Courtney 
Learn how to make this sweet and simple Halloween headpiece of French macarons in a snap!
Les macarons, not to be confused with macaroons, are the new cupcake — haven’t you heard? These delicious and delicate French cookies are as pretty as they are tasty. And we found that they are a lot easier to make from modeling clay then they are to bake in the oven. Which makes this simple Halloween headpiece of French macarons is the perfect item to pair with a dress or t-shirt and jeans for a quick and easy costume.
Materials: 1 4oz pack of kids modeling clay like Crayola Model Magic or Cloud Clay, hard-plastic headband, ribbon, acrylic paint, paint brush, hot glue.
If you want to dress up your headband, you can do so easily with a ribbon. Using a thin ribbon, wrap the headband at a 45 degree angle starting at one end, securing the ribbon in place with hot glue and wrapping to the other end and securing again. I wanted to use a wider decorative ribbon with strawberries, so I glued the ribbon across the headband, securing it on either end on the underneath of the headband. You can also buy a plastic headband in a pretty color like pale pink or minty green. Once you’ve created the headband you can start making your macarons.
Start with two approximately 1″ balls of foam clay, and one ball about half the size. The two larger balls will make the top and bottom of your macaron and the smaller ball will be the macaron filling. Roll the ball in your palm and gently start to flatten it without making it completely flat — it should be domed. The smaller ball should be pancake flat to create the filling. Once you have your three parts made, assemble them with a top, filling and bottom. With all the parts stacked and holding them in your two hands, gently rotate the macaron while softly pressing along the edges. This will accentuate the dome and narrow the edges for a more realistic macaron.
As you will notice at any fancy bakery, macarons have a lovely smooth surface with foamy, cracked edges just above the filling. To create this texture, use a wooden skewer to poke little dots into the edges of the macaron top and bottom (not in the filling).
Create five or six macarons to make your headpiece and set them aside to dry on wax paper for 24 hours.
Create a little strawberry by rolling a ball in your hand, then pinching out one end to a soft cone shape like a strawberry. Add seed texture with a wooden skewer. Make a tiny flat pancake and cut into it with small scissors to create the strawberry top. Because the foam is so soft and sticky you can place the top right onto the strawberry and it will stay. Carefully set the strawberry aside to dry for 24 hours.
Use inexpensive craft paint in various pastel colors to turn your macarons from all white to pink, purple, and delicious. Macarons have a layer of cream or jam in the center, so paint the center layer a different color to define the filling. You can add white paint or a little bit of water to your paint to soften the color, but don’t use too much water.
Create a pile of towering macarons on your headband. Start by placing a dab of hot glue onto the bottom of the first macaron then place onto the headband and hold in place until set. Continue placing the macarons atop one another until you have a pile of pastel beauties. To finish, place the brightly painted strawberry atop the highest macaron with a tiny bit of hot glue.
To finish your costume, create a lacy collar to wear along with your headband. With a square piece of felt in any pastel color, trim the edges to create a circle. Then cut a smaller circle in the center, like a donut. This will become the neck opening. Next cut a line from the neck opening to the outer edge. Refold the felt and cut openings to create a lace pattern, like you would do with paper snowflakes. Trim the cut-away shapes to create extra texture.
This is a costume that is (almost) literally as sweet as can be!