November Calendar

Another month has flown past and it's time to make our November calendar.  If you want to know more about the idea behind the monthly calendar please look on Kate Crane's blog as the whole thing is her idea.

As my journal fills up I am finding it more and more difficult to get reasonable photos of my pages as the left hand side is now so thick.

I did this page while I was at my local crop and had a limited about of media with me. I used Distress Inks for the background which I didn't apply very well and which didn't blend as smoothly as I would have liked.

I stamped the poppies with Archival Ink and stamped the month.

I add some more ink through stencils. I cut out the circles with a die cutter and stuck them down.

I wrote the days on the circles with green pen and coloured in the month with a Glaze pen.  I did 3 coats to make it look enamelled.

Please add your pages using the linky below.

October Art Challenge

This month's art challenge is to create something using or inspired by this poem.

October's Party

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly "hands around." 

George Cooper 

Don't forget to share your work using the linky.

Hospitality: Pumpkin Bread

My very dear friend Betsy (and mother of my precious daughter-in-law) has provided the recipe and photographs for making Pumpkin Bread.  Plus she ventured into making little videos which goes way beyond what I asked for.  Thank you so much Betsy.

Ingredients
all purpose flour --I use Spelt
sugar--I use raw sugar
brown sugar
ground clove
ground nutmeg
baking soda
ground cinnamon
oil -- I use olive oil

4 eggs
vanilla essence
fresh pumpkin

Optional: chopped pecans

To make our delicious Pumpkin Bread we will begin with a good size pumpkin.

Cut in half and scoop out the seeds, which by the way, can be roasted to eat later - they are very nutritious.

Place the pumpkin halves on a lightly greased cookie sheet and place in the oven.  Use olive oil to grease the tin. 

Bake on 350F for about an hour until tender.  Test with a sharp knife.

Let cool before scooping out the flesh.

Soften the pumpkin with a blender.

To make the pumpkin bread

In a blender, mix:
1 cup oil -- I use olive oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups fresh pumpkin      (please remember these are American cup measurements)

Mix together:
5 cups all purpose flour --I use Spelt
3 cups sugar--I use raw sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground clove
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 

Add this dry mix to the wet mixture

Pour in loaf pans and bake in a preheated oven 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Makes three loaves.  If using mini loaf pans bake for less time.

These finished mini loaves took 35 minutes to cook.

 Put the remaining pumpkin flesh into freezer bags and freeze to use at a later date.

If you don't have fresh pumpkin or don't have time to prepare it, you can use canned pumpkin - it will taste nice but nothing replaces the real thing.

These little blessings are ready for distribution.

 Thank you so much Betsy.

I hope some of you will have a go at making this delicious bread. Do let us know how you get on.