Halloween Coffee Table and Coaster Craft

I finally got my Halloween stuff out this past weekend.  In the past I’ve only decorated outside, except for some fall garland over the cabinets in the kitchen, and some fall leaf window clings on our back door, but this year I decided to brighten up the indoors a bit.
I created this cute arrangement for our coffee table in the living room.  Usually I like to be very elaborate and “busy” with the decor, but in certain areas, I tend to keep it a little more minimalist.  One reason is because stuff can get in the way in certain places, and secondly my cats would be too tempted if I covered the tables with too much stuff.  In fact, in the photo below you’ll notice a small set of gray ears just to the left of the pumpkin. (That’s Rebel.  He loves to decorate, and his style is, well…very unique!)

Easy Table Cloth:
For the coffee table, I simply used a few yards of cute Halloween fabric– no sewing or crafting involved –and it’s much cheaper than any table runner you could buy.  Of course, the jack-o-lantern was added to the center.  I thought about getting a couple of smaller ones to go beside it, but here again, I’m keeping it simple.
Making Your Own Coasters:
And finally I made these cute little coasters just to have something else to set on the table.  For these, I simply took a couple of old coasters that we weren’t using.  Then I used them as a stencil to trace two circles and I cut them out.  For the next step, I’ve seen a lot of people using mod podge to stick the paper to the coaster, but since we won’t really be using these coasters, and since they’ll only be out for a month I came up with an idea to help me change up these coasters any time I want.

I had some magnet strips with adhesive on the back.  And I just took my scissors and cut a very small piece of magnet off, and stuck it to the coaster.  Then I cut off another small piece and stuck in on to the paper.  Put the paper and the old coaster together, and you’ve instantly got a new coaster!  And after the holiday, you can either throw the paper away or save it for next year.  Meanwhile you can create a new set for the next holiday.

Next week I’ll be sharing a Halloween mod podge project that I did over the weekend and another table decoration, so please come back and see!

This week I’m linking up to these craft & decor parties, plus over at My Blessed Life and Tater Tots and Jello for the Celebrating Autumn event, and Susie QT Pies Scraps for Life for the Halloween Tricks N Treats Party!

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Thanksgiving Menu Must-Haves

Need a little inspiration to get you through the Thanksgiving holiday? Here’s a collection of recipes to get you started. Happy Eating! And Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Cornbread Dressing from Southern Living

Chicken-Green Bean Casserole from Tablespoon

Sweet Potato Casserole from Taste of Home

Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes from Good Housekeeping

Caramelized-Apple Spice Cake from Martha Stewart

Ultimate Pumpkin Pie from Food Network

-Jerri


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I’m posting a link to this post on the following sites:
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday is hosted by
Blessed With Grace.
Homemaker Mondays is hosted by
11th Heaven’s Homemade Haven.
Tasty Tuesday is hosted by Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.
Ultimate Recipe is Swap is hosted by Life as Mom.
Friday Feasts is hosted by
Momtrends.
Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by
We Are THAT Family
Hooked on Fridays is hosted by Hooked on Houses

Sweet Thursday: Halloween/Fall Edition

I hope everyone has a great Halloween this weekend! If anyone out there is still looking for a sweet treat to make for the holiday, or if you’re already making your Thanksgiving plans, here are some yummy creations to choose from.

Join The Round-Up: If you have fall/Halloween dessert that you’d like to have included this round-up, just leave your link in the comments section, and I’ll add you.

November Round-Up: The next round-up will be on November 19. The theme will be Family Favorites. So anything goes!


Pumpkin Cake from Maltese Cakes & More

Great Pumpkin Cookies from Joy in my Kitchen

Jack-o-lantern Cake from Joy in my Kitchen

Apple Pie Muffins from Chaya’s Comfy Cook Blog

Apple Tart from Chaya’s Comfy Cook Blog

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling from Sweet and Savory Says it All

Pumpkin Streussel Bars from Sweet and Savory Says it All

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Filling from Nina’s Recipes

Candy Corn Cookies from Nine More Months

Easy Crumb Cake from Secrets of a Southern Kitchen

Ginger Bars with Chocolate Chips from Millie’s Place

Witch Cupcakes from Simply Sweet Home

No Bake Caramel Cookies from Simply Sweet Home

-Jerri

Falling into Fall Decor

Need a few ideas to brighten up your home this fall? Here’s a few to get you started.
Welcome Sign from BHG. Here’s a great project that adds a simple charm to your decor.

Pumpkin Vase from Martha Stewart. A centerpiece really brightens up your table, and this pumpkin vase with wild flowers is just perfect!

Naturally Beautiful Wreath from Southern Living. If you’re looking for something a little different from the orange and yellow harvest wreaths, here’s something for you in green.

Modern Fall Cornucopia from BHG. I love this idea! The greens and purples are just lovely for fall or any time of year! And you can always use other colors of your choice for you own custom look.

Mantle Decor at About.com. And a little color and fall cheer to your mantle with a few pumpkings and some leaf garland.

Harvest Centerpiece from From You Flowers. There are so many different centerpieces out there for the fall. And the colors in the piece add so much warmth to your table or buffet.

-Jerri

Not-So-Scary Halloween Giveaway



Is everyone busy getting ready for Halloween? You Can Make This has a ton of projects and ideas for Halloween and all occasions!

And this week I’m happy to announce that you can win a $50 bundle of Halloween downloads from You Can Make This! This is the perfect prize for all you crafty ladies out there, and if you’re a little crafty-challenged, then you could pass it on to the crafter in your life!

Your $50 Bundle of Halloween downloads will include the following books:

Fancy Filled Tutu with Bonus 40 Tutu “Recipes”

Pumpkin Polly Patterns

Paper Piecing Project: Pumpkin Patch Pillow

Frayed Applique: Too Cute to Spook!

Little Miss Spider Applique Patterns

How to Applique the Easy Way

Hocus Pocus Patterns

Just a Little Something for a Happy Halloween Table Runner

One Simply Sweet Home reader will win this $50 bundle of “No So Scary” Halloween ebooks from You Can Make This. To win visit You Can Make This and leave a comment on this post, telling us an idea or project that you would like to try.

Giveaway Closed. Thanks for entering!

-Jerri

Festive Fall Garlands

Fall is such a wonderful time of year. Whenever we go shopping during the fall, I’m amazed at all the wonderful decorations for the inside and outside of the home. The colors are so bright and beautiful. And it really puts you in the mood and gets you excited about all the traditions of the season. Today I’m sharing a collection of fall garlands with you. Below each photo, you’ll find a link that will show you where you can purchase the item or how you can make the item. Enjoy!

Fall Leaves Garland from Plow & Hearth. The front door is the first thing people see before entering your home. A wreath and garland like the one shown here will make a wonderful impression on your guests. The colors add so much warmth and everyone will feel at home as they enter your door.

Fall Garland from Simply Nice Gifts. Look at how much a little garland can add to the look of your table. I love the simple elegance of this! It would be perfect for a Thanksgiving party.

Dried Fall Garland from BHG. Deck the halls with dried fall garland! It looks like this is hanging over a hall tree, wash stand, or dresser. But it would look great hanging over your door way, or hanging in front of a buffet table.



Fall Garland from Williams-Sonoma. This one looks a little more rustic. I love the wreath that goes with it. This would be so lovely on your mantle piece, hanging in the dining room, or hanging on your front door.

Corn Garland from Martha Stewart. Has anyone ever seen corn garland before? I thought this was so unique! And just like with the very first picture, this garland really adds a lot to the doorway and just makes you want to go inside!

For more great ideas visit Hooked On Houses.

-Jerri






Works for Me Wednesday: Ultimate Fudge Truffles, An Easy Treat for The Holidays

The Thanksgiving/Christmas season will soon be upon us, which means millions of people will be flocking to the massive store displays of baking ingredients and returning home to their kitchens to create an array of cakes, cookies, and confections. Yum!

I love this time of year, and I love baking. But I sometimes dread making Christmas candy. I, of course, love the end result and enjoy eating the fruits of my labor. But I think my candy making process sometimes looks a lot like Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory.

That’s why I love recipes like the one I posted last week for my recipe of the week. The unbaked caramel cookies were quick and easy to make, and the process didn’t totally destroy my clean kitchen. Here’s another easy treat that you can make for for this holiday season:

Betty Crocker’s Ultimate Fudge Truffles are a great treat that you can make in minutes. These are perfect to carry to a Thanksgiving or Christmas party or to stuff in your Christmas candy gift baskets. You only need a couple of ingredients to go along with the kit, and the process is simple.

Simply mix the ingredients, heat in the microwave, spread out the batter, and let it set for a few minutes. Then cut the batter and form into balls. You can then roll them in the topping of choice. The kit comes with cocoa to roll the truffles in, but I chose, instead, to leave some plain while dipping others in powdered sugar or sprinkles. You could also use chopped nuts or give them a drizzle of caramel or fudge. The kit even comes with little wrapper/cups to put the truffles in.

This and other dessert kits are great if you don’t have time to look up a bunch of recipes and shop for a bunch of ingredients, or if you’re just not a skilled baker. It can also save you a lot of money because you’re not having to puchase an entire cart full of ingredients.


I totally recommend this kit to all you chocolate lovers out there and to anyone who, like me, loves to eat candy and treats and is looking for something easy & quick to make.

Post Update: I should mention that these truffles remind me more of fudge brownies than of the little truffles you get in the store with the chocolate shell. If you want a chocolate shell on them, I guess it would be easy enough to melt a couple of squares of bakers chocolate and dip them. But again, I love them as is, and my husband liked them too. (And he’s not even a choc-o-holic!)

For other great ideas, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

-Jerri



My Fall Decorations & Happy Halloween


We got the house all decorated for Halloween/Thanksgiving. I was very happy with the way everything looked. I used the 2 scarecrows/leaves/pumpkins I bought last year. (see last years post on fall decor tips here.) I also added 3 more scarecrows, a couple more pumpkins, a wreath, and some potted chrysanthemums. And I have an electric jack-o-lantern to put out on Halloween night.

Oddly enough, it was my husband that actually suggested that we get more scarecrows so we’d have one for each post. I had no idea how festive he could be. But when we got the scarecrows home, we realized that we actually needed one more, but we may just wait till next year for that.

I also have to brag on my husband again, not only for helping put up all the decorations but for coming up with the idea of how we were going to stand the scarecrows up against the porch posts without them falling down. (Bungee cords/tie downs. They work brilliantly, and the colors of them blend in well. From a distance you can’t even see them. And up close, it just looks like the scarecrows have a belt on.)

And finally, I have to ask that you please excuse the look of the actual porch. The previous owners painted the concrete a few times, and we still fix it, and we also have to install some new rails and paint the shutters. I told my husband laughingly, “The porch rails are missing, and the concrete looks terrible, but we have scare crows!” lol. Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Immediate right of walkway/step. Behind this scarecrow, you can see the new wreath we got, a small scarecrow and string of leaves on the window.

Immediately to the left of the walkway/step.

Front of the house. I wanted to get the whole house in the picture, but then you can’t see the scarecrows as good.

This green one is my favorite for some reason.

Happy Halloween!

Tea Cakes for Halloween

A while back I purchased a huge set of cookie cutters, but with all the chaos of moving and everything else, I had not yet gotten the chance to use them. With Halloween upon us, I felt it was the perfect time to try them out.

When I was a kid it was always a big treat whenever we got to make tea cakes. At my house we only made them occasionally, so I probably would have forgotten about them entirely, except that my grandma used to make them too, and I also remember going over to my aunt’s house and “helping” her make them.

The only problem is that I didn’t have “the” recipe for them, and so I found myself perusing cookbooks and trying to decide which one of the half dozen recipes I wanted to try. The recipe I tried turned out pretty well. The taste and the texture are slightly different from what I remember, but all-in-all, it’s a pretty good cookie. (However, if I try another recipe in the future and it turns out better, I’ll be posting it too!)

To give them a bit of festive, Halloween styling, I cut them out in the shapes of pumpking, ghosts, and cats. And for fun, I decorated some of them using chocolate chips. It was tempted to go all out and put a bunch of sprinkles or icing on them too, but I think these taste better without all that extra stuff.

Tea Cake Recipe:

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/3 cup water or milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Cream sugar, margarine, shortening, water or milk. Add beaten eggs and vanilla. Add flour a little a time until completely mixed in. Roll onto floured pastry sheet. Cut with cookie cutter and bake on greased cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 8 to minutes. (similar recipes also say 350 for 10-15 minutes) Note: This recipe makes around 2 dozen cookies, give or take a few, depending upon what size cutters you use.



Halloween Treats That Will Leave Them Screaming for More

Here’s another links & pics post. This week I’ve looked up some “witchy” desserts to post for Halloween. If you’re looking for a Halloween party dessert or just something fun to fix for your family, you’re sure to find something here. I think I’ve pretty much covered all the bases so that there’s something for everybody, from the simple to the more complex recipes, from a little bit of sweetness to the decidantly rich. And if you don’t like these, there are a lot more choices on the sites where I found these.

Don’t you all just love looking at all the fun ideas out there? My hat goes off to all the people that actually come up with these projects. I just wish I had the time (& money for all the ingredients) to try them all. But I’m sure in the future, after we have our kids, I’ll get the chance to try just a few at least.

Jack-o-Lantern Cake – This is one of my favorites out of all the desserts I looked at. It’s just lovely and very professional looking!

Ghost Cupcakes – I just had to post these up because I honestly wouldn’t have known they were cupcakes if they had not been labeled as such.

Halloween Pumpkin Bars – I’m not a fan of pumpkin myself, but I thought these were cute, not to mention very simple. And I suppose, if you’re like me and aren’t exactly a pumpkin fan either, you could use this same concept with brownies or some other kind of cake/bar.

Scarecrow Cake – Similar to the Jack-o-lantern cake, the decorations on this scarecrow cake are waffle cones and fruit roll ups. Very cute! And this one will be a great Thanksgiving cake as well. Or if you know any Wizard of Oz Fans (my nephew loves the scarecrow!) this would be a cute birthday cake too!

Scarecrow & Spider Cupcakes – I thought these cupcakes were very funny looking & they’re pretty easy to decorate too.


Mini Pumpkin Spice Cakes – I’d say these are a little more “adult” but it’s very pretty and festive looking! Could be great to serve at a party or family gathering or to take to work.

Chocolate Chip Werewolf Cookies – I think it’s safe to say that all the kids will love these. These very elaborately decorated werewolf cookies are actually very easy to make and decorate with assorted candies.

Related Posts: Great Snacks for Halloween, Sweet Treats for Day of the Dead, Simply Sweet Recipe – Spider Cupcakes, Candy Apples: Photos & Links