Dried Apple Bird Feeder (Pinterest fail)

I saw the cutest little pin the other day. It just screamed fall craft and right now I am slightly obsessed with fall. 

I just HAD to make it!

Here is what I did:

I sliced apples with my mandolin and dehydrated them.

Next I had my daughter help to string them on wire.

We added some cute ribbon.

Finally I hung it outside. 

Looks super cute outside, however two days later we had a huge rain storm.... All the apples rehydrated and turned to mush. ☔️😕 after that it attracted bees so I had to toss it out. 

I think if I was to redo this I would wait until winter and stick on a little birdseed with some peanut butter to give the birds more to eat. Also, I won't have to worry about rain or bees!

Handprint Owl Painting

I seem to be on a kick with the handprint art activities. But who can help it? Kids hands are so cute at this age. Plus, getting paint all over your hands is such a 'hoot' for kids. (Pun intended, sorry I couldn't help myself.) 

First get out a piece of cardstock. (I always recommend using cardstock over standard paper for kids crafting it just holds up much better.)

Coat your little ones hand with paint and with their fingers together place the print in the center of the page.

Next use brown to paint the branch. I used pencil to lightly outline the branch for my daughter. 

Cut white eyes from scrap paper and glue onto your owl.

We added goggly eyes because they are so much more fun than just drawing an eyeball!

Use a bit of orange paint and make a triangle for the beak.

Next use yellow red and orange to add some fall leaves to the end of the branches. 

Hang up and enjoy!

Fall Means Apples!!!!

Fall means apples and what better way celebrate that then to paint an apple?!

I started with an 8 1/2 X 11 piece of white card stock and just sketched this simple shape on it.

My daughter painted in the seeds and the stem then moved on to painting the "skin" of the apple red.

Next comes the fun part. Coating your child's hand with green paint and have them plunk it right on top. This will the the "leaf".

Quick, simple, and fun!

Great smelling' house!

Ever have your house smell funny....

 but you don't want to walk around with a can of air freshener....

(fearing you may suffocate your child with the chemical cloud it would require to rid the house of the smell...)

Here is an all natural, low cost, and very easy way to make your house smell like fall.

Grab a few cinnamon sticks*, a tablespoon of cloves*,  2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and an apple.

 *both available in bulk food area of grocery store for a reasonable price

Slice the apple into a few pieces and place them in a 2 quart sauce pan with the cinnamon sticks, lemon juice, and cloves. Add 3 cups of water and set to simmer.

Wait for a bit and soon you will notice warm scent of cinnamon filling your kitchen and seeping into the rest of your home.  Check every 20 minutes or so. As the water evaporates you can add water and let it continue to freshen your home.

SAFTY NOTE: Never leave anything on the stove unattended. 

In other words: Watch carefully so that the water doesn't boil off and create a burnt applesauce.

Toilet Paper Tube Ghosts

Need a fun halloween craft that can be done quickly with only a few basic supplies? Here is a fun easy on that children can do with very little assistance. 

Supplies: 

Toilet paper tubes

White paint

Paint brush

Wiggly eyes

Have your child paint the tubes white and set them aside to dry for a few hours.

Once the tubes are dry put on the googly eyes. (I love the self adhesive eyes, it's a few more cents but well worth it!)

Let your little one add any other decorations. My daughter insisted that the ghosts needed smiles and arms.

Here is our little ghost family. 

Very simple and basic craft that a preschooler can do almost independently.

Applesauce

Apples are in season! What should we do? Make applesauce.

Wash and cut the apples into quarters. With the Kitchenaid attachment you 

do not need to core or peel the apples. 

Bring the apples to a boil and cook until soft.

Meanwhile place the grinder and fruit/vegetable strainer attachments on the Kitchenaid. These attachments can be purchased online or most anywhere Kitchenaid are sold they will cost about $100 together depending on where you purchase them..

When the apples are soft pull them out of the water with a slotted spoon. (This way you can place the next batch of apples into the hot water instead of filling it and having to bring a new pot to a boil all over again.) 

While the second batch of apples are coming to a boil start feeding the cooked apples into the grinder. Push them down slowly, they are hot and you don't want hot apple squirting out at you.

As you push the apples in the applesauce will start to push through the stainer and drip out the peel, seeds, stem, and any other unusable parts will be forced out the end. 

When you are done you will have a bowl full of hot applesauce. I add a 1/2 cup sugar, a few shakes of cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg. 

Notes: 

*The applesauce has a pink tint because you are leaving the skin on but think of all the nutrients you gain!

*I cooked up a peck of apples from the orchard and it made me 3+ quarts of applesauce. I can't give you an exact measurement because we were all eating it hot and fresh so all of it didn't make it into the containers. 

*From taking out the apples to the end of clean up it took about 3 hours (including distractions from my 4yr old.) A chunk of time but well worth it! 

*Applesauce freezes well. 

Halloween Decorations

I love to decorate for Halloween. I used to go way overboard but the last few years I have found that keeping it simple is much easier and makes me just as happy. Here is a peek at my front porch. 

This witch is one of my favorite things. My mother in law saw the idea in Martha Stewart magazine and had her husband make it. He made one for me as well. He simple drew it on plywood, cut it out, and painted it black. Mine is about 5 feet tall and is hinged to fold in half for easy storage. On the back are two hooks that a metal pole slides through and into the ground to hold the witch up. Under the hand is a little hook that the lantern attaches too.  

I found a plastic black cauldron to set in front of her and have orange lights it is so it "glows" at night. For added fun I also put purple lights in the lantern.

Above is my little pumpkin patch. I picked up the sign from JoAnn's many years ago. It is versatile because it works at halloween with the spiderweb. After halloween the web and Jack-O-Lanturn (not carved yet at time of this picture) will get tossed out and I keep the gourds and uncarved pumpkins sign since they are still make with the seasonal decor.  These will stay out through Thanksgiving day. 

P.S. the mum in the container should be more colorful but it is a bit dry because I haven't been faithful at giving it water. Oops.

Q-Tip Skeleton

My daughter wanted to carve her pumpkin tonight but I didn't want to start that endeavor at 8pm. So I offered a skeleton craft. She went for it!

Quick Q-tip Skeleton

Cut out a "skull shape" for the head about 2 inches tall and glue on the top of a 8x11 piece of black card stock.

Using a pencil draw out where the basic bones will go. 

(I drew the lines one by one and allowed my daughter to put down the glue. Good motor control practice for preschoolers.) 

Place a Q-tip on the glue 

For the hands/fingers, cut 2 Q-tips in half.

As you can see the gluing became messier as we worked....

For the feet, cut one Q-tip in half and use one for each foot.

Draw eyes, nose and a mouth on the skull.

There you have a friendly Q-tip skeleton! A fast easy and fun halloween craft. 

Do you have any favorite halloween crafts that you like to do with your kids? 

Fall is here!

Over the long Labor Day weekend the fall decorations went up and the cinnamon candle was lit.

In my home that means fall is here, no matter what the temperature outside feels like.

What makes it "fall" in your home?