*It's Halloween!*

*Happy Halloween*

I just thought I would share with you what our house looks like at Halloween ...

Above is my little primitive sign I made.

Here is my fabulous Witches hat! I just love this hat, it is a wonderful soft velour & is all wonky & wonderful.

Here is our hallway. A primitive grubbied sign that I made & some of my witchy bottles that I made by printing my own witchy labels onto tea-stained paper. You can just see the top of my broom!

Here in our dining room are more of my witchy bottles alongside an old spooky ghost book of James that he has had since he was little. The front cover is now missing though .... boys!

A couple of pages of inside the book ...

A closeup of the bottles ...

More witchy potion bottles ~ on the one with the 'drink me' label it says 'do not drink' on the other side!

These are my little witches hat & boots that I made from calico & then painted black & then grubby with a mixture of spices for a delicious smell, they are finished with a little bell.

Here are some more of my rustic witches signs that I used to sell.

Here is one of my cute pumpkin bowls, I have 3 of these small ones & one large one that I have sweeties on for cheeky trick or treaters!

My adorable mini-pumpkins sitting in a bowl on the dining room table along with some of my fabric leaves ...

Another one of my handmade signs ...

My little handmade bat that I made in the same way at the hat & boots ~ he has red beads for eyes! He hangs from the mirror in the living room ...

Even more witchy bottles ...

Witches bits & bobs jars ...

A willow wreath that I covered with fabric leaves for a lovely Autumnal decoration ...

Sorry this post is slightly on the tardy side but blogger wasn't playing nicely at all & I couldn't get on or visit any other blogs! I think naughty goblins took over for the day!
Hope you all had a wonderfully spooky Halloween ...

*A Vintage Halloween*

*eek* Halloween is nearly here!

I just love vintage Halloween imagery & so this is just simply a collection of lovely artwork I have found whilst browsing the internet.

*More Halloween Goodness*

A delicious sounding seasonal recipe, Spice-kissed Pumpkin Pie ~ mmmmmmm just look at that photo.

You can find the recipe from 101 Cookbooks *here*

*eeek* these really are quite gruesome aren't they?
Shrunken Heads made from carved apples & then dried to form this horrid Halloween decoration!
These are from Martha Stewart & the how to can be found *here*

Mmmmmmmmm doesnt' this Halloween Pumpkin Cake look far too delicious? Ooohh it looks so moist & scrummy.

You can find the recipe for it from Good Food *here*

Cobweb Candles from Martha Stewart.
Plain candlesticks look positively creepy in critter-covered cobwebs.

Cut a length of cheesecloth, and gently pull to make it look tattered. Drape cloth over candlesticks and mantel; add plastic spiders and leaves.

Top candlesticks with bobeches -- collars that catch drips -- and insert tapers.

*Pumpkins Galore*

Towering Jack-o'-lanterns make a wonderful display.



Spell out your greeting in mini pumpkins gathered at a prominent — and stationary — location. First, pencil letters on hollowed pumpkins (carve out the opening from the bottom). Then, using a drill with a half-inch bit, bore holes to form each letter. Here, strings of Christmas-tree lights, gathered in small bunches, illuminate each pumpkin (unscrew bulbs where the string descends to the next row).

This towering display stems from an Australian "Crown Prince" pumpkin base, which is topped with a scarlet maxima pumpkin, known for its brilliant rind, a French cheese pumpkin called "Musquee de Provence," a pallid "Baby Boo," and an ornamental gourd topper.

For an autumn table, carve out jack-be-little pumpkins and insert votive candles. This festive decoration can be used for Halloween parties, as well as Thanksgiving feasts. TIP: Candles at the dinner table should never have a fragrance.

*photos & ideas from Country Living*

*Happy Pumpkin*

Well I certainly have gone all Halloweeny (is that a word???) on the blog lately & it isn't going to stop until the big day is over!
I just love love love Halloween!
Anyhoo, this happy chap is a lovely ceramic pumpkin that belongs to our friend Paul & that sits on his fireplace all year round ~ yep that's right folks a happy pumpkin is for life not just for Halloween ...

*Pumpkin Bread*

Mmmmm this looks & sounds delicious.
I found this recipe for Pumpkin Bread from Country Living & with all the wonderful pumpkins around at the mo this seems like a lovely Autumnal 'cosy up on the sofa with a cuppa' way to eat them!

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Ingredients

2 stick unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing pans (which is 226 grams I believe for us non US folk)
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pans
1 cup light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cup grated pumpkin (use a small-holed grater)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Method


Preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter and flour two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans or two 8-inch cake pans and set aside.
Combine flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and spices in a large bowl.
Add grated pumpkin and toss.
Whisk eggs, buttermilk, butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl and stir into dry ingredients.
Transfer to prepared pans and bake on middle shelf of oven until a wooden skewer inserted into center of bread tests clean, about 35 minutes.
Cool in pans on a wire rack.
Run a knife around edges to release bread from pans.

Enjoy ...

*Don't forget ...*

Don't forget to turn your clocks back tonight here in the UK as it is the end of British Summer Time.
I can't believe it is this time of year again already, it again seems as if the summer flew by ... I say this every year!!!!
Ooohhh those dark nights will be creeping in quickly now ... stay cosy everyone & enjoy your extra hours sleep in bed ...

*Make your own Broomstick*

You can handcraft your own birch broomstick at Hamsterly Forest, County Durham Saturday 24th October for anyone living near by.
Sensible clothing and footwear required & sessions are at 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm.
The cost is £5 per broomstick.

A lovely way for little ones (& big ones really) to get ready for Halloween, what is more perfect for Halloween than having your very own broomstick that you have made yourself ...

*Cute Halloween Mug*

Sweetly spooky Polka Pumpkin 1/2 pint mug, the only mug you should enjoy your Heinz Tomato Soup from at Halloween parties. Slip it amongst your everyday Polka Dot and see if anyone notices.
Limited Edition Special just for Halloween. Add one to your collection while you can!

A cute pumpkin mug from Emma Bridgewater especially for Halloween ~ I love their little faces don't you?

*National Baking Week ~ yummy!*

Ooohhh yummy this week it is National Baking Week & typically it falls on the week I decide to stick to a very low fat diet in hopes of losing weight for Christmas! *lovely* Ooohhh I could just eat some cheese scones or a slice of delicious cake ~ ooohhh but no don't think about it!

Oh & don't worry I haven't already been in the kitchen whipping up something lovely on the side, this is an old photo from James' birthday this year when I made him Nigella's wonderfully scrummy Chocolate Guinness Cake ~ find the recipe *here*!

Anyhoo if your not trying to lose excess pounds like myself pop on over to the National Baking Week website as there is lots of yummy scrummy things to do, so get your pinny on & get baking ...

*National Baking Week Website*

*Bloggy Love*

I just wanted to thank everyone who has voted for my blog in the Dorset Cereals Little Blog Awards & for showing your bloggy love.

I am currently third in the running but I need lots lots more votes to catch up to the first two, so I don't think I will make it with less than 2 weeks to go!

I am only going to give this month a good try as I really can't keep asking people to vote every month ~ the voting goes back to zero at the start of each month, so with October being my first full month nominated I thought I would give it my best & ask everyone I know to get voting!!! *Giggle*

So thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has voted for me, you are all super lovely ... and if you haven't yet voted I would love it so much if you did, all you have to do is visit my voting page *here* or click on the image over there on the right & click on the vote button ~ you don't have to fill your e-mail address in to vote but if you do you are in with a chance of winning a case of yummy Dorset Cereal!
*kisses*

*Vintage Halloween*

I just love this wonderful image from Country Living of US designer Bruce Elsass' Vintage Halloween collection.

*Boo-tiful Halloween Cake*

Oohhh look at this really adorable Halloween Cake from Martha Stewart!
Isn't it just adorable?

Martha says ~
'Don't be afraid of these friendly ghosts -- they are easy to make. Creating enough to cover and peek out from behind a cake takes no time at all, especially with help from junior chefs. White frosting makes them look right at home. Use your favorite recipe or *click here* for the instructions for this cake.'

*Pretty Pretty Pumpkins*

I am so lovin' white pumpkins at the moment, well you all know I love white! I really need to get myself some of these cuties. I am sure I saw some the other day in passing but I can't remember which shop it was ~ oooooh I will have to have a look around.

I normally have my yearly supply of gourds decorating the home by now for Autumn but I haven't got around to getting any this year up to now, I really must get out & buy some!
I do love these white pumpkins though so I hope I can find some of these too.

These ones are actually called 'Baby Boo' pumpkins as I found out from Country Living ~ really how cute is that name?