Bloody Murder

Posted on October 29, 2011 by KC

Recently we hosted a murder-themed cocktail party celebrating the Ides of October.  Because we weren’t going for something overtly Halloween (no witches, pumpkins, ghosts, etc.), I kept all my cutesy Halloween decor packed up in favor of creating something more gruesome on the cheap.  Here are the gory details:

Supplies for a house full of decorations:

  • Roll of wood grain removable contact paper $1.99

    Bloody table

    Such a lovely table

  • Pack of plastic/paper drop cloths from Home Depot $7
  • Big thing of red tempera paint $7
  • School glue (kind that dries shiny if possible)
  • Severed fingers from Deal$, 5 pack for $1
  • “Realistic” severed hand from K-Mart $3.50 on sale
  • White plastic table cloth $1
  • Crime scene tape $7 @ Halloween Adventure (I’ll have it for years!)
  • Bathmat-like rug from dollar store $1.99
  • Random stuff from around the house

Continue reading →

Posted in DIY, Parties, Themes | 1 Comment

Congratulation Cakes

Posted on July 16, 2011 by KC

Nothing says “I wish you both a lifetime of happiness” like stealing a Facebook photo of a loving couple and sticking their heads on the top of cupcakes.  If you are looking for a project that tiptoes the line between saccharine and ridiculous, here it is: Select photo(s) for toppers and tweak in PhotoShop as necessary.  The faces here are approximately 1.5″ square.

Cut faces into heart shape; glue on color cardstock / notecards.  Cut out hearts again with decorative scissors to create fancy border.  I jazzed my border up with some gel pens.In addition to the face toppers, I made message toppers by printing on to color paper and gluing to cardstorck

In addition to the face toppers, I made message toppers by printing well-wishes on color paper, cutting them into hearts and flags, and gluing to notecards.  Ditto on border thing.

Glue toothpicks to the back of soon-to-be toppers.  For the large face toppers I used small paper hearts to support the toothpick although in actuality they just camouflage my messy glue job.  Be sure to use clear drying glue!

Ta-da!  Aren’t they sweet?  The cupcakes are from a chocolate cake mix spilt between a pan of regular size cupcakes (for the faces) and a pan of mini cupcakes (for the well-wishes).  The frosting is pre-fab Betty Crocker which I topped with coconut to make them more bridal.

Here’s a close-up of the message toppers.  While a little labor intensive, these picks are big on impact and can be used for so many occasions.

Posted in DIY, Food, Themes | Leave a comment

One Cake to Rule Them All

Posted on May 24, 2011 by KC

The go-to cake for every birthday in my family has always been an angel food cake with “Frosting Like Millie’s” and a side of fresh strawberries.

I’m not sure who Millie was but I think it speaks volumes about her personality that the card in my grandmother’s recipe box is titled “Frosting Like Millie’s” and not “Millie’s Frosting”.  Apparently Millie didn’t like to share. It’s not like it’s the original recipe for Coke.  I like to think that at some point in history a sweet cake-baking lady said, “Fine. If that bitch won’t tell me I’ll just figure it out my damn self,” and reverse engineered this recipe:

  • 2.5 TBSP Flour
  • 0.5 cup milk
  • 0.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla
  • 0.5 cup butter

Directions: Cook flour and milk until thick [be sure to whisk frequently or it will get a weird skin that ruins the texture].  Cool. When thoroughly cooled, add sugar, butter, and vanilla.  Beat until light and fluffy for about 10 minutes [that's right, 10 minutes].

I really don’t know how Millie could have done it better; Frosting Like Millie’s is buttery heaven.  My mom would often make a double recipe so that, after all the licks my sister and I would swipe, there was enough to frost the actual cake.

Using a one-step angel food mix, the most time consuming part of this whole endeavor is waiting for the cake to cool.  The directions on many angel food mixes  say “hang pan upside down on heatproof glass bottle until completely cool”.  TAKE THIS ADVICE.  A beer bottle works just fine and it seriously changed my angel-food-cake-baking life.

What’s that refreshing looking beverage in the photo?  Glad you asked.  That is a little something of my own creation affectionately dubbed “Mrs. Kisses”  and it goes a little something like this:

  • 1 part Triple Sec
  • 1 part Simple Syrup
  • 1 part Campari
  • 1 part lemon juice (bottled ’cause I’m lazy)
  • 2 parts gin (Seagrams ’cause I’m cheap)
  • 3 parts seltzer (’cause I’m not crazy)
  • Some lemon slice for garnish (’cause they look nice floating in the pitcher)

Directions: Mix well and serve over ice.

Posted in Food | 1 Comment