tutorial.  Thanks Linet; they are so charming!  They would be adorable on a cake or cupcakes!

 

I hope you make some of these.  They are so fun and easy to make, and I think the end product was charming.   Quick, I see some squirrels, or was that my 12 year-old daughter, with stuffed cheeks grabbing some to store up for the winter?

 

 

Candy or the real thing?

 

Wilkipedia Photo

 

We wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

Howling Easy Halloween Treat Pedestals

 

Zoulah howls out a warm Halloween welcome to Red Couch Recipes where she has been a lazy kitchen witch, but an energetic crafty witch. 

 

Zoulah's green flesh is turning a bit red because these little pedestals are so easy, she didn't know whether they were worth a post.

 

 

 

You just take a candlestick from your local thrift or dollar store and spray paint it.  You will need to paint it two coats.

 

 

Any candlestick will do,....

 

 

 

After the paint is dry, you glue, E-6000 works well, little plates on the top of the candestick, and voila! 

 

 

Zoulah was happy to find these little plates at K-Mart.

 

 

Then she took a little glass bowl and a candletick......

 

 

and she made this cute little candy jar.  The candy jar is filled with Candy Corn M and M's....Zoulah loves them!

 

 

 

Zoulah thought it needed a little bow on it.

 

 

 

Then she took another candlestick and used a large dinner plate....

 

 

So as you can see, she went to town making pedestals, and now she is going to have to host a Halloween party or two so she can use them!

 

She was inspired by the hostess the BargainBound Blog.  Zoulah found her pin on Pinterest.  She shopped thrift stores and made cute containers for a candy bar.  Her site also looks like she has a lot of other great stuff. 

 

 

 

Zoulah thanks you for stopping in at Red Couch Recipes.

 

Posted with the following parties:  Savvy Southern Style, Wickedly Easy Halloween

 

Zoulah's Candy Corn Wand Bouquet

 

 

 

Zoulah cackled loudly as she thought up this new craft for Halloween!  She loves candy corn, and she especially loves to craft with it.  This year, she decided to take the quintessential Halloween candy -- candy corn, and make some Candy Corn Wands.  She loves how the candy corn colors burn so brightly!  She loves how the spheres can be made up so quickly.  She loves that she can eat and craft at the same time!

 

 

Materials for Candy Corn Bouquet

 

Candy Corn -- 2 bags made the three wands

Hot Glue

Styrofoam Balls -- They came in a package of six)

Wooden Dowels -- You can find them at Wal-Mart in pack for $1.00)

Ribbon

 

Zoulah just placed a bit of hot glue on the end of the dowel and then inserted it in (about 1 inch) into the styrofoam ball.  She let it dry, then she began to glue candy corns on the styroforams in concentric circles.  After all the cany corns are glued on, then Zoulah tied on some cute ribbon, then placed the wands in a little pitcher.  She anchored them into the pitcher with a bit of oasis.

 

 

 

 

Then add some cute ribbon and arrange in a pitcher or container.

 

 

Zoulah promises you this bouquet will brighten any area.

 

Zoulah placed her wands in a little milk pitcher.

 

 

 

She thought all the candy corn looks great on the buffet.  Zoulah loves vibrant color!

 

Zoulah thanks you for dropping by Red Couch Recipes!

 

 

 

 Posted with the following parties:  Craft-O-Maniac Monday, Market Yourself Monday, MM, WOW, Wickedly Easy Halloween Ideas



Love Blocks

Welcome to Red Couch Recipes, where love is in the air.  I recently helped the 10 cutest girls in the world (my church Activity Day girls) make these Love Blocks to give away to someone they love.  They formed LOVE with their bodies.  I cut 3 x 3 blocks of wood from 2 x 4's.  The girls sanded the blocks, painted the blocks, and then applied Modge Podge to the blocks.

Isn't my daughter a cute one?

L....

O...

 V...

E...

Make some for someone you love today!

Weekend Wrapup, Met Monday,

Made By You Monday

Zoulah's New Halloween Home

Much to Zoulah's horror, last year after Halloween, the Red Couch Children ate Zoulah's home!  This year, Zoulah forced the Red Couch Children to help decorate her home.  It is very similar, structurally, to her last year's home, but the decorating is a tad bit different.  You can see Zoulah's home from last year on the sidebar.

Zoulah welcomes you to the tour of her home.

A frightening gooing eyeball greets you on the side of the home, as well as a scary green Frankenstein.

Zoulah is particularly enamored with the green scary witch that is on the front of the house and the sign that say "Caution:  Enter If You Dare. "  For the Red Couch Children, it should say "Caution:  Don't Eat Zoulah's Home! '

We have been making these gingerbread homes for years at Halloween and decorating the gingerbread home each year is a fun part of our Halloween celebration.  The mold is a large John Wright metal mold that is available on E-Bay.  We used royal icing for decorating and melted sugar to hold the home together.

Zoulah thanks you for dropping by her home today.

Posted with Wow Us Wednesdays

Rainy the Water Witch

Zoulah welcomes you to Red Couch Recipes today with a warm witchy hug!  She made "Rainy the Water Witch" for our front porch.  She bought some "witch shoes" at a thrift store for $3.00 and stuffed some Halloween tights.

She already had this sign and she felt it fit perfectly.

Just attach the legs of the witch to an umbrella and anchor the umbrella to a chair.

Zoulah feels that this is such a fun and easy way to welcome your guests for Halloween.  Thanks for dropping by and "sitting for a spell" on our Red Couch.

 Posted with the following:  Weekend Wrapup, Metamorphasis Monday, Wow Us Wednesdays

Halloween Yarn Spheres

ZOULAH welcomes you to Red Couch Recipes where today she shares a simple little craftie from her witchie childhood.  She is sure that some of you remember making yarn balls -- now that she is older and more sophisticated she calls them yarn spheres.  Zoulah has set several around the Red Couch Home. 

She used black ones in her Spider Tablescape.

Zoulah says that for this little craftie all you need are things that are readily available.  You will need yarn, balloons, flour, and water. 

Directions

1.  Make a wheat paste.  Mix 3 parts water with 2 parts flour in a pot.  Heat to a boil stirring occasionally to remove the lumps.  After the paste boils, allow it to cool.

2.  Cut yarn in lengths long enough to wind around the ball with excess, but not too long so that it is hard to dip the yard into the paste.  Prepare a large amount of them.

3.  Blow up a balloon of the appropriate size for each ball you want to make.  You can make them large or small.  For these Halloween spheres, I used water balloons.

4.  Dip string or yarn in the cooled paste and then wrap it around the balloons. Go around many times, in different directions, until you have covered the basic shape of the balloon, but be sure to leave gaps if you want to make a see-through string ball.  Also be sure that the ends of the string are firmly anchored, with wheat paste, on the balloon.  Zoulah's Note:  As you dip the string into the paste, make sure you try to smooth out the yarn with your finger, taking off excess paste.

5.  Allow the string to dry thoroughly; 24 hours should be enough, unless your string was extremely thick or wet.

6.  Pop the balloons if you want to get them out right away.   When the balloons are gone, you should be left with a see-through string ball.  Zoulah's Note:  Make sure the string is completely dry before you pop the balloon.  DO NOT allow them to dry in the sun -- the balloons will lose their shape and so will the yarn sphere.

7.  Using a toothpick or skewer, pick out excess dried paste from the yarn sphere.

A yarn sphere in process.

Zoulah encourages you to make some yarn spheres today.  They are easy enough for a young child to do.  Zoulah thinks these are great for parties or for events where you cannot find the right colors to do your decorating in.

Posted with the following:  Metamorphasis Monday, Craft-O-Maniac Monday, Falloween, Made By You Monday, Wow Us Wednesdays, Weekend Wrapup

Halloween Plaques

On Friday evening, the youngest Red Coucher insisted on doing a craft RIGHT NOW!  Zoulah, being the kind, patient, and loving house witch that she is, hosted a craft night for the Red Couch girls.  It's made with simple stuff we had around our home.  Did I tell you?  She is also a thrifty witch.  We put them on our Halloween tree -- Zoulah will show you that later.

These little plaques were for the spring and were discounted in the fall for twenty-nine cents each.

Zoulah's directions:

1.  Paint over the herb signs with black, or your choice of paint, paint.  Let dry.

2.  Find a decoration and modge podge it on.

3.  Apply another thin coat of Modge Podge.  Let dry.

4.  Tie on a piece of cute ribbon or tulle.

5.  If you want to use glitter.  When the Modge Podge is still wet, press on a coating of glitter.  Let dry and then put on your decoration and apply a thin layer to the plaque and let dry.

Talley (10 years) made the one with the spider.  Tati (15 years) made the one with the cat.  I (29 years :)made the one with the pumpkin.

Thanks for dropping by Red Couch Recipes.

Posted with the following:  Metamorphis Monday, Made By You Monday, Wow Us Wednesdays, Everything Halloween Party, Falloween