fun for fall and all for fun

Here are some fun fall craft/party ideas I have stumbled across and would love to use.

Martha's Pumpkin Balloon game.

Halloween Roundup at One Pretty thing has lots of different links for craft ideas.

Acorn Dough Nuts. These were in family fun and were so stinking cute I could hardly stand it!

Another Family Fun snack is to make a "salsa" of apples and use cinnamon tortilla chips to dip. Add some variety on the chips by cookie-cutting them into fall/halloween shapes before baking. Apple dip recipe is found here.

Hopefully these are a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing as we approach fall. I know I have some ideas and need to get some doughnuts stat.

Valentine's Day 4

Brownie Hearts

Another easy treat from Martha. Make your brownies and then using a heart cookie cutter, cut them into small hearts. You can use these to top cupcakes like the chocolate filigree hearts, or throw a couple in a bowl of ice cream, or it's just a fun lunch box surprise.

Valentine's Day 1

For the 14 days til Valentine's Day I am going to do 14 posts of fun ideas...

This first idea is from Martha Stewart's Feb. Living. My roommates and I thought they were too cute not to try and make ourselves.

Chocolate Filigree hearts for cupcake toppers. It really is super easy, just melt some chocolate, put it into a decorators bag or a ziplock bag with a tiny hole cut in the corner. Trace a heart cookie cutter on some parchment and then outline the heart with chocolate filling it with swirls and designs. Freeze for 15 minutes to set then top cupcakes.

Here are pictures of mine:

Easter Dinner

yum Easter dinner...so so good. This is what my roommates and I would usually make for Easter dinner:

Glazed Spiral Cut Ham

1 jar Orange Marmalade

3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 (7-8lb) Spiral Cut Ham

Mix orange marmalade and mustard and use half to glaze ham. Bake in a roasting pan at 325 and re spread glaze half way through cooking time (cooking time indicated by the ham). Use remaining glaze when serving.

Resurrection Potatoes

6 cups diced potatoes*
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) cond. cream chicken soup
1/2 soup can milk
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup grated onion (optional) **
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup corn flake crumbs

Cook fresh potatoes or thaw frozen potatoes (see *note below). Place potatoes in a 2-3 quart casserole dish or a 9x13 cake pan.
Combine soup, milk, sour cream, cheese, and onion (see **note below) and salt and pepper to taste. If a saucier dish is desired, add 2-3 tablespoons additional milk. Mix well. Spread sauce over potatoes.
Melt butter and combine with corn flake crumbs. Sprinkle crumbs over casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 F for 30-45 minutes or until hot and bubbly throughout.

Notes:
* Use approximately 6-8 peeled, diced, and cooked fresh potatoes; or approximately 2 pounds frozen, southern style, diced hash browns (not shredded). ** Use 1 tablespoon dried onion or saute 1/4 cup fresh chopped onion in 1 tablespoon butter until transparent.

Rolls- Of the Rhodes Rolls variety!

Cottage Cheese Fruit Salad

1 large container cottage cheese

1 small box orange jello, or 1 lg box sugar free orange jello

2 small cans mandarin oranges, drained

1 can pineapple tidbits, drained

1 container cool whip

Sprinkle cottage cheese with jello and let sit for a few minutes. mix thoroughly and add fruit. Stir in Cool whip. Refrigerate for 10+ minutes to set up.

Green Salad of Choice

and for dessert... Hummingbird Cake. There are a lot of different recipes for this cake, some with pecans, some with extra fruit, but Martha Stewarts recipe is the one I like the most and who can resist the beautiful dried pineapple flowers on top! for the Recipe and step by step instructions, go here.

Family history

I love family history and like finding creative ways to do it. Here are a couple of sources with great ideas.

Martha had this template for a nice fan shaped way to frame a page.

Geneology4kids has a fantastic list of ideas to make finding and working on family history fun for everyone.

Some I want to mention today are:

36. Choose a few old family photographs to frame and display in your home (I really want to do this and am working on organizing photos to choose some great ones to frame).
47. Visit the homes, places of birth, or burial sites of some of your ancestors or find pictures of these places (We have done this a few times and I really want to do some more).

this is an old family house in Utah.

It's starting to feel like spring in the Wasatch Front...at least it is at my home, we haven't had snow for a few weeks, the birds are out, and I haven't needed my coat yipee!!

Some fun spring related crafts I want to try are...

Make and Takes fun spring straws.

I love this Happy Spring Apron from Feathered Nest...I think sassy aprons are so much fun!! too bad I suck at sewing but hey these don't look too hard... Another easy and darling apron she has posted is found here.

I love making mini-scrapbooks and finding new ways to display pictures. In January Martha posted this accordian album idea as a simple yet fun way to display some pictures.

Valentines Day

Valentines day is just around the corner. Those of you who know me, know I frequently complain about valentines day, February, etc.

Well it is a dirty filthy lie. I really do like Valentines day. I love decorating for it, coming up with new treats and ideas, and giving gifts. Sometimes it just isn't fun to be on the single end of it, that's all. Over at Crafting Chicks they have posted a lot of cute gift ideas.

A Feathered Nest is offering a lot of fun decorating ideas, including crayon hearts. I made these years ago when Martha had them as an idea in an issue of Martha Stewart Living. I loved crayons as a kid, and I love them now. Plus kids get a kick out of them, and who doesn't have a bunch of broken crayons laying around??

Another fun idea is chocolate dipped pretzels. First of all they are just good. Second, these ones look like little heart snacks. For the how to go to Make and Takes.

mmmmm sounds like a party

i love parties, especially themed parties. 2 that are occuring right now: chinese new year and the superbowl.

thought this looked overly delectable : Chinese dinner and you can never have enough fortune cookies. maybe i'll make a pinata of the animal this year...year of the Ox. Martha posted this cute and easy Chinese place setting idea for your party, and a how to for making a paper dragon.

For Superbowl Sunday nachos are a must, as well as lil smokies (i heart lil smokies). Another idea i've been wanting to try is this cute football sandwiches. Plus a game of "touchdown" is always fun. Just create a construction paper goal post, then a paper football for each person. It's like pin the tail on the donkey except you are aiming to tack the football in the center of the goalpost.