Ghouling Around!

I swear to all that is holy that I had more fun this weekend helping the kids make ghosts than they did in the actual making!  From the last post, you know I found my idea for ghosts on Pinterest.  I really wanted to make the sitting ghoul, but I don’t have a baby doll (or a child that will sit long enough to let it harden – ha! Ha!) and neither does my Hannah.  I will have to make a trip to the thrift shop and find one.

Anybooo, (see how I did that?) we started out with a balloon, fabric stiffener, a couple of tall things to set the balloons on, and adhesive spray.  The last part wasn’t called for in the instructions, but I figured it would make the balloon stick to whatever it needed to, better.  More on that later.

First the kids blew up the balloons.  We used spray adhesive to secure one balloon on a tall skinny table.  NOT A GOOD IDEA!  That stuff is sticky!  It stuck to my hands and I had to wash them three times with different soaps until I could help with the project again.  Plus, it did stick to the table, but there is definitely some still stuck to it.  We put the spray away at that point.

Next we poured fabric stiffener in a large bowl.  They used two yards of cheese cloth in one yard pieces for each ghost.  That way they could drape it differently if they chose.  We tried to use gloves, we really did try, because the directions on the bottle said to – but we really couldn’t unbunch the cloth with them on!  So I tried it first without, just in case my hands burned and my skin started to fall off.  I was fine.  So were the kids.  Gaige wasn’t crazy about the goopiness of the stiffener but he got through it.

The draping was a trip but it was also the best part.  Cheese cloth looks like it is all straightened out and then you realize that it’s not and there’s more material to unravel!  Good times!  

After both ghosts were set up and drying the kids turned their attention to more important things – namely YouTube and funny cat videos.

Speaking of funny cat videos, this one is my favorite:  

https://youtu.be/0Bmhjf0rKe8

I hope this inspires you to try the ghost project.  It didn’t take long to dry and the mess really is minimal.  You don’t need a lot of stiffener, and I added some water to mine to make it easier to use.  I had a lot left over.  The kids had a good time and were happy with the finished product.

 I wish I had more cheese cloth.  I would have an army of these ghouls around the house.  Definitely a good project for a rainy or cold and windy day.  I hope you try it!  Post your pix – I would love to see them!

Gingerbread Houses

Recently, for a contest, the kids and I and my significant other, made gingerbread houses for a local contest.  They made a house last year just for fun and then got to eat it.  They did such a great job for first timers that I thought they should do the contest this year.  When I asked them they jumped at the chance. 

The kids decorated a regular house with candy they helped pick out.  They used laffy taffy softened in the microwave for a front door and pretzels for a fence.    I taught them how to make a snowman out of the cement frosting and powdered sugar.  They got right into it, each kid taking a side of the house and working independently from each other.  It was fun listening to them chatter while they worked. 

Gaige wanted to quit after a while and when he finished his roof I told him he could.  Hannah took over from there.  She’s our little bohemian artist.  We know someday she will be running around barefoot selling her paintings while living off the land with like-minded friends.  When it was finished it was the sweetest little gingerbread house ever!

 

 

As for me and D, we chose to create a local landmark, our hometown corner store.  It has been around since forever, just under different management for different uses.  As soon as I heard about the landmark theme of the contest I thought of this place and knew we could make it.  As with any gingerbread house I have ever made, and there’s been quite a few, trial and error is a huge part of it, with error being easily erased with frosting!

Ever since I finally received my amazing KitchenAid mixer for Christmas several years ago from my fantastic boyfriend, making the dough and icing has been a pleasure!  I used to hate making it with a regular mixer because the dough is just too hard to maneuver and the icing takes forever!  Hence, two batches of gingerbread and four batches of icing this year – with a smile!

D has never made a gingerbread house before, much less helped, so he really got into it.  He rolled out the dough and cut along the pattern I made.  After everything was baked and cooled I frosted the walls, trying to make them look like smooth cinder blocks (didn’t work), and set up the building.  D wanted to make the air pump on the side of the building so while he did that I made the sign and secured the steps.  When it was done he decided it needed the gas pump and that pulled the whole thing together. 

I love how it turned out!  D was all hyped up about how great it looked and how we would win but I warned him that we were amateurs compared to others who entered the contest, so just feel good about the job we did.  When we dropped the houses off yesterday and he looked around at some of the other entries he started seeing what I was talking about.  I think we have the best little houses ever, no one can tell me different, and there is no need for a prize to make that so.

 

 

I’d love to know if anyone else out there does gingerbread houses and what some of their favorite ones were and what they looked like.  Please share!