Halloween Bat Wreath

Okay, so I use to be completely against wreaths. All I knew of them were the ones with big fake flowers or jingle bells or something that just did not mesh with my style. However, I have been finding tons of tutorials for wreaths that I actually like! Most are yarn-wrapped and have a few embellishments. I like things that are simple and cute, so these have been right up my alley. I was inspired by one in particular that I found and made my own, changing it up a bit.

And here is how you can do it!

Supplies
1. Foam tube from the plumbing department of a hardware store (it comes in five-foot segments or something like that).
2. Duct tape.
3. Scissors.
4. Yarn in two colors, one skein each.
5. Glue gun.
6. Stiffened black felt.
7. Light-colored chalk.
8. One sheet of paper.
9. Wreath hook.

Step One
You are going to use the foam tube and duct tape to make the wreath. It is SO much cheaper than buying a premade foam wreath! Of course, if you want to use a premade one, go ahead. It will make your life easier. Trust me.

Play around with the foam tube until you find a length that will work to make a good-sized wreath for you. I didn't measure mine (sorry), but different people like them to be different sizes. Just know that this won't work for one too small.

Cut it the length you decided on and duct tape the ends together.

Next, thank me for doing this before you so I can tell you the issues I had and how I figured to best deal with them.

My circle was not so... circular. There were two very noticeable kinks. I put some duct tape around them and it stiffened them up so they didn't kink anymore. Problem solved.

I left my wreath alone for about an hour to run an errand and returned to the ends trying to escape from the duct tape. So I wrapped it some more. I put pieces about eight inches long criss-crossed across the two ends so they could pull from opposite directions. Problem solved.

While I was handling the wreath to wrap it, I had to be very careful so I didn't squeeze it anywhere and create more kinks. Next time I make one, I will wrap the entire piece of foam in duct tape to make it sturdier. Future problem solved!

Step Two

Adhere the base-color yarn (mine was the orange) to the back of the wreath. I just used duct tape for this.

Now wrap... and wrap... and wrap... and wrap. This took awhile, but not as long as I expected. Since I was going for a bit of a sloppy look, I just threw the skein inside the wreath and back out the bottom a few time and then pushed those wrappings to meet the others.

Once you wrap it all the way around, adhere the yarn to the back of the wreath with hot glue and cut it once it cools.

Step Three

Adhere the top-color yarn (Mine was the gray) to the back of the wreath with hot glue. Once it cools, begin wrapping again. This part was more tedious since you can't just push it to meet the rest of the yarn. Try to find your own rhythm. I purposefully wrapped bits in all sorts of directions so it looked a little messier, but still neat.

Once you meet the beginning, adhere the yarn to the back with hot glue. Once cool, trim the end off. Lots of yarn left over for other projects!

Step Four

Draw some bats on a sheet of paper. I just did a google image search for clip art bats and traced one I liked. Try to find a few different sizes. Cut out the bats.

Step Five

Use the chalk to outline the bats on the felt. This was a little tricky. I held the paper down at the edges and kind of...drew lines that started on the paper and ended on the felt? I don't know how to word it. Look at the picture and you'll know what I mean.

Looks like the Bat Signal. =)

Now cut 'em out!

Step Six

Arrange the bats on the wreath to figure out how you want them. Make sure there is no chalk visible! Now just hot glue them on, let it cool, and hang it up!

I also wrapped my wreath hook with orange ribbon because the gold was just not jellin'.

I plan on making more like this for other holidays and seasons. Obviously not bats. It will be easy to change up the colors and add some felt roses, felt leaves, or whatever else you can think up.

Happy crafting!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cheater's Ganache

Sorry I've been MIA lately. I'm back at work, yay! Meaning the projects will be slowing down, but still there.

Speaking of work, tomorrow is Boss Day and I, of course, signed up to bring cupcakes to the potluck. A lot of my coworkers (and myself) are trying to eat healthy, so I decided on banana cupcakes.

Ingredients

1. Box of vanilla cake mix.
2. One over-ripened banana. This will be replacing the eggs.
3. Semi-sweet chocolate chips.
4. Veggie oil.
5. Can of pre-made chocolate frosting.

Step One

Mash banana!



Be sure to remove any of the little strings that attach to the sides because you wouldn't want to find one of those in a cupcake. I was going to take a picture of me removing one, but this banana came out string-free.

Using a fork, mash mash mash until it can be mashed no more. Like this:

Step Two

Dump cake mix into a bowl. Follow with the amounts of water and veggie oil instructed in the recipe. Add 1/2 cup of the mashed banana. Mix!

Add 1 cup of chocolate chips and fold them in.

Step Three

Fill cupcake liners with 1/4 cup of batter and bake as directed.

Going in...

...And done!

Let them cool completely before frosting.





And now, ladies and gentlemen, how to make Cheater's Ganache!

Step One

Empty the contents of the frosting into a bowl and microwave for 20 seconds.

Mix it with a fork. If you think it needs to melt more, put it in for 5-second increments, stirring after each. DO NOT OVERCOOK!! Once you overcook sugar, there is no going back! It should roll off a fork like this:

 Step Two

Dip cupcake tops into the "ganache..."

(Worst angle EVER for a hand)

...and let most of the excess drip off.

Give it a little swirl when you turn it over.

This is a great technique if you are lazy/in a hurry and don't want a ton of frosting. Keep it healthier!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Candied Bacon

Yes, you read that title correctly. These cupcakes are SO delicious! And I was surprised at how quickly I finished them.

For the cupcakes:

Ingredients:

1. Box of chocolate cake mix. Any brand will do. I picked the cheapest.
2. A can of pumpkin.
4. Oil.
5. Water.

Step One

Preheat oven to temperature called for on box's direction (most likely 350). Empty cake mix into a bowl. Add water and oil as called for in cake mix's directions. Add about 2/3 of the can of pumpkin. I've never really measured it out, so eyeball it. It's replacing the eggs,  so imagine how much pumpkin could fill three egg shells.

Mix it all up until all of the lumps are out.

Step Two

Fill the cupcake liners. Since this is a dark batter, I suggest saving your cute liners for another time. You won't be able to see any patterns or designs. I went with foil liners this time.

I have a trick that I use to fill my cupcake liners. I put a gallon-sized zip top plastic bag inside a bowl (experiment to find the right size, but I use the smaller bowl that came with my stand mixer) and turn the top over the edges. Then I use a rubber spatula to get all of the batter inside the bag.

Now, close the top. Make sure it is completely closed or you will have a huge mess. I am speaking from experience here. Cut off one of the corners about a half-inch from the tip of the corner. Now squeeze the batter through the hole into the liners. 

Obviously use two hands, but my other hand was taking the picture. This is essentially like using a piping bag, only easier since it doesn't have to be pretty. Using this technique, you can avoid dripping the batter on the muffin tin and edges of the liners.

Step Three

Using a small off-set spatula, smooth over the tops of the unbaked cupcakes. This batter will not bake like batter following the box's recipe. It will maintain any imperfections once baked.

See how mine still had a peak once smoothed over? It turned into a baked peak. I should have taken a picture before frosting them so you could see. Boo. Since I knew I was going to put candied bacon on top, I wasn't too concerned, figuring I could cover up the peaks.

Step Four

Bake as directed on the box's directions. Don't forget to rotate them half-way! I always bake these for the longest recommended time. If it says 18-22 minutes, I check after 20, but end up putting them back in for another two minutes. Sometimes even a minute or two longer. A toothpick inserted in will never come out completely clean until these are waaaaaay past overdone. If what comes out on a toothpick looks undercooked, another few minutes is needed.

Let them cool in the muffin tin for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

In the mean time, get crackin' on the candied bacon!

For the candied bacon:

Ingredients:

1. Uncooked bacon.
2. Light brown sugar.

Step One

Preheat the oven to 425. Line a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with all four sides raised) with foil. Place an oven-safe rack on top. Spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray.

I got this rack at Target specifically for candied bacon. My only other oven-safe rack (a cooling rack) won't fit in our little oven.

Step Two

Assign one hand as the bacon hand and one hand as the clean hand. Using the bacon hand only, put bacon on the rack, making sure the slices do not touch each other or hang over the edge. If they hang over, you will have a mess in your oven and a house full of smoke. Experience again, there.

Using the clean hand, put some brown sugar into a bowl. Using your bacon hand, scoop some brown sugar out of the bowl and cover each slice of bacon with it. Pat the brown sugar down so it adheres well. If you run out of brown sugar in the bowl, use your clean hand to scoop some out of the box/bag and put it into the bowl. The purpose of assigning the hands is to prevent cross-contamination into the box/bag of brown sugar. You really don't know how much you will need until you're done.

Throw away any brown sugar left in the bowl once you are done covering the yummy delicious bacon with yummy delicious sugar.

Step Three

Put it in the super hot oven for 10 minutes. Check on it. If it's not done, add another 2 minutes.

Let it cool completely. I put mine in the fridge to speed it along.

Step Four

Cut it into the size you want on the cupcakes. I did little strips about a half inch wide.

For the cream cheese frosting:

Ingredients

1. 1 pound powdered sugar.
2. 1 stick unsalted butter.
3. 1 8-oz. package of cream cheese. Don't use the low-fat version. It will make a really runny frosting.

Step One

Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese until it is light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

Step Two

Add the powdered sugar a quarter-cup at a time. Wait until it is all incorporated before adding more. If it is too dry, add some milk, one teaspoon at a time, until you are happy with it. I didn't need any milk today.

That's it! Time to decorate!!

Cream cheese icing doesn't hold its shape well since it is so soft. Because of this, piping it on it completely pointless. It will end up oozing all over and all of your hard work will be unnoticed. So go old school and just slap it on with a small off-set spatula and smooth it over. Then top with your candied bacon pieces. I also added a little more brown sugar to snazz it up a little.

Eat up and enjoy!