The Revenge of Tricky Treats!

This past weekend we hosted our Fifth Annual Halloween Horrorfest so I decided to throw down on the tricky treats spread again, but this time actually TAKE PHOTOS of the gross-looking/good-tasting food we made before our guests completely decimated the blood-curdling buffet. I used the original line-up from a couple of years ago as my guide, but added a few new gruesome characters to liven things up a bit. I left the naming rights to Micky this year, and some of the place cards definitely got a chuckle out of our friends. Feast your eyeballs!

Braaaaains!

(cheese ball "brain" with Triscuits and Wheat Thins)

[Cheese ball was made from a combination of this recipe and this recipe from Martha.]

Chips & Barf

(little jack-o-lantern spewing forth guacamole with tortilla chips)

Human Vegetables

(the usual suspects: carrots, celery, broccoli, ranch dip and hummus)

Disembodied Mouths 

(apple slices, caramel spread, and mini marshmallow "teeth") 

Kitty Litter Cake

(yellow cake, chocolate frosting, crumbled Golden Oreos and Tootsie Roll "cat turds") 

[Inspired by this recipe.]

Baby Fingers

(Lit'l Smokies wrapped up in crescent roll dough with sliced almond "fingernails" plus ketchup and mustard)

Crapple Sin-amon Muffins

(Apple Cinnamon Muffins whipped up by our gracious co-host Neal Block) 

Breaky Bones

(expertly decorated skeleton cookies made by the beautiful and talented Shannon McKeon) 

Wishing you all a devilishly delicious Halloween this year! 

- Cathleen 

Artist of the Week: Julia Harrison

Blue Belle, 2006, 2.5 x 1.5 x 5"

maple wood, gouache, lacquer, wax, nickel, magnet, epoxy

This exquisitely hand-carved wearable art is made by Seattle-based artist and jewelry maker Julia Harrison. Creating in wood and metal primarily, Julia also teaches jewelry and wood-carving classes. I'm amazed that she can pull these animated shapes forth from a dull block of wood, reducing the lifeless material to produce such a vibrant form. You can see more examples of her work on her website: www.juliaharrison.net

The Dozen Rosebuds, 2005

various woods, gouache broaches, also wall-mountable

Mirabella, 2005, 2.5 x 2.5 x 5"

maple wood, pearls, gouache, varnish, wax, nickel, magnet

Daikoku, 2006, 2 x 1.5 x 1"

pear wood, gouache, wax, nickel, magnet

- Cathleen 

[Images courtesy of the artist's website.]