A Plethora of Fall and Winter Projects and Bunches of Digi-Freebie-Fun too!

Hi Doodlers!

I am pretty much all Halloweened-out and thinking more of the lovely fall colors now on display throughout our area, and leaning more towards the planning of Thanksgiving and Christmas events. Leaves seem to be on my mind and how to present 'the smell' of Christmas in my home. My Christmas tree goes up following the early afternoon turkey feast with hot apple cinnamon cider, cookie treats, mint hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts and warm brie, to name a few of the treats. It's a celebration with whoever hasn't left to go sleep-off their stuffed feelings! So, to start off this Doodles Fall and Winter Celebration, and throughout the many blogs to come, I will be offering bunches of freebie's to help inspire you to get creative this holiday season! Along with project-finds from artisans I find interesting ... so "sign-up" to get all our latest news! :0)

Here are a few freebie-fun template designs you should find fun to work with. One is a simple money stocking unusually folded and the other is a half cut-out folded front card design. Click on the image to enlarge. Right click your mouse on the enlarged image and "Save As..." to your digi folder. I like to print it out and use them as templates. :0)

         

CRAFTY IDEA: Have you ever made Cinnamon Ornaments? Cinnamon ornaments are easy to make in any shape you desire and the aroma is fantastic. You can string many ornaments together on ribbon or string to make a festive garland. Kids can help with this project but make sure you tell them the dough is not edible!

Recipe 1

You Will Need:

1 spice bottle of cinnamon (4.25 ounces) or 1/2 C.

1/3 C. applesauce

1 Tbs. glue (Elmer’s works fine.)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F or 100 degrees C. Place the cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the applesauce with a spatula. Stir in the glue until you have the right consistency. Gather into a ball of dough and flatten with your hands. To make rolling easier, place the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. Roll out with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch thick. If the dough is too dry, you can add a little water. If it’s too sticky, sprinkle with more cinnamon. Use cookie cutters or a template (with a craft knife) to cut out shapes from the dough. Possible shapes include Christmas trees, stars, or birds. Use a drinking straw to punch a hole for hanging the ornament or several holes at the top for stringing on a garland. To dry the ornaments, place ornaments on a baking sheet and bake for two hours, flipping halfway through. Once the ornaments are dry, you can decorate with acrylic paint, glitter, or beads. Hang from ribbon for a single ornament or thread onto string or ribbon for a garland.

Recipe 2

This version is even more aromatic, but since this recipe version has no glue, they will take longer to dry and will be more fragile. However, I have added 1/4-cup of glue. 

You Will Need:

1 C. cinnamon

1 C. applesauce

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. ground cloves

Combine all dry ingredients and add applesauce a little at a time, until you have the right consistency. Follow instructions as above, but keep in mind drying time will take longer (unless you add a little of the glue). Dry in the oven on low heat for around 3 hours and then let sit on wire racks overnight. Decorate when dry or leave plain. Hang with ribbon or string.

Santa and Reindeer freebie-fun image! Click on image. Right click your mouse on enlarged image and in drop down menu "Save as..." to your digi folder. Have fun and don't forget to show us what you've created by linking your post to this Oodles of Doodles News post! :0)

Peppermint Sweets Christmas Tree by STYROFOAM Brand Foam.

Always a tasty eye-catching centerpiece for the holidays.
This pretty and sweet candy Christmas decoration is quick, easy and inexpensive. And the peppermint aroma is so much a part
of the Christmastime holidays!

Days Until: Halloween/13, Thanksgiving/36, Hanukkah/63, Kawanzaa/65, Christmas/68, New Year's/75

Printable gingerbread Christmas cookie coloring sheet

with gingerbread boys and gingerbread girls.

Print and color, then cut out to make cute gift tags,

holiday decorations, tree ornaments.

Doodle Tricks and Tools: Love stamping, but sometimes you don't get the best image when using clear stamps? To get the results you want, I find these Tips and Tools help me;
Condition before use, otherwise the ink tends to pool, resulting in uneven stamped images. Simply rubbing the surface of the stamp with an eraser will do the trick.
Add a bit of cushion under your projects while stamping to get a clean, even image. Remember when a 'mouse pad' was used underneath your mouse to operate it? Instead of tossing the several that I had, they make for a great cushion under your projects. Or purchase a sheet of craft foam which works great for this purpose.
Make sure you are using an ink that's compatible with your clear stamps. I have had great results with many of the pigment inks on the market.
Stamp a layer of watermark ink [like VersaMark] first on the clear stamp. Then, add a layer of ink on top of it. That extra layer of watermark ink can help the dye ink look more even when you stamp and give you a cleaner impression.
Place the clear stamp in the "center' of the acrylic block. This way you will be less likely to rock the stamp when stamping.

                         



Over at RED BROLLY by Bronwyn Hayes enjoy browsing about a variety of felt-flower tutorials

from bouquets to just the thing for a Christmas package toppers ... or birthday, or Mother's Day!

Stitched Felt Flowers Part 1 with Stitched Flower Instructions!

Stitched Felt Flowers Part 2 with PDF Tutorial and Flower Templates!

Here are some freebie-fun accents to add to your Christmas cards, tags, or for your tree ... the "ornament" can be enlarged to suit your photo size to be hung on the tree. 

     

Halloween Craft: Paper Bats

by Mama King at 4 Crazy Kings



There are so many uses for these Folded Paper Bats, you'll just have to make a bunch! The little pocket on this craft bat makes it functional as well as cute. This is one of those Halloween kids craft ideas that you'll want to make year after year because it's so fun!



16 Decorative Front Door Wreaths for Fall

If you want to get a head start on fall home decor and need instructions on how to make a decorative wreath, this guide of 16 Decorative Front Door Wreaths for Fall will help you create beautiful handmade wreaths and give you plenty of fun decorative outdoor wreath and door wreath ideas that can be used anywhere in the house. To make autumn wreaths is a great way to welcome the changing seasons, and with this helpful collection of projects featuring wreath decoration ideas, you'll be on your way to making great conversation pieces.



These freebie-fun single leaves images are great to use to enhance the background freebie image (above) ... again great to print out and use as templates! :0)

 

CRAFTING REBELLION by Rebel Crafter, knows that she is a crafting site, not a food site, and desserts in jars are not that unique...but a really good dessert free of gluten, dairy, and egg is well, rebellious! Something moist, and rich, and comforting does not usually equal gluten free and vegan, but this cake does. She had to share this recipe she created because it really is that yummy. Those without food allergies will love it equally. I like this one because I live a glutin-free lifestyle. :0~

 

Tidy Mom blogger has several Halloween snacks listed, but the Candy Corn Cake, from Bird On a Cake has caught my eye because this is the only time of year when the tasty treat of candy corn comes out! I'm definitely making this one! A great cake idea for October birthday's too! :0)

SAUCY SPIDER with HAIRY LEG STICKS Recipe ... 

Spin a web of doughy deliciousness with this party-perfect appetizer. If you can’t find pizza dough at your supermarket try a local pizza parlor, which will likely sell you a fresh ball. For extra effect, sprinkle the legs with poppy seeds, in addition to Parmesan.

  

I know this is basically a craft blog but because my lifestyle doesn't just revolve around papercrafting and stamping, I come across and hope you enjoy, the food and cookie, candy and cupcake recipe information I pass along in my blogs?! Some crochet patterns, sewing tut's, foamboard projects too, as I know that other creative outlets inspire a person to be more crafty with 'all' they enjoy doing! :0)

Diane :0)

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