Sale Time!

It’s November 1. Know what that means? Time to visit Michael’s and Macy’s to stock up on Martha’s Halloween products for next year!

A quick search online this morning shows that the Macy’s stuff is seriously discounted already. Michael’s is offering a few dollars off each product. But visit your local stores to see – I’m sure product availability varies.

I scored this awesome Halloween Festivities Kit last year at Macy’s after Christmas. It was originally $29.99, marked half-off once and then marked half-off again. I took it home for $7.49.

Happy shopping!!

Martha Loves Halloween

Any true Martha Stewart fan knows how much she loves Halloween. And as a big Halloween fan myself, I love that she loves it so much because it means more inspiration for us.

This year, though, the inspiration goes up a notch with the launch of Martha's first-ever online Halloween Workshop. Starting on Monday, September 8th, after you sign up, you'll be in for their eight-week, step-by-step countdown to help put together the spookiest Halloween ever. You'll get:

- Enchanting costume ideas for the whole family
- Goofy and grimacing jack-o-lantern templates
- Tempting goodies and recipes for all of your trick-or-treaters
- Easy decorating projects
- Party plans for ghoulish feasts and monster celebrations
- Advice from Martha Stewart Living editors

Click here to sign up.

Photo from MarthaStewart.com.

This Is Halloween?

I visited Martha’s site yesterday and was surprised to see that under the “Daily Inspiration” section, it’s started listing a “Halloween Idea of the Day.”

Now, I love Halloween probably more than is normal. And I’m certainly ready for summer to be over and fall to begin. But doesn’t it seem a bit early? Halloween’s nearly three months away!

What do you think? Is Martha rushing the season on this one? Or can you not get enough Halloween no matter the month? Let us know in a comment!

Martha's Own Halloween Decorations

The Martha Blog has pictures of some of Martha’s own Halloween decorations from around her house. You may have seen the marvelous plant stand in the Martha Stewart Living magazine that had been repurposed to display pumpkins, and surrounded by a leaf garland. Here are some more seasonal touches she’s spread around her home—some spooky, some just autumnal. The plant stand makes another appearance, but there are more gourds of different types, making it very colorful and visually interesting. I love the pompom spiders on the basket of gourds. I think the color and texture contrast is really wonderful. And be sure to check out the first lumpy bumpy gourd in her series of shots of various pumpkins and gourds that are scattered around her property. All of the pictures are super; it's so interesting to see how Martha decorates her own home for the holiday.

Picture from Martha Stewart.

Graveyard Cake

Come Halloween, we're going to go trick-or-treating with a few of our friends, and then back to our house for a Halloween-inspired dinner for the kids. When I saw this Graveyard Cake from Martha's website, dessert was a done deal. Now to just figure out the rest of the menu!

Graveyard Cake

Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart

Makes one 9-by-13-inch cake

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
4 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin
Bleeding Chocolate Glaze
Espresso Shortbread Headstones
1 tablespoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. Line with parchment paper; butter lining. Dust with f lour; tap out excess. Set pan aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on medium-high speed until pale and f luffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low; alternate between adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with f lour. Add pumpkin, and beat until completely combined.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Unmold; peel off parchment. Let cool completely on rack, top side up.

Set cake and rack on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour warm chocolate glaze over cake. Using a small offset spatula, gently smooth glaze over top of cake, letting it drip down sides. Let stand at room temperature, or refrigerate until set. Arrange 6 headstones on top; serve with the remaining.

More Halloween Ideas from Martha Stewart

Halloween is still almost two weeks away, but it's never too late to get to work on creative craftiness. Out of ideas? Martha to the rescue with a little bit 'o inspiration to get your juices flowing.

Bad Things
Wicked Centerpieces
Candy Jar Clip Art
Creepy Mice
Candy Wreath
Bat Garland
Spooky Porches

Good Things
Pumpkin Party Favors
Take-Away Truffles
Treat Bags
Lanterns
Stenciled Halloween Cakes

Photo from MarthaStewart.com.

Martha's Mad for Halloween

If you didn't know it already, Martha Stewart loves Halloween. Anyone who puts out an entire magazine dedicated to the holiday is my kinda gal. If you haven't picked up her magazine yet, do. You won't be disappointed. If you didn't find enough to satiate your creativity there, she also has tons of Halloween-inspired ideas on her website as well.

From decorating and costume ideas to pumpkin carving techniques, crafts and recipes, http://www.marthastewart.com/Halloween presents hundreds of ideas to inspire the most memorable Halloween celebration ever. Plus, enter the 2nd Annual Great Pumpkin Contest. Simply upload a photo of your all-time greatest decorated or carved pumpkin here for a chance to have it featured on the web site or on the Emmy-award winning The Martha Stewart Show.

Halloween Costumes for the Whole Family – Woodland Creatures, Butterflies, Kings or a Simple Mask – this gallery presents of instructions and images to create an unforgettable costume. You can also access Martha Stewart’s own costumes from past years.

The Great Pumpkin – Spice up the traditional jack-o-lantern with a variety of carving and decorating ideas. Using glitter, cookie cutters and lace patterns, you can transform your pumpkin. Watch videos, access instructions and images here.

Ghastly Recipes – Eye-popping soup, spooky spiced shrimp, mashed boo-tatoes and wicked witch cupcakes will help trick-o-treaters fuel up before heading out. Just a few of the recipes are available here.

Candy Crafts – Everything from paper mache decorations and invitations to non-traditional candy dispensers that will have your trick-o-treaters reaching for more.

Photo from MarthaStewart.com.

Newsstand Alert - Martha Stewart Holiday: Halloween

The Halloween issue of Martha Stewart Holiday is available, and this issue is double the fun! One half is the Good Things, flip the issue over and you’ll find the Bad Things.

Good Things include recipes for candy corn cookies, candy jar clip art labels, instructions for gourd people, adorable pumpkin treat bags, and some great ideas for ways to use pumpkins, beyond carving faces in them. How about using one as a drinks cooler? Or maybe to hold the candy for the little ghouls and goblins who come to visit on Halloween night?

In the Bad Things section, you’ll find ideas for creepy containers that can be used as votive holders, instructions for a garland of bats to hang on your mantel, turnip jack-o-lanterns that can add a bit of scare in places where a pumpkin won’t fit, and frightening food ideas, like tomato soup with mini mozzarella ball “eye balls.”

I made the pumpkin “pie” potpourri this past weekend, and am saving it to light this weekend when we have company for dinner. I made the holes in the sides of the pumpkin as diamonds instead the circles, and just used a little paring knife to cut them. I’m sure it will fill the house with the scent of Halloween!

The magazine is a collection of Good Things and Bad Things that have been featured in Martha Stewart Living magazine. I love these holiday collections, because they assemble all the fun recipes, crafts, and decorating suggestions in one place. No combing through back issues from the past fifteen years to find which ideas to use this year!