Bird Bath

Look what Fall did to my bird bath (of course I hadn't touched it in months and I could have chosen not to ignore its condition before this)

Rinsed:

Scrubbed & disinfected:

Painted:

I used this cool spray paint Rust Cap with a hammered finish - I love it again!

I put peanuts in it for the blue jays instead of water. I use shelled, stale (after they get that funny 'old' smell) peanuts - the unshelled ones leave a huge mess from the jays and squirrels. I have a 2nd bird bath, will try and paint that one too so the birds can have water again. The squirrels drink from it as well if I place the bird bath next to something they can climb on to reach it.

Fall Pumpkins

Foam pumpkins from the craft store:

Painted them metallic brown, gold and silver:

Added ribbon and fall picks to the tops:

They are outside on my front porch!  Will make a great presentation October & November =)

Fall Wreath

I made this fall wreath last year using dried and silk flowers/berries, but am posting the picture now.  I love fall colors!  

I am working on some crafty pumpkins - hopefully will be done tomorrow =)

Caramel Apples

I made caramel apples yesterday for my Activity Day girls and Visiting Teaching route:

No unwrapping caramels and melting them here - although it probably is faster - I made the caramel from scratch and even took a recipe and added ingredients, took away some and altered the measurements!

Used 2 caramel coats since it was a thin syrup:

I melted white almond bark and coated that over the caramel, then rolled it in homemade granola:

Wrapped them up and gave them away:

Happy Fall =)

Granola Recipe - quick & easy

1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped or slivered almonds
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey

Preheat the oven to 350˚.

Combine coconut, almonds, oats, oil, and honey together in a large bowl until they are mixed well. Pour onto a sheet pan and bake, stirring once or twice during baking time, until the mixture turns a nice golden brown for 20 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring once.  Stores for 1 month or longer in an air-tight container.