Alternative pumpkin decorating

BOO! Halloween is fast approaching. Time to get planning! Whether you're past your dressing-up years or not, it'd be wrong not to mark the occasion with a carved pumpkin or two. We've shunned traditional approaches and rounded up the coolest alternative pumpkin decorating DIYs on the web.

Kicking off our round-up is the very dedicated (and artistically blessed) Alisa Burke. We've never seen such a spectacle as Alisa's painted pumpkins. Not so much a DIY as a gaze-in-awe-and-don't-even-think-about-attempting-it, we'd be distraught when it was time to throw these away.

For a much more achievable take on the metallic on white design, click over to Paper'n'stitch. A little white paint and a Sharpie or two is all that's needed for these simple and chic metallic spotted pumpkins.

Ramping up the glam factor a notch is A Field Journal. This sparkly pumpkin DIY combines a pale base with a liberal sprinkling of glitter for an eerie shimmer.

Not dramatic enough for you? If you really want to make a statement, check out Monograms and Manicures. This chevron pumpkin comes in neon pink with a heap of gold glitter to boot. Pair with a green spotted design to really start your Halloween with a bang!

Wordless Wednesdays ... ribbons

By Sophia Jansson at Mokkasin.

See more wordless Wednesdays.

Craftivist Jigsaw Project

The Craftivist Jigsaw Project is an amazing new campaign from the Craftivist Collective.

The Craftivist Collective has launched their Jigsaw project in support of Save the Children's Race Against Hunger.

Some of the biggest names in UK craft have joined forces to try and get hunger at the top of the agenda at the next G8 meeting taking place in the UK next year.

This isn't any regular charity project. As you'd expect, to get involved you'll need to get your needle and thread out!

The Collective is asking crafters to stitch 3 jigsaw pieces with campaign messages. One will then be included in an art installation to raise awareness of of the problem. Another will go to your local MP to ask them to be the positive change they'd like to see in the world. The final piece is for you to keep for yourself, as a reminder to be part of the solution.

Visit the Craftivist Collective website to join the Jigsaw Project now - you can follow everyone's progress on Twitter (#imapiece).

Video : Cheese of the month

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QV3iw_YgGMg Time for the second of our fantastic cheese of the month videos. As autumn really draws in, Ann-Marie Dyas recommends a Gruyère.

But not just any Gruyère, oh no. This is a 3-time world champion Gruyère.

Click play to find out all about what makes a champion cheese, and what to do once you've got your hands on this award-winning masterpiece!

You can see the first of our cheese of the month videos here - don’t forget to subscribe to The Simple Things YouTube channel to keep up to date!

Autumn cross stitch charts

The Making Spot is our first stop for cross stitch charts, crochet and knitting patterns.

Our latest Making spot finds are these vegetable and leaf cross stitch charts. A little stitched motif is a fab way of personalising something - simple and so versatile. Allow us to demonstrate with some ideas...

Off the top of our heads, we're thinking:

1. Birthday card for a green-fingered friend (mount on card)

2. Hand-made art for the kitchen (keep in the embroidery hoop, hang on wall)

3. Pretty personalised napkins (find plain napkins, embroider in corner)

See what we mean? Pop over to The Making spot to download the cross stitch charts and get inspired by a whole heap of other crafty projects while you're at it.

Shop love : BEG Bicycles

BEG Bicycles has the prettiest cycling accessories we've ever seen. Fact.

You might have noticed that The Simple Things issue 2 has a bit of a cycling theme. We know looks aren't everything, but we can't help but wonder if an afternoon whizzing through crispy autumn leaves couldn't be improved by one of the gorge bikes or cycling accessories from BEG Bicycles.

This Cambridge-based business has a whole sweetshop's worth of confectionery-coloured bikes, plus classic brown leather saddles, wicker bike baskets and (perhaps our favourite) woollen picnic rugs which can be strapped to your saddle.  Aaaaand...breathe.

We know it's a little early, but we think that this would be the perfect place to pick up some Christmas pressies for our bike loving friends.

Gathered by Mollie Makes is here!

Gathered by Mollie Makes has finally arrived! We're a little giddy about getting our hands on this excellent new digital craft mag.

Gathered is a new weekly magazine for the iPad from the geniuses behind Mollie Makes.

There will be three new craft projects for you to feast your eyes on each week, plus interviews with your favourite designer-makers and plenty of interactive loveliness. Best of all, it means we now have much less time to wait to get our Mollie fix!

Gathered is available to buy NOW through the Apple Newsstand - subscribe now and get 5 free issues!

You can also keep updated with all the latest news through the Gathered Facebook page and Twitter feed.

We're a little biased, but we think this might just be the most exciting launch since our own.

The Simple Things Etsy lookbook

The Simple Things has curated an autumn lookbook for Etsy UK!

Etsy is where all the coolest and most talented indie makers and designers hang out. The Simple Things team are all massive fans, so we were honoured to be asked to curate an autumn lookbook for Etsy UK.

Want to see what we came up with? Click over to the Etsy UK Facebook page to see our pick of the best quirky, quaint and downright lovely products to in the cooler months in style.

Wordless Wednesdays ... baking

By O The Brave Music.

Vegetable of the month ... sweetcorn

It's vegetable of the month time again! Our champion veggie for October is *drumroll* ... sweetcorn! We'll preface this by saying that of course, all anyone really needs to do with sweetcorn is slather it in butter. Boom - delicious. However, that doesn't make for a great round-up. So, if you're in the mood to branch out a little, read on ...

First of all, how pretty and lovely is Naturally Ella's sun dried tomato and sweetcorn risotto? Very, is the answer. This recipe makes sweetcorn look a whole load classier than we ever imagined it could. Rustic, hearty and perfect for a nippy October evening.

Another option for a simple sweetcorn supper is Love and Olive Oil's sweetcorn ravioli recipe. Home-made pasta is little labour intensive, but absolutely worth the effort once in a while. Show off your hard work with pared-back and delicious flavour combinations - fresh herbs, rich ricotta and a light white wine sauce.

Another fan of the sweet-corn/creamy cheese pairing is Naturally Ella. If we had an 'interesting party nibbles we'd like to try' list, her sweetcorn and cream cheese potstickers would be at the top.

For a casual lunch with friends, A Couple Cooks has come up with a recipe for sunshine yellow sweetcorn muffins that could brighten up the dullest day. Serve with fried root veggie crisps for all the colours of autumn on a plate!

Finally, we need to give an honourable mention to a recipe which sounds totally barmy, but received so many rave reviews on foodie blogs we couldn't ignore it any longer. That recipe is ... (wait for it) ... sweetcorn ice-cream. Click over to Cook Republic for a how-to, and let us know if it's as ridiculous as it sounds!

Video : Cheese of the month

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV3iw_YgGMg Ann-Marie Dyas from The Fine Cheese Co. is The Simple Things' resident cheese expert. Each issue, she'll be sharing with us her favourite cheese of the month.

The Simple Things team are huge cheese fans (could you tell by our choice of launch party venue?!) but we're the first to admit we're not exactly experts.

In contrast, what Ann-Marie Dyas doesn't know about cheese isn't worth knowing! Her enthusiasm for her produce at The Fine Cheese Co. is so infectious we knew we had to get her involved in The Simple Things.

In this, the first of her cheese of the month videos, Ann-Marie shares with us her favourite goats' cheese, plus a delicious looking (and super-easy to make!) supper idea.

Don't forget to subscribe to The Simple Things YouTube channel to keep up to date with all our latest videos!

Air freshener pouch DIY

This air freshener pouch tutorial from Sincerely, Kinsey is a cute way of making your home smell sweet.

Sincerely, Kinsey is always full of beautiful craft and DIY ideas, and none more so than this air freshener pouch DIY. The little cotton bags with retro stamped labels are surely the loveliest way to keep your rooms sweet-smelling.

We can't wait for festive season, when we can fill our pouches with cinnamon and spice and enjoy the aroma of Christmassyness all over the house!

Pop over to Sincerely, Kinsey for a photo how-to and more crafty inspiration.

Try unplugging

Unplug for one day each month. Sounds a little scary, doesn't it? Blogger Emily from Peck Life says it's worth it.

How often do you check your phone each day? How long do you spend Tweeting, or surfing the net? When we stumbled upon Sarah's project to 'unplug' herself for 24 hours once each month, it got us thinking. How difficult would it be to go a day with no phone, email, social media, no TV?

And would we see any benefits?

Sarah says that unplugging helped her to feel more present and really connect with what she was doing, not to mention giving her a whole chunk of time back! Pop over to Peck Life to read all about her experiment.

Has anyone else tried going 'unplugged'? Share your experiences with us below!

October Gardening tips from Rural Mums

The allotmenteers at Rural Mums share their tips for gardening jobs to do in October.

Autumn may have well and truly set in, but there's still plenty to do in the garden. Rural Mums - an online community of countryside-dwelling mums and dads - includes a top team of growers dedicated to sharing their seasonal gardening tips.

Their most recent post is a round-up of things to do in your garden in October. There's also a collection of helpful posts to guide you though a year in your garden, whether you're after a beautiful floral display or something that'll provide you with veggies for the table!

Book launch: Wonder Walls

Wonder Walls by Sarah Bagner is a scrapbook of interior design ideas with a difference.

If you've ever browsed the virtual walls of Sarah's online store, Supermarket Sarah, you'll know she has something of an eye for displaying things beautifully.

Wonder Walls: a Guide to Displaying your Stuff takes its lead from the Supermarket Sarah site, and is filled with ideas for using your possessions to adorn the walls of your home. You know all those trinkets and fabulous vintage pieces of clothing you're hoarding in wardrobe and under your bed? Here's your chance to get them out and show them off.

Sarah has travelled all over the world to meet the people who have found ways to turn their treasures into wonderfully off-kilter design features, then picked the most inspiring, interesting and quirky walls to share.

Wonder Walls by Sarah Bagner is published by CICO and is available to purchase online here.

Wordless Wednesdays ... autumn skies

By Janis Roseanne at My Suitcase Heart.

Slow holidays with Inntravel

Holidays are meant to be relaxing. We don't know about you, but we're big advocates of taking a little extra time and making the effort to turn something ordinary into something special and personal.

That goes for what we eat, how we shop and approach our days. It also goes for how we spend our holidays. When work and family life is crazy, nothing is better than escaping the real world for some R&R.

One idea we like are 'Slow Holidays', by our friends Inntravel, which aim to let you 'see more, discover more, remember more'. Ahhh, sounds bliss!

Slow holidays are not about following the tour group, but carving your own way, immersing yourself in another way of life, exploring and taking your own time - no matter whether you're after a hike in the Himalayan foothills or a gentle cycle round little villages in Europe. With detailed guidance from Inntravel’s notes, you’re free to go entirely at your own pace, and to unearth some enticing little finds along the way.

What is your idea of a slow holiday? We'd love to hear!

Apple butter recipe

This apple butter recipe is perfect partner to the dee-licious rugelach we shared in our firework night feature in issue 2.

Rugelach is a bite-size pastry filled with spices and chewy dried fruits - perfect for a nippy firework night. Any kind of jam can be used for the filling, but for a wholehearted autumnal flavour, nothing beats apple butter.

Our recipe of choice comes for one of our fave baking blogs, apt 2b baking. Baker Yossy ropes in friends to help her make a big batch every year. Check out the apt 2b baking blog to see how she does it.

Have any of our readers tried our rugelach recipe? Let us know how it went and don't forget to Tweet us a pic!

WIN an iPad with Gathered by Mollie Makes (closed)

Our sister mag Mollie Makes is launching a weekly digital craft mag, Gathered, and giving you the chance to win an iPad!

Gathered by Mollie Makes is a brand new digital craft magazine exclusive to the iPad, coming soon. Each week, the Mollie Makes team will bring you an interactive mag full of inspiring crafts, interviews with designer-makers and new projects to inspire you to get crafting!

To mark this exciting occasion, they're offering you the chance to WIN a brand new iPad, and a whole year's subscription to Gathered along with it. To find out more and enter into the draw, visit the competition homepage.

Gathered will be hitting Apple Newsstand  store later in October, so follow on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with all the latest news!

DIY painted terracotta pots

Give your houseplants a makeover with this colour block terrracotta pot DIY from Lovely Indeed.

We have a lot of time for a touch of gold in the house, especially when pared with simple matte white to tone it down. Make like blogger Chelsea and hang your new plant pots from the ceiling with twine to show them off properly. Lovely, indeed!