It's Pumpkin Time!!!

Pumpkin Pie Sign Board

A new design from Terrye French


I have noticed that the fruit stands and markets have begun to put out their pumpkins. I love all the colors, shapes and sizes that they come in. The miniature Baby Boos and Jack Be Littles will be placed on my mantle along with the larger Happy Jacks and Aspens.





I feel like Charlie Brown searching for the "Great Pumpkin" when I peruse the selections at each of my favorite stops. My all time favorite is the lovely white Lumina --- What a beauty!!!

I would like to share a recipe for delicious pumpkin muffins with you. They are so tasty and perfect for a wonderful treat, not only during the autumn season, but also throughout the entire year. Enjoy one soon with a cup of tea or coffee!




Pumpkin Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)
• 1.25 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Equipment: 12 foil or paper muffin liners; a muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups

Directions: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven toe 350F. Put liners in muffin cups. Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl. Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1.25 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl. Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Halloween Celebration at Old Farmhouse Gathering

It is time for another celebration at the Old Farmhouse Gathering Team on Etsy. Everyone is stitching, painting and creating away in their studios in anticipation of the debut on September 5. Here is a sneak peek at what I will list in the celebration:

I used a Terrye French design to paint on this long, narrow bread board. I love everything about this guy from his blue button eyes to the little hoot owl nesting in the brim of his hat.

The bottom of a vintage cafe coffee pot has been transformed into a pumpkin house with a few strokes of my paintbrushes. It came to me without a lid so I made a witch's hat from a papier mache cone and wood. I think it adds a bit of whimsy to this piece.

I have had a pattern for a kitty cat doll and her baby for a long, long time so I decided that now would be a good time to make her and dress her up for trick-or-treating. She wears a witch's hat, also made from papier mache and wood, and carries a pumpkin bucket that I made from a little gourd. Her doll is going to accompany her on her Hallow's Eve jaunt.

Finally, here is a vintage ice cream scoop that I have paint with a jolly jack theme. He is wearing his mask and is ready to say "boo" to whoever comes his way!

Witch's Pull Toy ... a new design for Hallow's Eve!

I have been thinking about this design for a long time. I finally decided to create this fun piece and I had a great time doing it. Can't you imagine a little witch pulling this hat topped boot around? I used lots of different embellishments including tea-stained cheese cloth, rusty bells and a star, a papier mache and wood hat, and linen string.

Sweet News!

He felt now that he was not simply close to her,

but that he did not know where he ended and she began.

~Leo Tolstoy

Our beautiful daughter became engaged to a wonderful guy yesterday. Megan, as many of you know, is the light of our lives. She is such a fabulous young lady and all that parents could ever hope for in a child (and more!). She is a registered dietitian and works in Birmingham, Alabama. Kendall has degrees from Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma. He is presently at Auburn University where he received his Ph.D. They are the perfect couple! I wish them all the happiness and love that Sherrill and I have had in our years together. What more could a mother ask than for her daughter to be happy and in love with her best friend? I love you my darling child, more than you can ever know!

The Painted Shed

Please take a moment to go peek at this shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/paintedshed ! Steph, of The Painted Shed, and I have been friends for a long time. Although we have never met in person, we "talk" often through IM's and emails. She is such a talented artist and her work is of the highest quality. Not only is she a master engraver, she is a fabulous painter. Steph lives in Texas with her two devoted companions, her cat and dog.

Autumn..... My favorite season!

I have been painting in the colors of autumn for several weeks now. I am pretending that it is cool and crisp outside and that fall is in the air. All of my favorite "life changing events" happened in Autumn. I met my darling husband and we got married in the fall (After 31 years we are still holding hands!). Two years later my precious daughter was born, also on a golden fall day. So, I have a special place in my heart for this season. Painting pumpkins, harvest moons, fall leaves and smoke coming out of chimneys has me thinking of baking bread and making homemade soup. I will have to wait a bit for that .... it is still bumping 100 degrees everyday and definitely not soup weather!

Here are a few of my latest creations. Maybe they will put you in the "pumpkin muffin and corn chowder" mood! The tin plate has a night scene painted on a pumpkin. This is an original that I have done several variations of. I love the way this one turned out, especially when it is laced with a homespun ribbon.

The bread board is painted with a John Sliney design. Don't you just love the big fluffy sheep perched on the pumpkins? Finally, here is an old lantern I painted with my Harvest Moon pattern. I gave the lantern a rusty look using cinnamon and black paint.