Perfect Christmas Gift: Edible Coal

I think this is one of my favorite ideas of all time but the pictures don't really show the glory of it, so be warned and use your imagination.

My neighbors have had a bad week. They had to put their dog to sleep in the middle of the night, only to find out the next day that the landlord is putting their house up for sale and they have to find somewhere else to live. That is a rough week to me. They also have a good sense of humor and a slightly darker side than I do so I knew they would get a kick out of this gift.

What gift you ask? A bag of coal.. a yummy yummy bag of coal.  Here's what you need to make these pieces of coal:

You will need Dark Cocoa Mint Candy melts,
Black sanding sugar,
and Marshmallows.

I know black food coloring is in the picture but I wound up not needing it, so just strike that from your grocery list. You will also need straws or skewers and a glass of rice.

First melt your candy melts, following the instructions on the package.

Place your marshmallow on a straw or a skewer and roll it in the melted chocolate. Use a fork or spoon to coat the places that you missed such as the top and bottom and then scrap off any extra chocolate. Tap it on the side of the bowl to shake off more excess chocolate and then place the straw end in the glass of rice so that it can start to set up.

Don't let it harden, just let it set for a minute or two so that the weight of the sanding sugar won't pull the chocolate off the marshmallow when you dip it in the sugar.

when it's set for a minute or so, roll it in the sanding sugar to coat the whole marshmallow. You might have to use your hands to sprinkle it on the bottom, where the straw is.

Stick this back in the rice and let it set until totally hardened, about 20 minutes.

Now you'll have edible coal. My husband did not believe me that this was edible at first.

However it is edible, and delicious. It tastes like a fluffy Andes Mint. Yum. Seriously.

So now you have your coal, what are you going to do with it?

I put the coal in an extremely shiny Ziploc bag. Then I printed out the "Save Santa, Be Naughty" on white cardstock and attached it to the top of the bag. You can use staples to do this or punch holes in both the bag and cardstock and weave ribbon through the holes. Finally I made a loop on the back of the cardstock so we could hang it on their door and run.

This is the back:

Tonight Princess Goofy went and hung it on their door, knocked, and then we all ran away. Hopefully they enjoy the joke but not as much as they enjoy their treat!

Because I love you, here's the graphics that you can use to make your own. Just right click on it and save or if you do have photoshop CS and above and you want a copy of it in .psd format, just email me or leave a comment with your email address and I'll send it to you.

And remember.. Santa is getting old people. Be nice and save him a trip... by Being Naughty!

Link Love

I love great ideas. Sometimes you see one and just think, "duh.. why didn't I think of that?". Other times you see one and think, "can that person please be my neighbor?". 

And because I learned to share.. I will share some of these great ideas with you.

Here are my favorite ideas from the blogsphere this week:

1. Homemade Andes Mints by I'm Topsy Turvy.

Yes Please. Please be my neighbor.  I love Andes Mints. My grandparents always had a candy dish with them at their house, such sweet memories.

2. Little Turkey Tshirts by Dukes and Duchesses

These are so cute and a little known fact is that in this family, we call each other "turkey".  I'm not joking. One of the first things I have taught each of our children is how to say, "gobble, gobble" so that they can communicate with Damion in his native language.

3. Sweateralls from If Only They Would Nap..

Princess Newbie needs these. Stat. or at least by Thanksgiving. Totally adorable. You are welcome for all the fragments.

If you love any of these ideas (who wouldn't?) please stop by their blog and give them some love.