Martha Stewart Living Good Things October

Good THINGS FRESH IDEAS TO ELEVATE THE EVERYDAY

| CELEBRATE |

Wild Things These delightful Halloween disguises, which take a cute cue from flora, fauna, and natural phenomena, whisper the three little words every busy parent longs to hear: No sewing required.

For detailed how-tos, download our complete instructions at marthastewart.com/halloween-2017.

TEXT BY ELENI N. GAGE

No Shrinking Violet

If you can cut and glue felt, you can make this adorable flower. The top four petals attach to a headband, the bottom two to a ribbon that ties under your sweet blossom’s chin. Bonus: The “leaves” are safety-pinned to the dress (translation: removable), so it can be worn again. Synergy alert: This pretty posy’s name just happens to be Violet.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHELSEA CAVANAUGH

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M A R T H A ST E WA R T L I V I N G

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GOOD THINGS

Neato Bandito

Faux-fur glued onto a gray sweatshirt creates this little sneak’s fuzzy ears, belly, and cuffs; another piece rolled up and pinned to his pants makes a fluffy raccoon tail.

Stick felt onto gloves for sharp nails. And here’s the genius part: The mini trash bag he’s rifling through doubles as a candy sack.

Pepé Le Cute

Felt, fur, and tulle, fabric.com and michaels .com. Violet, raccoon, and skunk clothing, primary.com.

| INSTANT STYLE |

Animal Magic The eyes have it! Ready-made costumes for every Halloween party, these special masks and headpieces feature highquality hand-stitched details that’ll earn them a permanent spot in your child’s dress-up chest—or in your own, since most fit comfortably on adult faces, too.

THE DETAILS (from left): Sundries and Plunder leather giraffe child’s mask, $63, sundriesandplunder.etsy.com.

Poki Plays felt lion child’s mask, $23, pokiplays.etsy.com.

Coral & Tusk fox mask, $52, coralandtusk.com. Acorn Toy Shop Pink Rabbit headpiece, $46, acorntoyshop.com.

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M A K E U P A N D H A I R BY C L AU D I A A N D R E AT TA F O R H A L L E Y R E S O U R C E S

Storm Chasers

A tomato cage and tulle are the only elements you need for a tornado costume that will blow everyone away. Fabric leaves, model fences, and toy cows get swept up in the fun.

Our twister’s sister is breezy, too, thanks to wire we gaffers’taped into her skirt and scarf and tucked into her shoelaces, plus an inside-out umbrella.

Gel ensures her bad hair day lasts all night.

This funky skunk is super-simple: A hoodie, faux fur, a fluffy white feather boa, and a little armature wire add up to the sweetest little stinker in town.

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GOOD THINGS

| MAKE & TAKE |

A Monster Mash

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When you slice these brownies, you set loose a gaggle of red-eyed, chomping beasts—and your mob of hangry partygoers are the only ones who can defeat them. If you’re up to the challenge, make a double batch of brownies to fit a 9-by-13-inch pan (find our favorite recipe at marthastewart.com/spelt-brownies). While they bake, break 16 cream-filled cookies in half. Midway through the cooking time, press in the cookie pieces. Let cool. Use royal icing to dot two “eyes” on each cookie, and add red nonpareils for pupils.

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| SIP & REPEAT |

Spooky Spirits Candy is dandy, but liquor is quick to thrill, too—especially if you serve one of these sinister takes on a classic cocktail.

Spike a dark and stormy with spirulina to give it a murky color without altering the taste (we promise). Dive-bomb an aviation with a splash of Campari and a mysterious red orb (aka a cocktail cherry) for a garnish. And let friends “bloody” old-school greyhounds with sweet homemade grenadine. Each recipe serves 1.

1

DARK AND SWAMPY Whisk together 2 ounces spiced rum and 1 opened capsule spirulina powder (⅛ teaspoon).

Fill a glass with ice, pour in rum mixture, top with ginger ale, and stir.

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MAYDAY Place 1 cup ice, 2 ounces gin, 1 teaspoon crème de violette, ½ ounce fresh lemon juice, and ½ ounce maraschino liqueur in a cocktail shaker.

Shake 30 seconds. Place a cocktail cherry in the bottom of a martini glass. Strain gin mixture into glass, then top with 1 to 2 teaspoons Campari.

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BLOODHOUND Bring ½ cup each light agave syrup, pomegranate juice, and grated red beet to a boil in a saucepan.

Strain, then return mixture to pan and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat until syrup has reduced to ¾ cup, 5 minutes. Let cool completely.

(Syrup yields enough for 8 and can be refrigerated up to 1 month.) For each drink, pour 2 ounces vodka, 1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice, and ½ ounce fresh lime juice over ice. Sweeten with syrup to taste.

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Devilishly Spicy Black-Bean Salsa

| DIY DETAIL |

Bowl of Souls Bwa-ha-ha! These tortured treats will have your Halloween revelers screaming—in delight.

Luckily for you, making them is painless. Just draw three small ovals with a black food-safe marker (we used a Wilton Food-Writer edible color marker; $9 for a set of 5, michaels.com) to give white Jordan almonds ghoulish faces. Then set out the nihilistic nuts and start cackling.

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Creepy Crudités With Miso-Yogurt Dip

| EASY ENTERTAINING |

Horror D’Oeuvres One sign you’re not at the kids’ table anymore: The Halloween-party apps are as haute as they are horrific.

Our eerily elegant snacks include black-bean salsa with orange sweet-potato chips, a crudités tray that’s crossed over to the dark side, and a fromage specimen that’s as chilling as it is ooey and gooey—as well as mind-bendingly quick to arrange.

THE DETAILS: Jayson Home brass cheese cleaver, $45, jaysonhome.com.

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Bloody Brains With Midnight Crackers

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MAKE SALSA

Whisk together ½ teaspoon minced chipotle in adobo, the juice of 1 lime, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ cup finely chopped onion. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir in rinsed and drained black beans (from a 15.5-ounce can) and ¼ cup chopped cilantro. Serve with sweet-potato chips.

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ARRANGE CHEESE

Plate a wrinkly bloomyrind goat cheese, such as Bijou or Coupole, with charcoal crackers (we like the squares from finecheese.co.uk) and currant jelly or lingonberry jam. For an extra ew factor, use the back of a knife to split the brain into two “hemispheres.” Serve at room temperature.

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WHIP UP DIP

Whisk together 1 cup Greek yogurt and 1 tablespoon each white miso and water. Sprinkle with toasted black and white sesame seeds and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Serve with dark crudités, such as purple carrots, red cabbage, steamed purple potatoes, Treviso radicchio, black radishes, and black olives.

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| DIY DÉCOR |

Creepy Crawlies This wreath is equal parts gorgeous and grotesque, courtesy of its lush moss and the juicy centipedes (spray-painted black), worms, and snakes we wove in. After All Souls’ Day, pluck off the slithering trimmings and repurpose the green base for Thanksgiving.

THE DETAILS: Terrain dried-grapevine medium wreath, $10, shopterrain.com.

Preserved moss, from $3 for 50 g, jamali garden.com. Aishne plastic bug assortment (for centipedes and worms), $13 for 100 pieces, amazon.com. ValeforToy rubber snake, 14", $10 for 6, amazon.com.

| PARTY TRICK |

Just Take One To cement your reputation as the scariest house in the neighborhood, assemble our patented “nobody’s home” fake-out: Chalk the details of a door on black kraft paper and tape it to your real door’s interior frame. Cut a hole in the middle that’s just big enough to fit your arm (covered in mummy tape or a werewolf paw), and place candy below. It’ll look like a mere prop—until it playfully slaps or grabs the fingers of anyone sneaking an extra treat.

THE DETAILS: Pacon ArtKraft paper roll, in Black, $29, amazon.com. Zagone Studio men’s wolf gloves, from $23, amazon.com.

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