Harvesting the last of it

I chopped up peppers and put them in the dehydrator for Kiwi to enjoy this winter.

So Pretty!

Celery from my garden.

now it's Frozen Celery

Garden is cut down. Soon it will be plowed and the garlic will go in.

Pumpkins everywhere

We are now in the teens for our pumpkin harvest.  Some are on the front porch, some are on the hearth, some are on the bookshelves in the living room.  I placed a 12 oz glass in the first photo so you could see how tall the one in the back is.  Pretty nice for a Spirit Bush pumpkin.  There are 4 or 5 more that will be ready soon.  

I better get back to making preparations for the Gingerbread Haunted House.  I just mixed up the dough (I haven't found a gluten free gingerbread recipe that holds up for long and makes sturdy enough walls so I made a regular white flour recipe and my hands are itchy - time to break out my steroid cream)

Royal icing is next! I make the gates, railing, and decorative edging before hand and let it dry on wax paper.  Then it's easy to apply it to the house with a little more icing.

My son carried all of these pumpkins down the hill and into the kitchen and onto the cabinet all on his own.  Amazing!

Cardboard pattern for Haunted Halloween Gingerbread Hous

So as you can see I have been cutting cereal boxes and using them to make the pattern.  

 Lots of tape will be needed for this process

And lots of extra cardboard for mistakes.  Now is the time to get it right.  It won't be so easy with gingerbread.

 

So here you can see it with most of the front completed.  

I need to finish the top and the back.

When I pull it apart I will cut the windows and doors.

The windows will be filled with crushed hard candy that will then be melted to help the house glow.

What are your halloween traditions?

Another hint...

I have always thought this home was gorgeous and it just kills me that it's just being left to rot.  BUT I do think that makes it look like the ultimate haunted house. I am not duplicating it exactly but it is great inspiration for the ultimate haunted halloween gingerbread house. 

I'll share with you the cardboard cereal box rendition that will be used as a pattern for cutting gingerbread.

Pirate pants (creating my son's halloween costume)

This has nothing to do with the Cereal Box but I thought I'd go ahead and share the other project I'm working on. 

Purchase pattern on discount sale 

Cut pattern pieces out for each item and place them with the color fabric you'll use.

Muslin - top

Brown- pants

Red - vest

Green - sash

Try to keep Kiwi from chewing on the important parts of the pattern.

He had zero interest in the pattern pieces that were scraps.  Only what I had in my hands.

But I sure do love my sweet little parrot. 

Maybe he knows he is going to be hanging out with a pirate.

Pin pattern to fabric

Cut fabric

Stitch part of the pants after pinning 

 Open, arrange next to each other, pin both pieces in the center, and stitch more.

Flip and now it almost has legs. Pin and sew outside edges together 

Iron seems open. Fold and iron waist band and bottoms of pant legs. 

Pull elastic through, sew together, and stitch to close up the waist. 

Hang pants up and wait for him to get home from school so I can do the final fitting on the pant legs.

One last hint ...

Here's another hint

So what does Halloween and Cereal Boxes have to do with each other?

Here are 3 more hints.  Think custom.

Tape and a ruler

 Scissors (my 10 year old took this photo of me - I think she is super creative even if it meant standing on the table)

And the last is a pattern.

Halloween Craftiness

So since I am going to cut off my facebook usage (except to help with the Cache Valley for Hope cancer foundation page AND pinterest) I want to spend more quality time with my blog. So hopefully you'll see more of me here and on a regular basis.

So what does a cereal box have to do with Halloween?

Other than cleaning out my cupboard.

It's really cool.  Any guesses?

I can't wait to show you (step by step).

Missed these - I'm organizing and backing up photos today

These photos are from August 11th but I forgot to post them.  

 And these are the first few jars of tomato juice that I canned.  I ended up with 40 quarts total this year.  The last 14 jars were thick tomato sauce because I was running out of jars and I wasn't in the mood to run to the store.

Pile of dishes after using my roma strainer to prepare the sauce.

Proof that we live in the middle of nowhere

Well, not really proof but you get the idea.  We sit smack in the middle of an alfalfa field.  Which is quiet until the hay gets cut and it's grasshopper season.  I cringe just thinking about it.

This made my heart swell with joy.  

After homework my son asked if he could help his dad mow the lawn before shower time.  

He pretty much took over.  

I never mow the lawn.  I've mowed once since Tyler and I married.  That was over a decade ago.  It's just one of those things he keeps track of and gets done and he does it well.  And I'm so short that with our hills here, I don't know if I could actually mow this yard and survive. 

Just because I can...

Not a post about gardening - SURPRISE!

Sometimes it is nice to create something just because I can.  I made these just for fun.  I put them in the windows on the front of my house.  I would have made more (my office window is empty) if I had not run out of vinyl.  This is totally custom.  I looked for a few ideas online and then went from there - no pre-made digital files here. I created everything in Adobe Illustrator and then made them into SVG files.  Then opened them in my Silhouette Cameo designer series software.  

Nothing is printed.  I used the Cameo to cut out the shapes and then I pulled off the excess vinyl. You can do just the opposite if you need a stencil.

Next time I'll make the spiderweb larger and put it in the center of the window. This little it looks more like a bullet hole.