Berries of Wisdom: October 2015

Saturday, October 17, 2015

The Mooning Scarecrow

I saw a Mooning Scarecrow on Canyon Road in Cedar Hills last weekend, and I fell in love with him! I instantly had to have my very own, so he turned into this week's project.

Farmer Steve

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

For the Legs: (this is what I did to easily stake them in the ground, you could stake the 2X4's into the ground another way too)

A 2x4 (I got one 8 foot 2x4 and my husband cut it into 2 "legs")
Two -1/2 inch PVC pipes
Four -1/2 inch galvanized steel pipe strap
Two -2 foot rebar
Drill and screws

For the rest of him:

Two pumpkins (I used fake craft pumpkins because I'm keeping him out through Thanksgiving)
Old pair of pants
Old pair of shoes
Old shirt
Stuffing for shirt (I used a clear, plastic tote/bin, no lid. Last year I used paper bags, crumbled up)
Some sort of farm tool for him to "rest on"
2 safety pins

HOW TO MAKE HIM:

For the Legs:

Using a drill and some screws, attach the pipe to each 2X4 like the picture below.

The you can easy hammer the rebar into the ground and then slide 2X4 onto the rebar.

(I used this same technique to stake my Harvest Moon sign in next to the Mooning Scarecrow.)

For the rest of him:

Slide pants over 2X4's.
We cut holes in the bottom of the pumpkins and slide them onto the tops of the 2X4's.
Adjust pants around the pumpkins
Stuff shirt and attach it: we have him "leaning" on a farm tool, that's what's holding his "shoulders" up, but there a few different ways you can do it.
I safety pinned the end of the sleeves, to the pants, and the bottom of the shirt on each side to hold in place.

I staked my Harvest Moon sign in right next to Farmer Steve. I'm in love.

I feel like Farmer Steve doubles as a Halloween and a Thanksgiving decoration too.

For some more Halloween fun, check out these other posts:

Halloween Water Bottle Jack o'Lanterns:

http://berriesofwisdom.blogspot.com/2014/10/halloween-water-bottle-pumpkin.html

Clementine "Pumpkins:

http://berriesofwisdom.blogspot.com/2015/03/cinderella-bridal-shower.html

Hallo-Weinie Mummies:

http://berriesofwisdom.blogspot.com/2015/10/hallo-weinie-mummies.html

Hallo-Weinie Mummies

Every year during October I try to make a few Halloween inspired meals. Last night I made Hallo-Weinie Mummies. Its basically Weinies (Hot Dogs) wrapped up like Mummies.

Super Easy! All you will need:

Hot Dogs
Crescent rolls
Candy Eyes (or mustard, or anything)
A pizza cutter (will make it easier to cut strips into the dough)

How To:

To make the Mummy have arms and legs, I just cut some little slits for "arms" and then cut a slit at the bottom for the "legs". (Half-way through I just wrap the whole hot dog, its easier than doing arms and legs)

Use the pizza cutter to cut the dough into strips, and wrap up the mummies. Leave a little space for the "eyes" later.
Place on greased baking sheet and bake according to directions on crescent rolls.
After they cool a minute, insert candy eyes on the "face". (My kids LOVE that they get to eat candy with their dinner....)