Pumpkin Gingersnap Ice Cream Sandwiches

One of my favourite things about Fall is the flavours.  Try this together - pumpkin ice cream, sandwiched in ginger snaps. (I recommend Trader Joe's brand - Yum!)  I'm a fan.

Potato Stamps - tutorial

This could be a great gift tag making activity depending on how you cut your stamps...

Cut your potatoes in half, lengthwise or crosswise depending on the finished shape you want. If you cut the potato with a large knife in one chop it will keep the flat surface more flat. If the surface is uneven the print may have problems. I also thought it was helpful to cut a little handle into the rounded side of the potato to make it easier to control the stamping and pull it off the paper.

Cut an outline into your potato. I used a paring knife. This is not for young children and is slightly dangerous for adults as well, although somehow I managed not to draw blood this time. It doesn't have to be perfect, you can polish it up later. My kids helped by coming up with the shapes we wanted, they drew them on paper as I cut the potato.

Then using the knife parallel to the flat side of the potato, about an 1/8" below the flat surface, cut away the edge of the potato. Now you can even up any rough lines on your shape outline as well as carve out any details (leaf lines, a smiley face, a word...no limits)

HINTS: Dry the potatoes well. Ready to paint and stamp. We found brushing/sponging the paint on thinly with a foam brush worked well (and you can apply several colours), rather than dipping into a huge glob of paint, but that was also an interesting effect so play around. Each potato may have different densities within it. We did an entire sheet of "practice" stamping. Potatoes are a little spongy so pressing down well helps print the entire shape, you can also rock it a little to achieve desired print. We had a little chant "press. press. rock, rock. lift!" when we first started to get the hang of it.

Rinse well after and send to the compost bin...

Autumn Tree with a hand print...

Humour me with one more autumn craft, it is still November after all...

A painted arm and hand makes the perfect tree...leaf styles are optional and we though about attaching real leaves, but since all the paints were out we choose potato stamping...

Classic Autumn Day

I think this poet must have lived in the Northwest...

The Mist and All

I like the fall, The mist and all.
I like the night owl’s lonely call –
And wailing sound of wind around.

I like the grey November day,
And bare, dead boughs,
That coldly sway, against my pane,
I like the rain.

I like to sit and laugh at it –
‘And tend my cozy fire a bit,
I like the fall, The mist and all

~Dixie Willson

Special credit for remembering this poem goes to my Grade 4 teacher - Mr. Rogers. Each and every grey November day it runs through my mind, and every misty, rainy day too in other months. I guess I have to admit rote memorization and recitations are good for something later in life. Cheers Mr. Rogers!

Squirrel Feeders

Thanks for all the great acorn ideas - I can't wait to try them out (we have quite a stash). So if I was a squirrel and found out some blogger was trying to figure out what to do with acorns I would say - "umm give them to the squirrels, of course". The boys and I compromised and instead of a trap we made squirrel feeders. That artist woman has a great squirrel cut out here. She also includes a template and great instructions. We grabbed cardboard boxes from our recycling bin and turned them inside out and cut out the squirrel (I just eyeballed it, I'm not much for measuring), being sure to make the feet extra large and a little deep to hold the acorns in the base. We using packing tape to keep it sturdy (and since we have a little on hand).

The boys decorated the squirrel with markers.

See her great instructions in the background?

The grey cardboard is a good colour, but maybe some paint inside would be nicer on these guys :)

C and E were so excited to put them outside we skipped the tail...we put them visable from the front window so we could watch. By the next morning there was not much left but some acorn lids and crumbs. And apparently squirrels don't ask other squirrels nicely to share their acorns, they just push them over and steal the loot :) We also watched a couple of blue jays help themselves so it was pretty fun.

Just an Apple Pickin' Minute