Embracing Fall

Okay, since fall started last week and it is quite evident that Mother Nature is fierce and not to be messed with I have decided to embrace fall! I do love mums, pumpkins and the beautiful fall foliage. I also like boots and bulky sweaters! These hardy looking mums are on my front steps .

When I was heading down the driveway (in my car), I turned and noticed how nice the new yellow color looks on a dark and rainy day. You can see the leaves on the rear window.

I looked closer and I could see leaves swirling in the wind. I also noticed that my upstairs windows are open and they are almost even. I hate when they are uneven! But on the other hand the windows are open and it is raining!

The acorns have been falling since early September. I actually have to go out everyday and sweep the deck clean. They are really big acorns, too. I am going to see what "The Farmers Almanac" has to say about falling acorns. I hope it means we are going to have a warm winter. Somehow, I think it will be the opposite. It probably means that the squirrels are gathering up all the acorns they can for a nasty cold winter!

It is rather humid today for early fall. I am not complaining! The boots and sweaters will have to wait!

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Finished!

I finished a few more ornaments for the bazaar. I made about 25 of these and I know we need more! I would like to make a few with the name of the church on them and maybe the town's name too. They would also be cute personalized with kid's names on them. Or an older person's name like Denise!

They are very easy to make. Just paint the craft stick white. I used a paint pen to make the red lines. I made the signs from a piece of balsam wood I bought at Jo Ann's. It is very easy to cut with a pair of scissors. I painted the signs blue and used a paint pen to make the letters. Very easy so far! I put a little glitter here and there and attached a little red ribbon for a hanger.


I found this idea on google images. But when I just googled it to see who made it, I can not find it! But thank you to the crafter who put this adorable idea out there!

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Trick or treat? I always say treat!

I made this Halloween themed box last week. It is a "green craft". It started out as a Wheatables cracker box. I painted the entire box white and put a little bit of green paint over the white. The pumpkin is easy to see!

I hope the little boy who gets this box has a fun Halloween! I'm sure he will.

I like making these "green boxes". I may never buy a gift bag again!

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Working on a simple but cute ornament

I have been a bad blogger this week. I have not posted much or been doing much visiting either. But I have been enjoying the weather and I have been busy with lots of fun projects. I am working on a cute ornament. I found it when I googled "Popsicle stick ornaments." I really love google images! One day I googled "ornaments made from wine corks" and one of the images was mine! That was really neat. I just need to glue these little signs to the Popsicle/craft sticks and I will have a bunch of ornaments for the bazaar! Oh and I must keep a few for myself.

I am off to a art festival. It is a beautiful day for it. I hope to take a few pictures. If I do I will share them soon.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

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Middle of September

I made a new pair of curtains for the kitchen window last week. I love the way the sun shines through the panels in the morning. I could sit in the kitchen all day and look at it. Sometimes I do, it is where I have been making all my bazaar ornaments. Yes, the crafting is continuing. But, I am taking the day off today. I am going to run lots of fun errands! I want to look for a shade to put behind the panels. I also want to buy chrysanthemums for outside. I can't believe it is the middle of September! Maybe I can find a cute scarecrow or two!

I know fall is coming and evidently so do these blackbirds. They gather in my yard every year around this time. I tried to get a picture of them in my yard but whenever I moved, they moved. This is my neighbors yard. I guess they know it is time to head south. I have to embrace fall and start thinking apples, pumpkins, sweaters, scarves and heating oil!

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Easy as pie, or open face pie!

I have made this before and it is so easy I had to share the recipe for it. Seeing it is apple season and all. I have seen it called apple galette, but let's just call it an open face apple pie. This is the best picture I have of the finished dish, not too flattering. It looks better in person, I swear.


It is really easy to put together. You will need an apple pie filling, store bought pie crust, an egg, a little bit of sugar and Pam. I forgot to put the sugar and Pam in the picture. Sorry! I was also making a soup for supper at the same time!

Spray a cookie sheet with Pam and then place the pie crust on the cookie sheet.

Put the pie filling in the middle leaving about an 1 1/2" around the outside edge.

Fold over the edge pinching here and there. It is suppose to be rustic looking, no need to be perfect! Beat an egg a bit and brush it on the crust. Then spoon a little sugar over the egg. Bake it in a preheated oven at 400 for about 25-30 minutes.

I did not have any ice cream, so I had to serve it straight up, as is! I am not hearing any complaints! It heats up well in the microwave. I hope you give it a try.

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Christmas in September?

If I keep up this pace, I should be done with the bazaar items by the end of the month! That would be great since the bazaar is in the middle of November!

These are a little sample of what became of the unfinished snowwomen from yesterday's post. I made a very simple hat for them and added a few buttons. The buttons are so cute! They are from a friend who is also making ornaments for the bazaar.

A closeup is a must! I attached a little black wire for a hanger and tied a little piece of fabric to it. The glitter was an after thought.

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More bazaar work!

Bazaar, as in Christmas bazaar! I have been working on a few things for a church bazaar. These craft sticks are a few steps away from being ornaments. When I was taking the pictures I noticed that I did not put the white dots in the middle of their eyes.

I was able to fix that in a few minutes. It usually makes the snowmen/snowwoman a bit more lively.

I noticed some of the snowmen/snowwomen look like they have a little attitude! Maybe the word is spirited! Well, that is also true in life. I am not here to judge.

Even though spellcheck does not recognize snowwomen as a word, I do!

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Little weekend project!

Repainting the upstairs bathroom was on my fall to-do list. For that matter it was on last year's to-do list. However, the ceiling on the other side of this wall is over 11 feet high. I am all of 5'2" and even with a ladder it is hard to reach the top of the ceiling! Let me say it is scary, too! I decided to repaint the floor instead and keep the walls green. The walls are not really this color. They look mint green, but they are deeper than this. If I tried to darken the picture than you could not see the texture of the chest, that I love! More storage is a must!

I have painted this floor many times, I use porch paint. This was leftover from our front porch , so I consider it free! I did add a new shower curtain and rod, two scatter rugs, a brown leather chest, a picture and I made a new curtain for in front of the vanity. The vanity is old and tired, so rather than replace it I made a curtain for the front of it. You can see a glimpse of it in the first picture.

This print really brought the room together. I never would of thought I would have a green, orange and brown bathroom. But this picture inspired me to take a chance! If I did not like it, I could just return it. Not a big risk! I eat my own cooking, that is considered a bigger risk in my house! I am not kidding! That is why I don't share too many ideas or recipes that are not considered baked goods or sweets!

I am happy with the redo, it was rather inexpensive and it really needed a face lift!

I should of taken a before picture but I really did not plan to do this over the weekend. I just painted the floor and went to the HomeGoods and TJ Maxx and bought a few things. Instead of fall cleaning, I paint! Usually one room, but the downstairs needs a little change, too. Not much just some paint!

Okay, I do a little fall cleaning. Reluctantly, may I add!

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Green is Good!

I am still "green crafting". This is a rather cute round gift box!

I wish I had all the oatmeal containers I have thrown away over the years! I am seeing a lot of oatmeal cookies in my future! I also have a new muffin recipe book that has a nice apple/oatmeal recipe in it. I should have extra containers in no time!

I added a wire holder and simple torn pieces of cotton fabric.

Just a little tag. Now, all it needs is a gift! I am thinking oatmeal cookies!
I should take a minute to remember 9/11/2oo1. I will never forget that morning and the events of that day.

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Red birds, in the house!

Okay, why is it that I do not want to buy anything fall related right now, but I am making Christmas ornaments? I really know why, because in a blink of an eye it will be winter! And as I mentioned before I am helping a friend with a church bazaar. And I always need new ornaments for our Christmas tree. This year more than ever! I lost a lot of my ornaments in the spring! When we had those terrible floods!

I am pretty sure red birds are perfect for the holidays!

I am making more later on today. I have made blue and brown ones, too. My favorite is the brown bird! I will post pictures of them next week.

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I want cake !

Saturday night , I wanted a piece of cake! But, it was late and I am not the kind of person that is going to start baking at 9 o'clock. When I woke up Sunday morning I still wanted cake so I found the Paula Deen cake mix, my electric hand mixer, a large bowl and got to work. By the way, I usually just buy Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker cake mixes, but I saw this at Walgreens of all places and for $2.00 I thought I had to give it a try!

Let me just say that when I took the 2 - 9"pans out of the oven, I was a little disappointed that the cake was only a little over an inch high! Really? I was thinking it would be much higher than that! I left the pans to cool and I took a shower. All I could think about, was that I was going to write to Paula Deen and tell her about how I was feeling about this not so high rising cake .Then I thought, do people write letters! I mean with a stamp involved? Maybe, I would send an email! I figured I would just bake another cake and toss this cake into the garbage. After my shower. I decided that I should not judge this cake by what it looked like? Just because it is not perfect, should it get tossed? No, I decided to frost it!

Let me just say that I am so glad I gave it a second chance! The cake is one of the best "boxed cakes" I ever had. I had a piece for lunch! Then for a snack! Then just a sliver! Then another sliver, after we got home from the cook out! I had a piece for breakfast on Monday! I finally sent 1/2 of the cake to a friend! It had to be out of the house. Apparently my will power is on a vacation!
I have to remember to not judge a book by it's cover!

I am also thinking about writing a letter to Paula Deen, to tell her how good the cake tasted.

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My love for felt continues!

I found this pretty deep purple felt at AC Moore last week. I am really not a purple person. I say that as I sit here in a purple shirt. Come to think of it my daughter also had purple on today and she is not a purple person, what is going on here? Next, I will find out that summer is almost over and fall is around the corner! Say it isn't so! My daughter asked me what was it is that I did not like about fall. I answered that it leads to winter! I hate winter!

I needed a new cell phone holder and I also needed a break from making gingerbread men ornaments. I will admit the ornaments are so cute, but I get bored making the same thing. I have ten made already and I need to make more, a lot more!

The cell phone holder came out rather cute and it was a fast craft too. I like that!

I am always breaking my reading glasses. I buy the cheap ones, but still I am always throwing them in my pocketbook and they end up breaking! I had a little extra time this morning so I made a matching eyeglass holder. That is all the crafting for now. I need to do some laundry, pay a few bills, go to the market and watch a little tennis.

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Beware of the waves!

My daughter's boyfriend Kyle took this picture Friday afternoon during Hurricane Earl. There were a lot of people down by the ocean watching the waves. Ah, the beauty of Mother Nature. Kyle goes to this section of the beach almost every weekend, he knows it pretty well. There was lady taking pictures from a spot that he knew would not be safe. He told her a few times that she should move. He continued to take his pictures and when he turned to look at her, this is what he saw. That little dot in the water is her head. She did make it out safely, I wonder what happened to her camera? Believe it or not, he told another person the same exact thing, he was also swept into the water and made it out safely. But what if they were struggling and needed help? What is the onlooker's responsibility when this happens? There was another man on the beach that also warned these people about the danger of standing too close to the water. This man told them , he was not going to go in the water if they were carried in by a wave. You hear too many stories about people that go into rescue these idiots and they end up drowning.

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Have a wonderful weekend!

Love Hate Love, Part II

I was still on the fence about how I felt about a set of four cards I made a few weeks back. They had been sitting on the counter and I would look at them almost everyday. They needed something, but what?

I drew more flowers, added a happy birthday sign and some glitter! They look much better! Now I like them! Is is my imagination? Or does the bird look a little happier, too? I fixed all four cards and they are now ready to go out whenever the next birthday comes around!

Earl is still deciding whether he wants to come to Rhode Island or not! I think we are just going to get strong winds and rain.

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Hurricane Earl, the univited weekend guest!

Earl, what are you thinking showing up uninvited for the Labor Day Weekend! I have plans! Now, I have to go out and buy all the things they say you need for a storm! From past experiences, the storms usually just head out to the east.But, you have to be prepared. I guess I will buy a new flash light, batteries and a few candles. Usually people go crazy and buy way too much food! You should see the supermarkets the day before a snow storm. I am thinking I will buy a loaf of bread, eggs and milk. I will have to make a pitcher of iced coffee. That is a must! Okay, maybe I will buy some candy. Candy is always good no matter what the weather! This also means I will have to walk around the outside of the house and make sure that everything that could take off in the wind is safely put away!

Earl, I have some advice for you, head east!

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The boring tan box has become a gift bag!

I wish I took a better picture of this cereal box redo/green craft. But, it is what it is! I cut out two circles from a piece of water color paper. Colored them ! I put a little glitter in the center of the purple circle. Cut out a few leaves, colored them, too! I added a little black wire for a handle. The handle was okay, but I cut a few strips of cotton fabric to give it a little something extra.

I am not sure why I drew the little flowers in the corner. It seemed like a good idea at the time!
Now, I think they are distracting.

The back of the bag has a little green leave that can be used as a gift card.
I made this bag in a hurry on Saturday. But, as soon as I saw this idea in the magazine I knew I had to make one! The box/bag is really very sturdy. I may never have to buy another gift bag, I can live with that. I have lots of boxes in all kinds of shapes and sizes!

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