Halloween, a vacation beloved by crafters around the globe, has lengthy held a sentimental place in Alcaraz’s coronary heart. Raised by his grandmother Georgianna Dofflemyer in Santa Fe, N.M., he all the time regarded ahead to spending the spooky season together with her. Together, they watched and re-watched Tim Burton movies and “Hocus Pocus” and brainstormed outlandish selfmade costumes, even effectively after October.
Because they didn’t have a lot cash, Alcaraz rapidly realized to be scrappy within the kitchen and on the craft retailer. “A lot of things that I had to craft with were things around the house,” he says. “And if I did need to go to the craft store, she would say, ‘You only have $5 to get what you want.’”
That resourcefulness is on full show in Alcaraz’s DIY movies, the place he fashions a Halloween feast full with cobweb funnel cakes and unicorn horns produced from meringue. His craftiness even helped him land a spot on HBO’s “Craftopia” in 2021, the place he went home with the highest prize, for a Nineteen Fifties Christmas village overtaken by aliens.
Practical Peculiarities started as a images collection in 2019. At its helm, Alcaraz designed the bizarre and creepy meals whereas his associate photographed his creations. But he had grander desires and wished his venture may evolve into a live-action present — like “Martha Stewart, just twisted.” It was a lofty aim, however Alcaraz educated himself with the digital camera, and in 2020, he started posting common movies on Instagram and TikTok from his Los Angeles residence.
Crafting could have been his past love, however his tinkering led him down a baking rabbit gap. Though he ate “normal food” rising up, post-dinner baking supplied ample alternatives to experiment. Following the recipes was by no means his model. Instead, he added pecans and cinnamon to his sweets and handled Bundt muffins as potential Christmas wreaths. Over time, Alcaraz turned obsessive about utilizing his kitchen as a playground and substituting meals for craft supplies.
“I could use marzipan as dough or like crushed cake and frosting as playdough,” he says.
Despite his devotion to Halloween themes, Alcaraz’s most popular video debuted not in October however simply in time for a vacation related to chocolate-obsessed lovebirds. For Valentine’s Day in 2021, he posted a video of a miniature heart-shaped pie with an apple-cherry filling.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Practical Peculiarities with out a creepy twist. Taking inspiration from “you’re the apple of my eye,” Alcaraz added a realistically painted edible eye to the middle of the pie. Quickly, his creation impressed compliments, horrified reactions and even playful taunts from frequent TikTok reply guy and infamous chef Gordon Ramsay: “It’s Valentine’s Day not Halloween, you doughnut. No wonder you’re still single!”
But Alcaraz had an answer of his personal: He fried up a voodoo doughnut displaying Ramsay’s face and, sparing no effort, took a huge chew out of the chef’s head.
It’s not simply Ramsay who has expressed doubts. Every as soon as in a whereas, folks will get freaked out by Alcaraz’s edible eyes or fake-blood pies.
“When people say, ‘That’s gross,’ all I can say is ‘Thank you,’” Alcaraz says. “That’s what I was going for.”