Category Archives: Fall

Fall Bunting

Crafts, Fall, Sewing, Tutorials, , , , , ,

I promised everyone that I would have an idea to go with the fall banner that I posted here.

This is a fun, super easy fabric fall bunting.  They are quite the thing right now and I can see why so many people love them.  They are fast, easy, inexpensive and they add so much to your decor or to any party!  You can make a bunting out of fabric, paper, wood, metal, or just about any medium that you can think of!  Here is my bunting on my fireplace, but you coulld hang it above your Thanksgiving table, drape it over a picture or a chalkboard, or in a window.  So many possibilities!

So let’s get started making a fabric bunting!  I made this bunting double sided so that if I hang it over my island in the kitchen, it looks great from both sides.

First make a pattern.  I used a 7 inch triangle.  Pin to your fabric with wrong sides together. Right sides out obviously:)This is  a great way to use up all of your fabric scraps, and you can make your triangles as big or as little as you want them to be.  I did and odd number of triangles (11) because to me that just looked better.

 Cut around your pattern with pinking shears if you have them, if not regular scissors or your trimmer blade will do. Next, sew 1/4 inch seam all the way around through both layers of fabric.You will need one package of bias tape, this is the extra wide width and I liked it because it was easier to work with.Find the middle of the bias tape and the middle of one of your triangles.  Pin the triangle inside the tape.  Make sure you have the shorter width of the fold on the front where you will be sewing so that you make sure to catch it in the back when you sew the seam.Pin all of the triangles in the bias tape according to how you want them placed.Sew your seam close to the edge of the bias tape edge making sure you catch the triangle and the back of the bias tape. This really is simple if you have pinned it all ahead of time.  Make sure the triangle edges are touching each other, you can overlap them a bit if you want to, but I just made sure that they were butted right up to each other.See how simple and easy that was, and look how much they can add to you fall decor!Here is a picture of my bunting with my fall banner that I posted earlier.  I think that they look so cute together!  I just think that the possibilites are endless with these buntings!You could totally do this bunting with no sewing.  Make the triangles only one layer and glue, staple or tape to a fun ribbon, ric rac or cording!  Oh the possibilities!

What are some of the fun ways that you decorate for fall?  I would love to here from you!

 

Guest Post

Fall, Printables, Thanksgiving, , , ,

Hi everyone, I am so excited because today I am doing my first guest post!

  Please join me over at Landee See Landee Do.   Landee has a great blog with tons of cute ideas.

She is a fun girl and is so kind.   I met her at her Utah Craft Night and she gave me some great ideas and helps for this blog.

For her post I have made  a really cute fall printable banner for Thanksgiving, so go take a look at it at Landee See Landee Do, and then check back here in a few days for a fun idea to go along with the banner!

Happy Halloween!

Fall, Halloween, Parties, , , , , , ,

Happy Halloween from our family to yours!

Aren’t these just the cutest little spooks!

We had our Halloween party this weekend and this is what the goodies looked like!  I made this popcorn crunch and it was so good.  I used the popcorn puffs instead of popcorn, because I cannot eat popcorn with my braces. (What grandma has braces at this age?  I know of one crazy one!)   Anyway the popcorn was great and I added an orange flavoring to the orange chocolate and cut up orange slices !Here are the candy corn cupcakes and the mini donuts.  By the time I got around to frosting the cupcakes I was so tired that I just did them very quickly and you can tell, but oh well, they tasted great. I had a treat bag for all the kids to take home, complete with a mummy juice box, popcorn, candy and glo sticks for them to use tonight when they go trick or treating.We played a couple of games and had a fish pond which is a tradition that the kids ask about every year!

What are some of your Halloween traditions?  I hope that you all have a great day and a Happy Halloween!

Getting Ready for Our Halloween Party

cooking, Crafts, Fall, Halloween, Parties, , , , , , ,

I have been baking, cooking and crafting up a storm the past couple of days trying to get ready for our Halloween Party this weekend!  Thank goodness for Pinterest, I got tons of ideas.

Here’s what I have been up to:

Edible Eyeballs

Black Licorice Skeleton Hands

Juice Mummy Box

Glo Sticks in A Jar

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Candy Corn Pom PomsI made Halloween mini donuts, Halloween Crunch Popcorn, and that is not any of the food part yet!  Whew! What are you doing for Halloween?  I know lots of you are helping at the schools and in your work places.  I love Halloween, I think that it is my 2nd favorite holiday only next to Christmas!

Remember This?

Christmas, Crafts, Fall, , , , , , ,

Do you remember when I asked if anyone knew what I was going to use this for?  One of my readers actually had a great suggestion, she said that she would use it to hang a quilt on!  I think that was a super idea and I may just have to try to get another one!

But what I had in mind when I bought this hanger, was to put wooden blocks on it to spell out a word.  My friend, Sue, that went with me to the Hobble Creek Boutique, bought one too and she and her husband cut out these blocks for me!  They have a hole drilled through the top so we can hang them.First, I did a wash around the edges with Raw Umber paint and a lot of water.Then I painted these three colors on the front side of the blocks, after they were dry, I sanded the edges and did a wash with the raw umber/water mix to add the distressed look.These are the products that I used.  I used Ceramcoat paint: Light Foliage Green and Tompte Red.  I also used Americana paint in Burnt Orange and Raw Umber.  I used Mod Podge as a varnish and a sealer for the wood.  It also helps the vinyl stick a little better.  You may be wondering what I painted with the red…well, I painted the backside of the blocks with the red and the green..I added some vinyl letters, some fall leaves and a little ribbon and whaalah!Then on the back where I had painted the red and green, I added the letters for NOEL and used some red rhinestones for the berries on the holly.  Now I have two different holiday decorations for the price of one! You can’t beat that!  Of course for Christmas, I will add a new ribbon.I love this, now I can use the fall hanging through Thanksgiving and I just have to turn the blocks around, add a new ribbon, and it is ready for Christmas!

Have you started thinking of Thanksgiving and Christmas already?  Sometimes I think we get ahead of ourselves.  When my children were little, I used to have most of my Christmas shopping done in October!  But boy, not anymore!  I am usually making, baking,wrapping and buying until the last minute!

So for now let’s just enjoy:

Happy Halloween Hauntings!

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Fall, , ,

As everyone is enjoying pumpkin and cinnamon this fall:

(isn’t my maple tree gorgeous this year?)

 I am still enjoying fresh strawberries!

 My fall berries have been unbelievable this year!  They are quite large and very, very sweet!  I have been getting a bowlful like this every 4-5 days!  I have shared with neighbors and friends, but mostly I just eat them myself, right out of the bowl! That is… if I can beat my grandson to them, he is a little strawberry monster!

 But I am afraid that all good things must come to an end.  We are expecting our first hard frost of the season.  But luckily I have frozen quite a few bags of strawberries so we can enjoy them all winter!

Apple Pie Caramel Apples!

cooking, Fall, Gift ideas, Tutorials, , , , ,

We made our caramel apples last weekend.  They are so yummy and really quite easy to do.  My family all prefer these caramel apples to the ones dipped in milk chocolate and candies.  So this year, this is the only kind we made.  But you could definitely use milk chocolate instead of the white, and candies or nuts, instead of the cinnamon/sugar!

First you need to wash your apples to get all of the wax off.  You can use warm soapy water.  Then make sure that they are completely dry.  Put a wooden stick in the center of each apple and then refrigerate for at least an hour to make sure the apples are cold. I used Fuji apples because they are my very favorite kind of apples!

To make “Apple Pie” caramel apples you will need this yummy Peters Caramel that you can buy here.  I also used the Guittard Vanilla Flavored  white chocolate from the same place.Cut off about 1/4 of the loaf of caramel and put into a large microwaveable measuring cup or bowl.  I like to use a 1 1/2 quart bowl that I have because it is kind of skinny and tall, just right for dipping an apple into!  A 4 cup measure will work also.  Melt your caramel in the microwave.  Cook on high for 1 minute.  Stir.  Cook on 50% power for 1 minute.  Stir again.  Repeat at 50% until thoroughly melted, being careful to avoid scorching.  Dip apples into melted caramel and let caramel drip off the end of apple.  You can dip all the way or about 3/4 of the way, whichever you prefer.  I take a spoon and scrape off the bottom of the apple so there is no carmel on the bottom.  This helps so there is not a big puddle of caramel on the bottom of the apple. Repeat until all the apples have been dipped in caramel. Place dipped apples on a parchment covered baking sheet. Depending on how many apples you are making, you may have to melt more caramel.  A 5 pound box of caramel will cover about 15-18 large apples. Put apples back in fridge to cool.Prepare a bowl of sugar and cinnamon mix.  I used about 3/4 cup of sugar to 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. (That is really just a guess, because I just dump until it looks good!  I like quite a bit of cinnamon in mine.) Melt your chocolate in microwave on 50% power for about 1 min.  Then stir.  Repeat until chocolate is melted.  Be careful not to burn!  Dip the caramel apples into the chocolate and let the excess drip off.  Then immediately spoon the sugar/cinnamon mixture over the chocolate.  I do this over a wide bowl, this is like sprinkling glitter onto glue.  It will only stick where the chocolate is.

Put some of the melted white chocolate into a ziplock baggie with the corner cut off very small, or use a pastry bag with a small tip.  Pipe squiggly lines up and down the apple to make it look oh so pretty! Let all the chocolate set up and then you can tie them up in a cellophane bag with a cute ribbon!   YUMMM!

This is a great gift idea for teachers, friends or heck, is there anyone who would not love to recieve one of these?Next is how to cut a caramel apple!

First you cut on both sides of the stick, along the core.Then turn the apple 90 degrees and cut again on both sides of the stick, along the core and you have perfect little wedges that are just the right size for serving and EATING!

Best of Both Worlds

cooking, Fall, , ,

I decided to make some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and then I decided to add a penuche frosting!  To me it was making better…BEST!  I loved the flavor combo of the pumpkin and chocolate, with the carmel frosting!

I did not make the good old Weight Watchers version of pumpkin cookies, which is just a spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin, but I decided to make my recipe that I have used for years, I am not sure where it even came from, because I have had it for so long.  I needed a big batch of cookies this time so I doubled this recipe:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 c. pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 package chocolate chips

Beat butter for 30 seconds, add brown sugar, mix well.  Add egg, pumpkin, and vanilla, beat well.  Add dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Drop from teaspoon on greased cookie sheet ( or I used parchment paper)  Bake at 375 degrees F. for 8-10 mins.  Let cool on wire racks then frost.

This frosting recipe is from Southern Food

Easy Penuche Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar, more or less
  • hot water, optional

Preparation:

In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Add the brown sugar. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium low and continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add sifted confectioners’ sugar. Beat until thick enough to spread. If too thick, add a little hot water. Frosts top and sides of a 2-layer cake or a 13×9-inch cake.
I love how these turned out.  If you love pumpkin cookies, you just might love the flavor of the Penuche frosting with it too!
Happy Baking!

Apple Pie in a Jar!

cooking, Fall, Gift ideas, Printables, Recipes, , , , , ,

My daughter-in-law taught a class on how to make these darling pies! You can see a great tutorial here from Our Best Bites.  She made little mini apple pies in glass jars.   First you prepare the apples-peel and slice them, about 6 cups. Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 tablespoon  lemon juice.  Mix well and set aside.

Make No Fail Pie Crust and roll out quite thin.  Using the rim of the jar, cut a round circle for the top of the pie.  Then roll out another circle large enough to put down inside the bottle.  Or you can just take pieces and press them into the jar.  Make sure that you push the dough down into the bottom of the jar, and that you press it all the way to the top. Add prepared fruit, approximately 1/2 cup per jar.  These are 1/2 pint wide mouth jars.Add the dough circle to the top.  You will need to vent them by cutting slits in them or using a small cookie cutter, like the leaf to cut a hole in the top.  Gently press down the top, so the edges of the circle are completely inside the jar. (The braided top should have been pressed down to be completely inside the jar, so learn from us!) Using a fork press the dough from the top to seal with the dough in the jar.  Here are several versions of how you can make the tops…Lattice, braided edge, or leaf cutout.  You could also use a crumb topping.Sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar.  You could also brush the tops with a little bit of butter before sprinkling the sugar on.  Doesn’t this look Heavenly?!Place the jars on a baking sheet. Bake them at 375 degrees F. for 45-55 minutes or until tops are golden brown.After they cool down you can wipe the edges off and add these cute toppers to your jars!  What a fun gift idea!  The holidays are coming up soon and these would be fun neighbor gifts, or for your friends with a carton of icecream and fun scoop…you get the idea.She did a great job and look how yummy they are!Here is the printable for the top of the jars.  Just right click and go to copy, then open your favorite program, like word, and right click and paste.  These are the right size for a wide mouth lid.Here are some cute tags to tie on with the ribbon.

You could buy all ready made pie crust and canned pie filling if you want a faster version of making these.  I am thinking it would be way fun to do Pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving!

This is a recipe for No Fail Pie Crust, that I have in an old church cookbook.  I cannot remember how long ago, but at least 20 years ago!  And I know that it has stood the test of time! I have never had this recipe fail me!  Just make sure that you do not over mix the dough.

Happy Pie Making!

No Fail Pie Crust Recipe

4 cups flour

1 3/4 cup shortening

1 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1/2 cup cold water

Mix flour, salt and sugar together.  Beat egg, vinegar and water until thouroughly blended.  Cut shortening into dry ingredients until it is the size of peas.  Sprinkle egg mixture over it, a tablespoon at a time, tossing and stirring lightly with a fork.  Mix until dough is just moist enough to hold together. Do not overmix or it will make a tough dough.

Form ball.  Let stand for 15 minutes.  Makes 4 shells or 2 double-crust pies.  Bake shells 8-10 mins at 450 degrees F.

Fun Craft Night with… Landee See Landee Do!

Crafts, Fall, Friends, Halloween, , , , , ,

Last weekend my friend Sharee and I went to Bountiful for a fun craft night with Landee from Landee See Landee Do.  She is a cute, fun, energetic girl, and was so sweet and kind to us.  She has a darling blog and you really should check it out!

We made these darling subway art boards. Sharee’s daughter met us there for a little while, she is at Weber State going to school and she had her mom bring her a few necessities…like homemade cookies!

Sharee and I had so much fun on our girl’s night out.  You would think that we had not seen each other in months, the way we talked all night long.  Never a dull moment!  I love that this board is double-sided!  It makes for better storage…one board, two holidays, you can’t beat that!

This is the Halloween side.This is the Thanksgiving side.  I love it!

Thanks Sharee and Landee for a fun evening!