my favorite time of the year
October 5, 2017 1 Comment
2013 craft party
Happy October!
I am so happy that it is finally October!
I love October!!!
Now that I got that off my chest, allow me to invite you to the …
2013 Fall Craft Party
If you join us, you’ll be armed with glue guns, burlap, mercury glass paint, booze, twine, yummy food, and much much more! It’s time to get busy making fun home and holiday decor. (That rhymed accidentally, don’t expect it to continue!)
Thursday, October 17, 2013
5 PM
$20 per person plus individual project fees
Hopkins’ Home in Equestrian Manor
12007 N 62nd Place
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Here’s the scoop – The basic class fee is $20 per person. You pay that to register and just for the opportunity to bask in the glow of “fall crafting”!!! OK, it actually covers the food, booze, and some of the most basic supply costs, such as glue sticks and cheap paint brushes.
When you arrive, you’ll receive a number. The first to arrive (on time, not like 2 hours before, for God’s sake!) gets #1 and the last gets #18, or whatever is the last number, determined by how many people sign up.
October 1, 2013 4 Comments
pumpkin craft 2
Here is the second pumpkin craft I found on Pinterest. This is the one that took several hours and a steady hand to create. It wasn’t that it was all that difficult, there was just a lot of drying and waiting time involved. I believe that the original pumpkin I saw on Pinterest was made with a real pumpkin, I used a faux pumpkin because I wanted to have it year after year instead of throwing it away in a few weeks after it rotted out.
Initially I purchased a $24.99 white pumpkin from Hobby Lobby – using a 40% off coupon – paying $14.00 for it. Before I could get to the project, I found an $8.00 white pumpkin at Target and decided to use that one instead.
The creases that run from stem to bottom were much more defined on the $14.00 pumpkin and I may still use it to make another, I think it would turn out a bit prettier and be easier to figure out exactly where to draw the vertical lines. I also wasn’t thrilled with the tan spray paint I picked out. It turned out to be quite metallic, more gold than tan, and also dripped profusely, so I’ll be buying a different paint when I make that second one. We’ll call this one the trial run…Live and learn.
Pumpkin a la Burberry
September 19, 2012 3 Comments
pumpkin craft 1
There are so many cool fall crafts being posted on Pinterest every minute that it’s getting hard to keep up! Two distinctively different pumpkin-themed ideas really caught my fancy. This first one took about 10 minutes to pull together, and oddly enough, out of the two different pumpkin projects I made – Dave liked this one best. The second one, which I’ll put up tomorrow, took quite a bit longer. When I say “quite a bit” – I’m talking several hours longer. Yeah, ten minutes vs. about four hours… and he likes the 10-minute craft best… Go figure!
September 18, 2012 4 Comments
Crafts 101- part 2
Since standing on my feet in the kitchen for long periods of time is out of the mix at the present time, how about a holiday craft? Now, I already told you in the first installment of Crafts 101, I am not a crafty person… not by a long shot. In fact, for this particular craft, I needed professional help. Recently, Peggy and I took a class from the very talented Cindy and Lin Sue of Sweet-Stops on how to make these luxurious fabric pumpkins, which are perfect from the first day of fall, all the way through Thanksgiving. Now that’s some bang for your buck! And when I say “buck” – I literally mean about one dollar! Depending on the fabric you use, or if you use scraps you already have on hand, these beautiful pumpkins may cost no more than that. If you’ve seen them in boutiques, you already know they go for anywhere from $20 to $40 each! That’s just crazy talk!
October 26, 2011 5 Comments
savory pie
Piping on the mashed potato-squash topping.
Shepherd’s pie, also known as cottage pie, just screams “Autumn!” This version with its sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and maple flavor puts it over the top. The entire dish can be made a day ahead, just leave off the sprinkling of paprika until immediately before putting it in the oven, cover and refrigerate and add about 15 minutes to the baking time.
This recipe can easily be switched out to use leftover turkey after Thanksgiving. Just omit the sweet Italian sausage. Then once the maple breakfast sausage is browned, stir in 1 pound of shredded or chopped turkey meat and proceed with the recipe. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and/or squash – mash them all together to make 3 to 4 cups and use that for the topping, in place of or in addition to, the roasted and mashed potatoes and squash in the recipe. And if you have leftover vegetables such as corn, green beans, cauliflower, etc. substitute for or add them to the corn, broccoli, and red peppers… you get the idea – be creative!
Autumn Shepherd’s Pie
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
8-ounces maple sausage breakfast links, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 cups peeled and chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried rosemary
2 cups broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/3 cup fat-free half and half
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
5 dashes hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
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November 16, 2009 3 Comments
