The Love for Pumpkin

       It's that time of year where you can find pumpkin everything....latte, pies, air fresheners..the list goes on and on. I LOVE pumpkins so much that I am fine to eat everything there is to eat....craft anything I can....and have my house smell like a pumpkin pie just for this wonderful season! So to get myself and the kids in the mood, I took them to a pumpkin patch to pick the best pumpkin EVER!! So we went to Weston, MO to the Red Barn Farm.....I'm so excited because our favorite book when my kids were babies was the Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown..actually it still is on the top ten list to read to them....we pull up and it looks like the same Barn that is on the book. We march right up to the ticket booth and by 4 tickets to ride on the tractor to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkin. I have never picked my own pumpkin out of a patch. We have taken the kids to many farms where you pick pumpkins that are lined up on hay bales...but this is even making me feel like a kid again.

The tractor drops us off in the middle of pumpkin heaven...except for the many dried up plants due to the drought this year...but it is still just what we needed to get in the mood for the season!! We found our pumpkin and jumped back on the wagon and off we went to pet all the animals, look at apples, and shop in the country store. It was a wonderful morning!!

 

Pumpkin Cupcakes

 



Here is a recipe for pumpkin cupcakes with pumpkin icing...we are going all out on pumpkins today folks :)

Vanilla Spice Cake:

1 box white cake mix

1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

3 eggs

1/3 C. oil

1 cup Greek or plain yogurt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

I made these into cupcakes so I could take to my neighbor's houses. (I would be 300 lbs. if I didn't.)

Pumpkin Buttercream:

1 C. butter, softened

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3-4 C. powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. pumpkin puree

I decorated these cupcakes with what is called a rose top. It takes less icing to decorate...which I love when I'm working with a sweeter icing such as this buttercream icing.
I will do a blog soon on how to do the different type of cupcake toppers....I just need to find another person to take pictures or video...until then...enjoy the pumpkin season.

 

 



Welcome Back!!

 

 

 

 Our family just moved over the summer from North Carolina to Ft. Leavenworth Kansas. Why? Because my husband is in the military, and as wonderful as our last 6 years was in North Carolina it was time to move on to learn more great things. Being from the Mid-West, born and raised in Indiana, it's been nice to be back in the area of four seasons and closer to family. We will be in Kansas for one to two years tops...so I was going to slow down on making cakes...but that is not happening here!!! I have already had three cake orders and actually have more time to mess around with new ideas. I have also started taking some classes on Gum Paste, Fondant, and Piping to learn all that I can learn and come up with more ideas.

 

 On top of this I have had time to do more crafty items since we switched houses and now live in Military housing..I have picked up some great ideas to help make a house a home, even if it's not yours...with this said let me say..."Welcome Back! To a new and improved blog...there will still be tons of cakes included as well:)"

 

 

                                                      Happy Halloween!!

 

 

So as I stated we have moved into military housing and I wanted to do something special for the kids since they are missing the old house. I have been reading about how all these ladies are using contact paper for different uses. I was talking to a friend about buying a machine that can cut out letters so I can save money on making my own wall decor each time we move. Plus the kids are growing up and their minds change every year...Butterflies this year, hearts next year. So I purchased black contact paper from Amazon for a little over $20 (I didn't understand how much I was actually buying but I know I will use it later). I had bought paper bats at the Dollar Tree to hang on the walls but I hate tape. So since I'm not rich and still can't think of enough stuff to go buy a $200 or more on a machine....I stuck the kids on this project.

 

 So i took the paper bats and traced a bunch of bats. The kids could do that and if you have older kids they can sit and cut all of them out...I don't so my hand hurts just a little:).

                                

 

 

We are going to have them going up the stairwell. So then I decided to do some cats or a hunted house...So I went on the web and found something on Martha Stewart web site. A witch!! I printed out the template of the Witch. I then traced each square from the contact paper and pieced it together on the wall....I have to say this took around 3 hours to do...but it was well worth it.

 

 

 

 

I still need to make a broom and the hunted house but for less than $25. I think this is so much fun. It is safe for the walls, stays up better than tape, and the kids can help. I'm looking at doing this for Christmas...let you know how that goes. See you all soon.

 

Oh my camera has a spot on the lens so it drives me nuts with the little black dot on all pictures. :)