Fall Wreath

Have you seen those creepy grapevine wreaths with the snakes. It's all painted black and super spooky. Yeah, I made one of those, except I haven't made it to the store to get black spray paint so it sits in my crap craft room in all it's naked snake glory. Can't put THAT on my front door!

I needed a quick wreath so I skipped holidays and went for a fall themed wreath. I was inspired by thriftycraftygirl.com 's Spooky Ribbon Wreath only I didn't have ribbon--but I do have lots of fabric scraps!

A while ago I picked up an embroidery hoop at the thrift store--one hoop can make two wreaths using the inner and the outer circles! I rolled up newspaper and used twisty ties to secure it to the outside edge of hoop.

I cut strips of scrap material and tied them around randonly.  After they were tied I trimmed them and attached some indian popcorn (they are small cobs than regular indian corn) at the top. Quick and easy and it gave my hands something to do while my ears listened to the media's opinions on last tuesday's debate. Good times!

 

As soon as I get some paint I'll swap the wreaths out and then post a picture of the snake one!

Crispy Crockpot Chicken

Crispy? Yes, you read that right! Here's how you do it.

I took my whole chicken (innards removed!) and gave it a rinse. I plopped it in my crockpot. Next comes my favorite part-- my little secret that I'm going to share with you.

Have you seen these?

 
See all the fantastic flavor options? And this is ain't all of them!

I'm in love with them. Oh, so tasty. And I use them for more than just marinating and grilling!
Tonight I picked Mojito Lime. Mmmm... I just sprinkled 1/2 the package on top of the chicken. No rubbing or anything fancy. I rolled up the seasoning to save for another time.

Turn on your crockpot on low and cover. Cook for 3 hours. Now here comes the crispy part. Ready?

Stick a wooden spoon under the lid for the last hour. Getting that steam out will allow the skin to crisp up. Now we aren't talking Kentucky Fried crispy. It's more like rotisserie crispy. But that's a ton better than slippery, slimy! 

Now my chicken was just under 5 lbs. It cooked a LOT faster than I thought it would (I was planning on it taking 6 hours!). It's been done since 4:00 and dinner can't be for at least another hour. But that's the lovely thing about crock pots. I've left it plugged in and vented with the spoon. It'll be fine.

See. Mmmm... Please pass the rice!

Costume for a dollar, or less!

Need a costume quick? Don't have much time or money? Here ya go!

What you need:
Laundry basket ($1 at DollarTree, on hand)
Scissors (on hand)
Assorted clothes (on hand)
Empty laundry detergent bottle ($1 at DollarTree, on hand)

How To: I'm sure you can figure it out from the picture above! With heavy duty scissors, I cut out the bottom of the laundry basket. Mine snuggled perfectly when pulled up to my hips but if yours is loose, make two shoulder straps from two long-sleeved shirts with the sleeve cuffs safety pinned to the front and back of basket. Stuff with random clothes--personal preference is clean clothes so I would not have to smell dirty socks all night, but if you're brave enough to go authentic, go for it!
Grab a bottle of laundry detergent, a stain stick and or dryer sheets (hey, these might make your dirty clothes smell tolerable!).  Feel free to really heap the clothes as much as you want. You'll be toasty warm if you safety pin more clothes to your shirt and/or hat.

Need a couples costume. Decorate a box to look like the washing machine for your other half!

Mr. L2D says he'd like to use this idea for Halloween, so I guess I need to make a washing machine for me.

**Enter in dollartree.com 's October Craft Challenge, sponsored by DollarTree.**