Snowman Wreath

This may be one of my favorite things that I have made. It's very inexpensive and very unique. Here's what you'll need to make a snowman wreath...

*Not pictured: Tophat (I forgot to put it in the picture)*

- Three metal floral frames (the larger two are the same size)
- Floral wire
- Six strands of garland (Silver or white)
- Scarf
- Tophat

All of these items were available at the dollar store except for the floral frames and floral wire.

First, take one of the floral frames and wire the end of one of the strands of garland to it. Begin to wrap the garland around the frame.

The larger frames took two strands of 9ft garland. Wrap loosely so it will fit the full frame. The smaller frame only took one strand of garland. You will have some frame that is not covered but this is alright. This small section will be covered by your top hat. The frames will look like this:

Take your top hat and cut it in half.

Cut two small holes on either side of the hat and string floral wire through it. Then wire the hat to the smallest floral frame.

Use floral wire and wire the three pieces together. Finally, tie the scarf around the neck area and hang.

You're done! This took me around half and hour to do and was very inexpensive for such a large wreath. I love it and love how different it is!

Heather

Pumpkin Cake

Do you love pumpkin pie but feel that it's too rich? This recipe is just for you! I decided it was time to post about my Mom's famous pumpkin cake since it's a fall favorite and perfect for Thanksgiving. It's pretty simple to make and delicious!

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter solid, 1/2 cup melted butter
4 eggs
1 large can of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling, straight pumpkin)
2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
Small package of walnuts (if desired)

Directions:
Set aside 1 cup of yellow cake mix.

1. Base - In a large mixing bowl, mix together remaining yellow cake mix, 1/2 cup melted butter and 1 egg. Stir and press into the bottom of the cake pan.

2. Filling - Mix together large can of pumpkin, 3 eggs, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2/3 cup milk. Pour over base of cake.

3. Top - Take 1 cup of yellow cake mix that was set aside. Mix with 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup butter. Crumble together and sprinkle over cake filling.

4. Add nuts if desired.

5. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350* for one hour.

Done! This is my favorite cake to make in the fall. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Happy Thanksgiving!

Heather

Ornament Vase

How is it already the holiday season??? I just did a Halloween craft and felt like it was EARLY! Anyway, I don't like normal Christmas decorations so I'm always on the lookout for unique decorations that I can use. Last year I created these ornament vases and decided to do another one this year. It's really simple to make and turns out very pretty. This should take you around 30 to 45 minutes to create depending on your OCD level (it took me 45 lol).

Everything I used can be found at Michaels or any other craft store I'm sure. You will need a large, glass vase, (there are various shapes and sizes but I would suggest one of the larger ones) various sizes of ornaments and a string of garland made out of beads. (I would buy two if the beads are smaller in size)

Unwrap the ornaments and cut off any metal wires that may be on the end.

After the wires are cut off, begin to arrange ornaments in your vase. I put one large ornament at the bottom along with several small ones since it is difficult to put larger ornaments along the bottom.

There will be gaps in the vase, but that's ok, this is why you have the garland beads. Every few layers, cut a small strand of garland and let it fill in the gaps between the glass and your ornaments.

Fill up the vase with your ornaments and garland. The end result should look something like this:

I used traditional colors this time but it's fun to get creative with the colors you use. I also made one last year that looked like this:

I hope this is inspiring to you! Send me pictures if you create your own! Happy Holidays!