Sunshine

It has finally stopped raining (shhh... I know I'm not supposed to say that living in Melbourne) and the sun has come out for the afternoon, its meant to be a lovely weekend here too.

So here are some of my favourite pics to inspire the creativity in you all, over the weekend. Happy Friday!

 

 Susannah Tucker Photography

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Skull candy

Skull lollipop mould



Lollipop wrapping kit



Skull chocolate moulds. To get the different colours, I used white chocolate, white chocolate with natural pink food colouring, and dark chocolate.

To get the shiny, flawless appearance of chocolate you must temper it, otherwise you can be left with dull chocolate that has white streaks running through it. It also makes for better melt-in-the-mouth chocolate.

How to temper chocolate

1. Finely chop 750-1000g (1 1/2 to 2 pounds) of chocolate; with any less than this it is difficult to control the temperature.
2. Place two thirds of the chocolate in a metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Place a candy thermometer in the chocolate and stir frequently with a rubber spatula. Do not let the temperature exceed 105 deg F for white and 120 deg F for dark chocolate.
3. When the chocolate is fully melted remove from the heat and add the remainder of the chocolate gradually whilst continuing to stir.
4. Let the chocolate cool to 82 deg F, then return to the heat until it reaches 86 deg F for white chocolate and 90 deg F for dark.
5. Remove from heat and carefully pour into moulds. For the lollipops, add sticks when you have half filled the mould, then fill to the top.

Easy alternative

1. Finely chop 750g-1000g (1 1/2 to 2 pounds) of chocolate, and place in a microwaveable bowl.
2. Microwave on 50% power in 10 second increments, stirring after each interval till chocolate is almost melted.
3. Remove from microwave and stir till chocolate is fully melted.

Packaging for skull cones

You will need:
Cone wrapper
Double sided tape
Cellophane
10mm Ribbon

1. Print cone wrapper (choose a "cone wrapper" below which you can save and print).
2. Cut around cone wrapper and along lines to give 3 wrappers.
3. Roll one of the wrappers into a cone shape and, using double sided tape, fix in shape.
4. Place a second piece of tape inside the cone along one side and peel off backing.
5. Cut out cellophane (use the "cellophane pattern" below as a stencil to cut out your cellophane). Note each straight line is 24cm long).
6. Roll cellophane into a cone shape and place inside cone wrapper. Press against the tape to fix in place.
7. Fill with candy.
8. Tie ribbon around the top.

Packaging for Poison Candy Bags

You will need:
Shocking Pink Candy Stripe bags
Double sided tape
Poison labels
Masking tape

1. Print the "Poison" label below.
2. Using double sided tape stick the label to the front of a bag
3. Fill with candy
4. Fold the top over towards the back and masking tape in place.

If you don't have time to make your own skull candy my new affiliate, A Quarter Of... has some great ready-made skull candy that can be packaged as above.



Skull crushers from A Quarter Of...



Psycho skulls from A Quarter Of...

Check back tomorrow for my Halloween candy table ideas!

Have a sweet day!

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