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    • Mini Pumpkin Pickin’ Time – Oh My!

      Posted at 9:22 am by turnipcreations, on September 2, 2019

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      3,120 Mini Pumpkins! That’s right…two rows of seed produced over three-thousand mini pumpkins. I has no idea that we would end up with this many of the small pumpkins, when we started harvesting them this weekend. This is our first large scale pumpkin harvest, so I had no idea what to expect. I was hoping for several hundred, so needless to say, I am blown away by the fact that we have several thousand. Of course, we have grown ornamental pumpkins, including the mini varieties for several years, just on a much smaller scale. Shane wasn’t surprised in the least that when you plant 10 acres of land in pumpkin seed, you are going to end up with quite a few, you know since he grew up on a farm raising produce — however, this small town girl was still a little shocked at the actual numbers!

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      And here they are! Fresh picked and cleaned in the field. Hand-picked and hand counted, one by one. Shane and his dad started early in the morning, cutting each pumpkin from the vine, with me Once cut, they would pile the mini delights in between the rows as they made their way down through all the vines.

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      Field

      After all of the pumpkins were cut, the Pippa Hill Farms work crew ( which consisted of Shane’s sister and brother in law and our two nieces, who apparently chose the wrong weekend to come for a visit) got to work picking up each pumpkin, washing it in the field and loaded them into tubs and afterwards, laying them out in between hay to dry out in trailers.


      Now, comes the fun part for me. Sorting through all the varieties. I could spend hours, just looking and sorting through all the pumpkins. Each one is so unique! Some of my FAVS are the pure white mini boos, the dark green that are almost black, the yellow and white stripes and the orange with just a splash of green. Like a mini work of art.

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      Now, what to do with all these mini pumpkins…of course after I decorate the entire house for fall using several hundred of them! We are selling them at our local Farmer’s Market in downtown Waco, Texas as well as other area stops and in our Etsy Shop. I can’t wait to also share with everyone some fun ideas and recipes on how to use these guys.

      mini pumpkin singlular

      Posted in Garden | 0 Comments
    • The Easiest Peach Cobbler, Ever! Seriously!

      Posted at 2:11 pm by turnipcreations, on August 19, 2019

      This Bisquick Peach Cobbler, will be the easiest recipe you will ever make, with an added spicy twist. Use fresh, frozen or canned peaches. You just can’t go wrong with this simple yet flavor packed summer treat.

      When we moved into our dream home four years ago, we planted two peach trees. One peach tree would produce early summer and the other in the late summer. Perfect for two people!

      Two years later we had our first crop of peaches. I was amazed at how many peaches two little trees could produce! And this year, they produced even more.

      I have always been a fan of peaches. Nothing sweeter than a fresh picked, juicy, wonderful peach. But, these peaches weren’t going to last long. I made hand pies, cobblers, preserves and then processed and froze the rest to be enjoyed all year long.

      A few weeks ago, I was looking for a quick sweet treat to whip up for friends, who were popping in. It just so happened to be right in the middle of peach season and we had them dripping off the tree. Everyone loves Peach Cobbler…at least everyone I know! So, a quick & simple Cobbler it would be.

      Now, it’s a fact, that down here where I’m from, everyone swears by their Grandmother’s old fashioned recipe. You know the one. Hand made from scratch, hours in the kitchen, rolling, kneading, cutting, prepping & baking. What? I ain’t got time for that! I said I need quick and easy.

      So, it was a box of Bisquick to the rescue. That’s right, Bisquick. I baked the most delicious and easiest peach goodness I ever tasted, from a biscuit mix!

      I started with fresh from the tree peaches. They were still warm from the summer heat. Give them a good wash, peel and slice into chunks and you are basically finished…just a quick toss of ingredients and you are done!

      Stir together Bisquick mix, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground clove in an 9″ baking dish. Stir in melted butter. In a large bowl, toss the sugar and peaches and spoon over batter.

      If you need a simple summer dessert, you will definitely want to try this go to recipe. Even with a few ingredients, the flavor is delicious and inviting.

       

      Bisquick Spicy Peach Cobbler

      A yummy summer dessert packed with powerful flavor.
      Print Recipe Pin Recipe
      Prep Time 20 mins
      Cook Time 55 mins
      Total Time 1 hr 15 mins
      Course Dessert
      Cuisine American
      Servings 6 Servings

      Ingredients
        

      • 1 cup Original Bisquick Mix
      • 1 cup Milk
      • 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
      • 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
      • 1/2 tsp Ground Clove
      • 1 1/2 cups Sugar
      • 2 cups Fresh Peaches, peeled and sliced
      • 1/2 cup Butter, melted

      Instructions
       

      • Heat oven to 375 degrees
      • In a 9” baking dish, stir together Bisquick mix, milk, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and ground clove. Stir in melted butter until blended.
      • In a separate bowl, stir together sugar and peaches; spoon over batter, evenly.
      • Bake 50-60 minutes or until top is golden.

      Notes

       

      Posted in Cook | 0 Comments | Tagged peach cobbler, Recipe
    • Glitter Spinner Re-Purpose

      Posted at 4:39 pm by turnipcreations, on August 8, 2013

      Have you ever seen one of these at an estate sale or antique store? It’s a vintage stamp holder used for organizing rubber stamps, used in an office setting. So cool…it even spins. It has metal pull apart fingers, to grip the handle of the stamps. I can just imagine a fast pace office clerk of yesteryear having one of these on her desk as she spins it around stamping and filing paperwork….so vintage chic!

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      A few weeks ago, V (my big sis), my mother and myself were out and about junkin’ and antiquing when lo’ and behold I found one. I snapped it up right away, not having a clue what I was going to do with it, especially since I have no need to “stamp and file paper work!”

      Then, one night as I reached into a cabinet to retrieve a tiny bottle of glitter for the hundredth time, a light bulb went off….a glitter spinner I would create.

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      I mean how stinkin’ easy is this….the small bottles of glitter snapped perfectly into the metal grips.

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      Cute, functional and stylish…I love it when I can re-purpose something from the past and make it into a functional and decorative piece.

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      With a quick spin, all my glitter is at my finger tips.

       

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      Posted in Craft | 0 Comments | Tagged DIY, glitter, glitter spinner, Re purpose, upcycle, vintage
    • Vintage Hotel Card Rack Up-cycle Pantry Spice Holder

      Posted at 3:53 pm by turnipcreations, on July 19, 2013

      I love cooking with fresh herbs and using different spices to really boost the flavor of my food dishes. Let’s face it though….sometimes I just have to go to the pre-mixed seasoning packets. Actually, there are some really good ones in the grocery store that I enjoy using in a pinch. However, I could never find a good place to organize them. I tried wicker baskets, glass jars and wire baskets. But, I never liked the look of any of them or not being able to see at a glance what I had.

      Then, my mom and I were having a garage sale and lo and behold, she was selling an old hotel card rack system. Score! I just found my new spice packet organizer. Made of wood, it had a slot for each room number and had the original label identifying the maker. Originally, I have been told it was used either at the check-in desk or in the kitchen for room service orders.

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      (Of course, I forgot to take a before picture!) but, here it is after we removed every third metal divider. The seasoning packets were too thick to fit between the original slats, so we had to make some adjustments to the number of metal dividers we put back in.

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      It was a snap to take apart (well, at least it was for me watching Shane do it) and of course I gave it a good spit and shine with Murphy’s Soap and Old English Polish. It really makes a difference on the old wood. In between the wash and polish, I used a dark wood stain pen to color in any chips in the wood. I usually like the look of rustic & beat-up vintage wood; however, some of the chips in the wood were deep gashes and needed to be stained. Shane also cleaned and polished the metal dividers.

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      The Hotel Card Rack is super heavy duty and I love the way it looks in the pantry…the perfect functional and decorative spice packet organizer!

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      Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged card rack, kitchen, pantry, spice holder, upcycle
    • Family History Gallery Wall – Framing Baby Clothes

      Posted at 4:16 pm by turnipcreations, on July 17, 2013

      We have created a Family History Gallery Wall in our hall. It’s a place where we have hung family photos. Not recent photos, in fact our parents as children are the most recent photos. The photos include both our parents, grandparents and my great grandparents and great great grandparents and even a photo of my great great great great grandmother. In addition to all the photos and photo collages, we also have shadow boxes, filled with generations of family mementos, like birth announcements, wedding invitations, graduation invites, my grandmother’s wedding pearls, my great grandfather’s baby shoe and so on. I love the way the seemingly randomly hung frames of all different sizes and the depth and thickness of the shadow boxes look against the flat wall. Although the sizes of the frames are all different, I did choose to use only black frames in the same style, basic with clean box lines. The majority were purchased at Ikea and a few from Hobby Lobby during a frame sale (woo-hoo!)

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      A few months ago my mom and I where cleaning out her storage building for a garage sale when we found two of the most adorable baby outfits. They were her baby outfits, a little white dress with embroidery and a tan onesie with embroidery. In fact, they were sewn and hand embroidered by my great grandmother (double SCORE.) They were in beautiful condition, especially considering they were 69 years old (sorry mom) and the thread detailing was gorgeous.

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      I just knew one of them had to be framed for the Family History Gallery Wall. My supplies for this project were: a shadow box frame, straight pins, tape, black scrap booking paper, scissors, screwdriver and of course the baby onesie. (Oops! You will notice in the supply photo, I used the baby dress, but actually ended up framing the onesie.)

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      Using the screwdriver to remove the back of the frame, I used the frame back to trace a template onto the black scrap booking paper and cut it out. I will pin the onesie to the paper later in the project.
      Then, I ironed the onesie on a low heat setting, due to its age. I played around with different folds, until I got just the right look. I did use a light spray of starch, to press the folds down in place. Since it was a onesie, I wanted to be sure to show the button details at the legs. So stinking adorable!

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      Using the straight pins, I pinned the folds of the arms and middle body of the onesie in the back. In the front, I also pinned down the ironed folds, but did so inside the body so the pins would not be visible.

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      I then lined the folded and pinned onesie right side up on the black scrapbook paper and centered. I just eyeball things until they look good and stuck straight pins through the onesie (again in concealed areas, so they are not visible) into the paper. Then, once I had several secured pins, I carefully flipped the paper over and taped the pins down. Why? When I tried to stick the pins back through the paper, it crinkled. Yuck! Taping the pins down secured them and it it not effect the look. Ugly for sure on the back, but it will be covered by the back of the frame.

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      Now all that was left to do was placing it inside the frame and screwing the back on and hanging it.

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      A beautiful reminder of the precious bundle of joy my grandparents brought home on a cold December day. I am a sentimental sap for sure, but the Family History Gallery Wall is such a wonderful reminder of who we are, where we came from and the amazing legacy that was handed down to us to preserve!

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      Posted in Decorate | 0 Comments | Tagged family history, Frame baby clothes, gallery wall, preservation
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