Weekly Photo Challenge: Random

Since there was no official WordPress Photo Challenge this week, several of us are doing our own.  I followed Maggie’s path and did RANDOM.  Random can mean scattered, as in these scattered leaves from fall.

Scattered Leaves

I sit in the warm fall sun,
The wind whirling about me.
My face is upturned to
Feel the warmth
Of the rays on my face.
I welcome the sunshine
After so many days of rain.
The wind caresses and tickles,
Blowing my hair askew.
It sends leaves scattering
In a vortex of color
Around me,
And I am dazzled by
Their beauty.

Judy

All text and images are copyright © 2002-2012 and are the exclusive property of Judy Johnson (unless otherwise indicated). All Rights Reserved. All Images are protected under United States and International copyright laws. None of the images on this site are in the Public Domain.

Image Quote

Thanksgiving craft~

Good evening loyal readers!

This is a great craft for parents and children to do together….or for anyone of any age.
As with any craft,  there are many variations that can be used.

I found this craft activity on the net a month ago.   The original craft item is hanging leaves, as you will see when I give you the link.
You can choose to do leaves, as we are in the midst of falling leaves at this time of year, and I think the finished look is really neat.

I made a variation to show you another idea.  I made turkey feathers!  When I taught kindergarten, I found out that five year olds (and most children) are fascinated with turkeys!

Click here to see the original craft idea from KABOOSE.   (my directions vary from Kaboose because I wanted the feathers to look different)

MY HOW TO:
1. Using tagboard or heavy construction paper, cut out 7 feathers,  leaf shapes (or the shape you desire) Note: they do not have to be exactly the same shape! Just free-form draw them, or make one shape and trace it.  Don’t worry if they are different sizes.
2. You or your child decorate the feathers/leaves using crayons, watercolor paints, poster paints, markers, torn paper scraps, etc.
3. Find a twig or branch that is fairly straight
4. Use thin string or thin crochet “yarn”
5. Punch a hole in the TOP of each feather/leaf (in the top row) and tie a knot with the string there.  (make sure you have a long piece of string)
6. For each of the 3 top items, wrap the string around the stick several times and then tie it in a knot.
7. Punch a hole in the bottom of each feather in the top row.
8. Punch a hole in the top of each feather in the second row and tie them together, using a square knot.  Mine are about 3″ apart.
9. For the last feather….repeat the process ….as you can see in the photo.

**Thoughts: if this will be exposed to the outdoors, it may be a good idea to cover the feathers/leaves with clear contact paper, or…one of my favorite things: clear package wrapping tape.  KABOOSE suggests putting glue on each knot…. if your item is outdoors and exposed to humidity changes,  that is probably a good idea.

Have fun creating!  Let me know if you do this craft!.
Thanks for stopping by~ 

Fall Photos

Dear Readers…

The season is beginning to change rapidly here.  Most of the yellow maples have lost their leaves in our woods.  The red maples have lost their leaves within just the last week.  The Japanese Maple is the last to hang onto her leaves at this point.  It seems like it was a fast moving fall around here.

But we were lucky.  The people in the East had huge amounts of snow this past weekend and that would make it seem as though fall has disappeared.  My thoughts go out to those who have had quite a lot of weather to deal with in 2011.

The first photo is from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  It was taken in late September.  The golden Birch leaves make a good frame for the view of Lake Michigan.  The sun was not shining very brightly, which was perfect.   I was able to catch the sunlight in the leaves.  I had to maneuver around quite a bit under the trees to get to the right spot and the correct angle, so when I emerged from this photo I had leaves, twigs and probably some bugs in my hair!   For this shot I used my Nikon Coolpix S-8000.

I enjoyed finding the Beech leaf cradling the Maple leaf in the second photo.  I like the translucency of the leaf.   I moved slightly so the trunk of the tree in front was blocking the sun, yet the sun was still lighting the leaf.  I used my Nikon D-80 for this photo. Thanks for looking at the pictures!

Fall Buffet

For me, getting ready for a harvest-time dinner or buffet means gathering and coordinating fall colors, fall items, dishes, table cloth (just material from the craft store), napkins etc.  It’s something I’ve always loved to do.  

Pumpkin Dessert recipe

My mom always made this delicious moist cake in the fall.  But why wait?  I think it tastes good all year!

Here is the list of ingredients you’ll need for Pumpkin Dessert: 1 box yellow cake mix, 1 & 1/2 sticks margarine, 3 eggs, 1- 14 oz.can pumpkin pie mix, 2/3 cup milk, 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. **If you cannot find pumpkin pie mix, buy canned pumpkin and use the recipe on the back to make it into pumpkin pie “filling”.  Usually you just need to add: sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.   Oven: 350 degrees.
The Recipe:
  the crust: 1 box yellow cake mix (RESERVE 1 cup cake mix)
1/2 cup (one stick) margarine, melted
1 egg
Mix well and press into lightly greased 9″x13″ pan.

the filling: 1- 14 oz can pumpkin pie mix
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
Combine until smooth and pour over crust.

the topping: 1 cup reserved cake mix
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup margarine (1/2 stick)
Place ingredients in a bowl.  Using a pastry blender
or 2 knives criss-crossing, blend the margarine into
the dry ingredients until it resembles crumbs.
Sprinkle crumbs over filling.  Bake @350 for 45-50 mins.
Or until cake feels slightly firm to the touch.
Serve with whipped topping!

 

Welcome to my garden~

Welcome to my garden.  Even in fall there are things to see (like dirty gloves) !!

Fall Wreath

I made this wreath after I saw a similar one in a classy store.  That wreath had real apples on fresh greens and it was beautiful.  I’d love a wreath like that, but it isn’t practical for me.  I prefer something that will last, but still have the same basic appeal.  ooo…no pun there!

I bought a grapevine wreath, some inexpensive plastic fruit from a hobby/craft store, and some leafy greens.  A note here: faux fruit can be very pricey.  I passed up the section with individual, large fruit at $5.00 apiece, and scouted out smaller versions.  I also varied from the “all apple” inspiration and included small pumpkins, gourds, artichokes, etc.   Not only did that save me money, but it also gave me the “Fall” look I wanted.

Then, all I needed to do was assemble it with hot glue.  When making wreaths, I usually keep stems long and apply hot glue to the stem, then insert it into the grapevine wreath.  If I find I need more glue on the side or bottom, I’ll add more.  Adding greens to tuck in around the fruit helps to cover anything I want to hide.   There are times I need to use wire to attach items.  My wire of choice is green 24 gauge.

There are many ways to make a wreath like this “your own”.  You can add fall leaves, a bow, pine cones, sunflowers, raffia, or other items from nature.   You can use a different base wreath than a grapevine too.   Happy crafting!