I'm back again with cozy, fall book for October. Fall is my favorite season, so I knew I wanted to read something with cozy fall vibes and this book fit the category perfectly. Books and Bakes Book - In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace Bake - Pumpkin Spice Donuts About the Book Book - In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace This book is the perfect cozy murder mystery book for fall! Brynn, a young, widowed witch, lives with her two witchy Aunts who run a Bed and Breakfast in a small town in New England. However, things go downhill when a local guest whose known in the town for being argumentative and demanding, is murdered while staying at the B&B. One of the Aunts becomes the main suspect and Brynn has to rely on some investigative work to help clear the family name. She hasn't used her witch powers in a while, as she is navigating her grief, but with signs pointing to her Aunt as the main suspect, she may have to try to reconnect with them to solve the case. This book is so well written with cozy vibes and quirky characters, the perfect fall read! I found it very easy to pick up whenever I needed an escape from reality. It jumps right into setting the scene and getting to know the fun family dynamics right away. It was easy to pick up and hop right back in and the chapters were the perfect length that I could read a few or a bunch and not feel like I'm stopping in the middle of some big drama happening. While the murder mystery was part of the story, the main character really goes through some emotional challenges and grows throughout the book. I like the magical touches and how the author really puts you into the space and you can envision this cozy town, crazy aunts, and sorrow that Brynn feels. A touching cozy story with themes of family, grief, growth, and of course magic. For fans of - Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls More like this - If you liked this book as much as me, check out her newest book The Late Night Witches, released earlier this Fall. About the Bake Bake - Pumpkin Spice Donuts These pumpkin spice donuts feel fitting for a book set in a New England at a cozy bed and breakfast in the fall, don't you agree? They are super simple and easy to make. They only require two ingredients and about 15 minutes from start to finish! You can make them two ways - frosted or with cinnamon sugar. Both are delicious and pair well with a cup of coffee on a slow weekend morning or afternoon, if I'm honest. See our other books and baked good pairings by check out our other Books and Bakes posts. For more witchy fall reads check out our Witchy Reads for Fall. If you are interested in having your book possibly included in a future Books and Bakes, please email craftandcraveblog@gmail.com with your inquiry.

My kids love nature, so one of the crafts I’m looking forward to making with them is one of these Bird Feeder Crafts for Kids. This spring is a great time for crafting and an even better time to give birds a little extra love. The weather is starting to get warmer but there may not be as many natural fruits, nuts, and seeds for them to find to eat, especially if you live where it snows in the Spring. I found some cute bird feeder crafts for kids to DIY. These aren’t just for Spring though. They make a great rainy day activity or a fun weekend, Winter Break, or hot Summer day craft! We love that a lot of these are all natural or use recycled items to create cute bird feeders. Bird Feeder Crafts for Kids This milk jug bird feeder from Great Stems can be designed in lots of great ways and it’s a good way to upcycle that old milk carton. How about this colorful and cute paper bowl bird feeder from Non Toy Gifts. Don’t throw away that juice carton, make this cute owl bird feeder from Red Ted Art. This orange bird feeder from Made With Happy has a great tutorial full of helpful pictures. How cute is this shaded bird feeder house made of popsicles on Babble. The Pinecone Bird Feeder from Natural Beach Living is messy and fun for kids! We love how colorful this soda bottle bird feeder is from Artzy Creations. Kids can practice their fine motor skills while threading the yummies on this fruit and grain bird feeder from Happy Hooligans. This apple bird feeder from Natural Beach Living is so pretty! Which one would your kids choose to make? You may also our: Flower Garden Parfaits DIY Wildflower Seed Bombs

My kids are 100% committed to caring for our Earth and the animals and people on it. We recently learned about bees and our family decided to create a wildflower garden that bees would love. That inspired us to create these recycled paper DIY wildflower seed bombs – to beautify our community and help save the bees. Get this fun, kid-friendly DIY just in time for Earth Day and Spring gardening! Before creating our DIY wildflower seed bombs, we headed to our local nursery to get some tips on flowers that bees and other pollinators would like. We found out that bees are particularly drawn to blue flowers and that yellow flowers appear blue to them! It’s a good idea to find wildflowers that are local to your area. The bees will enjoy them and they will be sure to grow well in your local soil and weather. Our local nursery had several different wildflower seeds and blends to choose from. In the end, we chose the Arizona Summer Bloom Wildflower mix for our seed bombs since we live in the hot and dry desert climate of Arizona. DIY Wildflower Seed Bombs Supplies: Construction paper Food processor wildflower seeds silicone mold Directions: 1. Start by tearing your construction paper into small pieces. We chose 2 pieces of purple, 2 pieces of pink, and 2 pieces of green construction paper and kept them separated by color. Tip: 2 pieces of construction paper made about 4 seed bombs for us. 2. Soak the pieces in a bowl covered in water for 20 mins. Drain off most of water and blend paper in the food processor. 3. Once your paper is blended, squeeze out any excess moisture. Press some paper into the bottom of your silicone mold, just enough to cover the bottom. 4. Add a pinch of wildflower seeds to each mold. TIP: try to keep the seeds in the middle and away from the edges. We had some trouble with the ones my son did, being too full of seeds, and the top and bottom not drying together because there wasn’t enough wet paper to create a good seal. 5. Add more of the paper on top of your seeds and press down to seal and cover the seeds. Let your seed bombs dry overnight. 6. Once they are dry, gently pop out your wildflower seed bombs from the molds. We created a free printable that you can download and use! Wildflower Seed Bomb Printable PDF Click here for printable PDF We put our wildflower seed bombs in a clear bag, folded over the top, and punch holes in it. We tied off our printable and baggie with a pretty ribbon and surprised some friends with them. The instructions are easy. Just toss them out in your yard, water them and they will grow wildflowers in a few weeks! Check out these other posts you may like: Flower Garden Parfaits DIY Floral Bunny Headband

I love indoor plants but after collecting quite a few, I needed a pretty way to display them. I created this DIY Hanging Plant Decor to display my indoor plants. I've even gifted them to friends for their birthdays. Supplies: Large branch (Mine is dried cholla cactus but a branch works just as well) Macrame plant hangers Small pots twine large hooks potting dirt plants (this holds 5 plants) hot glue sandpaper (optional) Shop project supplies: Directions: Clean your branch and sand down any rough edges as needed. Decide how far apart you want to space your plants and in which order you want to hang them. (My order from left to right was the one with the weaved pattern, double hanging basket, beaded hanging basket, and lastly the twisted style hanging basket. Using your twine, wrap it around the wood where you want the plants to hang, putting it through your hanging basket loop or ring several times, and tying the hanging basket to it. The plants get heavy with dirt, water, and the plant themselves so make sure you wrap it several times to give it good support. Secure your knot several times. I used hot glue on my knots after I tied them several times and trimmed down the excess. Repeat the previous process for the following hanging baskets. To create a way to hang it, near the ends of the last hanging baskets, tie more twine, making a loop at the top for your hooks to slide in. You may have to measure this one to make sure the hooks can be looped under. Using a drill, attach your hooks to the ceiling. Hang your hanging planter on it. I planted each plant in their respective pots and then gently placed them in the macrame planter. Be sure to keep the saucer under the pot to catch any excess water later. And then sit back and enjoy your masterpiece! This hanging plant decor really brightens up the bay window in my breakfast nook. Do you have a favorite indoor plant? Mine is the Tradescantia with its stunning, shimmery purple and green leaves. You can find a Tradescantia plant care guide for them on Bloomscape.

We are in our Valentine era and we're loving it! We have shared watercolor lover cookies, DIY bracelet glasses , and friendship bracelet skewers and fondue ! Today, we're sharing some super cute free printable Valentine's Day cards for Swifties! These would be perfect for your little Swiftie to give out to their class or friends this Valentine's Day! These cards are the perfect mix of classic conversation heart candies and Taylor Swift lyrics. We created 4 different but similar designs. Download our free Swiftie Valentine's here. These would be so cute attached to a pack of conversation hearts or add a friendship bracelet to each one! Save this to your Pinterest board for Valentine's Day so you can find it later! For more Valentine's Day content, head over to our Valentine's Day page to read them all. Looking for another holiday or want to browse by season, we have that too.

I wanted to create a simple DIY Halloween bunting banner that could be used for different Halloween décor not only for this year but for years to come as well. I kept it simple with a classic black-and-white color combination. I found black pre-cut burlap bunting at my local craft store and I used white craft paint to freehand paint my letters on the bunting. I added simple ghosts for a little spooky touch. It looks great with my DIY cheesecloth ghosts . Easy DIY Halloween Bunting SUPPLIES Black burlap (or sturdy black fabric cut to shape, felt might work too) White craft paint and paintbrush Twine Large needle White scrap fabric Cotton balls Black marker White thread DIRECTIONS: Step 1: Cut your fabric to the shape and size you want. Mine are about 5 x 7 inches, and then I cut it angled in at the bottom to make the bunting shape I wanted. Step 2: Using white craft paint, paint “Happy Halloween”, one letter at a time, on each of the bunting pieces. This took a long time but was worth it in the end. You may have to do 2 or 3 coats to get the white just right. Step 2: To make the ghosts I just used 4 jumbo cotton balls wrapped in a piece of white fabric and tied with white thread. I drew on black eyes with the marker. Step 3: Using a large needle and some black and white twine I threaded on each letter to make my banner. I made 2 separate buntings, one for the word “Happy” and another for “Halloween”. Step 4: String the ghosts through the head on each end of the word “happy” to complete your banner. Hang and enjoy for many Halloweens to come! I made mini versions of these buntings when I made my DIY cheesecloth ghosts . Head over to that post to make this craft . Looking for more Halloween? Check out these posts: 13 Spellbinding Witchy Books to Read this Fall Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam Starbucks Copycat Recipe

We love a pretty flower bouquet but today we are upping our game and making a DIY book bouquet that is perfect for surprising a friend or loved one! These make great birthday gifts for bookworms in your life. DIY Book Bouquet Supplies: Books cellophane tape scissors duct tape or another sturdy tape wooden dowels brown paper (or paper of your color) string or twine tissue paper (optional) ribbon fresh or faux flowers - I used 2 different types of fresh flowers Directions: Pick your books. I found the book bouquet easiest to make with three books otherwise the bouquet gets too big and heavy to hold. Wrap each book in the clear cellophane and tape them up. Like little presents. This keeps the books protected but you can still see what the books are when you make your bouquet. Using duct tape, attach a dowel to the back of each book. Then you can arrange your books in a shape with 2 books in the back and 1 book in the front. 4. Now that we have the basic shape, cut out your brown paper to be slightly wider and longer than your books on sticks. Do this twice, you'll save the second piece of paper for later. ( Note, if you want more color you can add tissue paper between your books and the brown paper). I like the simplicity of the brown paper and flowers but feel free to personalize it to suit your needs or the person you are giving it to. 5. Next, we're going to place flowers around to form the bouquet. I used 2 different flowers to add contrast but keep it simple and not visually overwhelming with too many colors. 6. Now you're going to fold over the paper at the base, leaving the top open. Tie with twine to secure it. 7. This is the time you are going to use that second sheet of brown paper. Cut it in half so that you have two almost equally sized pieces. Fold one piece at a diaganol as seen below and lay it on the front of your bouquet bunching it together at the same spot where you did your first layer of brown paper. 8. Repeat this step a second time on the other side of your bouquet. Tie wtih twine or tape to secure it down. 9. Lastly, you can decorate your bouquet with a ribbon and you have a beautiful DIY book bouquet to give as a gift! Check out our Gift Guide for Book Lovers for more gift ideas! Want books to fill your book bouquet? Click on these images to head over to these other posts out for book inspiration.

Welcome to our female rage era! We can't believe it has barely been over 1 month since The Tortured Poets Department has dropped and we're fully obsessed with listening to it. We decided it would be fun to try to recreate Taylor's watch necklace that she wore at the Grammys when she announced TTPD. It was easier than we expected and we had a lot of fun creating it. Here's how we made this DIY TTPD clock necklace! Supplies: Watch faces 5/8 velvet ribbon jewelry making kit wire clamps super glue tape measure scissors Directions: Measure your neck or whoever you are making this necklace for. Then you will cut your ribbon 1 inch shorter than you measured. Our model measured 13 inches so we cut our ribbon to 12 inches long. 2. Grab one of the crimp clamps out of your jewelry-making kit and line it up on one edge of your ribbon. Use your wire clamps to close it gently, squeezing along the edge of the clamp. 3. Choose what watch you want to be the watch for your necklace. Slide it on the other side of your ribbon, making sure the ribbon lays behind it. Once you get the watch centered on your ribbon, add some super glue to the back of the ribbon to help secure it in place. Let dry completely, this only takes a few minutes. 4. Now you can add the same type of crimp clamp to the other side of your ribbon, using the same technique you used with the first side. 5. Add one jump ring and 1 claw clamp to one side. Use your wire clamps to open and close the jump ring. You'll want to do this on whatever side your dominant hand is on so you can put the necklace on easily. Also, decide how you want your watch to orient on your neck. Taylor's watch had the 12 facing her left ear so we did the same. 6. On the other side you can add the string of jump rings using your wire clamps. You're done! It's a pretty easy craft. You can play around with different types of ribbons or other necklace accessories you like with it. We tried a lacy ribbon but, ultimately it wasn't sturdy enough to hold up the watch. Be sure to check out our Taylor Era page with lots of fun ideas or if you're looking for TTPD specific posts, head over to our candle painting TTPD listening party , TTPD inspired gift guide , and black and white snack board .

My kids and I are huge Harry Potter Fans. I read the series with my daughter and now my son and I are halfway through the final book. Whenever we finish a book, we watch the movie and have a Harry Potter Movie night with things like Mad Eye Moody Meatballs or Butterbeer Milkshakes . The kids love it and it's so much fun! We also collect some of the wands. We made this DIY Harry Potter Wand holder out of wood to display their wands on in their rooms. DIY Harry Potter Wand Holder My kids love displaying their wands from Wizarding World at Universal Studios as well as Mystery Wands and Dark Arts Mystery Wands . Supplies: 18 inch wooden plaque 18 inch x 2.5 inch wooden boards, one for each wand sandpaper L shaped screw hooks , about 1.5 inches in size ceiling hooks , about 1 inch Small screw eyes , about 3/4 inch craft paint wood stain sawtooth picture hanging brackets Directions: Make sure all your wooden pieces are smooth. Sand any rough spots down with your sandpaper. Then, we added a pretty wood stain on all our pieces. Once that was dry we painted the word "wands" on the large wooden plaque. You can also personalize it with the person's name. 3. Use the L hooks and create "ledges" for your wands to sit on. These are nice because wands are different sizes so some need to be further out from the wood if the handles are thicker. I used 2 L hooks to hold up each wand and adjusted it to fit each wand handle. 4. Using the ceiling hooks and small screw eyes, you can link together the wand-holding pieces to hang down below each other. 5. Add sawtooth picture hanging brackets to the back of your wand holder and you're ready to display your wands.

Throw a Taylor Swift themed The Life of a Showgirl Party Orange Feather Decor // Gold Star balloons // Plastic Champagne Flutes // Letter Balloons // Number Balloons // Flaming Heart Dessert Plates // Orange star balloons // Custom Showgirl Banner // Feather Boas // Marquee Stars // Orange confetti poppers // Orange Poptarts // Green nail polish // Orange nail polish // Showgirl headpieces // Olipop // Stagedoor Sign // Feather fans // Orange tinsel backdrop // Red Carpet // Orange scalloped plates // Green glitter table runners We love a good, themed party ! Today, we're sharing our The Life of a Showgirl themed party because Taylor Swift 's 12th album is coming out October 3rd and we are beyond excited! With the signature orange and mint green colors, lots of glitz and glitter, feathers and fun! For food, we would make up a batch or two of these orange poptarts and serve some champagne , orange flavored Olipop, or sparkling grape juice in plastic champagne flutes. We noticed during the Eras Tour, that Taylor liked to coordinate her nails to the album color. So, we picked glittery orange and mint green colored nail polish to have a nail painting station for our showgirls! What else would you include? Are you excited for Taylor's new album? For more Taylor themed fun you might like these other posts: Gifts for Swifties DIY friendship bracelet glasses Throw a Taylor Swift Themed Party Taylor Swift Era Themed Books

Taylor Swift's latest album, The Life of a Showgirl aka TS12 came out on 10-3-25. If you've seen my other posts, you know I'm a Swiftie . I listened to it at least 4 times on the first day. Some people love it, some people hate it. For me, it took a few listens and some time away, before I really enjoyed it. I have to admit; they are some bops! I can't help but sing along with them! I decided to turn The Life of a Showgirl into a treadmill workout based on the fact that they are very pop and would be good to strut to. Of course, everyone's fitness level, stride, and comfort speed are different, so this is just a guide to get you started. You may have to adjust the speed to suit your specific fitness level. Let's get into it! The Life of a Showgirl Treadmill Workout How to calculate a song beats per minute (BPM) Set a timer on your phone for 15 seconds. Play a song and tap along to the beat. Start the timer, count how many times you tap in the 15 seconds. Multiply that number by 4. Example: in the song Opalite, I count 31 taps in 15 seconds, multiplied by 4 = 124 bpm How to use BPM to determine treadmill speed Beats per minute can also translate to steps per minute, taking one step per foot on each beat. Opalite is perfect example of a 1 beat per step song. You can set the treadmill to 3.5 -4.0 mph for the 124 bpm speed for walking or bump it up to 4.5-5.5 mph for a jog like we did in our treadmill workout. Once you get the hang of it you can see this trend emerge: Slow ballads = 60–80 BPM  = 2.5–3.5 mph (walk) Pop/hip-hop = 90–110 BPM  = 3.5 - 4.0 mph (brisk walk) Upbeat Pop, EDM, dance = 120–130 BPM  =3.5 - 4.0 mph (brisk walk, 1 step each beat) or 4.5- 5.5 mph (jog) Fast rock, punk, high energy pop = 140–160 BPM  = 5.0–6.0 mph (jog) or 6.5–8.0 mph (run, step every other beat) I mixed up the track list so that we had some variation between walking and jogging/running, while also allowing for warmup and recovery songs. Give it a try! Also, I would love to hear from you, what is your favorite song on the new The Life of a Showgirl album?

These donuts are the most perfectly easy, 2-ingredient baked goods I think I've ever made. With just a can of pumpkin and a spice cake mix, you can mix up these donuts in about 20 minutes total! Perfect for when you want a quick bite of Fall. Pumpkin Spice Donuts *makes: 12 donuts total time: 20 mins 1 box spice cake mix 1, 15 oz can pumpkin puree Optional Sugar + Pumpkin Pie Spice and/or can of cream cheese frosting Tools needed - Donut baking pan Preheat your oven to 350. In a medium bowl, mix together the spice cake mix and canned pumpkin. Yep, that's it! In a sprayed donut baking pan, spoon or pipe your dough mixture. I used a spoon to fill the donut pan which makes a smooth side and rough side. Piping would be smoother all around but also take more time in my opinion. I also like the rustic look of the donuts when dipped in frosting, they remind me of old-fashioned donuts Bake your donuts for 12-14 minutes. Once cooked, while the donuts are still warm you can either mix together 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and coat your donuts. Or, heat about 1/2 a container of cream cheese frosting in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften it and dip half the donuts for a glazed donut. Both ways are absolutely amazing. Serve immediately for a breakfast, party, or just because you need a cozy fall treat! Note: Add your frosting or sugar right before serving for best results. These pair really nicely with our Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam coffee recipe!