Deliciously Crafty

Sometimes we just can't seem to find the words. Luckily for you, all you need is a pen and a little bit of time to find these ones. So, go ahead print this page and let the search begin.

The itsy-bitsy spider went… Wherever you want it to go with this simple Halloween craft. The perfect activity to do with your little one to put her in the holiday spirit. It’s fun, easy, and the one time she won’t come running at you screaming to kill the spider. Your Aunt Edna, on the other hand, still might run out of the room screaming and never come back. So, if you don’t like your Aunt Edna and are looking for an activity for the kids, this might just be the craft for you.

 You will need: 

• Regular craft sticks. 
• Hot glue gun or Tacky glue. 
• Black and white felt. 
• Scissors. 
• Black acrylic paint. 
• Paintbrush or foam brush. 

Begin by painting the front and back of four craft sticks with black paint and set them aside to dry. Next, Take the scissors and cut out two one-inch-diameter circles from the white felt and two half-inch-diameter circles from the black. Using tacky glue, glue the black circles to the center of the white ones to make eyes for the spider. For the body, cut a three-inch-diameter circle from black felt. Now, it’s time to construct our spider. 

After making sure the paint is dry, take two of the craft sticks and form a skinny X shape, gluing the pieces together with hot glue or tacky glue (hot glue is preferred). With the other two craft sticks, make a wider X, also gluing them together. Cross the two X shapes on top of each other, so that the spider will have four legs on either side and glue them down. Place glue on the spider body and attach it to the middle of the craft sticks. Glue on the eyes and there you it. An itsy-bitsy spider of your very own to put down the water spout or wherever else you want to put it.

If you have a simple craft idea you would like to share with us here at Deliciously Crafty, please email us at Crafts@abasketcasegift.com and you may see your idea featured in a future post.

Scare up a crayon or color pencil, print this page, sit back relax and add a little color to your world.

 On Halloween serve a treat that will make them scream with delight. A delicious cherry pie straight out of a horror movie. This fun and easy recipe is frighteningly simple to make with only three ingredients. So, give yourself an extra hand in the kitchen and give your friends and family a scary good dessert they’ll never forget.

 2 14.1 oz packages Pie crust

 3/4 cup Canned cherry pie filling

1 Large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 425°F. While the oven is heating up, trace your hand on a piece of cardboard and cut it out to create a templet for the pie crust.  With that done, unroll one pie crust onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then, use the cardboard templet to cut two hands from pie crust, discarding the scraps. Take a silicone brush and brush the edges and fingers of one dough hand with a beaten egg. Spoon three tablespoons pie filling in center of hand before placing the second dough hand on top, pressing the edges and fingers together to seal. Using a fork, crimp the edges around base of hand, and then if desired, use a paring knife to score knuckles and fingernails on each finger. Brush the surface of hand lightly with beaten egg and place in the oven.

Bake at 425° until golden brown, approximately 16 to 18 minutes, shielding edges and fingers as needed to prevent over browning (filling may ooze slightly). Allow the pie to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before either serving it warm, or gently transfer it to a cooling rack to cool completely. Then, watch as everyone bites the hand that feeds them with a smile on their faces.

Each pie serves 4

 If you have a simple recipe you would like to share with us here at Deliciously Crafty, please email us at Recipes@abasketcasegift.com and you may see your idea featured in a future post.  

The Sleeper

At midnight, in the month of June,
I stand beneath the mystic moon.
An opiate vapor, dewy, dim,
Exhales from out her golden rim,
And, softly dripping, drop by drop,
Upon the quiet mountain top,
Steals drowsily and musically
Into the universal valley.
The rosemary nods upon the grave;
The lily lolls upon the wave;
Wrapping the fog about its breast,
The ruin molders into rest;
Looking like Lethe, see! the lake
A conscious slumber seems to take,
And would not, for the world, awake.
All Beauty sleeps!, and lo! where lies
Irene, with her Destinies!

O, lady bright! can it be right,
This window open to the night?
The wanton airs, from the tree-top,
Laughingly through the lattice drop,
The bodiless airs, a wizard rout,
Flit through thy chamber in and out,
And wave the curtain canopy
So fitfully, so fearfully,
Above the closed and fringed lid
'Neath which thy slumb'ring soul lies hid,
That, o'er the floor and down the wall,
Like ghosts the shadows rise and fall!
Oh, lady dear, hast thou no fear?
Why and what art thou dreaming here?
Sure thou art come O'er far-off seas,
A wonder to these garden trees!
Strange is thy pallor! strange thy dress,
Strange, above all, thy length of tress,
And this all solemn silentness!

The lady sleeps! Oh, may her sleep,
Which is enduring, so be deep!
Heaven have her in its sacred keep!
This chamber changed for one more holy,
This bed for one more melancholy,
I pray to God that she may lie
For ever with unopened eye,
While the pale sheeted ghosts go by!

My love, she sleeps! Oh, may her sleep
As it is lasting, so be deep!
Soft may the worms about her creep!
Far in the forest, dim and old,
For her may some tall vault unfold,
Some vault that oft has flung its black
And winged panels fluttering back,
Triumphant, o'er the crested palls,
Of her grand family funerals,
Some sepulchre, remote, alone,
Against whose portal she hath thrown,
In childhood, many an idle stone,
Some tomb from out whose sounding door
She ne'er shall force an echo more,
Thrilling to think, poor child of sin!
It was the dead who groaned within.

                       Edgar Allan Poe

If you’re anything like me, ever since you saw Ghostbusters, you’ve wanted your very own pet ghost. I know some of you are saying that ghosts don’t exist; and even if they did, they’re impossible to catch. Let alone, make tame enough to keep them as pets. Well, to all the naysayers, may I present to you the one, the only… ghost in a jar. This little guy is the perfect Halloween decoration for next party, or to just have around the house for the holiday. Of course, you can always keep it as a pet to prove the doubters wrong. But if you do, please remember to name it.

You will need: 

• 1 large, clear glass jar. 
• Glow-in-the-dark spray paint. 
• Black spray paint. 
• Polyester fiberfill. 
• Wire coat hanger or large gauge craft wire.
• Wire cutters
• Small black beads. 
• Glue. 
• Paintbrush. 
• Air-drying clay. 
• Silver scrapbook paper. 
• Scissors. 
• Black tissue paper. 
• Rubber band. 
• Black ribbon. 
• Paper plate. 
• Flameless votive candles (battery operated). 

To begin, take the black spray paint and lightly coat the top and bottom of the jar. When done, you should be able to see inside the jar.  Set aside to let the paint dry. 

Next, cut an eight-inch piece of wire. This will form the frame of your ghost. Grab a mound of air-dry clay and stick the ends of the wire into it, forming a misshapen loop imbedded in the clay. The ghost should stand upright, if done properly.  Let the clay dry. 

Cover the frame of your ghost with fiberfill and spray it with glow in the dark spray paint. Once dry, glue beads to the head of the ghost for eyes and set it in the jar. Cut a piece of silver scrapbook paper and place it behind the ghost inside the jar. This creates a reflection in the dark paint and makes the ghost look more ethereal. 

Using scissors, cut a paper plate to fit over the opening of the jar and paint both sides black. Make a hole in the center of the plate and place the votive candle, facedown, in the hole. Take the painted plate and place it over the rim of the jar so the light shines on the ghost. Tape it down, if necessary, but the plate should be a little larger than the hole, so it doesn't fall in. Cut several pieces of black tissue paper about two inches larger than the opening and use them to cover the plate circle and candle at the top of the jar. Secure them around the rim of the opening with a rubber band, and then cover the rubber band with ribbon tied in a bow. 

Place the jar on an end table or a mantel and now you have a pet ghost of your very own. And don’t forget to name it.

To turn the votive on and off, remove the ribbon, rubber band, and tissue paper.

If you have a simple craft idea you would like to share with us here at Deliciously Crafty, please email us at Crafts@abasketcasegift.com and you may see your idea featured in a future post.

Sometimes we just can't seem to find the words. Luckily for you, all you need is a pen and a little bit of time to find these ones. So, go ahead print this page and let the search begin.

If you like Cinnamon Toast Crunch (and really who doesn’t?), then you’ll love these cereal dessert bars. Made with white chocolate and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, this three-ingredient recipe is fun, fast, easy and simply irresistible. Perfect for a birthday, holiday or just a lazy Saturday afternoon because cereal isn’t only for breakfast anymore.  

3 1/4 cups white chocolate chips

 1 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal

 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

12 -well silicone snack bar pan

Take 3 cups of white chocolate chips and melt them in double boiler or microwaved in 30-second intervals, stirring between intervals.

Add cinnamon; stir to combine.

Place 3-6 cereal pieces in each of the 12 wells of the snack bar pan.  Take the melted chocolate and spoon it over cereal. White chocolate hardens quickly, so immediately place another 3-6 cereal pieces on top. Then sprinkle remaining chocolate chips evenly over the bars.  Refrigerate to allow bars to harden and serve when ready.

 If you have a simple recipe you would like to share with us here at Deliciously Crafty, please email us at Recipes@abasketcasegift.com and you may see your idea featured in a future post.  

Ode To Autumn

1.

    Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
    Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
    Conspiring with him how to load and bless
    With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
    To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
    And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
    To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
    With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
    And still more, later flowers for the bees,
    Until they think warm days will never cease,
    For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

2.

    Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
    Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
    Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
    Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
    Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
    Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
    Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
    And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
    Steady thy laden head across a brook;
    Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
    Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

3.

    Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
    Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,
    While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
    And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
    Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
    Among the river sallows, borne aloft
    Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
    And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
    Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
    The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
    And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

                                     John Keats