Free Halloween Printable

Happy Saturday!!

I hope you are having a GREAT weekend.

If you're doing any fall decorating this weekend, here is a Free Halloween Printable in two sizes.

8 x 10

16 x 20

Make it GREAT!

I link up to the following Link Parities:

Sunday:

My Life's a Treasure,  Under the Table and Dreaming,I Heart Naptime,Raising Memories, Mommy's Sweet Confessions, Heatherly Loves

Monday:

Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac,   Keeping it Simple, Creating Really Awesome Free Things, Between Naps on the Porch ,The Girl Creative, Mad in Crafts, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Serendipity and Spice, Booggieboard Cottage,  Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Eye Heart, I Gotta Try That, Kampen Lane, Making the World Cuter,Debt Free Mommy, The Dedicated House, Pinkopotamus, 

Tuesday:

Sugar Bee Crafts , The Kurtz Corner, Not Just a Housewife, Claiming our Space, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog , Crafty Confessions,  A Bowlful of Lemons, Funky Polkadot Giraffe , Coastal Charm, Krafty Kat, Cornerstone Confessions, Growing Home Blog, Carolyn's Homework Blog, MercyInk, Timewarp Wife

Wednesday:

Lil'Luna, Southern Lovely, Full Circle Creations, New House New Home New Life, In the Old Road, Nutmeg Place, Simply Done Wright, The DIY Dreamer, Gingersnap Crafts , Seven Thirty Three, Creations by Kara,  Raising Homemakers , Women Living Well, Embracing Change,  NY Melrose Family, Cheap Crafty Mama, JAQ Studio, Someday Crafts, Practically Functional, Adorned From Above, Cute Everything, White Lights on Wednesday Uncommon Designs, We Are That Family

Thursday:

The Thirty Sixth Avenue, House of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Somewhat Simple, Delightful Order ,Shabby Creek Cottage, Yesterday on Tuesday,  A Glimpse Inside, Live, Laugh, Rowe, Christina's Adventures, Imparting Grace, Artsy Girl Connection

Friday:

Craft Junkie Too, Little Becky Homecky, 30 Handmade Days ,The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, While He was Napping, Tatertots and Jello, Craftionary, What About Co, Prudent Pantry, Here Comes the Sun,Six Sister's Stuff, Two Sasters, One Artsy Mama, Miss Information, Blissful Bucket List, A Night Owl, Create, Craft, Love,See Vanessa Craft

Saturday:

Natasha in Oz, Bowdabra Blog, Cheerios and Lattes, Funky Junk Interiors, Young and Crafty, Be Different, Act Normal, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Craft Envy, Serenity You, Too Much Time On My Hands , One Creative Mommy, Fingerprints on the Fridge

September Bloglovin' Blog Hop

Hi Guys!!!  It's that time again. Can you believe September is almost over. Wow! Time is whizzing by. 

If you're looking for Whimsy Wednesdays you can find it here. Otherwise, continue on down to mingle with some amazing bloggers!

What's Bloglovin' you ask? Well, only the greatest way to keep track of the blogs that you love. With the discontinuation of Google Friends Connect (GFC) for non-blogger blogs like myself, I decided that I needed to find another way to keep up with all of my favorite blogs that are not hosted by blogger. I stumbled upon Bloglovin' and I am in love! It is very similar to Google Reader, in that you can see the beginning of the post and the first picture attached to the post. Plus, Bloglovin' automatically updates your posts. Another added bonus is there is a Bloglovin' application for IPhone and Android devices. Woohoo! Like I don't spend enough time reading blogs. Now it's a simple touch. Love it!

In order to participate in this hop, you need to have Bloglovin set up for your blog. You can find a super easy tutorial here. I promise it'll take you less than 10 minutes and you'll thank me down the road.

There’s only a couple of rules:

1. Please follow your hosts! They are the 1st nine blogs linked.

2. You MUST link up your Bloglovin' url to participate, NOT your blog.

3. Post our button for the blog hop on your page to promote the fun. You can grab the button from my sidebar. The more the merrier so shout outs about the party on Twitter or Facebook would be greatly appreciated.

If you're interested in co-hosting next month shoot me an email at russej10{at}gmail{dot}com. I also have some sponsor spots still available for October, which you can find here. Alright, so let's have some fun and mingle! Please remember to ONLY link up your Bloglovin URL.

12 Fall Decorated Front Porches

Hi Everyone! I hope you're having a great week!  I'm excited because this weekend I will be decorating my porch for Fall!  We are doing our annual trip out the Old Mission Peninsula to pick apples and visit the pumpkin patch.  At the pumpkin patch we can also buy gourds and Indian corn and all the traditional fall decorating staples.  So to Pinterest I go, searching for ideas and inspiration!

Here are twelve different front porches I draw inspiration from.


I LOVE the Indian corn and bales of hay with the mums and gourds  It seems so silly to buy cornstalks after growing up in a farm town, but hey, it's not fall without corn stalks and my husband won't let me pop in a field and cut some down.. So, my only option is to buy them.

BHG

I really like the metallic finish on this pumpkin topiary. And the way she adds in the mums and the Indian corn. You should follow Kelly, she has some incredibly creative ideas!

Eclectically Vintage

I LOVE everything about this one. The sticks in the background. The various gourds and squash. And especially the flowering kale.  My daughter did something similar on her porch last year and it was so festive!

-A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

These monogrammed pumpkins are so fun!

BHG


Doesn't this just scream fall!  LOVE it!

Inspiring Pretty

I have a chair just like this one on my front porch.  Hmm... it's got my mind a churning!

Source

I really like the stack of pumpkins.  It's quite the welcome.  Not sure I'd do all that many but like the idea.

BHG

These are more to my liking!  Love the house numbers.

BHG

I love the combination of the mum, pumpkin, tin of gourds and the chalkboard.! 

Lilacs & Longhorns

How fun to plant a mum inside of a cut out pumpkin.  You could then plant it in the ground when the snow falls and have mums next fall.

Martha Stewart

I love the mums with the pumpkins and I really like the color of the gourds/pumpkins.

BHG

I love the hay and the pumpkin topiary and the blue pumpkin put in there. It sure makes it pop!

Perfectly Imperfect

I've decided I "have" to have a pumpkin topiary or two and maybe a monogram.  Oh shoot I love the house numbers.  My mind is spinning!  Can't wait to show you what I decide.

Do you decorate your front porch?  Have you done it yet?

I link up to the following Link Parities:

Sunday:

My Life's a Treasure,  Under the Table and Dreaming,I Heart Naptime,Raising Memories, Mommy's Sweet Confessions, Heatherly Loves

Monday:

Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac,   Keeping it Simple, Creating Really Awesome Free Things, Between Naps on the Porch ,The Girl Creative, Mad in Crafts, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Serendipity and Spice, Booggieboard Cottage,  Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Eye Heart, I Gotta Try That, Kampen Lane, Making the World Cuter,Debt Free Mommy, The Dedicated House, Pinkopotamus, 

Tuesday:

Sugar Bee Crafts , The Kurtz Corner, Not Just a Housewife, Claiming our Space, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog , Crafty Confessions,  A Bowlful of Lemons, Funky Polkadot Giraffe , Coastal Charm, Krafty Kat, Cornerstone Confessions, Growing Home Blog, Carolyn's Homework Blog, MercyInk, Timewarp Wife

Wednesday:

Lil'Luna, Southern Lovely, Full Circle Creations, New House New Home New Life, In the Old Road, Nutmeg Place, Simply Done Wright, The DIY Dreamer, Gingersnap Crafts , Seven Thirty Three, Creations by Kara,  Raising Homemakers , Women Living Well, Embracing Change,  NY Melrose Family, Cheap Crafty Mama, JAQ Studio, Someday Crafts, Practically Functional, Adorned From Above, Cute Everything, White Lights on Wednesday Uncommon Designs, We Are That Family

Thursday:

The Thirty Sixth Avenue, House of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Somewhat Simple, Delightful Order ,Shabby Creek Cottage, Yesterday on Tuesday,  A Glimpse Inside, Live, Laugh, Rowe, Christina's Adventures, Imparting Grace, Artsy Girl Connection

Friday:

Craft Junkie Too, Little Becky Homecky, 30 Handmade Days ,The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, While He was Napping, Tatertots and Jello,Sassy Sites, Craftionary, What About Co, Prudent Pantry, Here Comes the Sun,Six Sister's Stuff, Two Sasters, One Artsy Mama, Miss Information, Blissful Bucket List, A Night Owl, Create, Craft, Love

Saturday:

Natasha in Oz, Bowdabra Blog, Cheerios and Lattes, Funky Junk Interiors, Young and Crafty, Be Different, Act Normal, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Craft Envy, Serenity You, Too Much Time On My Hands , One Creative Mommy, Fingerprints on the Fridge

Free Spirit Reigns Giveaway and Wreath Tutorial

Today Torrie from "free spirit reigns" is guest posting and showing us how to make a Felt Rose Wreath.  Plus she has a giveaway for 3 pair of handmade earrings.

Hey blog friends! I'm so excited to be guest posting here on A Second Chance to Dream. I blog over at Free Spirit Reigns, where I write about everything from recipes to my cat to my family and pretty much anything in between. I'm a couple short weeks away from giving birth to my first baby so there has been lot's of pregnancy talk on the blog!


Despite being pregnant, I've still been finding lots of time for crafting. Just a little less crazy projects. One of my favourite fall crafts to make are Felt Rose Wreaths. They're super easy to make & use affordable supplies!

What you'll need:

- one grapevine wreath in your preferred size

- 3-4 sheets of craft felt in coordinating colors

-scissors

-hot glue gun + glue sticks

-newspaper to cover your surface if you're not at a craft/work table

(I was using my kitchen table, hence why all the newspaper in the background!)

1. Cut out circles in varying sizes from the craft felt. The bigger your circle, the bigger your rose will end up being. You don't need to be perfect with this, the uneven edges add texture to the roses.

2. Cut the circles into spirals but make sure to leave a circle at the center. This will be to glue your rose together at the end.

3. Next, starting on the outside of the spiral, start rolling the felt onto itself. The tighter you do this to start the better your rose will hold together.

4. To make multi coloured roses, you just need to take another cut spiral and work it into the rolling. You can get pretty creative here and do a lot of different variations!

5. When you reach the end, hot glue that center circle onto the bottom of your rose to keep it all together.

5. Keep at it until you have a large selection of roses!

6. I found the best way to get the wreath the way I want is to arrange the roses on the wreath first, then go back and glue them on. Then you're not left with weird gaps or too many of one size in the same place.

I like to arrange them on the bottom right area of the wreath

7. You can choose to attach a ribbon at the top to hang it, or just hang it as is on a wreath hanger.

These wreaths are super simple to make & can be quick once you get the hang of the roses. I like to give them as housewarming gifts and they can be made in a range of colours!

If you liked this project & want to see more, come on over to Free Spirit Reigns and see what else I have going on! You can also find me at these social media sites:

twitter // facebook // pinterest // BBN // instagram

Thanks Barb for letting me share this tutorial with everyone =)

Now for Torrie's Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

                                                              Thanks Torrie for sharing! 

Broccoli Cheese Soup + eMeals

Like I mentioned in my previous soup post we LOVE soup and eat it often in the Fall/Winter season.  I'm sharing a soup I don't normally make because it seems like too much work.  But, we have broccoli coming out of our ears and I need to find something to do with it.  Silly me, it wasn't that hard at all!!

Here's how what you need and how your do it:

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

1 small onion, diced

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 t. dry mustard powder

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, preferably sharp or extra sharp

1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese

3-4 Cups chopped, lightly steamed  broccoli

1.  Steam your broccoli.  I did mine in the microwave.

2,  Place chicken broth and onion in pan.  Heat until onions soft.

3.   Heat milk in microwave for 1 minute.

4.  Melt butter in microwave for 30 sec.  Slowly add the flour, salt and pepper and dry mustard.  Stir   well.

5.  Add flour mixture to the pan of chicken broth stirring continuously.

6.   Add milk and stir. Stir and heat together on medium heat until soup starts to thicken about 5 min. 

7.  Add cheeses and stir until completely melted. 

8..  Add in steamed broccoli. Stir and heat.

9.  Garnish with shredded cheese.

10..  Eat immediately.

This is a nice thick, hearty soup.  IF you have any left overs you can bake a potato and add the soup over the top of the potato.  It's like the baked potato with broccoli and cheese at Wendy's.  Sometimes that's how we'll eat it if we are going for a vegetarian night.

Do you like to cook? Are you good at planning your meals?  If I had to grade myself in the meal planning department I would get a D.  Not sure what the hang up is or why it seems hard for me but it does.  I ran across eMeals  a menu planning site that has menu plans based on the stores you shop at and that weeks sales.   Family Week at eMeals is September 24-28. You can see a PDF for Family Week that includes 2 free full menus, recipes, and family activities here: https://emeals.com/family-week.  Try it out and see if you like it.  Then if you do you can go to the link below and join and receive 15% off using the code: FAMILY

 

 Also, if you visit their Facebook site you can enter to win one of fourteen giveaways.  

Do you enjoy menu planning?  Do you do it every week??  This is one thing I want to improve on.

I link up to the following Link Parities:

Sunday:

My Life's a Treasure,  Under the Table and Dreaming,I Heart Naptime,Raising Memories, Mommy's Sweet Confessions, Heatherly Loves

Monday:

Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac,   Keeping it Simple, Creating Really Awesome Free Things, Between Naps on the Porch ,The Girl Creative, Mad in Crafts, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Serendipity and Spice, Booggieboard Cottage,  Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Eye Heart, I Gotta Try That, Kampen Lane, Making the World Cuter,Debt Free Mommy, The Dedicated House, Pinkopotamus, 

Tuesday:

Sugar Bee Crafts , The Kurtz Corner, Not Just a Housewife, Claiming our Space, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog , Crafty Confessions,  A Bowlful of Lemons, Funky Polkadot Giraffe , Coastal Charm, Krafty Kat, Cornerstone Confessions, Growing Home Blog, Carolyn's Homework Blog, MercyInk, Timewarp Wife

Wednesday:

Lil'Luna, Southern Lovely, Full Circle Creations, New House New Home New Life, In the Old Road, Nutmeg Place, Simply Done Wright, The DIY Dreamer, Gingersnap Crafts , Seven Thirty Three, Creations by Kara,  Raising Homemakers , Women Living Well, Embracing Change,  NY Melrose Family, Cheap Crafty Mama, JAQ Studio, Someday Crafts, Practically Functional, Adorned From Above, Cute Everything, White Lights on Wednesday Uncommon Designs, We Are That Family, At Home Take 2

Thursday:

The Thirty Sixth Avenue, House of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Somewhat Simple, Delightful Order ,Shabby Creek Cottage, Yesterday on Tuesday,  A Glimpse Inside, Live, Laugh, Rowe, Christina's Adventures, Imparting Grace

Friday:

Craft Junkie Too, Little Becky Homecky, 30 Handmade Days ,The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, While He was Napping, Tatertots and Jello,Sassy Sites, Craftionary, What About Co, Prudent Pantry, Here Comes the Sun,Six Sister's Stuff, Two Sasters, One Artsy Mama, Miss Information, Blissful Bucket List, A Night Owl, Create, Craft, Love

Saturday:

Natasha in Oz, Bowdabra Blog, Cheerios and Lattes, Funky Junk Interiors, Young and Crafty, Be Different, Act Normal, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Craft Envy, Serenity You, Too Much Time On My Hands , One Creative Mommy, Fingerprints on the Fridge
Jen's Favorite Cookies