Halloween Cake Pops and Pop Stands

Say hello to my little friends...
Can I quote a movie I've never seen?  K.  Thanks!  ;)

I've been cake pop-ing the days away lately and growing quite attached to these seven little guys.
IMG_1910

Who could resist something so small, chocolaty and festive?  Not I...  Not I.
IMG_1927

I must give credit where credit is due to the lovely Bakerella!  She is a genius I say, genius!
Here's a link to her Halloween cast of characters that served as my inspiration.
I was pretty stoked to be made a "pop star" on her site for the second time.  It's like they say about getting multiple academy awards, "It is just as thrilling the second time around." {cry, cry, cry}
Okay, I'm being over dramatic, but life is more fun(ny) that way.

Cake pops are nothing new and there's about a million tutorials and books on how to do them.  But I wanted to just tell you a few hints about how I made these.  I will skip the beginning part about making the cake balls since Bakerella explains that so well.

I've already told you about my candy eyeball hoarding.  I explained how simple they are to make in a somewhat simple guest post.  Go check it out.  I already had a big bag of eyes ready to make these little monsters come to life!
IMG_1998

I have developed a serious crush on Dracula.  With that receding hairline he is simply irresistible!
IMG_2003

Frankie is down with his full head of hair but he seems to be almost flaunting it.
He has a scar to keep him humble though.
IMG_2010

Are they horns or ears?  Does it matter?  He is darling.
IMG_2006

Well, as you can see, I've spent too much time with these things as I am now talking as if they are real people.  I will try to do a reality check and start talking about them as if they are food.  Only food.
IMG_1942

Pumpkins were easy.  I needed easy at this point.  My house was thrashed by the time I got to these.
My kids bring food into the toy room if I'm not looking.
IMG_1972

Yep, they are getting even easier.  I needed to tidy up just enough to give the illusion to my husband that I have it all together.  Yes honey, I can totally care for the kids and the house AND spend hours doting over tiny pieces of cake.  {ahem}
IMG_2021

Just one more won't hurt.  It involves 3 chocolates.  I could always just not sleep.  Hehe!
IMG_1958

So before the blissful marathon of cake pops came the adventures in woodworking.

You see, I envisioned a place where my little guys could stand up straight and secure.  Something more solid than styrofoam.  I knew it would be so simple (this word is used very loosely) to make some out of 2 by 6 boards.  My hubs chopped them all up and I measured the holes 2 inches apart.  He advised that the only way the holes would be perfectly straight is if I used a drill press.  Drilling them by hand would inevitably leave you vulnerable to human error.  So I got my hands on a drill press.  Thanks friend!
IMG_1648

After I drilled, I finally used that belt sander my dad gave my for my birthday.  I wasn't excited about storing it, but it did make fast work of sanding these babies.  Thanks dad!

I loved that I was able to make different sized stands that hold the exact number of cake pops that I wanted.  Custom deluxe!  I'm pretty much obsessed with these cake pop stands and the christmas ones are under way.  I'm even thinking I should give a couple away when we hit 1000 fb peeps.  Good idea?
IMG_2035

And you know my policy that cellophane, tags and ribbon make everything better.
Pretty fun gift if you ask me!
IMG_2082 copy

I was pretty stoked about the finished product.  Sometimes ideas don't turn out like I had planned.
But sometimes, this time, they did!  It was all worth it!

p.s.  As I scan this post, I'm noticing that it is very apparent I am running low on sleep.
p.s.s.  If you have sent me an email/fb message, I'm really trying to catch up...Sorry!
p.s.s.s.  I got bangs.  Nothing to do with this post, I just thought you should know.

Labels: , ,