Pecans & a DIY

11.15pecanbowl-5Our pecan bowl gets bigger and bigger each year. If I have to endure the fall and winter months, at least there are pecans. Granted, I would rather eat my pecans with ice cream on a hot day…I’ll take what I can get. Our generous friends let us come gather pecans at their farm again. Here are links to the last two years: 2014, 2013

11.15pecanbowl-111.15pecanbowl-211.15pecanbowl-3Shaking the pecans from the tree…11.15pecanbowl-4I decided to make a new ‘pecan’ bowl this year. Americana DecoArt released a new line of paint – Americana Decor Maxx Gloss. It has a finish like spray paint, only you can brush it on and use it inside. You can find it at Micheals (in-store, online), Home Depot (select stores, online) and Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Stores (in-store, online).11.15pecanbowl-6I wanted to do small dots all over the bowl, so I used the end of a paintbrush and practiced a little first.11.15pecanbowl-7I chose to make the bottom more concentrated and then thin out the dots as I got higher on the bowl. Part of me wanted to do a more intricate design, but with kids interrupting I knew I better stick with simple.11.15pecanbowl-9It reminds me of snow falling…feels very ‘winter-ish’ to me. Pecans are the sign that the cold months have arrived and more time will be spent at the table than outside.11.15pecanbowl-10“I make it through the dark, cold months by cracking pecans most nights.  It is something I did with my grandma growing up. My grandparents had a huge pecan tree in their little yard. Every year hundreds of pecans would fall to the ground. We’d make a game of gathering them up and grandma would crack and jar them all. Her freezer was always full of big glass jars of pecans. My grandparent’s kitchen table always had a bowl with shelled pecans on it. As we gathered around that table, it just felt natural to start cracking pecans. When hands are busy, we lingered at the table longer.” – me, 2014 post11.15pecanbowl-1111.15pecanbowl-1211.15pecanbowl-13Letting the kids crack the pecans creates a MESS. Part of me wants to avoid the mess by not letting them join in, but the bigger part remembers growing up cracking pecans with my grandma. I am confident I made a big mess too, but not once do I ever remember her mentioning it.

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