Peace Out Fall

Christmas is in full swing around these parts, so I'll get all the photos of the decor taken real soon!  But I realized I never shared the living room fall decor.  So one last piece before we say an official peace out to fall.

DIY Christmas Sign

Last year, I made this adorable "be thankful" sign to add to my fall decor.

For about $17, I made what others are selling for upwards of $70.  For no additional money, I flipped the sign and made a Christmas version this year.

 

What you need:

• A piece of plywood, cut to 18in x 11 1/4in
• White Metallic Paint
• Colored paints of your choice (For this I used a metallic green, red and silver)
• A foam brush
• Small paint brushes
• Carbon Paper

1. Give the plywood a light sanding, wipe off dust

2. Using the foam brush, paint the wood with the Metallic White paint. Use long strokes and if you want the rustic look, don't worry about complete coverage. Allow that to dry for one hour.

3. Decide on a saying, font, size and placement of your saying. You can easily download different fonts at websites like www.dafont.com.

4. Print the saying out, and cut it down to the word. It doesn't have to be perfect, just cut off the major excess.

5. Tape the saying on your board as you want it, (I just did one word at a time) and place the carbon paper, carbon facing down, under your piece of paper. Trace the outline of your word.

6. Remove the carbon paper, and paint your traced word.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 until your words are complete.

8. Give your words at least 2 coats of paint to really have full coverage.  Allowing the paint to dry completely between coats helps to cover the carbon outline faster.

Fast Raspberry Scones

These things are amazing.  I've made 4 batches already.  If you've never made scones, this is a super easy recipe to use as a base.  It has a nice, dense quality while still being moist.  If you want to freeze them, flash freeze for 20 minutes, and store in a freezer safe bag.  To bake, just add two minutes to your bake time.  My regular time is 20 minutes, so my from frozen time is 22.  This is different from the original recipe because I don't do the small square style, I stick with the traditional triangle scone.

Fast Raspberry Scones
Original Source, Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (6 ounces)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400. In a food processor, pulse together flour, cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and pulse until pea-size pieces form. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg yolk. Slowly pour buttermilk mixture through feed tube into processor, pulsing until dough just comes together.
   
2. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle raspberries on top. Knead three times to fold in raspberries (there may be loose pieces of dough and a stray berry or two). Gather and pat dough into a 1-inch-thick square and cut or pull apart into 2-inch pieces. Place pieces, about 2 inches apart, on two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets and sprinkle tops with 1 tablespoon sugar.
   
3. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let scones cool slightly on sheets on wire racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.