Category: Holidays

Spider Web Rug

Here’s the simple step-by-step:

  • Purchase thin, black (often named charcoal) indoor/outdoor needle-punch carpet. You can usually buy this by the foot or as large rugs if you are making several. I purchased mine by the foot at the local Orchard Supply Hardware, (California locations only.) It was 26″-27″ wide. You can also purchase by the yard from Caldwell Carpet.
  • Buy a Prismacolor white-colored pencil. This pencil comes standard in Prismacolor colored pencil set or you can purchase it separately in most art supply stores and online. You may already have one in your stash!
  • Turn your rug over and draw a circle using a handmade compass of string: Tack one end of the string at the rug center point and tie the white pencil to the other end to reach the edge of the rug. Holding the tack secure and gently pulling as you go, draw a clean circle. For an oval rug, tack two nails aprox. 18″ apart at the center of the carpet onto a work surface or piece of scrap board. Tie a loop of string around tacks loose enough to reach the outer edge of the carpet. Holding the white pencil along the inside of the string, begin circling the nails with string pulled tight to create an oval shape. Here’s a YouTube video that will help you understand the concept better.
  • With standard scissors, trim out the rug shape.
  • Using your white pencil and a yardstick or other long straight edge, begin at any point of the rug, center or off-center, and draw 8 evenly spaced intersecting lines. The easiest way to make your lines evenly spaced is to draw a cross with two lines, then draw lines between those, then more lines between the second set. You know, like you’re cutting a pizza.
  • With your white pencil at the center-point, begin spiraling out with curved web lines stopping at each straight line and repeating around in a circle.
  • You can stop your webbing lines at any point leaving leggy, straight web-lines to the edge, or continue your curved lines until you run out of rug.
  • Dust off any residual white pencil flecks, and spray a coat of Krylon or other clear finishing spray and you’re good to go!via

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a basic vanilla cupcake recipe, but if you want to make things easier you can also use a packaged cake mix. Also, no reason to use vanilla, you can use any flavor you like as the frosting will completely cover the top of the cupcake.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin/cupcake pan or line with paper baking cups.

In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each one. Stir in the vanilla and flour just until mixed. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.

Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter.

After the cupcakes have cooled, you’re ready for the fun part! Let’s decorate!!

There are a variety of ways to create the blue fur of the Cookie Monster on a cupcake. You can use blue sanding sugar, blue frosting, blue sprinkles, and/or coconut flakes tinted blue (my favorite way). Any craft store with a cake and candy aisle will have all that you need to get the right color blue. Tip: use the brightest blue you can find. Paste food coloring works best to get the richest, deepest colors. It works just like regular food coloring drops. You just add as much as you need to white frosting.

Frost each cupcake with blue frosting. Then, add the sprinkles, sanding sugar, or coconut.

Next the mouth – make a small horizontal slit in the top of the cupcake for the cookie. Stick 1/2 of a chocolate chip cookie in it just like Cookie Monster would eat. Now add some googley eyes. You can use mini white marshmallows or white chocolate rounds (whatever you can find that look like eyes) and a chocolate chip for the pupil.

Lastly, put the cupcakes on a fun designed tray or serving platter. Enjoy like the cookie monster would!

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