Pepper Design Blog

Decorating for Fall: Yarn Pumpkins

Here’s an easy fall craft to tackle in about an hour (perfect for a car trip or while you’re catching up on the latest episode of The Office).

I found two styrofoam pumpkins in the 50% off bin at Michaels and knew that they could be so much more. With a bit of orange yarn (also 50% off) and a few fabric leaves these guys were ready for display:

They’re living in the fruit and veggie bowl at the moment (next to some hand grown tomatoes, yum) but they’ll probably find a new home soon.

***********************************************************************************************

Yarn Pumpkins

m
Materials: styrofoam pumpkins (or balls that you shape into pumpkins), orange yarn, green or fabric felt, pins or glue for leaves

It’s as easy as…

{1.} Wrap the yarn around your pumpkin and tie a knot on the underside.

{2.} Continue to wrap the yarn around the pumpkin in large sections (this gives the wrapping a little uniformity – you could skip that part and just wrap like crazy though).

{3.} Cut felt or fabric pumpkin leaves and attach with a pin or glue

…and display!

***********************************************************************************************

Super simple and crafty fall pumpkins ready to go.

Whimsical Summer-Meets-Fall Outdoor Party

Yay! WordPress, the computer and internet connection are all playing friendly again. Turns out a plugin through wp was acting up, deactivating it set everything right.

But back to today’s post… it was just the other day that I was thinking about the coming of fall… the warm, cable-knit sweaters – the butternut squash and hearty chicken noodle soups that Kevin’s sure to ‘throw together’ – visiting pumpkin patches with friends, and then soon after the best holiday of all, Christmas.

But I’ll be the first to admit that I’m hesitant to let summer go. Oh the warm days! The beach trips (did I get in as many as I should have?) and the sundresses that will have to be stored away. And so, here’s to throwing a Summer-Meets-Fall party that marries the best of two great seasons.

The inspiration? Why this absolutely amazing soiree by Melanie Duerkopp and Stephanie Godfrey featured over at Hostess with the Mostess.

What this party does soooo right is the melding of bright summer pastels with the rich jewel tones of fall.

Love the burlap table cloth and LOVE the wooden ‘nests’ hanging in the trees. Looks a bit like the lanterns that I featured in my own bohemian picnic for San Diego Magazine (check it out here).

A closer look at the details:

Mmm! Delicious. Great job, ladies!

Good Eats: Killer Crisp Crust

This is a delicious crust that is perfect for fall fruit crisps! It caramelizes in that melt-in-your-mouth sort of way and creates a crispy-sweet shell for roasted apples, pears, figs… or whatever happens to be in season.

It’s such an easy recipe that it’s one of my go-tos when I need a fancy dessert but am short on time – and I literally make it with any fruit that’s sitting in our glass fruit bowl at that moment.

On this particular summer’s day, I had a few extra pears and a whole lotta figs from our neighbor’s tree. So pear & fig crisp it was.

*******************************************************************************

Killer Crisp Recipe

m
Ingredients

*3/4 cup flour
*2/3 cup (packed) brown sugar
*1 teaspoon cinnamon
*1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
*6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

{2.} Blend in butter with fingertips until mixture forms small clumps.

{3.} Prepare the inside of your baking container by greasing it with butter.

{4.} Press crust into edges of baking pan until a layer 1/4″ or so forms.

{5.} Layer in fruit slices and add pats/spreads of apple butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.

{6.} Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes (since every oven and climate is different, look for an initial browning of the crust).

{7.} Remove foil and bake 10-20 minutes until sugars and fruit caramelize. Don’t remove until poking with a fork results in a firm crust – the more carmelized, the better!

{8.} Let stand for at least 30 minutes, serve with a sprig of mint and vanilla ice cream!

*******************************************************************************

Try this dish with apples, peaches, nectarines, plums, strawberries, blueberries… you name it. I love crisps because they’re quick and easy, you could even freeze the dough in portion-sized balls for future thawing. Note: not an ideal recipe for pies, this is really and truly a crispy-sweet crust.

The perfect summer-meets-fall dessert!