QUILLOWS

Okay....so what have I been working on lately...(besides the other things).......QUILLOWS!!!

For those of you who don't know what quillows are?? They are quilts that fold up into pillows.

I recently made some for a friend to give to her daughters for Christmas.

I think they turned out pretty well...what do you think?

Until next time....

Thanksgiving Decor

As the weather here continues to be cold, I find myself wanting to become a hermit and just stay inside. And as I take a good look at my home, I see a GREAT lack of Thanksgiving decorations in comparison to my Halloween and Christmas ones.


Let's face it, at most major retailers, it's Christmas. Now some boutiques and craft stores do have a small selection of Thanksgiving decor, but they are just so expensive!! As a solution to both problems, I decided that I would do some activities with my kids, and by myself, to make some Thanksgiving items. Now I am not, or do I ever claim to be super cutesy and crafty, but this is what I came up with a couple of years ago.....

And because I love it when things can serve 2 functions, I did this for the back...

We haven't gotten anything new done this year, due to my sewing projects I am working on...I'll post those later, but I have great intention's!!

Like these from Martha Stewart...

We will definitely be trying this from Family Fun!!

I'll post pictures when they are done.

I hope that you can look into trying some of these fun ideas, or doing some of your own, because spending time with our family's and remembering why we are so grateful to have them is what Thanksgiving is all about!!

Oh How I Love Halloween.....

So with Halloween over now, I thought I would recap of all the fun things I did.... 

We did the fun sugar cookie cutouts and pumpkin faced apple pie.

We carved amazing pumpkins....thanks to my husbands artistic talent, we didn't have to use stencils or anything! We made fun Halloween costumes....... we did it all!!

Well, now it's over, I should be ready for winter right?? Well, I am not. I still need my fall fix, so today I decided to share a couple of my favorite fall dessert/dinner recipes.

Apple Crisp

4 medium tart apples, sliced

¾ c. packed brown sugar

½ c. flour

½ c. old fashioned oats

1/3 c. butter or margarine, softened

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

¾ tsp. ground nutmeg

Ice cream (optional) Vanilla or French Vanilla is best

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 8-inch square pan or 8-inch round pie plate with shortening or cooking spray. Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients, except ice cream, until well mixed; sprinkle over apples. Bake 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream.

(Recipe via my personal creations)

Pumpkin Roll

3 eggs                    1 C. sugar

2/3 C. pumpkin       ¾ C. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon                1 tsp. baking soda

Combine ingredients and pour into a jelly roll pan lined with wax paper, or parchment paper. Bake 15 minutes at 350. Turn onto a cheese cloth, or towel dashed with powdered sugar, while warm remove paper. Roll into log and let cool.

Mix filling ingredients:    

1 (8oz) cream cheese         ½ stick butter or margarine

1 C. powdered sugar                           1 tsp. vanilla

Unroll pumpkin roll, spread filling mixture and roll-up again. Chill and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

(Recipe from my Mother-in-law)

Creamy Baked Ziti

3 C. uncooked penne pasta

1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

3 oz. cream cheese, cubed

8 oz. sour cream

Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta as directed, drain. In saucepan, heat marinara, tomatoes and cream cheese until well blended. Add pasta, pour ½ mixture in 9X13 baking dish. Spread sour cream over mixture, sprinkle with cheeses, then cover with remaining pasta mixture. Top with remaining cheese and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

(Recipe from Kraft Food and Family Magazine)

Well, I hope you are able to try these recipe and let me know how you like them...cause I sure LOVE them!!!