DIY Fall Burlap Wreath

Every season I go wreath shopping and then decide I don't want to spend the money for something I could make myself. This year the fall wreath I liked was $170 (and that is a big no for me!) so my granddaughter and I decided to make our own wreaths. Even though I prefer soft, flowing materials I like the look of burlap for wreaths. We chose to make a few wreaths using burlap. You can make them different sizes and they are simply too cute!
Supplies:
Start with a 12, 14 or 16 inch metal wreath holder. (available at craft stores)
4 inch burlap, our came in a 9 ft roll. I used 4 rolls for a fluffy wreath and 3 for a thinner wreath.
Floral wire for hanger on back - optional
Bow or accessories of your choice - optional
Directions:
Choose the size of wreath you want to make. We used 16 inch metal wreath rings. We found the easiest way to start is to unroll the burlap. After you have in unrolled, hold the beginning of the burlap roll and place the end over the outside of the metal ring and under the next metal piece then over the top of the next piece toward the inside of the ring. The best way I can describe this is to weave the burlap end over the wire ring and pull or fluff it to make a loop. Once you reach the inside, start the same process, over, under and over working your way to the outside. Keep the burlap loops loose while you are doing this. During this process, after you have a few loops done, move them together with your fingers and fluff them. When you reach the end of the roll, you can tuck it under some of the previous loops. Start the new roll the same way you began the wreath. Continue looping the burlap until the entire metal ring is covered. When I reached the end, I used hot glue to secure it to the loop next to it. We added some wooden initials, burlap flowers, dried branches and a sparkly burlap bow. You can choose your own accessories or leave it plain. You can add a hanger by using floral wire and wrapping it around the outside of the metal wring and twisting the ends to form a loop. We didn't need a hanger, the metal wring fit over our wreath hanger. Happy crafting!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Apple Crisp

Happy fall everyone! I love this time of year when the temperatures are cooling down, the trees are so beautiful with all of their autumn colors, the apples and pumpkins are plentiful and the baking has begun!
I had some extra apples so I decided to make some apple crisp. I made it gluten-free today but you can use all-purpose flour for all of you gluten lovers - haha!! I wish I could send the smell of my kitchen through this post, it smells wonderfully fall-like and spicy!
Ingredients:
8-9 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks (I used honey crisp apples)
1-2T lemon juice
1/2 c white or organic cane sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Topping Ingredients
2/3 c flour (I used King Arthur gluten-free all purpose flour)
1/2 c brown sugar
2 T white or organic cane sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of cloves or allspice
Pinch of salt
1/2 c cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 c Old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

Directions: 
Wash, peel, core, and cut apples into chunks or slices. Place in bowl with lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 t cinnamon, mix together and let sit.

 

In another bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, salt, 2 T sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, pinch of nutmeg and cloves. Add butter chunks and using a pastry cutter mix together.  Add oats last and use the pastry cutter or your fingers to mix together.

Place apples in a baking dish (I used a 2 quart baking dish) and using your fingers, crumble the topping over the apples. Bake uncovered at 350F for about 1 hour.

 

Apple crisp is the best when you serve it warm. The taste testers added some ice cream but you could serve plain or with whipped cream. Enjoy your warm, fall dessert!

If you have more apples than you know what do with, try our homemade applesauce recipe, it's another favorite at our house, Simply Homemade Applesauce.

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Thrift Store Bottles And Vases

So you know how the big blogs have guest posts on their blogs sometimes? Well, we sort of have that going on today and I'm so excited that we have another creative crafter in the family! My granddaughter, Shya, completed a project using bottles purchased at a thrift store to use on a fireplace mantle or sofa table. She purchased 5 glass jars of different sizes and decorated each one differently. The project was inexpensive and she used items that we already had for decorating the bottles.
Starting from left to the right, here is what she did:

1. Mix 1 drop of blue food coloring into 1/3 cup Mod Podge and simply paint the outside of the bottle using a small paint brush. Let dry at least 3 hours. She let the bottle dry overnight then wrapped a piece of burlap ribbon around the outside and used hot glue to secure it to the bottle.
2. Place a pearl strand (leftover from last year Christmas decorations) inside the bottle. You could use an old necklace or beads also.
3. Place a strip of burlap ribbon (leftover from the burlap wreath projects), Simply DIY Project For the Front Door and Simply Decorate An Autumn Mantle, around the outside of the bottom and with your fingers begin to fold or pleat the ribbon, then wrap a piece of satin ribbon around the burlap and tie a bow.
4. Place colored glass pieces (or you could use marbles) in the bottle.
5. Pour white acrylic paint into the bottle and rotate the bottle until all of the glass areas are covered. She used some leftover bling from my pumpkin project, Simply DIY Pumpkin Decorating Project, to decorate the outside of the bottle. For a final touch, she added a monogram letter in the middle.
6. Finally, to complete the look for a beautiful nighttime showing, she added battery operated candles (tea lights in the white and blue bottles and votive candles in the larger bottles). When they are all lit up, they look simply beautiful!

The entire project cost less than $10 and you could probably do it for less if you have old jars or bottles you don't use. It seems that I always have left over candles and ribbon around so that also helped keep the cost of the project down. Use your creative touches and create something beautiful!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

No Bake Chewy Granola Bars

No Bake Chewy Granola Bars

I wanted to repost this in case you missed it.  It's one of our most popular pins on Pinterest.

My kids especially like chewy granola bars but they seem to be one of those things that just keep going up in price and I'm not sure how healthy they actually are. I have tried a gazillion recipes and my daughter repeatedly gave the thumbs down....until this recipe! This one actually tastes better than the store bought kind. YAY!!  It took me under 10 minutes to make them-love that!  I adapted this recipe from Two Peas and Their Pods.

So here's what you need:  

• 1/4 c unsalted butter
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c honey
• 1/4 c creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups oats, I use old fashioned oats, but the recipe calls for quick oats
• 1/2 c crispy rice cereal

OPTIONAL: (3/4 c.) chopped pretzels, (1/4 c.) mini Reese's pieces, mini M&Ms, mini chocolate chips, ground flax seeds

Spray pan or put a square of parchment on the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking pan.
In a large sauce pan, add butter, brown sugar, honey and peanut butter. Heat over med-low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to bubble. Once it bubbles, cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Remove from heat, add vanilla extract.
Stir in oats, crispy rice, and if you used pretzels add those. Stir until coated, pour into pan and press evenly. Sprinkle with mini candies or choc. chips and gently press into mixture.( I only put the mini M&M's on some of them and they kept falling off, so the next batch I didn't add them, plus I felt like they were a little healthier without them)
Put in refrigerator and let cool at least 30 minutes, then cut into bars. I wrapped mine individually for easy, quick snacks to go. I cut them like granola bars and got 10 from this recipe. Enjoy!

***UPDATE: 2/19/13***
I took a suggestion from one of our comments and made the latest batch with Nutella. They got mixed reviews at my house. I thought they were delicious, and I'm not crazy about Nutella. My kids, who really like Nutella, didn't like the bars. I thought they tasted like chewy chocolate granola bars. I did miss the peanut butter, so I think next time I might try using Nutella and peanut butter. I followed the same recipe but substituted Nutella instead of the peanut butter and didn't add any additional candy pieces or pretzels. -Thanks Jodi for the suggestion! We love getting new ideas to try!

~Simply Angie