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This is how our entryway looked when we bought our house. Well, okay, not a mess like this – I snagged this picture very quickly one evening before we decided to bust out those wooden screens. It was kind of sporadic and funny actually…

My husband and I had been married a little over a year, I was pregnant with our first child, and we were decorating our Christmas tree in the adjacent living room. We had owned the house for about 1.5 years, having purchased it right before getting married. Neither of us cared much for the screens but we were both working full time and didn’t want to do anything too hasty by ripping things out. But suddenly that December afternoon we decided it would be a great idea then and there to take out those screens. My husband grabbed the sledge hammer and went at it!

This is how our living room originally looked, by the way. That is, after my husband installed the recessed lighting – it used to be much darker in there.

We busted out the screens and it already felt so much better – much more open and light. The wood from the screens ended up being many a garden stake, paint stirring stick, kindling, and more.

The slate floor was in not-so-great condition. It was chipped in some spots and the grout was crumbling in many spots with several large holes. It wasn’t particularly our cup of tea anyway so we had no desire to repair it. Rather, we eventually replaced it a year later with hardwood.

We waited to replace the floor until we did our kitchen renovation, then had the kitchen, living room, and entryway floors all refinished at the same time to match. Additionally, we replaced the baseboards and ceiling fixture and painted the walls.

At this stage we had been living here about 3 years. Projects take time, especially when you have young children, are on a budget, or actually have other things going on in your life besides home remodeling. It stayed this way for several years:

I eventually replaced the small cabinet with a longer table, ditched the coat tree, added an appropriately sized rug for the space, and dressed it up a bit. The wall was still very plain and lacking the character for which I hoped, but it seemed much brighter and fresher.

Dressing the space up for the changing seasons and holidays became a bit more fun, and the “mirror garland” was a new idea with which I enjoyed experimenting. I did my best to work with what I had.

I was still holding out hope that one day we would add an accent wall, but my husband wasn’t completely sold on the idea. At the time of the picture below we had been living here about 7 years.

Finally, for my birthday last Summer, I specifically asked for an accent wall as my gift. My husband and kids surprised me with a little note that stated I would be getting it. Now just to carve out time…

Fast forward to October. My husband had a week off work and lovingly spent several days crafting my long-dreamed-of accent wall. One last photo before the fun begins…

If you’re a details and specs type of person, here are the specs of what he did, as described to me:

• Since we have textured walls, he used 1/8″ thick masonite (hardboard) as the base so it would be smooth. If you don’t have textured walls you could probably skip that bit.
• The vertical slats are “mull casing” from Menards – 3/8″ thick x 2″ wide
• The board on top is a 1″ x 4″ that has been planed to 1/2″ thick (to match the thickness of the masonite + the mull casing), and had a rabbet cut out of it to fit over the mull casing.
• The pegs were [I believe] wooden Shaker pegs about 3.5″ long, ready made from Menards. Holes for the pegs were formed with a drill press.
• The bottom board is a 1″ x 6″ planed down to 3/8″ thickness to match up with the mull casing strips.

The panelling was then painted in Benjamin Moore “Van Courtland Blue” (HC-145). The girls and I went and browsed the historic color line from Benjamin Moore one morning and I picked up a sample of the one I felt was most promising (this one!) and I fell in love! (Poor lighting in this photo – you’ll get a more accurate color depiction in a moment).

Then it was wallpaper time! I opted for peel and stick so I wouldn’t have to mess with water and paste and all that. I found this one a number of months ago and bought it in anticipation of this project. It was more brown on cream than I had thought from the website photos (which definitely looked more gray on white), but I decided to go with it anyway and I think it really works.

Accents were added, like vintage crocks from my mom filled with dried bunny tail grass, a vintage quilt, and a stuffed pumpkin…

…this thrifted lamp with a thrifted pleated shade that I re-covered using a thrifted sheet (sense a theme here?), a flow blue plate hung from a velvet ribbon…

…an ironstone basin full of little pumpkins and preserved moss…

…Fall hydrangeas dried on the bush in our backyard and placed into an antique ice cream bucket…

…and a thrifted print that I trimmed down to size and taped into a foamboard frame that I’ve had for years.

I love it so much and I’d like to thank my husband for taking the time to do this for me (he really likes it, by the way!). I think it adds so much character and charm to our home and that we will enjoy it for years to come!

You can find the sources for this space (what few there are since most things are thrifted!) linked below. Thanks so much for reading!

Blessings,
Melissa

Sources:

Wall Color: Benjamin Moore “Van Courtland Blue, HC-145”
Wallpaper linked here
Entryway table linked here
Entryway rug linked here (Use code HYMNSANDHOME for additional savings)
Moravian Star Ceiling Fixture linked here

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This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

Ingredients Needed for Pumpkin Spice Playdough

Unbleached All Purpose Flour

You can use organic if desired.

Kosher salt

I recommend using fine kosher salt. You can use coarser salt if that’s all you have but your dough may be a little bit gritty. Consider buying in bulk so you will have plenty for future batches of playdough.

Spices

To create a pleasant Fall scent I blended ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice, and vanilla extract. You can use organic spices if desired.

Coconut Oil

I love coconut oil for just about everything! You can use organic if you’d like. If you use unrefined your dough will smell a little more fruity than if you use refined, but that’s totally okay! I used unrefined and it smells amazing!

Lemon Juice

This acts in place of cream of tartar to extend the life of your playdough.

Boiling Water

Make sure your water is truly boiling, not just hot – this helps blend all the ingredients together. If you are letting kids help make the playdough be sure to have an adult handle the boiling water and don’t let the kids knead the dough until it is cool enough to handle safely.

Food Dyes

This is how you get your playdough to look pumpkin colored! It’s totally up to you if you want to use conventional food dyes or natural vegetable-derived dyes. I’ve included directions for both. Conventional dyes will give you a bolder color, but if you don’t want those added chemicals it’s worth it to go for natural dyes.
These natural dyes by McCormick are a less expensive option but do include corn. If you’re looking to go completely natural and avoid any possible GMO’s then check out these natural dyes by India Tree. Just be aware that they have a much shorter shelf life than other brands and are more pricey.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Playdough

First thing you need to do is get your water boiling in a kettle or pot on the stove. I don’t recommend boiling water in the microwave because of the phenomena of super-heating water that can result in an eruption of scalding water. I actually had this happen once and it was unbelievably scary. Thankfully no one was hurt.

While your water is heating, gather all your ingredients, measuring cups and spoons, a large bowl, and a heat proof spatula or wooden spoon. You can melt the coconut oil either gently in the microwave or on the stove.

Measure your dry ingredients – flour, salt, and dry spices into the bowl and stir to combine. In a heat-proof glass measuring cup measure out your melted coconut oil, lemon juice, food dyes, vanilla, and boiling water. Give it a gentle stir to combine, then add it to your bowl of dry ingredients.

Stir until ingredients are fully mixed and a dough comes together. It will be slightly wet and sticky. Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Knead the dough until it is no longer sticky, adding extra flour as needed until the dough is the right consistency. Enjoy!

How to Store Pumpkin Spice Playdough

Store your dough in an airtight container or bag when not in use. Try to squeeze as much air out as possible before sealing. It can be refrigerated to help it last longer – up to several months.
If your playdough begins to look slimy, watery, or is growing mold, discard it immediately.

If Your Pumpkin Spice Playdough Is Too Sticky

If your playdough is too sticky, continue kneading flour into it. It will get there!

If Your Pumpkin Spice Playdough Is Drying Out

If your playdough starts drying out, you can knead it with tiny bits of water to help revive it. Or try wrapping it in a damp towel and letting it rest for a little while.

Fun Cookie Cutters

Get the recipe!

Print Recipe

Natural Pumpkin Spice Playdough

This natural playdough smells amazing and is so easy to make! It requires no expensive cream of tartar or stovetop cooking, calling instead for boiling water.

Keyword: homemade playdough, natural playdough, pumpkin spice play dough

Servings: 2.5 pounds

Author: Melissa Kalbfleisch – Hymns & Home

Equipment

• Large mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon
• Heat-safe liquid measuring cup
• Kettle or pot for boiling water
• Parchment paper
• Stovetop or electric kettle

Ingredients

• 3+ cups unbleached all purpose flour plus more for kneading
• 1 cup kosher salt, fine
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1.5 cups boiling water
• small splash vanilla extract
• yellow food dye, conventional or natural – conventional takes 36 drops, for reference
• red food dye, conventional or natural – conventional takes 12 drops, for reference

Instructions

• Begin heating the kettle and melting your coconut oil while you gather your ingredients and equipment.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, all spice, and cloves.
• To a large glass measuring cup add lemon juice, melted coconut oil, vanilla, and food dyes. Add in boiling water and gently mix.
• Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until completely combined. Dough will be somewhat wet and sticky. Turn dough out onto parchment paper.
• When the dough is cool enough to be handled, knead the dough, adding extra flour as needed, until it is the desired consistency and no longer sticky.
• Enjoy! Dough should be kept in an airtight container when not in use. May be refrigerated to increase shelf life. Discard if playdough begins to look wet, moldy, or slimy.

Notes

The amount of food dye required will depend on the type used. Conventional dyes provide bolder color than natural dyes. If using natural dye but you want a bolder color, consider using a concentrated or powder form to avoid making the dough overly wet.

Pin It!

Want more pumpkin goodness?
Check out these posts!

Thanks for reading!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

A number of people in my family cannot have dairy or conventional wheat (including me), but can tolerate certain amounts of einkorn. In preparation for Thanksgiving I wanted to find a good option for pumpkin pie that uses an einkorn crust and a creamy filling without the dairy.

How I Made an Einkorn Pumpkin Pie

Please note: You’ll need to start a day in advance if you want to make the sugared cranberries!

The Crust

An einkorn pumpkin pie obviously needs an einkorn crust! For this I turned to Lisa at Farmhouse on Boone. Her recipe for einkorn pie crust uses butter, which I just can’t do, so I found a workaround. The recipe calls for frozen, unsalted butter. Instead I used Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread.

I weighed out the amount needed using my digital kitchen scale, then spread it onto waxed paper and popped it into the freezer until frozen. It worked fine! I do feel like the Earth Balance will re-warm more quickly than regular butter, so you will need to work quickly to avoid it becoming too soft. Earth Balance also makes baking sticks so you could easily freeze one of those.

I split the dough into two sections, but instead of using the second half to top the pie, I rolled it out and cut out my shapes – I’ll get to that in a minute!

The Filling

For the einkorn pumpkin pie filling I decided on a recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. Obviously I didn’t use the dough part of her recipe, but I followed her instructions for making sugared cranberries and then tweaked her filling recipe: In place of heavy cream I skimmed the top creamy layer off a can of full fat unsweetened coconut milk (I had just enough from one can). In place of milk I used unsweetened almond milk. If you can’t tolerate nuts then you could probably just measure out the proper amount of liquid leftover in the coconut milk can (the thin stuff). The coconut really is a nice touch with the pumpkin.

I had a good amount of filling leftover and I’m planning to make that into mini crustless pumpkin pies.

Before adding the filling, I blind baked my einkorn pie crust. I lined it with parchment paper and filled it with dried beans, then baked it at 375F for about 10 minutes and for an additional 5 minutes after removing the paper and beans. I then added my filling and baked according to Sally’s instructions. Mine only took about 45 minutes (I shielded the crust with foil after about 25 minutes).

The Decorations

As I said, I followed Sally’s sugared cranberry directions to make those. However, for the dough cutouts I took that second half of einkorn pie dough, rolled it out, and used my vintage style pie dough cutters to make leaves and turkeys. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like my cutters are readily available anymore. I did find a set here if you’re interested. Otherwise you could use the leaf and turkey from something like these or leaves and acorns from these. Then I baked them on a parchment lined baking sheet at 350F for about 10 minutes. You could brush them with an egg wash prior to baking if you’d like them to be a little more brown (I didn’t).

Let your pie cool completely (several hours), then decorate! I decided to go all the way around the edge of the pie, alternating leaves and turkeys, then added a little embellishment in the middle and scattered some cranberries!

I know this post wasn’t an “original recipe” or anything, but sometimes it’s helpful just to brainstorm together to find workarounds for our individual needs and maybe get a little inspiration for decorating!

If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving soon, I wish a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones!

Blessings,
Melissa

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This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

The nice part about this bread is that you can use a variety of dough recipes to achieve the same look. I used my bread machine to make the dough – which made it even easier – and then shaped and baked it in my oven.

Using the Bread Machine to Make Pumpkin Shaped Bread

In case you’ve never used a bread machine I’ll give you a very brief summary of how it works: You simply dump everything into the pan (in the proper order – wet ingredients first, followed by dry), pop it in the machine, press start, and several hours later you have fresh bread! It’s super convenient. I’ve had my Zojirushi bread machine for nearly 7 years and I’ve made dozens of delightful loaves of bread in it.

Another nice feature is that you can set it to make just the dough if you would prefer to shape and bake it yourself. During the dough cycle the machine will mix, knead, and do the first rise for you. After that it’s just a matter of shaping, doing a second rise, and baking.

For this pumpkin shaped bread I used the “Franksbrød” recipe out of my favorite bread machine cookbook (page 74 in the cookbook).

I like to make little notes in my cookbooks as I try recipes: whether or not we liked it, what I would change, what other foods it compliments, and so on. The Franksbrød I described in my notes as “light and fluffy with a crisp crust – a good dinner bread.”

As I said before, you can certainly use a traditional dough recipe for this pumpkin shaped bread. Read on below for how to shape and bake it!

How to Make Pumpkin Shaped Bread

Supplies Needed

1 Batch of bread dough (see step 1 below)
Natural cotton kitchen twine
Scissors
Cinnamon stick
Baking sheet
Cooling rack
Parchment paper
Cotton/Linen tea towel
Oven
Digital food thermometer (optional)

Tutorial for Pumpkin Shaped Bread:

Step 1

Make your dough. You can do this in a bread machine using the dough cycle or use a traditional recipe and pick up here when you get done with the first rise.

Step 2

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut 4 long lengths of kitchen twine and lay them out on top of the parchment in a snowflake/star shape so that they all cross in the center.

Step 3

Flour your work surface and form your dough into a round. Set the dough in the middle of your twine “snowflake.”

Step 4

Loosely join each strand of twine with the one opposite it using a double knot. Do not make this too tight or your twine will get lost inside of your bread when it rises! Keep it super loose – almost just laying on the dough. Trim any excess.

Step 5

Cover your shaped dough with a slightly damp cotton tea towel and set it in a warm location. Let rise for 1 hour. Around the 45 minute mark begin preheating your oven.

Step 6

Around the 45-minute mark of the rising step, set your oven rack to the middle position and preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Step 7

Remove tea towel and bake.
Baking time will vary depending on the dough recipe, size of your loaf, and your oven. I begin checking after about 30 minutes. Bread is done when the bottom sounds hollow when tapped or when the internal temperature registers about 190 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the loaf. Lean-dough breads are typically done when internal temperature is 190-210 degrees Fahrenheit while rich-dough breads are typically done at around 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit.
Use a digital food thermometer, such as the one I have by Oxo.

Step 8

Gently cut twine out of bread. The bread may tear just a little bit, but that’s okay! Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool.

Step 9

Once cool, poke a little hole in the middle of the bread and insert the cinnamon stick as the stem to your pumpkin!

Enjoy your pumpkin shaped bread alongside a cozy soup or stew this Fall!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and I’d love to know if you give it a try!

Thanks for reading!

Blessings,
Melissa

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Ever since going gluten, dairy, and egg free due to newly discovered food sensitivities, I’ve had more energy, way less anxiety, and have been the healthiest I’ve probably ever been! That being said, I have been terribly missing the flavor and familiarity of traditional baked goods even though I know my body doesn’t react well to them.

I’m always excited when I come across a recipe for diet-compliant baked goods that doesn’t necessarily taste like it’s diet-compliant. I was inspired by “A Dash of Megnut” to create these Fall spiced donuts.

These baked donuts are super straightforward to make and the only special equipment needed is a donut pan! Everything gets mixed by hand in one bowl so there aren’t too many dirty dishes made – yay!

I’ve made up a little printable recipe card for you that will hopefully make your experience even easier!

Baked Fall Spice Donuts Recipe

Tap here to download the printable file!

Notes on making the donuts

Donut Pans – I am really enjoying my new Nordic Ware donut pans! They clean up like a breeze and bake evenly. Each pan makes 6 full sized donuts.

Gluten Free Flour Blend – I prefer using King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour, which contains xanthan gum. I have not tried this recipe with other gluten free flours, but feel it really needs the xanthan gum in there to hold the donut together.

Nut Free Alternative – I used almond milk for this recipe, but coconut milk would work just as well. Use the drinkable kind, not the thick, canned variety.

Be sure to pin this for your reference later – or share with someone who would enjoy it!

How soon do you start enjoying Fall treats? I mean, is there ever really a wrong time for a donut?

Please let me know if you try this recipe and what you think – I’d love to hear from you! Or if you ever want to share a gluten and dairy free recipe recommendation with me, I love trying new recipes and would welcome the suggestion! Just drop a comment below, send me a message on social media, or reply to a subscriber email.

Hope you enjoy!

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I’ve made this quick and easy soup many times over the last several years. It is definitely one of my go-to’s on a cold day or when I have nothing planned and am scrambling to think of something to make. I almost always have all the ingredients on hand, so there is very little planning needed.

A few tips that make this recipe convenient and accessible at a moment’s notice:

• I keep cooked chicken in the freezer in 8oz portions. It doesn’t even have to be completely thawed to add it to this soup (although being frozen will increase the time the soup takes to boil). Anytime you cook chicken breasts, make a few extra to stick in the freezer. Or use leftover rotisserie chicken!

• I would venture to guess that most people generally have butter on hand, but if you’re not really a frequent butter user, you can freeze it! Make sure it is wrapped in an airtight freezer-safe bag so it doesn’t take on weird smells. If you prefer not to use butter you can use an oil of your choice such as olive oil or coconut oil.

• This recipe is extremely flexible – if want two onions instead of one, do it! If you want to throw in some spinach to make it extra hardy, go for it! Use what you have available.

Making It Gluten & Dairy Free

I have started making the noodles for this soup separate from the soup itself. This method was recommended to me awhile back by an Instagram follower and it has worked so well for our family! My husband and kids love regular noodles made with wheat, but I need gluten free noodles. So I cook two different types of noodles and we can fill our bowls accordingly. Occasionally we will all have these Banza noodles which are made from chickpeas. I really like them and they have 11g of protein per serving!

To make it dairy free I use Earth Balance buttery baking sticks. You could just as easily use olive oil or coconut oil.

What to serve with your easy chicken noodle soup

This recipe doesn’t really need a side, but if you want to level up the coziness factor then a loaf of homemade bread is key! Even when I’m really busy, it’s super easy to throw the ingredients in the bread machine and push start!

If you’re looking for a quick and simple gluten free biscuit option, these biscuits by There Is Life After Wheat are a good option. I use her coconut cream tip to make them dairy free.

I hope this recipe gives you all the warm and cozy feels this Fall and Winter!

Blessings,
Melissa

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