Tag Archives: Fall Ideas

Recipe – Yummy Pumpkin Cookies

23 Oct

I featured these lil’ scrumptious beauties last year when I posted about the Pumpkin Party we threw with some friends.

I baked up another batch yesterday and toted them along to this year’s Pumpkin Carving Extravanganza.

It seemed that everyone at the party was more interested in eating the cookies than in carving the pumpkins!

That’s when you know you’ve found a winning recipe!

Plus, it helps that it takes like 2 seconds to make them.

AND your Happy Home will smell ridiculously good.

The Happy Hubby kept walking into the kitchen to sniff while they were baking.

Allow me to share the magic!

Happy Home Fairy’s Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ingredients -

  • 1 (18 oz) package carrot cake mix with pudding in the mix
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 egg
  • 1 can cream cheese icing
  • Candy corn pumpkinsDirections -
  1. Mix cake mix, pumpkin, butter, and egg.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets.
  2. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until puffed and set in center.
  3. Cool 2 minutes.  Remove to wire rack and cool 15 minutes.
  4. Frost cooled cookies with icing.  Press 1 candy corn pumpkin into center of each cookie.  Note – If waiting to eat cookies second day, hold off putting the little candy corn pumpkin on top as the colors tend to bleed on the icing if left to sit too long.
  5. Since he came into the kitchen so much while your cookies were baking, make sure you fix a special plate for the Happy Hubby. :-) Happy Pumpkin Spice Cookie-ing! :-)

Fall Checklist – FREE Printable!

19 Oct

I can’t believe that it is already October 20th!

October is my favorite month… I just adore the autumn season.

I don’t want this month to slip away before I have fully experienced all the joy the fall has to offer -

So I created a little checklist to help keep your Happy Home on track!

You’ll find all of your favorite fall activities on this list (mine is having a pumpkin carving contest – we are off to carve ours with a bunch of friends tonight!).

I hope you will print one off for your own Happy Home to check off together!

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Some of the great ideas you’ll find on your FREE Printable Fall Checklist are…

  1. Make leaf rubbings
  2. Volunteer together
  3. Make popcorn
  4. Bake a fresh apple pie
  5. Attend a football game and have your own mini tailgating party
  6. Go on a hayride together
  7. Drink hot apple cider
  8. Visit a local candle shop and select delicious fall-scented candles
  9. Hang a homemade fall wreath
  10. Make a pot of soup
  11. Play touch football
  12. Go to a pumpkin patch and select the biggest pumpkin you can find
  13. Pick up a pumpkin and take it to an elderly neighbor
  14. Make a scarecrow for your front yard
  15. Jump in a big pile of leaves
  16. Roast marshmallows
  17. Have a pumpkin carving contest
  18. Eat candy corn
  19. Bake pumpkin bread
  20. Play a board game
  21. Do a 1,000 piece puzzle
  22. Eat breakfast for dinner
  23. Surprise someone with a potted mum on their doorstep
  24. Make chili and invite neighbors over
  25. Build a tent with blankets, sheets, chairs, and chip clips
  26. Decorate your house for fall
  27. Take your family photo for Christmas
  28. Clean out your junk drawer
  29. Write your parents a letter by hand – expressing your love and appreciation
  30. Print off some games/puzzles online for your kids
  31. Hang artwork your children created
  32. As a family. stay in your pajamas all day long
  33. Have a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino at Starbucks
  34. Make apple prints
  35. Go to a fall festival or craft fair
  36. Host a story time at your house and pull out all of your fave fall books
  37. Enjoy a fall picnic
  38. Make homemade applesauce
  39. Get a head start on Christmas shopping
  40. Call an old friend

Don’t you just feel fall-ish after reading that? :-)

I’d love to hear how your Happy Home enjoys their fall fun this month!

Happy Fall Checklist-ing! :-)

EEK! A Spider!

19 Oct

While I am not a huge fan of finding them in my shower or crawling up the wall next to my comfy chair…

God did make ‘all creatures great and small,’ so I thought the Happy Buddy and I would celebrate these creepy lil’ guys yesterday.First we used some Elmer’s glue to paint a spider web on an orange piece of paper.Then a little someone got to have the time of his life sprinkling silver glitter all over the wet glue.

Beware.

You will have glitter everywhere.

When we were snacking on some apple slices later that morning we giggled when we discovered one of our apples had a piece of glitter on it! :-) While your sparkly web is drying, use some black construction paper and googly eyes to make a few spiders.Then place your spider on the web!

We must have made 1,000 of these webs and spiders yesterday because after we made one, the Happy Buddy immediately wanted to make another, and another, and another.

Now we have a cute little project to give to 1,000 of his closest friends!

And I have a house covered in sparkles!

Life doesn’t get much better than this, does it??! :-)

Happy Spider Craft-ing!

Googly Eyes!

17 Oct

“The Lord watches over you…” Psalm 121:5

Something about googly eyes makes me think of this time of year!

Here is a round-up of some eye-catching projects for you and your Happy Buddies to enjoy!

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How creepy fun are these Googly-Eyed Monster Goo Cups from Make and Takes?

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Or how about these adorable Googly Eye Hand Puppets?

Sooo simple – 3 supplies!  Make one TODAY!

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I LOVE these easy-peasy Googly Eye Cupcake Toppers from Scrumdilly-do.

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Your Happy Buddies will have the time of their lives squishing this Monster in a Bag craft from Little Page Turners.

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Frugal Family Fun had the brilliant idea to add googly eyes to old magazine pictures!

You will get such a giggle when you see the rest of their project HERE.

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La-Dee-Da Creations made a simple Googly Eye Picture Frame.

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Chica and Jo put this Googly Eye Wreath together for their front door this month!

Thought maybe this would be a great lesson for your Happy Buddies using the Bible verse quoted at the beginning of this post… :-)

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And, finally, Hip Hip Hooray! threw a fun monster-themed party and added googly eyes to the party cups.

What a clever touch!

Happy Googly Eye-ing! :-)

Fun Pumpkin Craft Ideas

14 Oct

We are all things pumpkin at our Happy Home right now.

Our church is hosting a Pumpkin Palooza event tonight and I was in charge of buying about a million of those $1 pumpkin bucket treat pail things from Target.

They are adorning our living room at the moment and the Happy Buddy and I have had the best time with all of our new friends.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite pumpkin crafts from around blog world to get you inspired to make your own!

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Smashed Peas and Carrots is one of my new favorite crafty blogs!

Yesterday she shared these adorable Tissue Paper Pumpkins and I couldn’t resist sharing them with you.

What a pretty window decoration – right next to your Fall Window Clings. :-)

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The Happy Buddy and I made one of these cute Pumpkin Popsicle Stick Puzzles the other day from Saltwater Kids.

Hours of entertainment!

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I have been seeing these Jar-o’-Lanterns from Southern Living all over the place lately!

They are sooooo easy – simply paint a mason jar with orange acrylic paint (one coat will do!), use a permanent marker to make facial features, and then pop in a battery-powered LED light.

When we put ours together, the Happy Buddy had more fun with the little battery-operated light than he did with the pumpkin jar – it’s the little things. :-)

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I am all about crazy pumpkin faces this year, so these Pumpkin Candy Guys from Jean’s Crafty Corner really rang my bell.

What a fun classroom gift!

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No Time for Flashcards is always a treasure trove for craft and toddler activity ideas.

These simple Paper Plate Pumpkins saved my neck the other night while we were waiting for the Happy Hubby to come home!

You probably have all of the craft materials on hand (high fives!).

Click Image for Instructions and Printable

I saved the best for last!

Last year I did a post about my thoughts on Halloween, followed up with a post featuring some great Christian pumpkin-carving devotions.

Raising Rock Stars took it a step further by doing a craft with her Happy Buddies that shares the Gospel AND she included the FREE Printables for you!

Happy Pumpkin Craft-ing! :-)

Pumpkin Magnets

13 Oct

I picked this idea up from Family Fun a few years ago.

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I cut out a pumpkin shape from orange paper and then some facial features from yellow paper (I think yellow is happier than black). :-)

Then I laminated the pieces and stuck a magnet to the back.

I called the Happy Buddy into the kitchen and he got right to work.Almost done…PERFECT!

This is the greatest activity to keep your Happy Buddy’s hands busy while you are cooking dinner.

Plus, it is a mini-lesson in shapes!

Happy Pumpkin Magnet-ing! :-)

Mummy Love – FREE Printable!

12 Oct

Y’all know I like to do brilliant crazy things for the Happy Hubby.

Here’s what I did for him this month…

Photo Source

I bought one of his favorite candies.

Then I wrapped it up using a box of rolled medical gauze that I got from the Dollar Tree.

I added some googly eyes.

A cute tag.

And I had a cute little mummy to give my man!He was absolutely thrilled with his mummy surprise.

I shared this idea at my church’s MOM group and one of the moms went out and immediately made not just one mummy for her Happy Hubby, but one for each of her Happy Buddies (using each of their own favorite candy bars!).She copied my tag, but blurred out the last section and included a personalized message.

She had all 3 mummies sitting for her Happy Home to find as a surprise on a day she was leaving to go out of town.

I had to share it with you because it was just so creative!

Then, another one of my friends emailed to say she didn’t make a mummy candy bar, but she wrapped her Happy Hubby’s steering wheel in toilet paper and attached the tag.

LOVE IT!

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How will you mummy your Happy Home??

Get your FREE Printable Mummy tag HERE!

Happy Mummy-ing! :-)

*I wish I could take credit for this sweet idea, but I found my inspiration from a great post over at The Dating Divas!*

UnbeLEAFable Leaf Projects

11 Oct

Autumn leaves now are falling

Red and yellow and brown

Autumn leaves now are falling

See them tumbling down

That is the favorite song around our Happy Home these days!

We are celebrating God’s unbeLEAFable creativity when it comes to the magical way He paints the leaves in October.

But, as y’all know, since we live in Florida, we have to do a lot of crafts to help us get a glimpse of these lovely leaves.

So here are a few ideas that the Happy Buddy and I are looking to do together this month…

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An oldie but a goodie!

Do you remember making Leaf Rubbings as a kid?

First Palette shares the how-to for an easy and eye-catching piece of art!

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This fabulous Leaf Garland from BHG is ridiculously simple to make.

Crinkle some paper cut-out leaves, attach some twigs from the yard and then hot glue to a piece of twine!

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I just stand in awe of this Tissue Paper Leaf window display by Frugal Family Fun.

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Use any leftover tissue paper to make this cute Stained-Glass Tissue Paper Leaf from All Kids Network.

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Meet the Dubiens used real leaves to create a Leaf Family – one that looks like each member of their family.

CUTE and CLEVER and I beg you to check it out and have a Fun Family Fall Night with your Happy Home to do this activity!

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Would you believe that those eye-candy leaves are made from paint and Shaving Cream?

Your Happy Buddy is going to go nuts over this project from Little Wonders’ Days.

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The ever-amazing 2 Teaching Mommies made a cute Leaf Bingo game for your Happy Home to enjoy around the table after dinner on a crisp Fall eve!

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Here at Happy Home Fairy, you’ll find this adorable Happy Buddy Leaf Wreath craft that is so easy and turns out so cute you will probably consider selling them at Fall craft fairs and festivals. :-)

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Last year I took some silk leaves and made a little Fall Surprise in the Happy Hubby’s car.

You can read all about it HERE.

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And, finally, Happy Home Fairy also has a cute Leaf People craft (just 3 supplies!) and a FREE Printable tag for you to pop a little Fall magic into someone’s day.

Happy Leaf Project-ing! :-)

Pumpkin Poop – FREE Printable

10 Oct

This poem is just too cute.

I used to hand out bags of candy corn with this little tag attached every October to my 2nd graders.

They got a kick out of it.

There’s something about poop that just gets everybody giggling.

Yesterday we had a birthday party for my two nieces and nephew, so I quickly packaged up a few of these treats and brought them as favors!

All you need is the poem (get your FREE Printable tag at the end of this post), some candy corn, and a bag.

I also printed off a few of these cute pumpkin puzzles and stuck those in the bags as well.

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They loved them!

These would make great teacher gifts, neighbor treats, something quick to send home with your Happy Buddy’s classmates, etc.

Get your FREE Printable Pumpkin Poop tag HERE!

Happy Pumpkin Poop-ing! :-)

No Carve Pumpkin Decorating for Kids!

4 Oct

The idea of letting the Happy Buddy use pumpkin carving tools makes me want to wrap everyone within a 10 mile radius in protective armor.

So I had to do a little research and find some fun alternatives for decorating pumpkins -

Without the worry of someone losing a finger.  Or an eye.  Or a nose!

Speaking of fingers, eyes, and noses…

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Frugal Life Project drilled a few holes in her Happy Buddy’s pumpkins so that they could decorate them with their Mr. Potato Head accessories!

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I love these ‘Freaky Faces’ Pumpkins from Family Fun!

They are made simply by pasting on some pictures cut from old magazines.

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While your craft glue is out, make stripes or polka dots or other pretty designs, and pour some glitter on top.

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Inspire Co. had her Happy Buddy stick some googly eyes on his pumpkin.

Then they made a little mouth out of felt – too cute and too easy!

You could even add some pipe cleaner hair!

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You could always just break out the paint and let your inner Picasso shine!

Not sure where this picture came from!

How about have your Happy Buddy cover his pumpkin with colorful buttons?

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And, finally, raid Dad’s work bench for this last no-carve idea!

Just stick a bunch of random hardware in your pumpkin and you will have a porch decoration that will make all of your Happy Home visitors want to BOLT.

:-)

Happy No Carve Pumpkin Decorate-ing! :-)

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