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Pumpkin Themed Fall Craft Projects

When it comes to celebrating the fall season, the first thing I think about is pumpkins and falling leaves. Cool crisp air and evening fires are the best days to start creating and crafting again. Besides being a popular food of this season, pumpkins can be hours of family fun. And not just carving them for Halloween. I’m sure you’ve heard many traditional stories associated with this gourd. Some depict it as scary, while others are just amazing tales that the children love to hear as bedtime stories.

However you like to enjoy your pumpkins, Fall is the time to pull out all your orange paint, carving tools and enjoy the season of the pumpkin Let’s check out a few pumpkin crafts you can do this season.

4 Easy-to-make pumpkin-themed fall craft DIY project ideas to make at home

Simple Paper Plate Pumpkin Face

Pumpkin drawings on paper plates, painted pumpkin

Paper plates are a common household item available in many homes. Besides being used for eating food, they also serve as a canvas for many easy DIY craft ideas at home. Making a pumpkin face out of it involves different skills and safe-to-do steps that your kids will love and learn a lot from.

Things you need

A medium or large size paper plate
Orange watercolor or paint
A brush
A glue stick or liquid glue
A black color paper sheet or a black marker
A pair of scissors

What to do

This is a perfect project for both a child and an adult. Some kids may need some help and guidance with the steps but imagination is really all that’s needed. Of course, please be cautious if your child is using scissors.

Place the paper plate upside down and paint it entirely with orange watercolor or paint. Leave it to dry while you prepare for other things.
Next, you need to make the eyes, nose, and teeth of the pumpkin.
Remember that all three things (eyes, nose, and teeth) will be in triangle shape.
If you plan to use a black marker, once the orange watercolor or paint is fully dried, draw and fill two medium shape triangles at some distance apart on the plate.
Next in the center of the plate both horizontally and vertically, draw and fill a big-sized inverted triangle as the nose of the pumpkin.
Lastly, draw the teeth of the pumpkin. Here, you will need to draw and fill at least seven small-sized triangles. Follow an upward, then downward, and then upward-facing triangular sequence for drawing the teeth.
If you plan to use a black color sheet, simply cut the triangles in sizes mentioned above (in the case of drawing with a marker) and then paste it with glue.
Your paper plate pumpkin is ready for being used as a wall or door hanging.

Pumpkin Door Wreath

If you are bored of making traditional wreaths for your house entrance, then why not use a real pumpkin and get a little more creative.

Things you need

Small gourds (from grocery store or dollar store)
Small floral picks from dollar store
wire wreath frame from dollar store
Floral wire, you’ll want something strong enough but pliable enough to twist.
Pliers
Wire cutters
Glue Gun and Glue
Ribbon

What to do

Lay down the wire wreath frame and arrange the picks and gourds where you may want them.
Once you have a design, cut the picks if necessary (you may need to use the wire cutters) and start wrapping the floral wire around the floral picks and around the wire wreath so they fill in the wreath.
You can use the floral wire and wrap around the stem of the gourd or around the gourd completely to add onto the wire wreath. OR you can use a glue gun to adhere the gourds onto the wreath and picks where you want them. Fresh gourds may be heavy and may require some floral wire and glue to stay in place.
Add your ribbon to any areas you can still see the wire wreath and also to add a bow. Add some to the back to hang.

Spray painted pumpkin decoration pieces

A few small pumpkins placed in a wooden tray or basket can also serve as a decoration for your living room, kitchen, or even as a centerpiece on your dining table.

Things you need

A few small pumpkins
Spray paints preferably in golden, silver, and bronze or copper color
A nice small basket or wooden tray

What to do

Spray-paint the pumpkins completely with different colors. Do not multi-color any pumpkin. Spray-paint an entire pumpkin in a single color only.
Once dried, place them in a basket or a wooden tray and use as a decoration piece. If needed, place some dried leaves or acorns as well between them.

Card stock paper strip pumpkin

Things you need

A few card stock paper sheets preferably in autumn colors for pumpkin i.e. orange, yellow, brown, etc., and a green one for making leaves.
A pair of scissors
A hole punch machine
A piece of fish wire or normal wire to tie the strips of paper.

What to do

Cut the different color card paper sheets into 6-8 strips of equal length and width.
Cut a few leaves from the green color card paper sheet.
Next, make a stack of 6-8 strips of a single color and make a hole at both ends of the strips.
Make sure to place the leaf at one end while making the hole.
Next, pass the wire in each hole of this stack 2-3 times and tie a knot.
Now bend the stack and gently separate each strip.
Once all the strips have been separated, a sphere would have formed, making your pumpkin.

Final thoughts

There are a ton of other creative DIY fall craft ideas that are based on pumpkin themes. In this article, we have covered the ones for different age groups. We are sure this will help your kids learn a lot and inspire them to come up with different craft ideas of their own as well.

How to change paper color using the Paint wash technique

Kim Parkinson ·

The paint wash technique is the perfect easy technique for any background. You can use it on cards, art journal pages, scrapbooks, canvas, and more. With just some acrylic paint and water, you can change the color of any paper or surface.

Uses of the Paint Wash Technique

This simple technique can be versatile as well. If you love the design on scrapbook paper but the colors don’t match your layout, use this paint wash technique and make your own colors without changing the design on the paper

Have some glittery or shimmery paints?

Try this technique on a black piece of paper to see the difference a little bit of paint wash makes to the paper.

This paint wash technique isn’t just great for your backgrounds but safe for kids too. You can premix for them or you can let them mix themselves. After theY are done, they can cut out designs from the papers or leave them as backgrounds for stamping or embellishing.

Supplies needed for the Paint Wash Technique pages:

Paint Brushes – you might want a few for some different colors.
Acrylic Paint in your choice of color
Water in a cup
Heat Gun, optional
Several sheets of paper
Paper Towels

Directions:

1.Start by putting a small amount of any color paint onto your paper plate or craft mat.

2.Dip your paint brush into the water and swirl into the paint on your plate or mat. Continue to pull water out of the cup and onto the paint until the paint is very thin, so thin that when you pull your brush through the paint you can see the surface below.

3.Cover your entire piece of paper with the paint wash you just made.

4.Be careful not to get too much color on the back side of your paper. Sometimes it’s impossible so don’t worry as it’s ALL art!

Tip!

If you are using a cheaper brand of paint, you’ll need to use less water to make it runny. If you are using an expensive brand of paint, you’ll need more water. The more expensive the paint, the more pigments in it. If you are getting your paint from a tube, chances are good your paint is full of pigments.

6 Facts Everyone Should Know About Bringing Home Baby Chicks

Kim Parkinson ·

New baby chicks! Is there anything more spring-like than the tiny little peeps of new baby chicks? Recently, we picked up eight baby chicks from our local Grain store. These little fluff balls were already sexed, so hopefully all will grow up to be laying ladies of leisure.

Bringing Home Baby Chicks

Growing your Flock

1. So are you thinking about adding to your flock? Or starting a flock of your own? Baby chicks do take quite a bit of care, especially when they are extremely young. Most Grain stores (and big stores too) will sell baby chicks freshly hatched at about 1-3 days old. The first thing that you are going to want to do before you even go pick them up is have your brooder set up and at the appropriate temperature. For my baby brooder, I use a gerbil pen. This will comfortably hold about 8-10 chicks until they are about 4 weeks old. I like to lay down some puppy pads and some pine shavings to soak up any messes and to make it a little more comfortable for them. You’ll want your brooder to be about 95 degrees. The entire thing doesn’t have to be 95 degrees but a larger enough area for them to be at 95 degrees and then areas for them to move away from. I do this with a red heat lamp and thermometer. Once the brooder is up to temp, head over to your local store to pick up those babies.

Tip: decrease the temp each week by 5 degrees until they are about 6-8 weeks of age or fully feathered. Fully feathered means no down left.

Baby Chicks Water and Food

2. Inside the brooder, you’ll want to be sure you have a source of clean water for them. I put my water on a wood block so they can’t tip over nor poop in it. Clean water is necessary for a pest free flock. You’ll also want some baby chick food and some chick grit. You should be able to pick both of those up where you purchase your chicks. Baby Chick feed, also called Starter Feed is essential to feed your little ones. This food helps boost their immune system and is easy for them to digest. I recommend keeping them on this food until they start laying (about 16-22 weeks of age). They are in crumbles form and easy for even the littlest ones to eat. Check out the Starter Feed I recommend here: Chick Starter.

Another necessity is your Chick Grit. You’ll also want to make sure you provide them with and adequate amount of Chick grit. Since chickens don’t have any teeth, they use their crop to grind up their food. Their crop uses the chick grit to grind the food and make it digestible. Your chickens will always need grit provided to them, unless you free range and then they will always need to have grit added to their food or available to them in their run. You can pick up some Chick Grit here.

Settling in the Baby Chicks

3. Once home, give each chick a once over. Make sure they all look alive, alert, and healthy. Gently dip their beaks in the water just slightly so they know where it is and then off they go to find the warmth of the brooder. They will usually huddle together. Most of your chicks will be about the same age but getting ones that are a week older than the rest should integrate well. Anything older than a week should be separated until you are sure they won’t peck at the younger ones.

Checking for Pasty Butt

4. Once they have settled in a little and you notice they are eating and drinking, pick each of them up and take a look at their bottoms. You’ll want to make sure no one has a build up of poop on or around their vent. This is called pasty butt. You’ll want to soak a paper towel or rag in warm water and hold it on the poop area for a few moments and then see if the poop will dissolve off. DO NOT PULL.

Just gently see if the poop will come off. Also be careful as their ‘belly button’ is just below the vent. Don’t play with that, it will come off on its own. As long as you can see the vent is open, your little lady should be good. If there is still some poop around it, you can gently run their behinds under lukewarm water to dissolve the poop some more. Be sure to gently dry them with a towel and a hair dryer until fluffy again. I like to put my hand in front of the hair dryer and allow the air to go around my hand. That way I know if it’s too hot and may need to be adjusted. Keep an eye on the each of them for about 7-10 days to make sure none continue to have pasty butt. It’s imperative that their vent remains clear so they can do what needs to be done!

Turning Baby Chicks to Pets

5. If you plan on having these chicks as pets, you may want to make sure you hold them daily. Several times a day. You’ll get to know which are ok with this and which won’t be too thrilled. Those that settle in to your hand will be life long friends. And so much easier to check for mites, lices, and any other ailments too later on. Make sure you talk to your chicks, hold your chicks, and look in on them often. The more human interaction at this young age, the better hens (or roosters) you’ll have later.

Cleaning the Brooder

6. Clean the brooder often. If water ever spills, clean it up right away. Don’t allow the pine shavings to be become too soiled. This just invites other pests. Clean it out and put in fresh shavings at least once a week, more times depending on how many chicks you have.

Happy Chicks

Once your new ladies are about 4 weeks old, you may have to move them to a larger brooder. A dog crate or old baby play pen will work great. As long as they have their fresh water, food and grit, they will be happy chicks. You’ll be able to bring them outside, supervised, as long as the temperature is close to the brooder temp. Once fully feathered, they can go into their coop.

Each breed is different but you can expect eggs at approximately 18-20 weeks of age. Each breed is different but this is about typical.

It’ll be fun to see your little chicks grow up. I am really looking forward to sharing this journey with you. If you are thinking about raising chicks yourself, why not take a look at some of the pointers I have for you on this tip sheet.

Instant Pot Pulled Pork BBQ Sliders Recipe

Kim Parkinson ·

I love my instant pot pulled pork BBQ slider recipe and I use it several times a month. This recipe is perfect for any time of year. The instant pot doesn’t heat up your kitchen but will create a hot meal quickly. If you are looking for a quick meal for the family then this is perfect for you.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Sauté time: 20-25 minutes
Active cook time: 50 minutes (+ time to come to pressure)
Natural Release: 10 minutes
Yields: 12-15 sliders

Instant Pot Pulled Pork Ingredients:

3 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided
3 lbs. pork shoulder roast, trimmed and cut into 4-6 chunks
1 t. garlic powder, divided
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

½ medium red onion, chopped
1 medium shallot, chopped

¼ c. chicken broth

¼ c. apple cider vinegar

1 c. prepared BBQ sauce, divided
Slider buns, toasted

Cabbage Slaw Ingredients:

3 c. thinly sliced red cabbage
¼ c. mayonnaise
1½ T. apple cider vinegar
1 t. ground cumin
½ t. garlic powder
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Press the “Sauté” button on the Instant Pot®. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and half the pork shoulder and season with one-half teaspoon garlic powder, plus salt and black pepper, to taste. Sear until pork is browned on all sides, approximately 1-2 minutes per side, before transferring to a large, rimmed plate. Set aside.
Repeat Step #1 with another tablespoon olive oil and the remaining pork and garlic powder. Season with additional salt and black pepper, as desired. Once seared, transfer to the rimmed plate with the rest of the pork and set aside.
Add remaining olive oil, plus the red onion and shallot. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, approximately 3-4 minutes.
Deglaze Instant Pot® by adding the chicken broth and gently scraping the bottom of the container with a plastic spatula to loosen any browned bits. Pour in the apple cider vinegar and three-quarter cups BBQ sauce. Return the seared pork and its juices to the unit and cover, locking the lid into place.
Set the pressure valve to “sealing” and select the “Manual” option on the highest setting. Adjust cook time to 50 minutes.
While the pork is cooking, prepare the cabbage slaw by adding the cabbage to a large bowl. Mix the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, ground cumin, and garlic powder in a smaller bowl before adding to the larger bowl. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and toss to combine. Set aside.
When cook time is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, and then do a quick release for any remaining pressure.
Carefully remove lid and shred the pork with two forks. Allow the shredded pork to sit in the warm liquid for 5 minutes to soak up more flavor before serving, if desired.

Serving your Instant Pot Pulled Pork BBQ Sliders

To serve, transfer the shredded pork with tongs to a large bowl and toss with remaining BBQ sauce

Divide the shredded pork between the toasted slider buns and top with some of the cabbage slaw.

Enjoy your delicious Instant Pot Pulled Pork BBQ Sliders!

Coloring to Reduce Stress

Kim Parkinson ·

After the ordeal that was 2020, we could all use some de-stressing and anti-anxiety techniques. 2020 got us all down so now in 2021 it’s time for a morale boost.

There is an easy way to reduce some of those stressors you may be feeling. What if I told you there was a way to not only reduce stress and anxiety, but also to improve brain function, memory, focus (which has similar effects to meditation), and even can boost confidence and remove negative thoughts. You’d probably think, what the heck are you talking about, how come I’ve never heard of this! Well let me tell you right now and you won’t be in the dark any longer!

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