Simple Fall Decorations and Happy Fall Free Printable

So I'm not really that into decorating for holidays especially Halloween (I don't like all the scary stuff).  Mostly because you have to drag out all the decorations from storage, put them out, then pack them all up again, just to do it all over again.  Ugh, I barely have time to keep my house clean to the bare minimum, let alone to take extra time to be dragging out decorations.  (Christmas is the one exception).

However,... I am trying to do this whole homemaker thing.  So I was trying to come up with some cute, but very simple decorations.  Easy to put up and easy to take down were the requirements.  I also wanted the decorations to be for fall not Halloween.  I figured I could leave them up longer that way too.


So the following is what I came up with.  And you also benefit from my attempt at decorating because I have made a Happy Fall Free Printable for you.

Background design from Mel Stampz Vintage Vine Collection.
Pumpkin Stencil from Momenta.

And it's in 3 nifty sizes.  (Hopefully the sizes work, because my photo editing software was being a bit wonky.)

• Happy Fall 4 x 6
• Happy Fall 5 x 7
• Happy Fall 8 x 10

I thought of the idea because I had this really cool frame that I had sitting around.  I hadn't ever had the appropriate picture to put in it, but it just seemed perfect to hang outside our house.

I also bought a pumpkin on a whim... with the thoughts of maybe decorating it further.  But then I thought better of the extra decorating and just stuck it outside our door.  I figured the way God made it was the best decoration possible.  If it hasn't rotted when it gets closer to Halloween,  I still might carve it.  I think my little girl would have fun scooping out all the pumpkin insides.  :)

Lastly, my other simple decoration was to put out a basket and fill it with pine cones.  This was my absolute favorite thing to do because it turned into a fun little activity.  My little girl and I tramped around the yard filling the basket with all the pine cones we could find.  She loved it!

The funny part was that when I went to tie the ribbon around the basket, she burst into tears.  She also started to cry when I tried to put the basket outside the door.  So I waited until she went down for her nap before decorating and putting outside.

I feel like I've done a little decorating and made my house a little more of a home, yet kept it simple.  The best part is, almost all of it I can throw away when I'm done.  When you live in a small place, the less you have to store the better.

I hope you can be inspired to do a little simple fall decorating too!

And from my family to yours, Happy Fall!

Baby Boy Gift Set: Trains

So I took a week off from blogging, but I'm back. We were taking a little family time. It's good to make sure the busyness of the days don't crowd out what's really important. I've also been having some computer/Internet issues. Hopefully they will be resolved soon.

Anyways, on to other things.

Here is another boy set I made. Since the shower was for two moms, I wanted to give them each something similar but still unique.
 
I decided to cut out each of the different colored trains and appliqued them onto a larger rectangle. It was a bit of a challenge to get them exactly measured and centered just right, but I think it was so worth it.

For the matching drawstring pants, I added a colored waistband which I ended up loving. I used bias tape as the drawstring.

Look out for a tutorial for these pants in the very near future. :)

Here is the matching onesie and pants together

Add a coordinating bib and the set is complete. :)

Thanks for checking out all the baby gifts, hopefully I'll get some more variety up soon.  Though bear with me,  I do have a few more to share with you in the next month or so.   I'm excited to show you the tutorial on the drawstring pants, so watch out for that soon.  :) 

Blackberry and Nectarine Pie

When I was a kid, my parents and I used to pick blackberries in Oregon. It was lots of fun, and I loved it.   So when I was talking a walk with my little girl the other day and noticed tons of wild blackberry bushes, I was quite excited.  I decided to come back the next day with a container to see if I could pick enough to make a pie.  (My husband loves pies, and is always bemoaning the fact that I don't make them enough).  The problem with berry picking is that you usually eat just as many as you take home.  In the end, we probably only ended up with enough for about half of a small pie.  I was determined to still make a pie, so I combined them with the only fruit we had in the house - nectarines. Sounds a little weird, right?  I've heard of peach pie, but not nectarine pie, but surprisingly it was quite delicious. 

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.  :)








Start with blackberries and nectarines:

Mix ingredients together.

Bake.

Top with whip cream or vanilla ice cream.

 If you want to make your own blackberry and nectarine pie, here's the recipe:
(I'm assuming you have your own pie crust recipe.)

Blackberry and Nectarine Pie Filling

This makes a pie to fill a 7 inch pie pan. 

• 2 cups of blackberries
• 3 nectarines, sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 TBS tapioca
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• milk (optional)
• sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Combine ingredients together in large bowl. Let sit for about a half hour to let the juices mix together. Pour mixture into pie pan lined with half of crust.  Top with the other half of crust. Cut slits in center of crust.  Brush crust with milk and sprinkly lightly with sugar.  Use strips of tin foil to cover the edges of pie. Let bake for 25 minutes, then remove foil. Bake for another 25 -30 minutes until bubbly and crust is lightly browned.


Enjoy!

Baby Boy Gift Set: Cars and Trucks

So it kind of seems like all the sewing I've been doing lately has been for baby gifts.   If you are sick of it, I'm sorry  but you'll have to bear with me a little longer because there are a few more in the works.  If you are like me and have lots of friends having babies, then I hope you are able to get some good ideas.

Sewing for babies is also a little less intimidating then sewing for an adult because you don't have to worry as much about fit... no curves and such.   Also I think babies and kids just look so darn cute in handmade clothes.

Recently we had a mini shower for two friends of mine who were both having boys, so I had to come up with something that was cute but not too difficult since I was going to have to do it times two.  I had bought extra of the cars and trucks fabric that I had used for the boy romper.  I was very excited to use it again, and thought it would be so cute to use one of the cars as a center piece on a onesie.

I also made some matching pants to go with it.  I used a pair of pants from my baby girl as a guide for size.  I wanted to do something a little more creative so I made them into drawstring pants. I liked the fact that this made the pants size a little more adjustable.

I used the leftover vintage bias tape from my Orange Sherbet Tee as the drawstring, and I think it coordinates just perfectly.

I sewed up a coordinating bib to go with it, and I had a cute little outfit.

Stay tuned for the second boy gift set, and a tutorial to follow. :)

How to Make an Ice Cream Cake

During college, I worked part time to keep from being a starving student.  Some part time jobs aren't so bad, and the ones I worked were actually pretty awesome.  I managed to avoid fast food, though not the food industry altogether.  For four and half years, my second home consisted of freshly made waffle cones, and all natural ice cream.  My roommates loved that I brought home leftover waffle cones, day old cookies and brownies, and often times even ice cream.  I became biased towards all other ice creams because no one had better tasting  ice cream then good ole Ben and Jerry's. 

In my years I did many tasks, including scooping ice cream, blending frozen drinks,  baking fresh waffle cones, and  making cakes.  So today, I thought I'd share a bit of that knowledge with you. 

Have you ever wished you could make an ice cream cake?  Ever wished you didn't have to spend so much money for an expensive one at the fancy ice cream stores?  Well, now you can do it yourself!

I warn you though, I never decorated cakes.   I just did the basics, and the cake decorator did the fancy stuff. 

Let's make an Ice Cream Cake!

What you'll need:
Ice cream (I used 4 pints for this cake)
2 circular cake pans
Cake layer ( brownies usually work the best, but you can use whatever you want)
Frosting (Buttercream or whipped  - we used to use Pastry Pride as a lighter option)
A flat knife
Fun decorating toppings

Plan for this to take at least 24 hours.

• Let your ice cream soften a bit so that it's scoopable.
• Fill  cake pan with ice cream ( you can do it all in one pan, and freeze between each layer, but I recommend using one pan for each layer to save time).
• Spread the ice cream in the pan so it's flat.
• Put layers in freezer  (you want to put the cake in the freezer between each step to help it keep it's shape, otherwise it becomes a goopy mess).

• Bake ahead of time  brownies, cookies, or whatever you want to be your cake layer.
• Cut thin slices of brownie and place on top of each ice cream layer.
• Put layers in freezer to let the ice cream adhere to the brownie.

• After it has COMPLETELY FROZEN   (usually overnight) , it is then time to take it out of the pan.
• Flip your cake upside down and hold one hand underneath it. 
• Run cold water over the top of the pan.
• With your other hand gently twist and loosen the pan from the ice cream.
• As soon as you start to feel it start to come loose, remove from under water.
• Be ready with your plate, still keep your hand underneath,  and as the cake slides out of the pan,  quickly place on cake plate.

• Repeat with second layer. 
• Each layer should be pretty solid, so you can adjust each layer's placement if need be.
• Place cake in freezer to reharden.

• Next, it is time to frost your cake.
•  Using a flat knife to spread your frosting, start with the sides first.
• Then move to the top, and spread frosting on top, smoothing out the edges.
• If at any point in this process, you feel like the cake is starting to loose shape, put in freezer.  Once it begins to harden again, you can then continue to frost. 

• Put in freezer to let the base frosting set before decorating. 
• Decorate!  Have fun with it... even if you aren't a cake decorator, you can use things like brownies, cookies, sprinkles, or candy to fancy it up.
•  DO NOT let cake soften before serving.  Instead take a knife and dip in hot water before slicing. 

SERVE and ENJOY!!!!

I'd love to see what you guys come up with!  Post your masterpieces in the  Creations from Alisha Rose and Friends Flickr Group .