Pumpkin Day! Crafts, Recipes, Hairbows and Creative Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

As a Mom, I love, love, love, looooove the Family Fun Magazine!

I knew as soon as I saw this picture in our magazine this month, that I would have to post about it.

Since I've dubbed today, "Pumpkin Day", here at Crafty Momma, today seems like the perfect day to share it.

If you too, are looking for fun and creative ways to decorate your pumpkin, check out the rest of the cuuuuuute decorating ideas Family Fun has to share with you.

I'm betting you'll be saying "Awe" and "Oh...that's so easy" and "Why didn't *I* think of that"

If you missed how Pumpkin Day was started, here's a glimpse:

Post by Crafty Momma.

Miss our Facebook chats today?
No problem...Catch a glimpse below for some more Pumpkin-y Fun Ideas!

Pumpkin Spiced Latte Junkies - Need Apply - Get your Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Copycat Recipe here - Smarbucksty "Skinny" Lattes on the CHEAP!

Kids Crafts - Pumpkins for my Punkin'

Mommy Crafts - Pumpkin Hairbows for Girls

Kids Crafts - Glitter and Spidey Pumpkins

Family Crafts - Creative Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

If you have some of your own ideas you'd like to share, I'm all ears...
Fall is on and we need our PUMPKIN fix!

Hair Bow Hairstyle for Toddlers (And Adults!) Tips & Tricks

I adore these hair bow hair styles!

This one was brought to my attention by a fellow Crafty Momma and good friend of mine.  She was just randomly showing me her daughters hair a few weeks back and I L.O.V.E.D - Loved it! 

We've all seen these styles creeping all over PIN by now, but what I loved about this tutorial in particular was that it's geared towards toddlers and did not use bobby pins.  Not a single one.

SCORE!!!

After seeing her daughters pictures, my newest mission in life was try this on my dotting daughter.

You see...She USED to let me play and brush her hair all the time, (when she didn't have hair!), and now that she has a head full of it, she runs for the hills anytime she catches sight of me with the brush. *Sigh*

That being said alone, should tell you just how easy this is!!  Wee...

So here is the tutorial we used, along with some additional tips and tricks provided by me.

I (mostly) used this tutorial here and for the most part I was really happy with it.

What didn't work for us:
Using 3 rubber bands.
Again, my daughter does not like to sit still and have her hair messed with, so I felt fortunate to get the second one in!

What we did?
Just split the looped ponytail hair (as she shows) then wrapped the hair over the middle (for the bow affect) and then tied the second rubber band around as you normally would for a ponytail.

For the extra hair that we had left, I just tucked it into the second band.  Super easy!!

That being said (I also didn't leave out near the amount of hair she did for the middle bow piece.
That's also why our "bow" is bigger and fuller.

What I will try in the future?
Remember those old school Ponytail Holders?
You know, the ones with the balls on the ends, where you wrap them and them loop one of the balls over the other to secure it.
I would use those for the 2nd step!
When your bow is as full as I made mine, it took some finesse to get the 2nd rubber band around it.
Wasn't a deal breaker, but I do like to keep things simple and this seems like a great remedy!

*Cheers* Use Me!  Use Me!

Last comment I wanted to give - 
We started out with dry hair.
This works for some and not for others.
Just stick to what you normally do during your hair routine and you'll be just fine!

Here, my friends, is what I like to call our "Masterpiece"!

She's just as cute and sassy as ever...and her poses as of late - ADORBS!
Bike - Check.
Baby - Check.
Shades - Check.
Purse - Check.

This buttercup of mine is all G.I.R.L
And she's mine.
All mine.
*Smiles*

Smore'olo

Smore'olos are S'mores on steroids.

Instructions are simple enough.

You'll Need:
1 or 2 Graham Crackers
1 Rolo
1 Marshmallow

On a paper towel or a plate, start building your smore'olo.

Graham cracker
Marshmallow
Nuke in microwave for 10 seconds.

Push rolo into the center of the marshmallow and nuke for another 5-10 seconds, depending on how gooey you like it.

Super simple.

Gives you that craving fix in a matter of seconds and no matches or campfire are needed.

Enjoy!

Watermelon Cake with Tips and Tricks

This is the perfect summer cake!  Especially for those with summer birthday's and can you believe a kid picked his out on his own?!  Very impressive.

One of my bestest friends, sent me this link, and it seemed simple enough. 

Although...if I'm being honest...I didn't stick with the original instructions.

There wasn't an ingredient list, and even though I enjoyed their photo's, it didn't give me some of the information I wanted.

That said...I'm here to share their site, and add an ingredient list and my special tips to go along with it to help the constructing process go a little smoother.

So, here we go...

You'll Need:

1 SEEDLESS watermelon

1, 9" pie plate or serving platter

Various fruits (I used black grapes, since my store didn't have any good blueberries, green grapes, strawberries and kiwi)

1 tub of whipped topping (or you can make your own)

papertowels

1 box of your instant jello, your fav flavor (I used orange)

To begin, slice your watermelon - I sliced both ends to create a flat surface, then made a hexagon, but the original site, has an awesome tutorial on how to make yours round!

Once your watermelon is sliced, place it on your serving platter/pie plate.

Blot well with paper towels.

Open your jello box and sprinkle top and sides. (I had the HARDEST time getting the whipped cream to stick to the watermelon w/o using this tip.  This helped a ton!)

Refrigerate.

While it's refrigerating, start washing, peeling your fruit.

Remove watermelon and start icing it with whipped topping.

Refrigerate.

Continue fruit prep - Cutting.

Remove watermelon from refrigerator and start assembling your cake the way you want it.

The major key here is refrigeration!  So keep it cool as long as you can before serving.

Enjoy!

1st Day of Preschool Pictures - What works!

My "baby" girl turned 3 over the summer and I can.not.believe that she is already old enough for preschool! Where did my 'ittle bitty baby go?! *Sniff, Sniff*

Mother and child held it together rather well...

She practically jumped her way to the classroom, and me...?
Well...I waited till I made it to work to cry.
Okay...maybe not all the way to work, but mostly. *Wink*

Which brings us to today.

I wanted to share my idea with you about preschool pictures.
We all love to have those little memento's and I don't know about you, but it can be a chore to get a 3 year old to stand still for pics. Are you with me??

So, instead of spending a gosh awful amount of time on some construction project that may or may not make it into the picture correctly, I thought it'd be a good idea to just use a plain white sheet of paper, cardboard, construction paper...what have you and photo edit the information in.

And guess what?
It worked perfect!

After our pictures were all said and done, all I had to do was load them, type in the information I wanted displayed and Viola!

Now we have a forever memory masterpiece without the headache or near worry of whether she'd remember to turn this way or that'a way so we could all see what her sign said.

Your next question, I'm sure, is how do you "edit".

Let's go through it.

1.                   Go to picmonkey.com
2.            Click “Edit Picture”
3.            To add text to your photo – You’ll have a menu bar on the far left hand side that looks like    this:  

                        

4.           You’ll want to click on the left sided column, 4^th option down “P”

5.           This is where you can pick your font, size, color etc. – 1^st choose your font. (FYI – most     fonts are free, but everything with a crown next to it, is considered a “royal” treatment and     you do have to pay for those.)

6.           Once your font is chosen, select “Add Text” (Up at the very top)

7.           This is what your screen should look like:

8.                   From here, just chose what you want to say, coloring, size, etc.

9.         Once text placement is made, you'll want to arrange.  There is a small circle at the very top that lets you adjust and rotate text.

10.       Now it's time to save.  Pretty self explanatory, but make sure that when saving (if you’re wanting to keep your original picture as well) that you re-name the picture file before saving!

Hope you Momma's (Daddy's, Grandma's and Grandpa's) out there find this beneficial as well.
I don't know about you, but I'm hoping this saved me a few gray hairs - Hehe

DIY Chalkboard

One of the wedding crafts I was working on earlier this year was a DIY Chalkboard.
The initial plan here was to just buy a chalkboard, but have you scoped the scenes for them?!?
I could not believe how much $$$ people wanted for something as simple as this, when you can easily make it yourself.

So if you're looking for a simple wedding craft, a little extra pizzazz for that birthday or holiday party, or just want something to throw in the playroom to let your kids have a creative outlet, this is right up your alley!

You'll Need:
1, piece of MDF, Shelving, whatever kind of wood-ish board that fits the scale of how large you want your completed piece.  My board is approximately (16 x 24)
Wood glue
Clamps
2, 2x8 pieces of wood, optional
Primer
Chalkboard paint, I used Valspar
Paint rollers
Stain or alternate paint color (if framing your chalkboard), optional

Let's get started...

Prime all your pieces and let them dry 100%. 

 If you're framing your chalkboard, I recommend using a thicker piece of wood.

 Once all the pieces have been primed, paint your main "chalkboard" piece with chalkboard paint.

After the chalkboard paint has dried, you are ready to cut out your frame.

Which I should say - "Thank you, husband."

Apparently, he didn't trust me with his power tools.  Sniff...but really...I don't blame him.  Haha

He 45'd each end piece so that the seams would be, well...seamless.

  Since mine was for a wedding, he also routed to outsides for me, to give it a higher end look.

I heart it.
*Squee*

Once all the pieces are cut to size, paint or stain the "frame" in the color you'd like.

Dry completely, then attached the backside of the "frame" with wood glue to your completed chalkboard piece, and clamp down around the sides to keep it in place.

Wood glue, if you've never worked with it before, does take awhile to dry.
I love this stuff and use it for everything tho, because it works so awesome!
Just make sure you dry it completely.  I left mine overnight and the entire next day.

 Once it's dry, remove the clamps.

Sit your piece upright, slap on a message, and enjoy your new piece of art.

Bacon Rose Bouquet

Let me start off by saying that I wasn't originally going to post this.
I found the idea on Pinterest, BUT, after posting my final creation on my personal Facebook page, I received so many responses with compliments, questions, and "Will I make them one?"

As you can see, they were all welcomed responses, so I figured this is a service you all NEEDED to be provided with!

Now...apparently, I didn't read through the whole PIN on my pinterest board.  I just thought they were cute and did them.

After having several people ask me if I ruined a muffin pan creating them, I was like "Huh?"
The original PIN says you need to drill holes in a muffin pan.
While that's creative, there is certainly no need to do that.

Now...I do not have step by step pictures, because like I said, I was not planning on doing a blog post on this.  However, I will try my best to provide you all with as much information as I can since tomorrow is V-day and this would be absolutely presh to give your man!

I did go back through and try to take some snap shots of dissecting your flower pieces. That and how to build the roses were by far the most popular questions.  Again, I will do my best to explain, but feel free to comment or ask questions.

Let's start.

You'll need:
1 package of bacon - Whatever flavor you like.  (Note - I have not used turkey bacon.  Let me know if you try!)
1 faux flower bouquet
toothpicks
cookie sheet with lip - I used a jelly roll pan
foil


To start; begin by taking off your faux flower heads off the stems.
Most come off with a gentle tug, but the reenactment, which will hopefully benefit some. FYI: I did not do a reenactment of the roses.

Gentle Tug

Flower Detaches from steam

Pull Plastic Nub Piece Out, Remove Flower

Reattach the Nub to the Greenary

And there you have it.

Alright - Time for bacon!
Preheat your oven to 350.
Line your cookie sheet with foil.
Lay your bacon out flat. (I worked right on the cookie sheet)
Roll bacon into a spiral, keeping it nice and tight. Fat side of bacon will be on the bottom.
Tip: One thing I wished I would have done was focus more on the bottom of the "rose"  make sure it stays nice and tight.  I found that they're not easily transported if the bottom (the fatty side) doesn't have a nice "seal" (I guess we'll call it) on the flower steam.  Mine stayed fine for presentation purposes, but I wouldn't have wanted them to ride solo in the passenger seat of my car.
Fat side (bottom) you will secure with toothpicks in a criss-cross fashion.  I put one closer to the bottom and one right through the middle.
Continue same steps with the remaining pieces of bacon.
Tip:  If you plan to use just the amount of bacon you need - I highly recommend doing a couple extra's in case some look better than the others.
Cook bacon for 20-25 mins or until cooked through.
Let the bacon cool before handling.  About 5 min's.
While you're waiting for the bacon to cool, grab your vase and your stems.
Tip: If you're doing a small bacon bouquet, like I did, I couldn't find a vase small enough to hold them upright, so choice to use a decanter.  Worked fabulously!
Once bacon is cool, attached the individual pieces it to the tops of the stems, and Present.

I gave this to my husband for our 10 year.
His reaction?  At 1st he thought they were real flowers!  He had to do a triple look!!
A week later, he is still talking about these and even told the girls at work, they  needed to do one for their husbands.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say he liked it ;)

I know the men in your life will too!

Enjoy,

Cool People Care

I saw this message floating around and I thought it was quite appropriate for all of those trying to make themselves anew for the new year. 

So, what resolutions did you make for yourself this year?  Did you take the plunge?

I personally used to never make resolutions.  That is until my daughter came along.  

Since then, I seem to always make some type of resolution that has to do with self improvement.  They're mostly along the lines of...

 - Don't be so hard on yourself.  You're doing the best you can! Don't take others 2 cents to heart.  YOUR opinion and beliefs matter most!!

- Organize, Organize, Organize!  It is absolutely insane how much beautiful chaos (especially Toys and Clothes!) enters the household once you have a child.  I feel I'm always swiping out clothes sizes and trying to find a new spot for the grand toy item of the week.

This year, I'm going to continue my 1st two resolutions, as I have for the past 2 years.  

I still battle with the "Don't be so hard on yourself"  I think every Mother comes across this at some point in time.  We all only want what's best for our children and sometimes it can be an inner battle with yourself.  Am I doing the right thing?  What would my Mom have done? Was I too hard on her/him/them?

Organize!  Good grief.  I think this *might* be the year I let go.  My daughter is 2.5 and I still have EVERYTHING from her baby years.  Clothes, sippy cups, bottles, shoes, bibs, blankets, toys, you name it.  Instead of hoarding these things in my basement, why not give them away to someone who can really use them.  Again, this is an inner battle with myself, but I'm going to try.  I always go back n' forth on "Well what if we have another...then I have to start all over" but ya know...if and when we do have another, they will get a fresh start.  Besides, if we have a boy next go round, he wouldn't exactly look like the hunky bubby he should in a frilly pink dress.  Just sayin'. 

This years resolution is to print more pictures and put them in photo albums.  I have a MASSIVE photo storage outlet, thanks to Shutterfly, but sometimes it's nice to flip through a book to see and feel those memories again.  Part 2, is to keep recreating memories.  I feel I have done a very good job with this, thus far, but I want to instil the importance of travel, the earth, and culture into my daughters veins.  The world is a beautiful thing.  Why not start with our own city?!  Yep.

So go ahead and share with me your tips, tricks, and resolutions.  2013 is going to be a great year! 

All aboard!

 

Traditions - Santa's Cookie Plate

 

When my daughter came along, like most mother's, I couldn't wait for her 1st Christmas!  I adore this time of year; and Santa...oh, there's so much to be said about this jolly ol' fellow.  He and his helpers prepare all year long and then, when Christmas Eve comes, he travels all over the world in one single night to deliver special gifts to children.  There's something to be said about that.  Especially this time of year.

Like most families, we leave something special for Santa and his reindeer to keep them going strong for their long night of travel.  What do you leave for Santa?  What about his reindeer?

We typically sit out a tall glass of milk, cookies, and carrots.  Mmm!

This year, since my daughter is old enough, I wanted to create a cookie plate for Santa, that we can use for many years to come.

If you're a traditionalist too, or just like to have plain ol' fun; Head on over to Holiday's Homemade for the full tutorial.

This project is perfect for you, and this idea would be great to do for birthday's too!!

Santa Wreath

Only 10 days, 14 hours till Christmas, but who's counting?! ME!! ;)

Don't forget to come see me today!  I'm hosting at Holiday's Homemade, and I've got a Ho! Ho! Ho! Hooooliday Wreath! 

 See ya there!

Faux Bedskirt

I have been wanting a cute bed skirt for my daughters room.  She has had her big girl bed for 6 months now, and she loves the bedding, but me being me felt like something was missing.

Even though no one else cares if she had a bed skirt (including her!), I wanted it.  I think it can really make a room (sometimes).

With Christmas being less than 2 weeks away (Wee!!!), now was not exactly an ideal time to be spending $ on something like this.  Especially since the one I want is a bit pricey!  eek!

So, I'm improvising for the time being, and decided to use an old curtain we had downstairs in our basement.  It was just taking up space, and it happened to turn out pretty perfectly.

Since so many of you have enjoyed her bed roll up I created, I thought I would share this project as well.

So far, I really like it.  It's been on there for 2 weeks now, and it has stayed perfectly in place.

I have been toying with the idea of just leaving it, but maybe dying the curtain a different shade.  The khaki goes really well with both sides of her bedding, but like most little girls - She adores pink!

Maybe something like this will work for you?

Just steam or iron out the wrinkles

Not too shabby for a free project.  Momma likes!

Menu Tags

Here is a menu I created about a year ago.  The inspiration came from this pin I saw on Pinterest around that time. 

I loved the bright colors of Yellow with the pops of Green and Red, so I was on a mission to make my own.

This menu has been great for our family over the last year, but the menu items were starting to become a hassle.

I had made up and printed out menu tags with a rotation of items we go through on pretty paper, but over time, I realized that sometimes I want to make something that isn't printed, and they weren't laminated, so I always had to be cautious as to where I was sitting my menu tags.

To this day, I still don't have a laminator.  So I took the color of construction paper I wanted and covered it with a page protector and created my menu tags that way.

Today, my menu planning is easy and simple. I just mark the menu tag with my items for the next two weeks, and when the time comes, they easily wipe off with a dry erase pad.

Did you know they even make dry erase markers with erasers and magnets already built in.  Yep!  They're really nice!

So there you have it.  My little tip to make every day life a little simpler.

Do you plan a menu?  Do you do a monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly rotation?  Do you have any helpful tips to share?  As always, I love to hear your feedback.

Happy Planning,

The Artful Year - My Autumn Crafts EBook!

Have you seen or heard of The Artful Parent's - My Autumn Crafts EBook!?! If you haven't you're really missing out on something special this fall. 

I've seen and heard this trickling around a few places now, but it hit me like a ton of bricks when I saw it on Momma Harvey's page where she mentioned it here and here, then today while rummaging through Facebook, I found a wealth of information, but more on that in a sec.

This book is stuffed full of wonderful arts & crafts you can do with your kiddo's.  The bonus? It's all combined into one little place, so it's great to come back to reference for future years to come.  How fantastic! 

You wouldn't think it couldn't possibly get any better than that, right?  Well...you'd be wrong!

Today, through October 22, 2012, Jean Van't Hul, The Artful Parent, is having "A Pay What You Can Sale".  Say Whaaa???  Is she MAD?!?!!  *Shugs Shoulders* Must be! ;)

All I can say, is take full advantage of this sale while it lasts, and  please be truthful about what you can and can't provide.  This ebook is absolutely beautiful, and I promise you when I say "You won't be disappointed" that you won't be! 

To sum things up, take advantage of this fantastic offer.  Otherwise, you'll be regretting it when the kids are coped up, stir crazy, in the house, driving you mad, and all you want is a little peace & quite, and for them to "Turn that TV down!"

Not that I'd know from experience of anything... ;)

SO...what are you waiting for?

Wicked Witch Wreath & Witch Leg Tutorial

We've made it to October!  *Deep Breaths in* Can you smell that crisp fall air?!  It's wonderful!!

In celebration of such a fantastic month, I'm going to show you how to piece together this charming Witch Wreath for Halloween!

Isn't she cute?!  Poor thing was squished by the "ENTER IF YOU DARE" sign.  I guess she'll learn to pay more attention next time ;)

If you'd like to make a wickedly fun witch wreath too;


You'll Need:
1 Wreath Form
4 colors of Tulle, at least 6 yds each, cut down to ~15"L x 6"W pieces
rotary cutter/scissors
1 scary sign
1 witch hat
1 witches broom (Target)
Scrap Fabric
Polyfil or grocery sacks
Wire (I'm sure pipe cleaners would work!)
needle/thread
fabric glue (if you're not into sewing)
wood glue
straight pin

Separate all your tulle colors.  You're going to work piece by piece in a synchronized order...My order was Black, Green, Orange, Purple...Black, Green, Orange, Purple...

Now we're going to start wrapping the wreath:

It's almost like you're tying your shoes...put both sides of tulle together, and tie into a double knot

Continue all the way around, repeating the same pattern you've created, until the entire wreath is covered in tulle.

Now lay your sign crossed the top of your wreath.  Using wood glue, apply to the back of your sign, and press the sign firmly into place.  *Tip* Lay something of substance on top of the sign, making sure it's not too heavy and won't break through.  Leave to sit overnight.

This looks just as cute with just the tulle if you're wanting something on the quicker side.

While your sign is drying to the wreath, let's move on and start on the witch legs...

Cut your fabric scraps down to size.  I used 12x2, but use whatever looks best to you.

Fold, so that the wrong side of the fabric is showing. Now sew a straight line around the longest outer edge only.  Turn fabric right side out.  It helps to use scissors.  Check here for details...

This photo shows, what it should look like after being sewn, and what it looks like flipped right side out:

If you're not into sewing, just add fabric glue and stuff.  Easy peasy!

Start stuffing the legs about 1/2-3/4 of the way full with poly fil, leaving about an inch and a half at the bottom unfilled.  *Tip* This process goes faster, if you use a pair of scissors or a pen/pencil as an assistant.

Top shows 1.5 inch that was left unfilled. Additional half will be filled in a few minutes, but 1st...

We're going to add our wire.  To do this, run the uncut wire down the inside side of the leg.  You'll do one at a time.  Once the wire has about an inch overhang, snip with wire cutters.

Now continue to stuff the legs, until you (once again) have about 1.5 left un-stuffed.  So you should have 1.5" un-stuffed at the bottom, and now the top...

Choose an end to be the feet, and start to curl the fabric in a roll type fashion, tucking the fabric in as you roll.  FYI: You don't want a full circle...just enough to make it curl.  I wanted mine to resemble the Wicked Witch of the East, right after the house is dropped on her...hehehe

Now it's time to attach the legs to the wreath, which is really quite simple.  Just squeeze them in from underneath the sign, decide the placement and attach, using wood glue. 

Again, you want something that has some weight to sit on top (vegetable can), so they don't move. They will need to sit overnight.

Once that's dry, we're ready to attach our broom and hat.  I purchased the hat at Hobby Lobby.  Got a steal of a deal.  They wanted something like $3.99 for 4 of them!  Craziness, I tell you...craziness!!!  I'll show you what I have planned for the other 3 coming up soon :) :) :)

So lets start with our hat, shall we?

It's quite simple.  Grab your straight pin and your hat, find the placement you like, and at an angle, insert the straight pin into the sign.

Now onto the broom:

You'll need your hot glue gun...
Put a decent amount of hot glue on the beginning end of where your brushes on your broom stick begin.

Press firmly for a few seconds into place.

Now moving back to your wood glue.  I wanted my broom staggered, so I put mine at an angle.  So I put the glue directly on my sign and pressed the broom firmly into the glue.  Again you'll want to sit something with weight on top.  This time I used a bag of rice.  Wood glue takes FOREVER to dry, so once again, I left it overnight.

Woke up, the next morning...and Viola!

One completely spooky holiday wreath! EEK!!

Happy Crafting...