20 DIY Fall Decorations

I LOVE FALL!

Cool weather, pretty trees and fun holidays. 

It's just starting to turn chilly here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, so to get into the spirit of the season 
I went in search of some decorating ideas that were fun and of course, do-it-yourself. 

I originally started out thinking I was only going to post 10 items, but I found so many I loved I decided to do 20.

Hopefully these ideas will inspire you to start your Fall decorating if you haven't already!

 

Party Pumpkin Cooler by Inspiration for Home

 

Skull Plate by CathieFilian.com

 

Glitter Pumpkins by Projects In A Can

 

 Personalized Burlap Wreath by LOVE IS

 

Pumpkin Candle Table Decor by Good Housekeeping

 

Halloween Painted Glass Jar Luminaries by  Crafts by Amanda

 

Corn Vase by Your Cozy Home

Fall Colors Monogrammed Doormat by BHG

 

 Halloween Countdown Sign by I Heart Naptime

 A Wreath Bewitched by Lemon Tree Creations

 

Halloween Party Centerpiece by One Charming Party


 
 Give Thanks Banner {Free Printable}by At Second Street



Washi Tape Pumpkins by Good Housekeeping



 Wheelbarrow Welcome Arrangement by Better Homes and Gardens



Keep Calm and Gobble On Sign {Free Printable}by Craftily Ever After

Thanks Wine Bottle Upcycle by Avery & Anderson


{Not a DIY, but too fabulous to not post!}

 Freddy Krueger Wreath available at Etsy



 Jute Vase by teach. craft. love.

 Frankenstein Door Decoration by  Mel Designs



Book Pages Pumpkin by Creations by Kara

Thanks to all the awesome bloggers & websites out there 
for these wonderfully creative ideas!

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup - Skinny Style!

:: Ingredients ::

4 cups water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup fresh basil {garnish}

1 tsp fresh diced garlic
½ bay leaf

1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
½ cup flour
½ cup butter

 2 cups skim milk

1 cup Parmesan or Asiago shredded cheese

 Makes about 2 quarts (about 8 servings)

Approx. 234 calories per serving

:: Directions :: 

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan or the microwave. 

Add to the slow cooker with the two bouillon cubes. 

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, italian spice and bay leaf.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft. 

Approximately 6 hours in blend the ingredients together with a hand mixer until smooth.
About 30 minutes before serving, prepare a roux. 

Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. 

Stir constantly with a whisk for 2-3 minutes. 

Slowly add the milk, stirring as you do so. 

When thoroughly blended and smooth add to the slow cooker slowly, stirring as you do so.  
Stir in the Parmesan cheese. 
Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.

Recipe origin: http://utah.todaysmama.com/

I just added a few things and skinny-fied it to fit into my diet plan. 

Savory Bread Pudding

This was one of those dishes that I created on a whim, not even sure if it would turn out. 

Which means did I measure things exactly?....ummmmmm, no. 

I have had several requests on Facebook for the recipe of this dish since I posted the picture above.
So here goes...hopefully I can recreate the madness that went on in my head last night.

:: Ingredients ::

French bread

Fresh spinach leaves

Bacon crumbles

Canned artichokes

Butter/margarine

2 different kinds of cheeses

5 eggs

1 1/2 cups of milk 

1 tsp red pepper

1 tsp onion salt

Two 9 in. round pans 
One 9 in square pan

Pam cooking spray

:: Directions ::

Turn on the oven to 375 degrees.
Get out one of your pans and cut the french bread into cubed pieces until there is a nice tight layer in the bottom of your pan, you shouldn't be able to see the bottom of that pan!

Mix eggs, milk, red pepper and onion salt together until thoroughly blended. 

Then pour the mixture evenly over the bread and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

While that mixture is working, get a skillet out and melt some butter, like a tablespoon or so.

Grab two or three handfuls of spinach leaves, put them in the pan and let them cook down, stirring the entire time. Reduce heat and add your bacon. Cover the pan.

Pull out your container of canned artichokes, get out 5-6 chokes, then squeeze them to remove the juices. Add those to the spinach and bacon. Cook for another minute or two, then remove from the heat.

Here's where you add one of your cheeses. 

I went with a sharp cheddar that I grated directly into the skillet and folded it into the mixture of spinach, artichokes and bacon. It was probably close to a cup in measurement. I think it depends on the kind of cheese how much you should add. Cheeses that are more powerful in taste you would probably want to scale back a little. 

Now grab a small saucepan and boil 2 to 3 cups of water.  You'll see why below.

Now prepare your other pan with cooking spray. Get your bread, eggs and milk mixture from the refrigerator and add it your skillet. Fold it in so everything is evenly distributed and then add everything to the new pan.

Now it's time add a second cheese to the top. I went with an Asiago cheese and grated enough so it covered the top of the dish.  

Grab your 9 in. square pan and pour in the boiling water. Place your round pan in the water bath and pop it in the oven for 30 minutes. The last two minutes turn the oven to broil to brown it a little.

This recipe will make 4 servings like the one below.

Edamame & Tomato Salad

:: Ingredients ::

2 large fresh roma tomatoes, chopped

One 8 oz. pkg of edamame, cooked and shelled

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. sea salt

fresh basil

asiago cheese

:: Directions ::

Cook frozen edamame pouch in the microwave for about 3 minutes, 
let it cool and slip the seeds out of the pods. 

Chop roma tomatoes into bite size pieces. 

Use a vegetable peeler and slice off some pieces of asiago cheese. 

Chop 5-6 large basil leaves. 

Sprinkle with sea salt.

Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Fold ingredients together and enjoy!

{Makes a great lunch for one or a dinner side dish for two people}

Strawberry Muffins

Want something to do with those strawberries sitting in your fridge about to go bad? 

Try this. 

:: Ingredients ::

2 cups flour

2 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup chopped strawberries

2 eggs

3/4 cup margarine or butter

1/2 cup vanilla soy milk

2 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp grated orange zest

:: Directions ::

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees

2. Use a mixer to mix eggs, butter, milk, almond extract and orange zest

3. Add sugar, flour, baking powder and salt beat until smooth.

4. Fold in strawberries.

5. Spoon batter into muffin tins with paper liners.

6. Sprinkle sugar on the top of each muffin.

7. Bake 20-25 minutes. Test with a toothpick, if it comes out clean, they're done.

Blueberry Muffins

Today my daughter's best friend's family invited us to go blueberry picking. 

I hadn't done that since I was a little kid. 

We had such a great time and we have tons of blueberries now as the bucket below got filled to the top 

when my daughter's friend decided we needed more blueberries and dumped her bucket into ours. LOL.

So, time for some creative recipe developing by yours truly! Blueberry muffins were first on the request list, 

and they turned out so delicious - I thought I would share with you guys!

:: Ingredients ::

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup vanilla soy milk

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) melted

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups blueberries

:: Directions ::

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line muffin pan with muffin cups. Recipe will make about 16 muffins.

In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt - whisk together.

In a separate bowl, beat together milk, melted butter, egg and vanilla until blended.

Add liquid mixture to dry mixture until moistened. Then fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes. 

Immediately remove muffins from pan and let them cool on wire rack.

July 4th, 2012
Made these for brunch today and changed the vanilla extract to almond extract + I added the zest of one small lemon -- so so good!!!!

Activities Board tutorial

Hurray, it's summer! Well, maybe not.

My daughter is out of pre-K and has been moping around the house, saying and I quote, "I'm bored out of my mind." Where does she come up with this stuff?
So not wanting to hear THAT all summer, I got to work trying to find some inexpensive activities to do in our city. Well I found more than I thought I would and to keep track of all of them,
I created...voila, an activities board.

This is a super easy project.

I completed mine in about 2 hours and most of that was paint drying time. 

So, all you busy moms out there, you can definitely do other things 

while you are waiting for that to happen.

• find a 16 x20 frame that you're not using anymore, preferably one in which the glass has broken and you were wondering what you would ever do with it. LOL.
• Grab a can of spray paint, something fun and bright. (I picked teal blue to match my home office where I was planning to hang the board.) Follow the directions on the paint can and spray your frame. 

• I already had the cork which I purchased at Home Depot, I found it in the section where they have contact paper. So easy, just peel and stick it on the frame backing!
• I found lots of activities (for free) at our local library, so I printed out their calendar of scheduled events for the summer months. On MS Word, I made my own schedule of summer $1 movies that play at our local Regal Cinemas every Tuesday and Wednesday to hang on the board. Plus I made a list of places for possible day trips in the area. The internet is so handy, don't ya love it?
•  When your frame is dry, reassemble and arrange your activity ideas easily so you can figure out what you are doing day-to-day without too much searching. I circled all the library events we were going to in red pen and showed my daughter, she was very excited!

Now hopefully my daughter will be entertained until Fall when kindergarten starts! :-)