Pumpkin Season is Almost Here

It is hard to believe that our pumpkins are just about ready for picking.

On August 6th they were still green with just a hint of orange.

That is a lot of change in a few weeks.

In only twenty days to be exact.

They had completely changed from green...

...to orange!

It is fun to have our own little pumpkin patch.

We sure won't have to go far to pick pumpkins this year!

Happy Saturday!

Good Morning Halloween!

Just popping in with a new doodle and...

...a fun little note card envelope. 

These cute little envelopes started as a completely different project however as Halloween approached it occurred to me that the shape resembled a cat or an owl so decided to use black paper and voilá! The googly eyes made it even more fun. The nose/beak is actually the notecard inside the envelope.

Have a great morning and a fun evening!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween: Twist & Pop card

This is not your ordinary card. In fact, there is a surprise in the middle! But before we get to that we will start at the front. The "pineapple" jack-o-lantern was something I drew using procreate and then printed for the card. 

Fun Fact: the pumpkin also "glows-in-the-dark" thanks to some special glitter.

And here is the inside of this very festive Twist & Pop card! 

The card closes flat however when you open it the banner pops up. How neat is that?! This project became a card making obsession so I will be back with more DIY cards. 

Happy Halloween!

"creepy" Coffee Klatch treats

Cauldrons, Mummies and Pumpkins ... OH MY!

It was Coffee Klatch day at our parents house which is always a great excuse for making  seasonal treats.

Mummy raspberry pastries were quick and easy and their little imperfections made them even cuter.  

The cauldrons were a fun way to make the homemade caramel corn a bit more festive.

And Pumpkin shaped muffins filled with cream cheese frosting and covered with marshmallow cobwebs filled in the gaps on the tray perfectly. We also had Almond Bar Cookies and Peanut Butter Popcorn, which were both wonderful, so the table was chock~full of sweets and treats. Another great family Coffee Klatch!

Happy Saturday!

Orange & Black Table Decor

Tis' the season for Orange & Black at our house.

GO BEAVS! 

And yes, Halloween too.

I gathered up all of our "vintage" white and orange plates and set them on felt spider webs. To make the table a little more festive I placed the small cauldrons on top. What could be easier than that? 

Spiders and eyeballs add to the fun. 

Whether it is Game Day or Halloween our table is ready!

Happy Friday!!

Halloween Dinner

This year for our Halloween dinner we had homemade chili with lots of toppings, as always, and Cornbread Pumpkin Muffins filled with honey butter. 

Since I ran out of time to make the dessert I had originally planned on I decided to fill cauldrons with pudding and top them with whipped  cream ghosts instead. It was quick and easy and I thought they looked pretty cute. 

The little muffins were a lot of fun to make. 

Since I always make cornbread to go with our chili I decided why not have a little pumpkin patch to go with our Halloween themed dinner instead of the standard squares.

I made my honey butter with a sprinkle of cinnamon to use for the filling and cinnamon sticks for the stems. I tried parley from our garden for the leaves however they wilted fairly quick. It looked really cute but unfortunately did not last long. 

A simple but festive dinner for 5!

Happy November!!

DIY Skeleton Costume

Last night we made a very last minute costume for Miss E to wear to her office on Halloween. 

Her idea was to paint a skeleton on one side of a black t-shirt with a trendy cutout at the top. She found the perfect shirt in the boys section at Walmart for only $3.50. 

After looking at some skeleton pictures I finally had an idea of what to draw so I cut a piece of freezer paper to fit one side of the shirt and then drew some rib bones, back bone and a small collar bone. Once I thought the drawing was OK and got her stamp of approval I cut it out. To protect the shirt while painting I slipped a heavy brown paper bag inside after I had ironed the wax paper cutout on the t-shirt. We also put piece of blue painters tape down the middle to keep the line clean and straight and then it was ready for her to paint.

When it was finished we left it to dry over night.

She was happy with how the t-shirt turned out so it was just a matter of waiting until morning to try it on.  

Miss E and I had a fun, creative evening. Unfortunately I was gone before she was up so I haven't seen her dressed in her Skeleton Costume yet but I am hoping she had someone take pictures!

Happy Halloween!

Spooky Jello

For as long as I can remember I have served a theme meal, usually dinner but sometimes breakfast too, on Halloween. It is not hard to do or terribly time consuming to prepare festive food and what could be easier than Jello?

It is pretty simple to make Jello look spooky when it is served in black bowls with bones on top so I thought these would be a perfect addition to our fun dinner menu on Wednesday. For the sake of time, I made the edible bones myself using chocolate. It was so much quicker than running to the store. With my luck, and the fact that everything fall related is already on the back shelves marked as clearance,  I wouldn't be able to find them anyway so making my own bones was a much better use of time. 

The tapioca on top makes it even more

sLimY and SpOoKy!

I think these will be perfect for our easy peasy Halloween dinner. So the tradition continues.

For more Halloween ideas go here.

Have a great Monday!

Saturday Morning Coffee & Treats

 Today was our October Coffee Klatch. My sister and her husband have always hosted our  Saturday morning get togethers which are scheduled randomly throughout the year. They make their famous percolated coffee, which is the best, and we all make treats to share. 

My contribution consisted of apple bars, pumpkin scones, Mr. Wonderful's beef jerky, cuties and the cute little ghost eggs. The serving platter and bowl were the perfect size and color and were my grandparents which made it extra special. 

My Mom and sister made these yummy treats. The triangles are Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake Bars and the Muffins are Pumpkin and cream cheese. Both were delicious!

We had our coffee in these cute mugs.

My sister also gave each of the girls a beautiful potted Rose which are shown in the pictures above. 

We always look forward to the family Coffee Klatch because it is

so much fun!

Happy Saturday!

Beef Jerky ~ teriyaki

The hubs marinated some beef yesterday for beef jerky and had it on the smoker early this morning.  

This was his first attempt and it turned out pretty well. Teriyaki is not his top pick for flavor but we had the ingredients on hand which made it easy. However, he is already talking about doing another batch with an idea he has for a different marinade. But until then....

...it will be a great snack for game day!

Happy Saturday!!