Living in Jophies Jungle: Pumpkin Topiaries.........

Living in Jophies Jungle: Pumpkin Topiaries.........

Fields Of Heather: Fall Craft Ideas/Patterns

Fields Of Heather: Fall Craft Ideas/Patterns

Whoo-hoo!

It's almost that favorite time of year when we're all thinking about the holidays around the corner. Thinking what to create for our loved ones, neighbors or friends. Wondering how we'll decorate our homes. Start digging out those home decor and crafting magazines, start flipping through those pages with a nice hot cup of coffee or tea and let your mind unwrap let the ideas begin. There are an assortment of amazing ornaments, gifts and decorating ideas out there.

We can start making them ahead of time before the holidays arrive. So let your creativity roll, allowing that love and passion for crafting inspire you to create unique projects that will let you share that little piece of you with others. Have Fun!

Here is a recipe for some Pumpkin Spice Scones I made this weekend.

1 C. all purpose flour

1 C. cake flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

1/4 t. ground allspice

1/4 t. ground ginger

6 T unsalted butter

1/2 C. raisins (optional)

1/3 C. pumpkin puree

1/3 C. heavy cream

6 T brown sugar

1 t vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper (not required but makes cleanup easy!). Cut butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the fridge. In a medium bowl combine the flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well. Place bowl in the freezer ( fridge is fine if there is no room in the freezer).

2. In a seperate bowl, combine pumpkin , heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put this bowl in the freezer or fridge and take the other bowl back out. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them in the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins if your using them.

3. Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour it into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is moistened. The dough will be very crumbly and this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don't knead to much or dough will be sticky.

4. Pat the dough into a rough circle 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so they are not touching. Bake scones for about 15 min. at 425 degrees. they should be light brown on the bottom the tops will darken as they cool.

Icing: Cinnamon Icing - mix together 1 C. powdered sugar, 2 T milk, 1/4 t. cinnamon (adjust to taste) I added 1 t maple extract for a different flavor. Icing can be brushed on or drizzled.

ENJOY!

August 25

Perk Up Your Indoor Porch

The days are shorter, the air is crisper and the kids are heading back to school. It's time to leaf through your cookbooks, pull out your crock pots and pick some apples for your favorite apple pie. It's Fall my favorite time of year. Time to get all those Fall decorations out start decorating your porch and get ready for those nice hot cups of coffee and your favorite book. Being a lover of the beauty and grace of nature allows me to indulge and enjoy every minute of it. So start making that porch feel cozy, curl up with your favorite throw, and relax, enjoy the beauty that God created .There is no better time than now when the kids are in school the house is quiet and that beautiful time of year is here . Enjoy & God Bless

And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was good and He approved it completely
(Genesis 1-31)