I love to be able to make foods that double as either decorations or as a craft project. Foods that look like something else, or remind you of a thing that is not fuood are such fun. Now websites are packed with ideas for food crafts. Here are a few things I have done to make food for special occasions. I hope you enjoy them, and maybe will get inspired to do some food crafts for yourself. At a ladies' tea at my church, I made sandwiches that went along with my theme. The theme for my table was "Sew, What's New?" I decided to make sandwiches that looked like buttons and patchwork hearts. The button filling was salmon salad with a slice of cucumber and the hearts were chicken salad on white, wheat and rye breads. All of the "stitches" were made with tinted cream cheese. For my dessert, I made cupcakes that looked like old-fashioned pin cushions. I actually had "pins" sticking out of them made with a frosting-covered piece of spaghetti and topped with a sphere of colored icing. I think they turned pretty cute. Friends ask me where I get ideas for things like this. Usually I say I copy ideas from other people or websites, but this time I can actually say I came up with these ideas myself. My sister said, "You ARE your mother's daughter!" My mom would have thought of things like this, so I guess she taught me well. This was a gift from a neighbor's aunt. It's made out of a Hershey's kiss and a chocolate covered maraschino cherry. The ears are sliced almonds. I think they are one of the cutest things ever. This is Helene, Madeline and Carmella having a chat about the price of chocolate and the cherry harvest that is coming. Thanksgiving turkeys made out of Rice Krispies treats and Keebler cookies and candy corn. The neighbor boys helped with this project. These little chicks were a sad attempt at duplicating an idea I saw online. It is an Easter project that didn’t look like the cute online project. It is basically a hard- boiled egg with the yolk scooped out and made into a deviled egg filling. The filling is then scooped back into the egg white. The face is made with green bell pepper pieces for the eyes and a sliver of carrot for the beak.

Hey, Have you seen that movie Fantasia? I think

we're in it!

Why do I think mushrooms are a food craft? Look closer. These are actually made of meringue. They are piped from a piping bag in two pieces (the cap and the stem are separate). Then they are "baked" in a 200 degree oven for 1.5 hours, and then the oven is turned off and and they are cooled in the oven for another 30 minutes. After that, the two pieces are "glued" together with a little melted chocolate. The final touch is to sift a little cocoa powder over the top to make the "dirt" on the top. They make cute additions to the edge of a cake, or just to set out to eat on their own. A single layer of cake can be cut up and moved around to make a design that works for the situation. There are lots of cakes that can be made using this technique, from animals to butterflies and even more. Another of our annual "calendar tea" luncheon for the ladies of our church. I co- hosted a table with a friend. Our table 's theme was May so we celebrated Mother's Day by honoring our mothers' memories by making foods that reminded us of our mothers. We had chicken salad croissants, potato salad, a watermelon basket filled with fruit salad, and for dessert, I made these little apple pies baked in small Mason jars. We filled a goody basket like the one on the right with a variety of things for each of the guests at our table. Our table was pink, black and white, so we got small pink baskets with handles to resemble a picnic basket. We filled them with a white teacup with a pink rim, filled with a teabag, a small hexagonal box with a couple more teabags, a black and white cellophane bag filled with cranberry/orange scones, key lime scones and Scotch shortbread cookies, and the little apple pie. We decorated the jar lid with pink cloth to match the decor. I think it made a nice presentation. I wish I could take the credit for the pie in a Mason jar idea, but I found it online. It makes a great presentation and is the perfect size for one serving. Have you ever had cookies served on a tray made of melted peppermint candies? This is so easy to do. Just lay the candies out on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. The candies can be separated by just a little space. Bake them in a preheated 350 degree oven for 7 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to overbake it. Remove from oven and cool on the pan on a wire cake rack. Once it has cooled for about 10 to 15 minutes, remove the parchment paper. Let the “plate” cool completely before using it to serve cookies or homemade candy. Sometimes crafty cookies substitute for a birthday cake. These were a gift to a special girl (Ray’s goddaughter) who loves the movie Frozen. The design on the top was simply made by using a stencil to sprinkle powdered sugar over the blue icing. Baking pies can be a craft of sorts, too. If you can find a pie pan shaped differently than the standard round pan, you can make a cute design. Also, using extra scraps from the pie dough, you can cut designs with small cookie cutters to put on top of the pie, or braid around the edge, or make fancy cuts in the top crust to vent the pie.