wonderwoman creations

2011-08-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have been wondering where I have been for the past month or so...most of you probably have not. Either way, I have just enjoyed life and my family so much that I didn't want to stop and take the time to write and to edit and upload photos. I know that's a bit stinky of me, but that's what I am--stinky, especially since it's been a hot summer! So hot, in fact, that I cut off at least 15" of my hair in an effort to cool down a bit.

It helped quite a bit, and my morning routine has shortened considerably.

I thought I would come back all fiery and strong at the end of Summer with some fabulous tutorials and such, but to tell you the truth, I really haven't missed my blog much. It may or may not have run it's course. I have lots of new things I wish to pursue...one being a new blog with a fresh theme and feel to it. So, put me on the back burner for now, and check on my in a little while.

Lots of love to all of you, your thoughts and comments really make me smile.

Smashing Cakes

2011-07-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

I have a new obsession...

Making darling little 6" and 4" cakes!

These were made for little one year old birthday cake smash photo sessions. It's fun to see these cakes enjoyed by such darling little girls.

Check out these additional photos by my friend over at ModernExpressionsPhotoBlog.

I live in Utah, and yesterday was our state holiday, Pioneer Day. To celebrate, I made a little 6" beehive cake since Utah is the "Beehive State". It turned out so cute!

Then I added some beehive cupcakes to go with it.

The little bees are made from fondant that I placed on toothpicks.

The problem I am having is that there are far more cakes that I am dreaming of making than there opportunities to make them.

If you live in Utah and are interested in purchasing a cake from me, please email me at Deborah.Purplepinwheel@gmail.com

My Fourth of July

2011-07-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

I have 5 favorite holidays that rank in this order:

1. Christmas
2. Easter

3. Independence Day

4. Thanksgiving
5. Valentine's Day

Tabletop decor I made for the food table

This Summer has already been a busy one, what with project after project to prepare our house to sell, millions of visits to the chiropractor and orthodontist, a family vacation and then visits from out of state in-laws, I am pooped!

I almost decided to spend my 4th of July lounging around in my pj's and sleeping. I knew I would later regret that decision so I sucked it up and planned a party for my family.

I made some darling place mats with denim pockets, then whipped up some red, white and blue pieced table toppers for the centerpieces. I also added some mason jars filled with glass pebbles, water and floating candles. Inspiration for the place mats came from HERE. Inspiration for the centerpieces came from HERE.

After piecing the blocks, I couldn't bring myself to finish them as I had originally planned. I LOVED them so much I decided I would make more and put them all together in a quilt for picnics, or just to look at over and over again. Like I said in an earlier post, I'm a sucker for patriotic stuff.

I couldn't resist making some cupcakes so I could use the darling flag picks!

At the end of the night, after eating, a water balloon fight and games, we watched fireworks with the kids, my family and some of our neighbors. I was beat after a day of playing and working, but I'm so glad I did rather than sleep the day away. But nothing will stop me from doing that today.

Eye Candy for Independence Day

2011-07-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for any quilts with pinwheels or stars. Add the colors red, white and blue and I can't resist! Check out these fun quilts for some Independence Day sewing inspiration, then come back tomorrow to see my own patriotic sewing projects!

Flag Quilt by Olivia at Teaching Good Things

Stars and Stripes Quilt from 13th Street

Flag Quilt at Humble Quilts

Maverick Star Quilt by Theresa at Sews and Sews

Patriotic Quilt by Deb Geyer at Contemporary Traditions

I don't typically even view quilts from a catalog since they are usually poorly made and quilted, but I love the design of this one!

Let Freedom Ring Quilt from Quilt Valley

Homeport Quilt by Patchalot

Have you made any patriotic quilts? Share a link with me, I'd love to see!!

Needle Turn Applique Tutorial- Part 2

2011-06-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

Last time I showed you how to prepare your fabric shapes for applique using a board covered in sandpaper. I also mentioned that I used applique pins for this. They are teeny tiny. See the comparison in the image below. Applique pins fit in all the little corners so I highly recommend using them for this.

Watch this short video to see how to sew your prepared fabric shape to your base fabric using the needle-turn applique technique.

Next time I will show you how to maneuver outer corners so come back again!

Darn Hole- Needle Turn Applique tutorial, Part 1

2011-06-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

I love crisp white pillowcases, freshly pressed, and I especially like to make them for gifts. This is one of my favorite wedding gifts to give.

I had just finished sewing up a fresh pillowcase when I noticed a hole!

See it? I know, it's tiny, but even a tiny little hole ruins a perfect pillowcase. Normally I like to embroider something fun on the band, but this time I had to do something else to fix this annoying problem.

My solution? Add some simple circles using needle turn applique to cover the little imperfection.

To do this, I picked some adorable fabric scraps.

Then, using my circle template, I traced various sizes of circles on the right side of each fabric. I use a foam core board with a peice of sandpaper glued to the top of it to trace on. This is such a helpful tool! It keeps the fibers of the fabric from slipping away from the point of your pencil as you trace, and if you ever try to trace something onto fabric without this, you will understand my frustration here. I also like to use a mechanical pencil, it just works so well and the lines erase easily if needed.

Cut out each circle adding about 1/4" seam allowance. This does not need to be a precise measurement or cut.

Then layout circle in a random pattern, overlapping some of them. Pin them in place using applique pins. I use this type of pin since they are so short so they are not in the way of the needle on smaller pieces. ( I actually have silk pins in the picture below, until I noticed I had the wrong kind, then switched them)

The next step is the hand sewing. I'm saving this part for next time since it can be a bit long to read all at once, though it really is a simple and quick project.

My aunt taught me how to applique using the needle turn method. It was such a relief to see her do it, it really was so simple! I had been trying out many different methods of applique, trying to find another way besides the iron on fusible web and machine stitch. That can be cute, but I wanted to know how to get that clean look of the turned fabric and invisible stitches. I was unhappy with all of the methods I tried until she showed me how to do it this way.

Come back to see how to finish this project!

Kit Kat Wedding Cake

2011-06-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I made this cake for my daughter's birthday. See my post here. This cake was a big hit all around! I thought it would make a lovely wedding cake using the white chocolate Kit-Kats. Fast forward a couple of months...

And here is a very small white chocolate Kit-Kat wedding cake I made for an acquaintance.

This cake had too many issue to count, a few being that I only had 3 hours from start to finish to make this cake, I had to make this while my husband was tearing apart my kitchen, I could only use supplies on hand except for the Kit-Kats which I had already purchased, and it ended up leaning!

This is a funky image as well since pictures taken inside an LDS church building often end up hor-ri-ble! I did my best to remove the basketball hoop from the background and the orange hue that the lighting gave off.

I now re-name this cake The Leaning Tower of Kit-Kats.

Next time will be better, I hope.

Luckily, the bride and groom loved it. WHEW!

Take Control of Hunger this Summer

2011-06-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

It's Summer break. The kids are already running around like banshees, riding bikes and scooters, playing tag, jumping rope, and simply putting it... HUNGRY ALL THE TIME from all of the calories they are burning.

I decided to take control this Summer of the constant need to ingest huge amounts of crappy food that is easy and convenient. How to do this? Well, it better be easy, and convenient and not have the nutritonal equivalent of-

So what's the plan?

First of all, I like to be prepared when grocery shopping. Before going, I take a little time to pick out some meals to make that my family loves. I like to throw in a new recipe or two each time to try out. I get very tired of eating the same things over and over again. After creating my menu, I look through my fridge and pantry to see what I have and don't have for these meals. That is how I create a no brainer shopping list. By doing this, I spend less money AND I know I will always have the needed items on hand to create my meals.

check out this cute menu board from Heartland Paper

Another thing I like to do when cooking is making twice the serving size as my family needs (it really doesn't take much more time, if any) then freeze one half of it to use later for a different meal. After doing this a couple of times each week, I've stored up a good amount of convenient meals without any hassle.

Freezer meal recipes from Joelen at What's Cookin, Chicago?

While perusing Pinterest recently, I came across the most brilliant idea for snacks from Real Simple! Check this out

A plastic storage container in the fridge with lots of pre- portioned and prepared snacks to grab quickly. I love how everything is all in one place, neat and tidy. It's perfect even for my 4 year old to handle when she needs a snack.

Today, I did this for my family. I went to the store, collecting all of my family's favorite snacks that were healthy (mostly). Then I came home and had the kids help me cut things up and portion out the snacks in to little baggies. They were so excited about this new plan for our family that they kept picking what they were going to pick for their first snack, then they would excitedly change their minds with each new item I brought out to pack up.

Some of the items we included were:

*apple slices and caramel dip
*roasted sunflower seeds
*crackers and a cheese stick
*mini pepperoni and a cheese stick
*yogurt
*veggies and ranch dip
*cottage cheese with Salad Supreme seasoning to sprinkle on the top
*grapefruit halves (not precut)
*granola

I ended up buying more than would fit in my large Rubbermaid container, so I now have a designated shelf in my fridge just for snacks.

I took this idea a little further and purchased some convenient items to store in my pantry for the times we want to go on an impromptu picnic. I LOVE picnics! I have the cutest picnic basket just waiting to be filled with yummy items and then topped off with a red and white checked tablecloth.

We are lovers of all things fruit over here at my house. Here are some fresh ideas for great snacks using fruit.

1. Chocolate chip stuffed raspberries from Sasha Libby

2. Homemade Fruit Leather from Georgia Pellegrini

3. Fresh Fruit Pops from We Heart It (fill popsicle forms with sliced fruit, add fruit juice and freeze)

4. Rainbow fruit kabobs from Quick Dish

5. Chocolate Covered Kiwi Slices, found on Pinterest

6. Stuffed Apple Rings from Room for Dessert

You are now ready to feed the world. Or at the very least, your family.

It Pays to Weed

2011-06-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

The weeds are taking over my yard!!!

Finally, with a nice day to myself, I headed outside to conquer the jungle.

While weeding in the flower beds, I came across a dime.

So it does pay to weed, but that is slave labor, and that it what I had children for (at least that is what THEY think). In the end, I didn't even get to keep the $.10. My 4 year old ran off with it. HUMPH!

I have come across a lot of interesting things deep down in the dirt over the years as I garden such as an old tennis shoe, tools a love note from the school down the street (which sadly included some very adult topics that are too mature for children) etc...

I'm still waiting for that BIG find that will put this place on the map. What that find may be, I have no idea, but I doubt it involves a shoe,

or a dime.

2011-05-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

For all of you who are remembering loved ones who have passed away-

I wish now that I had not packed up all of my scrapbooks and family photos in preparation of selling our home. I really wanted to share with you a picture of my Sister-in-law that passed away almost 7 years ago while serving overseas. She was a Captain in the U.S Air Force. Today I remember many of my family members who passed away, but I especially think of her and her family.

I like to celebrate one's life, not worship their grave.

May you all have a happy and family filled Memorial Day!

The Ugly Frame- a Makeover Story

2011-05-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

So what did I do with my free time all last week? A TON I tell ya!!

-First of all, I finished painting my living room walls and ceiling.

-I took my girls to the park several times for a picnic.

-I sorted through every space in my home and reduced everything we owned by 1/3.

-With all the stuff I pulled out to get rid of, we had a huge yard sale and made a pretty penny.

-I weeded for hours and hours. I'm still not done. UGH!

-I made some very nice meals for my family which have been poorly neglected the past few weeks.

Then I spent time making over this frame from my local thrift store.

Miss Whiny Pants

2011-05-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

To reclaim my free time and find a little more peace, I took a week off from computer land, ie. photoshop, blogs, facebook, email, etc..
What did I do with all of my time during that week?

You will have to wait til tomorrow to see since I found a wonderful surprise awaiting me when I exited the shower today that I had to share with you. (I'm noticing a recent trend of interesting things happening around here while I'm in the shower, like my 4 year old playing hairdresser and cutting off 4" of her hair all over her head, resulting in me chopping off her beautiful long golden locks to her shoulders. I found hair that she had cut all over the house for days!)

Back to the topic at hand. I get out of the shower and hear my oldest daughter asking if I had invited a family that is close friends of ours to come over today?
"No", I reply.
"Well they are here with a bunch of tools and going to the backyard." She informs me.

I immediately knew they had come to tear up our rotted deck that we have been trying to get to for a year. I don't know why my tear ducts are always malfunctioning, but they promptly began leaking rivers of tears as I thanked my Father in Heaven for such wonderful blessing as these good friends.

They made short work of this project. It really helps to have the right tools for the job. My husband had torn up half of the deck this past week and they finished the other half today, just in time to load it into the community clean up dumpsters that will come to my street tomorrow.

I find myself whining and complaining to God an awful lot.

Then He reminds me just how blessed I am.

Addicted to Blogland?

2011-05-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

I would venture to guess that a fair amount of you are addicted to Blogland, or Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc...

I know I AM!

This week I am taking a step to reclaim my free time. I may be crazy (well, okay, don't say anything more) but I have a plan. For the next 7 DAYS, you won't see any of these from me-

Nor will you see me on Facebook, or surfing the web. I give myself 20 minutes each day to check my mail and my etsy shop. THAT'S IT! Hopefully this will help bring some peace back into my life during some already crazy times and free up some time.

Wanna join me? Perhaps you are crazy too.

My Brush with Fame at Free Pretty Things for You

2011-05-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today I get to rub shoulders with a fabulous woman named Keren from Free Pretty Things for You. Keren has to be the most genuine and sweet person I know. Get to know her, seriously, she's wonderful!

She created two great printable cake banners to make for your mothers this Mother's Day. I had the honor of making the cake and creating two different ways to top them using her free downloadable image. Keep on reading for the how-to and the downloads!

The most uninspiring post of all time. Unless you like cake, or throw pillows.

2011-04-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Fitnesstipsforlife.com

After a long winter, Spring has finally shown it's face a wee bit and I suddenly have plenty of inspiration and motivation. Then I go and do something stupid, and injure myself. And now I have even more back trouble than before. So what do I do with all this pent up motivation and inspiration while laying around day after day? Nothing to write home about.

I did make some throw pillows.

Not exciting.

Except to me.

They really are pretty.

Before all of this, my 10 year old got braces and an appliance in the roof of her mouth to spread her jaw open, and my 7 year old had surgery in her nose and mouth. OUCH! While recovering from all this, my youngest daughter had her 4th birthday. I planned a last-minute pitiful party, but the cake was to die for!

I saw this several years ago at Made in Melissa's Kitchen and waited for the perfect opportunity to make it. This was one of the easiest cakes I've made yet! I REALLY want to make a wedding cake version of this. I can already see it in my mind. Now I just need a willing bride...and a good back.

Easter Egg Packets

2011-04-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

For the Primary children in my ward this week, I have made these little Easter egg packets. Eggs are said to represent new life which is why they are a symbol of Easter. Makes sense to me. I made them using pages from and old book and they contain hidden surprises.

Read more »

You like me! You really do!

2011-04-13T14:48:00.001-07:00

Today I was finally invited to join Pinterest. A unique virtual pinboard where you can categorize and share all of your favorite things. I just started adding some images and links of my favorite things to it and then I thought I'd do a search for items from my own blog that others have pinned. To my surprise, I found that many of you like me (or at least my projects)!

Read more »

Seam Finishes

2011-04-12T07:16:00.001-07:00

As I was preparing a step by step tutorial of all the different seam finishes there are, I came across this post by SEW, MAMA, SEW!

She has done all the work for me (and you) even though I had already begun the process. sigh. When it comes down to it, everything has already been done at least once before if not a thousand and all one really needs to do is a quick search to find what you are looking for.

Read more »

Floppy Eared Bunny Purse Pattern- Free!

2011-04-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

Spring is still taunting me here in Utah. Today we had a good 8" of snow in my yard when I awoke. Someone forgot to tell Mother Nature that Spring officially began on the 20th of last month. At least I had a beautiful day this week to hurry and snap some pictures of this darling little purse so I could share it with you.

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Crispy Carpet Room Redo

2011-04-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

When we purchased our home the year my husband and I were first married back in 1999, it had some ~~repulsive~~ interesting elements to it, such as the dry sauna room in the basement, or the 20 plant hooks in the living room and bathroom. But the room that really kept me awake at night was this one downstairs-

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The Adventures of Mr. Chick and Felt Grass Tutorial

2011-03-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

The long and cold winter has finally come to and end and lonely Mr. Chick is searching for green pastures to call home.

Machine Quilting Tips and Fun!

2011-03-23T17:47:00.001-07:00

In THIS post I mentioned that I learned something new that I wanted to share. After 10+ years of wanting to know how, I FINALLY learned how to machine quilt!!!! I have attempted a couple of small quilts in the past with poor results. Then I saw these two tutorials that made all the difference.

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Finally! A way I can help those in Japan

2011-03-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

It is easy to get stuck in the mind frame of the helpless observer, especially when the need is so great, and so far away. I also feel such guilt being frustrated about my own problems, when in comparison, they are pathetic. I have a comfortable home to live in with warm beds. My family has plenty of food to eat and we are all healthy. That is 4 more large blessings than so many people in Japan can boast right now and I am happy to have something to do about just a tiny portion of it.
Read more »

Milestone 100!

2011-03-12T08:02:00.000-08:00

I finally reached 100 sales in my shop!

To celebrate, I thought I'd have a sale...

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Quilt Binding Tutorial

2011-03-03T11:34:00.000-08:00

I have spent many years along side my aunts, mother, grandmother, sister and cousins hand quilting away on a quilt to give as a wedding gift for a family member. I always feel a direct link to the past when I am doing handwork such as this and it makes me smile. I sometimes think I was born 100 years or so too late.

This week, I finally learned something new that I have been dying to know for many years (which I will share with you shortly) but for now, it gave me the chance to make a tutorial for you on something I've done many, many times before.

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Pirate Hat Cake

2011-03-02T16:21:00.000-08:00

After taking my beginner's cake decorating class, my oldest daughter wanted to use her now amazing skills so she volunteered to make her uncle's birthday cake last Saturday.

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Cake class and Cookie Monster Cake

2011-02-16T19:42:00.000-08:00

Yummy colors of frosting ready to use at a beginners cake decorating class I taught last week.

Me and Why I Blog

2011-02-16T07:47:00.001-08:00

I have a handful of favorite blogs. I am always curious about the people behind them, who they are and why they do what they do. Perhaps you are curious too?

This is me.

L-O-V-E Punch Needle Embroidery

2011-02-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

Sick of Valentine's stuff yet? Not me! I can fill my life with all the love I can get. Here's my last project for this holiday.

Read more »

Fabric Covered Journals for Valentine's Day

2011-02-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

If you are my sibling, STOP READING THIS POST! (It's not that I don't love you, I do, really, but you will spoil all the fun!)

If you are NOT my sibling, read on dear friend.

While strolling through Michael's Craft store, I came upon these sweet journals in the dollar bins. I loved them, but wouldn't you know, I could not find the monograms I needed to give them as Valentine gifts for my sisters. I purchased a handful of them and brought them home to cover them instead.

before- above

after- above

I loved them so much when I was done, I went back and purchased a handful more, just to have as gifts on hand (or maybe for myself as I am a journal junkie).

These were simple to make, and there are about 4 million tutorials (maybe even 5) out there on how to make these, such as HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE so I won't bother you with yet another tutorial, but I will give you a little tip...

With the first one I made, I added enough of a seam allowance to topstitch all around the edge, which also secured the flap that holds the cover in place at the same time. The problem I had was this, I broke 3 needles trying to sew through all of those layers with the top fabric, a thin batting and the back layer, as well as having it folded over again.

Instead, I made the rest of them with a smaller seam allowance and simply whipstitched the layers together by hand. I like how it looks as well, but it does take more time.

With only a few days left, I am now ready to shower the people I love with love!

Up next- another punch needle project for Valentine's Day!

My Best Wedding Cake Yet!

2011-02-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

I made this cake last week for a lovely bride, Angela, who is a friend of mine. She wanted something traditional and classy. I love how this one turned out! The wedding was beautiful and the couple are happy and on their honeymoon right now.

I learned some new things making this cake so the next one will be even better. I love learning new tricks and I really enjoyed making this cake for you, Angela. And I am especially grateful that my ankle made it through the day!!!

note:thank you Tamra at ModernExpressionsPhoto for the beautiful pictures.

Felt Circles Table Runner -or- The Ameobe

2011-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

I had this idea in my head of a table runner made entirely of felt circles stitched together. It was so simple to make.

I traced 3 concentric circles on a cream piece of felt and spent some time cutting them out while watching a movie with my girls.

Then I placed all of the circles down on my table randomly, making sure at least two edges of each circle were touching another.

At first I began connecting them to each other with a simple whipstitch. I had a hard time with this as I had just cut the tip off of my left thumb and the huge bandaid was in the way. I resorted to simply gluing them together wherever they touched with craft glue, let it sit overnight to dry, then pulled it up from my craft table. There were only a couple of spots on my table with glue which was simple enough to remove with my fingernail (NOT the one I chopped off the day before).

Here, I've layered the Ameobe table topper over a sheer, sparkly table runner.

This bowl was a birthday gift from my sisters and mother. Isn't it beautiful?

A family of Dolls

2011-01-28T07:28:00.000-08:00

Earlier I showed you my first attempt at making a Black Apple Doll, which could also be confused for Piglet. I also mentioned that my two older daughters each made one themselves.

This is the one my 10 year old made. I sewed the body closed (this is the hardest part- trying to maneuver the presser foot around the body with the arms and legs stuffed inside), but she made the rest.

I think it turned out lovely. She donated it to Grandma's toy chest so all the grandchildren could enjoy it.

This is the doll that my 7 year old made. She wanted a tiny one so we used the pattern before it was enlarged. She picked the fabrics, stuffed the body, sewed it closed and painted the face and shoes, but I sewed the limbs and body.

She has carried this doll with her non-stop since she made it, including taking it to bed with her(which is why the hair is all fuzzy now). I love that she can this doll to show her children someday and tell them she made it when she was 7, if it can hold up through all the abuse it gets til then.

I remember making dolls with my mother. I loved it, and the time spent with her. One year my mother wanted to purchase a new wedding band for my father for their anniversary. She started selling dolls to earn the money. She made dozens of them with the sweetest dresses, pinafores and pantaloons, all trimmed with ribbon and lace. My job was to make the hair. I used yarn and wound it around wooden dowels then baked it. When it was cool, I slid it off the dowels and snipped them into the proper length. My mother stitched it on the dolls. It made darling hair. My father had no idea about the ring and she was able to find him the perfect one. When it was time for me to get married, I did the same thing to help earn money for a down payment on our house.

I do a LOT of sewing, crafting and cooking with my children and at times I have enough of it. Then I ban all crafting of any sort for a while that involves me in any way, but we always end up back together at the sewing machine making something new. My 10 year old wants to start teaching sewing classes for children now.

I hope my children remember these times with fondness.

Hidden Love Notes Heart Pillow with Free Pattern

2011-01-27T09:48:00.001-08:00

A couple of days ago I showed you some of the fabrics I purchased for my birthday. I couldn't wait to make some sweet decorations for Valentine's Day using some of them.

I made some soft little hearts with a pocket to hide little love notes.

They are very simple to make but I thought I'd still share the entire process for those of you who are beginners at sewing. (keep reading for the pattern as well as a unique style of embroidery to embellish them with)

1. Cut out your hearts front and back as well as the pocket using the pattern given at the end of this post. The pocket is pinned to one of the hearts and basted in place.

2. Basting the pocket makes it easier when it comes time to stuff and sew the heart shut.

3. Place the front and back hearts right sides together and stitch around the edge, leaving a small opening for turning and stuffing. Don't forget to clip your curves and corners.

4. Turn right side out and press. Stuff the heart and whipstitch the opening closed.

And now to cute them up a bit with some unique embroidery...

I purchased a punch needle quite a while back and made a good 5 or 6 things with it that week. Then I put it away and promptly forgot about it until now. For those of you who have not tried it yet, punch needle embroidery creates a fuzzy, dimensional image and it is so very easy to use and works up quickly.

Here is a link on how to embroider with a punch needle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb5cLvOQuWE&feature=related

Here is a link on how to thread the punch needle (though the video is a little blurry)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eAanRlf5AU&feature=related

The directions tell you to be cautious not to make your rows or stitches to close or the fabric with curl- but I am putting this on a curved surface, so I crowed them in there.

5. After I embroidered my heart, I trimmed off the excess fabric, leaving about 1/2" around the edge.

6. Then I pressed the remaining fabric back.

7. Pin the embroidered heart in place on a finished stuffed heart.

8. Stitch the heart in place being careful to only catch the backing fabric with your needle and not the embroidery. This part is tricky.

Now they are all done and I can leave little notes for my Valentine every day in the little pockets.

Here is the pattern I made for you to use for personal use only. Enjoy!

Heart Pillow Pattern

Winner of my Birthday Present Giveaway!

2011-01-26T12:12:00.000-08:00

What does a cake decorator make for their own birthday cake?

This was my interesting ALL CRUST cake that I made. Now before you judge my choice of design, I would like to mention that I spent the entire day before my birthday baking cake after cake after cake for an upcoming wedding and for some cake decorating classes I am teaching. Whenever you bake a cake, it domes in the center, which is then cut off to level the cake. I seriously had a TON of cake tops and was not about to bake another cake the next day when I had more than enough already.

I took some of the cake tops, spread some frosting on them and layered some more. I trimmed the edges off of the bottom layer so it would fit a little better on a plate and Voila! A yummy birthday cake that is made up entirely of the best part-THE CRUST! hee hee.

Now onto the best part of this post-the giveaway winner!
The winner(as chosen by my impartial 3 year old) is commenter #4: hokie
I will notify you by email. Thanks for sharing in my birthday fun!

It's My Birthday!

2011-01-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday and I am celebrating!

I went shopping yesterday with my sister at Pine Needles and picked up some cheerful fabrics for my birthday present. I like to purchase my own gift so I can pick out just what I want, and that way my husband is off the hook to remember.

Just look at these bright fabrics! Oh the possibilities!

Now to celebrate, I am giving away this cute little pincushion I made from a thrift store find. I just love cute little things so this one is a favorite of mine.

To enter this giveaway:
1. Become a follower of my blog (if you are not already)
2. Leave me a comment with your email address so I can contact you when you win.

This giveaway ends tonight at midnight as that is the end of my special day, so enter quick!

Looking for Volunteers

2011-01-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

First of all, I thought I'd share my version of the much loved Black Apple Doll. I can't believe it took me so long to finally getting around to making one! Now that I have, I think I will have to make many more. My oldest two girls also made each one of their own as well. I'll have to share pictures of them when I get around to taking them.

This one is for a birthday gift. Next time I will make the ponytails smaller as I think she looks a bit like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh.

Now on to the fun part...

~~I am in need of 4 volunteers to test and photograph some of my fabric hair curlers~~ that I sell in My Etsy Shop.

I already have all the testers I need now. Thank you.

Here are the details.
I make 4 sizes;
small 4" long by 3/4" in diameter,
medium 4" long by 1" in diameter,
large 4" long by 1 1/4" in diameter,
and mega curlers 4" long and 1 3/4" in diameter.

Hair needs to be long enough to wrap around the curler at least 2 1/2 times to hold and curl well.

I need one person per size to test and photograph themselves with their hair in the curlers as well as after it is curled and styled. I will choose the curler fabric and ship them to you with instructions for use, but you can request the size you would prefer. This can be for a child or adult, but the photographs need to be of a good quality (good lighting, well focused, clean background, etc). These images will be for me to use in marketing.

If you are interested in testing a set of my curlers, please leave me a comment requesting the size you would like as well as a way I can contact you to let you know if you are picked to test. For those who are picked, you will also receive one of my strappy headbands in your choice of colors- black, brown or gray.

A Few Helps for Primary

2010-12-29T15:14:00.000-08:00

I typed up the Scripture Cookie recipe to fit on a 3x5 recipe card once folded. I plan to give these out this Sunday for sharing time with a Family Home Evening packet. I thought I'd share.

Scripture Cookies

I also made an iron on transfer to put on some scripture tote bags that we will give to the children for their birthdays this year. I forgot to reverse it before uploading it, so make sure to check that option to print in reverse.
Scripture Bags for Birthday Gifts 2011

Little Treat for Little Hands

2010-12-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

For my Primary Children yesterday I gave them a little treat for Christmas. I've seen these around Valentine's Day but thought they would be perfect to share a Christmas message with the children.
To make these suckers visit Skip to my Lou for a tutorial. After making the hearts. I filled the centers with melted white chocolate that had little bits of red peppermint dots in it, but milk chocolate also tasted yummy!

Then I wrapped each with a 10" square of cellophane and added a tag and a ribbon to it.
These are the tags I made. They read:

Look at the Candy Cane
What do you see?
Stripes that are red
Like the blood shed for me
White is for my Savior
Who’s sinless and pure!
“J” is for Jesus My Lord, that’s for sure!
Turn it around
And a staff you will see
Jesus my shepherd
Was born for Me!

HERE is another cute tag you may like better.

These suckers were a hit! They would be great in a stocking, or as a quick gift to give to people stopping by.

Scented Hand Warmers

2010-12-20T06:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas carolers seems to be a tradition long forgotten around my neck of the woods. I decided to revive it. Recently I gathered together a large group of friends and family who love to sing and we went caroling as a family night service activity. It was a lot of fun. I had purchased some small battery operated votive candles for us to carry as we walked along, and I also made some caroling booklets with music found HERE.

After we were done we came back to my house for cookies and hot chocolate. Then as a thank you, I gave each person a set of scented hand warmers.

Yes. I've seen versions of these everywhere. Foot warmers and hand warmers filled with rice or feed corn. But just in case you haven't seen them yet, here's a quick rundown of how to make them.

1. For each pair I cut 2 rectangles of cotton fabric measuring 3 3/4" x 9".

2. Fold each rectangle in half with right sides together. Sew around the 3 cut edges, leaving an opening as shown for turning and stuffing. Turn right side out and press.

3. Fill with a tiny bit more than 1/2 cup of scented rice. This is where my children helped. I made a paper cone to help me fill them. Sew the opening closed with a whip stitch.

4. To make scented rice, choose an oil with a pleasing scent. I chose one that had a cinnamon and nutmeg smell, since the rice smells when it is heated. I thought these smells would compliment each other, but don't complain to me if you suddenly have a strong desire to consume large quantities of rice pudding. Add a few drops of oil to your rice. I mean it, drop-by-drop. I didn't have quite enough so I tried to add another drop and it POURED out! I ended up scenting a 10 lb bag of rice with that. At least I have enough now to make a gazillion of these.

I placed a set in a little gift bag and added a tag that I made using an image of sweet carolers from my friend at Free Pretty Things For You.

Felt Wreath Ornaments and Karate

2010-12-16T11:22:00.000-08:00

I know I have been missing in action lately. I have just been so busy thoroughly enjoying this Christmas Season with my family that I haven't taken the time to post anything.

Now that I am all done with my Christmas preparations, I thought I would share something fun with you.

These felt wreath ornaments are simple and quick to make, a good last minute gift. To give them, I covered an old oatmeal container with decorative paper and ribbon.

They stacked perfectly inside with some tissue paper. I added a tag to the lid and voila!

To make your own, here is a pattern for you.

Wreath Pattern

And now something random, just some of today's musings.

I spent the morning watching a movie from my childhood, "Karate Kid II". As a young girl, I LOVED these movies!! Well, pretty much everyone did. You would see boys wearing their newly acquired karate uniforms everywhere, whether they actually knew karate or not. My brother did, and he would practice his special kick all day long. Anyway, back to the point. When I watched the movie today, I was surprised at how all of the "amazing" parts of the show were just plain ridiculous to me now. My girls and I spent the entire movie laughing and laughing.

My new favorite line from a movie would now have to be when Mr. Miagi tells Daniel "only use drum technique as LAST resort"! Well, of course that makes sense due to it's level of violence and difficulty which involves dramatically swinging ones arm from side to side. You know, this is the Miagi family secret defense. So secret, in fact, that only the entire town knows it-excluding the one person who Danielson must use it against. He must have missed his training the day it was taught.

While I am on my tangent, I would also like to point out that it really doesn't seem a big deal to me now like it used to that Danielson's leg was broken in the first movie during the tournament. I mean, have you SEEN the size of his legs? They are like chicken bones. My 3 year old could break them!

I am sorry if you really love these movies still, or if you are Ralph Macchio, it's not your fault you were given a really poor part to play, or the fact that you walk like a sissy.

A Claire De Lune Morning

2010-11-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

This morning I hopped in my car to run a quick errand. I turned on the radio to listen to some music and on the classical station I often listen to was playing the song Claire De Lune by Debussy. It brought a mood of reverence as I drove through the snow lined streets. We had a big snow storm yesterday and the world was covered in white.

Below is a picture of my home I took yesterday morning when I woke. (I had 14" in my yard)

As I was listening to the beautiful music, a magpie soared directly in front of my vision. It was a stunning sight set against a snowy white backdrop.

I felt that this music and image was prepared just for me, to make me smile. I thought of a line from the song Silent Night. "All is calm, all is bright". What a wonderful way to start my day. This is a perfect week as Thanksgiving approaches to feel gratitude in all our circumstances and to find God's love in everything around us.

Musical Christmas Wreath Tutorial

2010-11-19T07:27:00.000-08:00

I am not as creative as many of you may think. I rarely have an idea that is all my own, like this wreath I made.
I saw a version of this at a scrapbook store on Halloween. It had a spiderweb and spiders. It really was cute and I'm not even a fan of any Halloween stuff. When I saw this I immediately thought it would be a beautiful base for a Christmas wreath.

The original one was made from an old book. I used some old, useless sheet music. I cut down my music to 5"-7" sheets. Sorry if any of you are die hard moody blues fans, but I had this book for a good 15 years without once playing any of it and determined that this was all it was good for.

The base of the inspiration wreath was a grapevine wreath, but I wanted to make mine less thick so I made mine out of cardboard. Plus, the cardboard was free and free beats everything out almost every time.

I used a dinner plate and a bowl to make mine. It was about 11" in diameter. I cut two circles and layered them with the lines of corrugation in opposite directions to help strengthen it, then I hot glued them together.
Then I wrapped the ring with some gold ribbon. Now it will look pretty from the front and the back.

Next I began making cones out of the music I cut up earlier. This is what took an eternity! When you are making yours and you think you have enough, you don't. Believe me- just keep on rolling. I made my cones with the corners of each page brought together to the tip, making a nice point. This also keeps them uniform in size and shape.

Then I inked the top edges of each cone with some dark brown. If you use a book to make this, you can simply ink the entire book together and then cut out the pages as you need them.

Next, glue the cones down in two layers-starting with the bottom layer (This really goes without saying). Glue them so that small end of the cone just touches the edge of the inner ring of the cardboard ring.

For the second layer, fold the small tip back a little, about and inch or so to make them a little shorter and glue them down on the first layer.

I think everything in life is better with glitter, so this is when I added mine. I added a line of glue around the edge of each cone and sprinkled some gold glitter over it. Then let it dry before decorating your wreath.
Now is the fun part. Decorating your wreath! I first wanted to used musical instruments on mine but couldn't find any easily. So I opted for more glittery things. Every item in it has sparkles, except for the little sign.
If I let you down with my lack of originality, I'm sorry. Actually I'm not. It's just easier that way. lol

Happy Holidays!

Rose Cupcake Wedding Cake Tutorial

2010-11-16T19:36:00.000-08:00

The day finally came last week for the cupcake wedding cake I was to make for my friend's daughter.
I make a TON of cupcakes. I could have fed a third-world country with them- but don't they look pretty?

Don't you want to make some now? Well, here's how I did it, and stick around to the end to see the cake all together.

To get the two-toned frosting, I first painted a stripe of red food coloring one one side of the bag, just like I showed you on the previous post. Then I dropped in a spoonful of red frosting on one side of the bag and a little less white on the other. I just went back and forth spooning the frosting in until the bag was full. Before using, pipe the frosting off of the cakes until it comes out mixed. After refilling the bag twice I used a new bag to keep the colors clean.

Here is a video of how I piped the frosting using a large 2D star tip.

(update: so after months of this video being available to you on my blog, it suddenly stops working. I have tried uploading it again and again to no avail. The next time I make these, I will make a new video for you. until then, try watching THIS)

The cupcakes were used for the bottom two layers, but the top was a traditional style 6" cake.
It was frosted with butter cream and topped with the roses I made and froze previously.

Here is the final cake.

I had folded tiny origami paper cranes that I suspended above the cake using clear thread.
I was so pleased with the results and so was the bride!

Once the couple cut the cake, I placed the remaining cupcakes out for people to take. This really was a fun and unique cake. I love the challenge that comes with each cake. This one is my favorite though.

Buttercream Roses- So Easy, Even a Child Can Do It!

2010-11-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

I took a 4H class in cake decorating as a young girl. It was SO MUCH FUN!! I later took another course in my late teens just so I could learn how to make roses at the end. Unfortunately, I never could seem to get it. I think I am just a bit slow in the head (and I'm quite certain that most, if not all of my family and friends would agree).

Now, I am making another wedding cake for a friend's daughter and she wants the top layer covered in what else? Roses!

I guess it's time to finally learn.

First off, she wanted RED roses, and red can be a tricky color to get. I used no-taste red food coloring since it takes at least half a jar and red can taste bitter. It still was a dark pink and adding more coloring didn't help, so I used another technique to help.

This gave the dark pink petals some red edges. It was subtle, but helped. After about a day, the frosting color darkens a bit and now is a beautiful red.

I reviewed several online videos on piping roses which gave me the confidence I needed to try again for the 100th time.
Here is one of the videos I watched

My first attempt this time was good and it only got better from there. You can see the subtle difference it made to add the food coloring to the bag. This technique works well with contrasting colors as well.

My 3 girls all wanted to try their hand at it.
Below is my 3 year old having fun with frosting.

Here, my 7 year old was serious about figuring it out and she did really well. It made my first, second and thirteenth attempts look pitiful.

Here is how my girls did.

I made these in advance so I would have plenty of time to practice before the big day in a week and a half. I froze the roses I liked to see how they would hold up and defrost. I was concerned that they would sweat when thawing out and cause odd spots on the roses. I found that they thawed out just fine at room temperature.

I can't wait to show you the cake - I feel like a professional now!

What is Success?

2010-10-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

Just a little something I've been thinking about. How do YOU measure success? I'd like to hear.

More Pincushion Fun!

2010-10-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

Time for more pincushions since the first group I made were so fun and popular! The pins in this retro pincushion were the most difficult of all to make but are my favorite so far.

I'm not the biggest fan of teddy bears but this guy called to me. I absolutely LOVE the mushroom pins I made.

This bright ceramic chair is super cute. The hard part with making all of these is I want to keep them all, but alas, not enough room (plus it really wouldn't be a business if I kept everything I made, though I'm tempted). The most fun part about making these is deciding just what to make the pins into to match the pincushion. Everything is one-of-a-kind.

I can't seem to help myself when it comes to little tiny things like this little flower basket. I had to fill it with rose pins.

I had made quite a few more adorable pincushions to show you, but they got snagged by my mother before I could get some pictures taken of them. Not to worry, I have a pile of containers just waiting for me to make into more unique pincushions.

These are soon to be posted in my ETSY shop for those of you that are like me and MUST HAVE IT!!

What makes YOU smile?

2010-10-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

I am so very, very sad today. My heart is heavy and I wish to lighten my sadness.

I decided I would share some of the things with you that make me smile on a day like today.

Above is a picture of my daughter (left) and my cute niece from this summer. This picture definitely makes me smile.

I am a sucker for all things teensy tiny, such as this cute little bear in a little box, from a shop called Sparkle-Rama found HERE

Below is a salt-dough husband and wife I made a while ago as a silly gift for a friend of mine. The woman turned out quite busty.

Check out my nephew. He is hilarious! I'd like to see you try and make this face!

Have any of you every checked out Color ME Katie blog? I found her blog another day when I was down, like to day, and without fail--her sweet posts always make me smile. I love her creativity and light-hearted spirit.
Check out her blog HERE. You will not be disappointed!

Hopefully this made you smile too.

Sharing Time Help and Handout for the First week of October

2010-10-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

The Sharing Time Outline is great for this week, with one problem for me... I have a teensy tiny little primary with a good half of them from inactive families. This can make it difficult to fill the entire time depending on whether the children watched Conference or not. So my plan is this-

I will begin by sharing a story from a previous Friend article located HERE. The story is about Prophets teaching us to open doors we could not open ourselves. Then I will give the children the opportunity to share things they have learned from General Conference. Hopefully this will fill our time and be a wonderful experience for us all. If they do not take all the time, then I will continue on...
I have had my husband print me a poster-sized door (he owns a large-format printing and signage business making it easier for me to do this. You could simply draw one). I will have envelopes containing brief messages given at General Conference and a picture of the General Authority who gave the message. After reading these messages, the children will be given a big key to open the door, revealing a large picture of Christ. This will reinforce the message that by listening to and following our Prophet, we are given the key to finding Christ.

Click on the images below to enlarge to print for your own use. This is the large key (front and back).

Below is the handout for the children. A key printed on cardstock. Layer with the heart containing text with a sticker of Christ placed on the back. String a ribbon through the holes on the top for the children to wear as a necklace.

2010-10-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

Remember this assortment of glass from a previous post? I showed you pincushions I had made from some of it, but my main goal when I went shopping was to find something to make a unique tiered cake stand for a wedding cake I am making in November.

My friend's daughter wanted her wedding cake to be cupcakes (thankfully since any idiot, like myself, can make those!) so I needed a self supporting stand. I found a lot of lovely pieces and decided upon this final assortment to make the cake stand.

The bottom tier is my grandmother's cake stand I inherited so I don't want to permanently attach the remaining tiers to it. I am searching for the right solution to this as I want something that is sturdy to hold it together, yet temporary. The rest of the layers I glued together with E600.

The top layer will be a traditional 6" wedding cake while the rest will be cupcakes.

The only problem with all of this is I have become addicted to shiny glass. I just can't help myself when I am at the thrift store. I always come home with new items to add to my ever-increasing stash. Someday, I will be ready to fully stock my own shop with custom tiered serving sets! Or, perhaps I will become a true hoarder and die among piles and piles of glass dishes. Either way, it's pretty.

Need an Uplift?

2010-09-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

What a great message in this youtube video. Check it out for a good cry and a great feeling.

Never Ever Give Up

Don't forget to watch me sing tonight online!!

A Peek inside my world

2010-09-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

For once, my sewing room is mostly clean, a reason to celebrate!

I thought this would be a good time to share my creative space with you. It is nothing to write home about but I enjoy having my own place to do as I wish. I love that I can work up a storm, then close the door and leave the piles of supplies strewn about until I am ready to continue working with them again. The added bonus? It is also the only place in the house that I can kick the whole family out and shut the door. It doesn't happen, but I still retain my right to do so! I also consider everything in this room "MINE"! Unlike everything else I supposedly "own". All of that is apparently common property according to my children.

The sunlight was hidden behind the clouds today so the lighting is poor in this video, making everything look yellow.

On my wish list to finish this space...
* Paint the floor in a checkerboard pattern with pink and cream
* Get a matching floor rug
* Paint my filing cabinet which I use to store my patterns
* Refinish my grandmother's sewing machine cabinet in an antique white color
* Get better lighting

I love my new storage for all the cotton fabrics I have held onto. Anytime I make something, there is always fabric leftover. I never throw it out, I use the scraps for a ton of things. But my storage system of just throwing them in bins was not working. I ended up building a cabinet myself to perfectly fit the space I had. Then I wrapped the fabrics around little bolts made of foam core. The idea for that came from THIS BLOG POST. Now when I walk into my sewing room, I feel like a kid in a candy shop, with so many colorful fabrics out to see and give inspiration.

Thanks for visiting my blog. I enjoy getting your feedback and reading your comments. You always brighten my day!

Vinyl Quote Art for Sister Jollie

2010-09-22T12:15:00.001-07:00

It may seem strange to you to hear me calling everyone Brother or Sister, related or not, if you are not a member of the same church I belong to (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). But that's how we do things. It shows our true relationship to everyone on the earth as we are all children of the same God and therefore- Brothers and Sisters.

Anyway, the choir director that is leading the women's choir I am in right now is Sis. Jollie. She is genuinely wonderful!! At a recent practice she shared a thought with us that I loved.

The babbling brook would lose it's song if the stones were taken away.

I thought it would be a perfect gift to give her at our last practice. I cut it out of vinyl and applied it to a beautiful kiln dried board of oak wood. It was simple but I felt it needed nothing else.

I gave it to her with a poster size print with the words "Carry On" with some river rock in the background. That really would only seem funny or interesting to you if you were there at the practice with me. Everyone had a good laugh at it and I am glad that she loved it as much as I did.

I was pleased with how the vinyl turned out so I made one for myself as well as a handful of extra ones for applying to your wall. The vinyl is about 33" wide x 8" tall. If you are interested in purchasing one of these, feel free to email me to see if I have any left.

Wonderwoman11@comcast.net

Pumpkin Pincushion Winner!

2010-09-21T07:10:00.001-07:00

Daisy, comment #4. You are now the proud owner of the cutest little pumpkin pincushion. Sending an email your way...

Vintage Glass Finds and GIVEAWAY!!

2010-09-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

CONTEST NOW CLOSED

(Sorry about the accidental post just a little bit ago before I had finished, I posted it instead of saving)

It has been WAAAAAAAY too long since I have had a giveaway (a year to be more precise!) so today is the day. Read the full post to find it.

Warning: this post contains an abundance of pretty photos, avert your eyes if you can't handle it. Aslo, if you are allergic to lots of glass and cuteness, please leave the room now.

As I was digging through the piles of tackiness at my local goodwill store, I spied the mother load of treasures! I was originally there searching for a solution to a cake stand dilemma I was having (another post on my solution later) when I suddenly saw great potential in many of the cast off knick-knacks they had piled deep there on the shelves.

Filling my cart with what I would normally call "Grandma Junk" I headed to the checkout with giddiness. The checker, seeing my cart sighed at all the wrapping she was in for.

Once at home I began uncovering all the sparkliness with a good scrubbing. I loved seeing the sun hit the glass, lighting them up.

Then I started sewing, stuffing, gluing and sculpting to create an assortment of unique pincushions and decorative sewing pins.

Here are the pincushions I made.

First up is a tribute to my state of Utah, the Beehive State.

These little guys are adorable!

This is one of my favorites. Each little blossom was hand cut and beaded.

The bright teal color of this tiny flower pot made me smile. I had to fill it with colorful blossoms. After shaping the pins, I hand painted them to match the pincushion.

This pincushion was my favorite, as well as my mothers. She purchased it the second she saw it. I was already making a different one just for her when she saw this one and wouldn't take "free" for an answer. It makes me think of a cake on a pedestal.
I think I like this one the most because of the hand embroidery and because the colors match my sewing room.

I made this little pin just for my mom.

This rose pincushion is so tiny, only 3" across. It sits in an itty bitty porcelain bowl with roses on the sides.

This is a pins and needles set. The larger pear sits on a glass stand and holds your pins. The smaller one is for needles. The pins in this one were fun to make. I made an apple, a large leaf,and the cutest one of all is the tiny worm that looks like "Slimy" on Sesame Street.

This one I call "Strawberry Sundae". The little strawberry pincushion hanging from the side was so fun to make. It is topped with more strawberries.

This one is perfect for this time of year. I made a sculpted pumpkin pincushion and placed it in a green glass goblet. My Grandmother had some beautiful glass serving pieces in this color. None of them survived.

Each of these have been posted in my Etsy shop, check them out HERE.

Now for the good part, the GIVEAWAY!
I made this sweet little pincushion just for you guys to love. It's a little pumpkin with a teeny tiny decorative pumpkin pin. This one is perfect to display your own collection of pins or to keep by your machine as you sew.

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment with your name and a way to contact you if you win. One entry per person. This giveaway ends Monday night at 9pm (MST). Please share the love and post a link to this post on your blog.

CONTEST NOW CLOSED

Singing With the Choir

2010-09-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

I have been given an amazing opportunity!

Have you heard of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? Their music is well known and beautiful. They sing during what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints calls General Conference. There are several sessions of General Conference, one of them being a session just for women. This is when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir takes a break and another choir, made up of every day women, get to sing in their place. This year I have the privilege of doing just that!

I have dreamed all my life of singing with the Tabernacle Choir. Now I get to do the next best thing and sit in the very same seats with a large group of amazing women who possess such great talent and spirit. The music chosen is amazing and I have absolutely LOVED attending the practices and sharing time with these great ladies. Our director is Fantastic and I wish every one of you could be there with me to have this same chance to experience the greatness of these women surrounding me and the feeling in the air and in my heart.

If you would like to hear what we are singing as well as some wonderful spoken messages, you can:

General Relief Society Meeting Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 6:00-7:30 pm (Mountain Daylight Time).

Live audio broadcast on Radio.lds.org
Live audio and video broadcast on Broadcast.lds.org

Bring Back the Old and Throw Out the New

2010-09-10T06:31:00.000-07:00

How to re-cover a much loved, but gross, ironing board cover

I love my ironing board. It's quite wide with a spot on the end to hold my iron. It is so sturdy that my iron hasn't dropped once in the 5+ years since I've had it (knock on wood). But, alas, the cover has seen better days. My search for a new one to fit this size only produced one pathetic cover from the big "W". I purchased it thinking anything would be better than my current stained cover, then quickly put the old one back on.

Since it's the pad on the old cover that is so great, I spent some time unpicking the binding around the edge of it so I could re-use just the pad. This part took the most time, while making the new cover only took maybe 20 minutes, so I just unpicked while watching a show. I am good at multi-tasking like that you know. I can also eat and watch TV, and paint my nails while listening to music, or I can tell my kids to "JUST LEAVE ME IN PEACE!" while I watch something on the computer (I love "The Dead Zone" series and just finished watching season 6 on Netflix. What a let down for the end of a great series!") I'm sure there are many of you out there with this same multi-tasking skill. Don't be shy.

I picked some cheerful fabrics that reminded me of the old fashioned covers my grandmother had on her board. I used 1 1/4 yard of the floral fabric for the top and scraps of the striped fabric. To cut the striped one, carefully measure the perimeter of your current cover after unpicking. Then cut your strips 5 1/2" x your carefully measured length + 1". I pieced mine together to get the length I needed. Fold the strip in half down the length of it, pressing well.

After unpicking, I ironed the edges of my old cover flat and used that as a pattern to cut my new top. Simple.

Then I pinned my folded strips all around the edge of my newly cut cover, starting in the center of the pointed end. Notch the binding slightly at the corners to help achieve a smooth turn.

This is when I remembered to finished my edges. I folded them under once and finished the edge with a zig-zag stitch. Nothing too fancy required here.

Pin the openings right together then stitch through all the layers around the edge. I used a 3/8" seam allowance as that is what was used on my old cover and I was using that for my pattern.

Thread the cord from your old cover through the casing and you are done! That was so simple, I should have done it a long time ago.

Now I simply placed my old pad under the new cover and placed it on my board. When the new top wears out, I can easily whip up a new one again, though I hope I never have to because this one is so pretty and cheerful, it makes me smile just looking at it.

This spurred a new movement in cleaning?! How does an ironing board cover do that? I'm still not sure, but I started the much dreaded project of organizing my sewing room which also included building a custom cabinet for my fabric. Can't wait to finally show you a clean(er) room next week!

"My Mom made it"

2010-09-03T17:09:00.000-07:00

While visiting my sister in Bountiful, UT, I spent some time snapping some pictures for some updated school photos. My sister mentioned liking one of the items my children were wearing and they told her "my mom made it". Then I began to notice just how much of what they had on that day I had made.
The blue shirt dress on the left as well as the clip on it. The green dress on the right and the clip in her hair. Not to mention the cream floral clip in my own hair below are all handmade. I love that they will let me sew for them again as it has been a couple of years since they would wear anything I made for them. I must admit that I forced my oldest daughter to wear the blue shirt dress since it was bright and colorful, not like most of the gray, navy blue or dark purple clothing she picks out.

Later that day my daughter's friends were over at our house playing when I overheard one of them ask my daughter what I was making in my sewing room. My daughter replied "I don't know, she's always making something". Her friends then said "She is just so creative"!
I loved it! I frequently spend time teaching the neighborhood children basic skills in cooking, hand sewing, embroidering and machine sewing as they are over playing with my children. Hopefully it will plant a seed that can grow over time and help them in their lives.

Champagne Grape Salad

2010-08-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

I like to participate in a produce co-op called Bountiful Baskets. I love the abundance of fresh produce and finding little surprises in the baskets each time is fun. The surprise for me this week was the package of teeny tiny Champagne Grapes. I always pass them by at the store, I have never tried them and the price tag didn't encourage me either.

As soon as I was home I had the package opened and the whole family had to try them out. They are extremely sweet with a great flavor. You don't even have to spend time plucking each little gem from the bunch, just eat the stems as well since they are also tiny and you don't even notice them(but leave the larger main stem, it is tough).

There isn't a whole lot to them so I had to fight my family back from the fruit and declare them off-limits until I could come up with something worthy of their beauty. Perhaps this may sound a bit dramatic to you, but I will admit that I am 100 percent a food snob, and feel that wonderful items like these must be treated with proper respect. (I hope you can't hear the haughtiness in my voice with that last sentence, it would kill my down-to-earth appearance I am striving for.)

I decided to use them in two dishes. One is an appetizer, and the other is a main course salad. We only had enough for the salad as I found that little (and big) hands were sneaking little tastes of them throughout the day. Here is my recipe:

Roasted Chicken and Champagne Grape Salad

Romaine Lettuce
A Roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken, shredded (purchased, or roast your own)
Red Bell Pepper Strips
Cherry Tomatoes, halved
Champagne Grapes, cut into small clusters
Glazed Pecans
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Fresh chives or green onion
Balsamic Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

To make the vinaigrette, pour 3 Tbs balsamic vinegar in a pint canning jar. Add to it 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 Tbs honey mustard, 5 Tbs extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Screw the lid on tight and shake well to mix. (makes about 8 servings)

Layer each ingredient on a platter in the order given. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the top and garnish with the fresh chives. Enjoy!

The appetizer I would have made, if I, I mean, the children, hadn't eaten all the grapes would be sliced pears, a little brie, champagne grapes, glazed walnuts and honey. Just layer the ingredients on a pear slice and drizzle them all with a little honey.
Anyone hungry?

Are You Spying on Me?

2010-08-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

I've had the feeling lately, that some of you are spying on me.

I don't know what it is. Perhaps the silence.

But I think it's time to break the ice and give you the opportunity to share your blog with me.

Truly, it's only fair since I share mine with you, asking nothing in return.

Not this time. I want to know what you blog about. What drives you to post something? Enough Blurking. Leave a comment with a link to your blog and a short snippet of what it is about. Then I can lurk in your shadow for a time, or maybe just get to know some of you.

Who Says "It can't be done"?

2010-08-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

A little story...
11 years ago we moved into our little home. We had nothing. When I say nothing, I really mean it. Okay, we had a bed, a bookcase and a TV with a great stereo. Isn't that all that really matters anyway?
My husband would brag from time to time how he helped his father build the 3 houses he lived in growing up.They are beautiful homes too. He would also proudly display in our home the items he made at woodworking shop in High school (which he won awards for). So I ask him, "Sweetheart, perhaps you could build me a simple kitchen table"?
His response to my request was, and has been for the past 11 years...
"It's just not that simple".

A year ago I stumbled across an amazing blog called Knock-Off-Wood. Written by a women who builds stuff, she posted plans free for the taking and promised that it really is simple. I daydreamed about building stuff for a long, long time. Then I finally got up the nerve to build a table and a bench for our school room .

With poor lighting, this is the bench. It has cubbies for storage. Love that!

This is the table which also has cubbies for storage. Even better! And you know what? It really WAS "that simple"! The secret is out, Hubby.
Now I plan to build beds for my daughters.

Learning New Tricks

2010-08-18T16:11:00.000-07:00

My first true attempt at pattern creating. All the other times don't count, they were more of pattern "tweaking" in my opinion.

I saw this post and HAD to make one myself!

It turned out beautiful, but that's most likely because my daughter is in it.

The real bonus is that she even likes it! So she might actually wear it from time to time. She is quite picky. Remember this post? She refuses to wear her pajamas!!!

My second attempt at making my own patterns. This is for my youngest daughter and she has worn it for 2 days straight. She even wanted to sleep in it.
Apparently I love interestingly shaped yokes because that is what many of my sketches contain. This one has a yoke that scoops up higher in the front than the back. Perhaps it would still be considered a bodice? hmmmm. Either way, I love that there were not buttons or zippers or facings to deal with.

What I don't love is the awful green ties. I was using fabric I had on hand and it looked cute sitting on the pile of fabrics, but not cute once it was added to the dress.

My Brother

2010-08-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

Look at this picture of my brother! This past week I was asked to photograph my cousin's wedding (quite hilarious since I am no photographer). I was lucky enough to snap this picture of my brother with the sun almost down. Isn't he a good looking guy? He's a good brother, too.

Sharing Time helps for the 3rd week of August

2010-08-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

I normally do not prepare sharing time for this week of the month but traded with another woman in the presidency this week. Now last minute I am working on pulling something together.

I really liked an idea that was posted in the comment section on Sugardoodle. Here is a link to the page for you to see.
Comment #7 Maureen Folley

Then I am making a circle slider with images from the scriptures suggested in the Sharing Time Outline. To make them, print the images on cardstock, cut out the shapes and stack the smaller circle on top of the larger one. Punch a hole in the center where the dot is and place a brad to hold it all together.

Power Over Death Circle Slider

If that is too much, here is an even faster handout, scripture bookmarks.
Power Over Death Bookmarks
This is all very last minute and I hope any of you wishing to use these do not encounter problems with downloading or printing them.

2nd Week of August Sharing Time

2010-08-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

The theme for the second week of Sharing Time is "Jesus Christ can heal the sick". It would be fun to have a basic first aid kit with the items labeled with scripture stories of Jesus healing the sick. Tell the children that a first aid kit is used to help heal people when they get hurt. Have each class come and pick one item from the kit and take it back to their class to read the story from the scriptures that is listed on their item.

After reading their stories, the children can draw a picture of what they read on the band aid image below then share their picture with the whole primary.
Jesus Heals the Sick (Bandaid)
Jesus Heals the Sick ( Color Bandaid)

A fun handout would be to give the children a few brightly colored band aids in a little cellophane bag with some of the scripture references attached to them.

Success! Yay for me!

2010-07-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

I am slow. Very slow when it comes to quilts (as you may have figured out already). I started this one about 3 years ago as a trial and just finished it this week.
I needed an item to donate to an auction and I also wanted to try out machine quilting on a small scale. So I decided to finally finish this one and kill two birds with one stone.
I added some faces to the bus block from some other fabric that had children's faces on it. I used buttons for the eyes on the children along the base and buttons to embellish the windows in the schoolhouse. The black polka dotted squares next to the apples have my daughter's hand outlined with quilting on it. The children were all made to look like my daughter's friends. I also made it entirely with supplies I already had! It turned out so cute and the machine quilting was even somewhat acceptable for a first time. There were some puckers in the back and some sloppy quilting lines, and it could use a lot more quilting but I'm still pleased with it.

To see a larger image, click on the picture.

I was lazy when it came to making the label on this one. I made it with a piece of muslin, freezer paper and my printer. (note: this is not recommended for quilts that will be washed often, but this is a wall hanging so not a big deal)

Wait! Summer isn't over yet.

2010-07-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

I wait and wait and wait for Spring to arrive each year, only to have it pretty much skipped many years like this one. Even with July almost gone and back to school sales well on their way I am still in full swing Summer mode. Don't even get me started on the Christmas ads I'm seeing already!!
With that in mind, I wanted to make something pretty and Summery (is that an actual word?).
I made this sweet cotton sundress with ruffled bloomers. It is bright and feminine and I love it.
I added rick rack to the bottom of the dress with a new technique as I really hate to have it curl up in the wash. Now it should lay nice and flat. How do you add rick rack to things? Do you have any special tips or tricks for this?

Surprise Package for Me!

2010-07-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

I won a surprise package from my friend at FreePrettyThingsForYou blog. I got it in the mail yesterday and it had some very sweet embellishments in it! They are all perfect for me as they suit my personality to a tee. I especially loved the blue and white cameo stickers that I woke early today to design a quilt using the stickers as the inspiration. I can't wait to start making it!

*though it will most likely be some time with the long to do list ahead of it :(

When I do get around to making it, I'll be sure to post pictures for all to enjoy. Thanks for the pretty things that make me smile!

Checkerboard Cookies

2010-07-23T08:35:00.001-07:00

In my husband's group of friends, I am known as "The Cupcake Lady". I only made cupcakes once and they were nothing to write home about, but apparently, these men are very impressed with mini cupcakes made from a mix, as long as you color the icing blue. I don't like to think of myself as a "one hit wonder" so I decided to make something very different from cupcakes to send with my husband to a meeting he had with this group of men.

I made checkerboard cookies with a recipe found HERE. My daughter and her friend tried making these the day before for a baking contest but they were far too complicated for them at this age. They sounded fun to me so I gave it a try and they were YU-MMY!

I packaged them up nice and pretty, because you know that even though my husband pretended to be embarrassed about carrying something with a fluffy pink bow, he really was proud to set it down on the table in front of the men and say "my wife made these". And the box came back empty.

I made the label with an image from Free Pretty Things For You. She has lots of pretty things!

Quick Fix For Summer Stinky Feet

2010-07-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

I discovered today that the little 4 year old girl across the street from me is absolutely brilliant! While playing quietly, out of her mother's hair for a moment, she discovered that putting panty liners in her shoes made them soft and comfy. Her mother found that it is also is a perfect fix for little stinky, sweaty summer feet.
Leave it to a 4 year old to make a great discovery. Move over Odor Eaters, the pantyliner are taking over!

The down side? I don't think you will want to take your shoes off with any company around for them to ask "what's that in your shoes?"

Tomato Soup Quilt

2010-07-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

I mentioned a while ago that I had a quilt up at my house that needed quilting. It only took me THREE MONTHS, but I finally finished it! It's not like it was overly elaborate quilting, and it was only a twin size, but I just could never get to quilting it with all of the madness and mayhem going on at my house. But I had a plan for it and needed to get it done.
I made a goal last year while visiting the Springville Art History Museum Quilt Show, that I would have one of my own quilts to display there the following year. That is a pretty lofty goal for me since I have never made more than a handful of baby quilts myself before visiting the Quilt Show. Though it is simple, I really love it.
I named my quilt "Tomato Soup" as the overall color scheme reminded me of the classic soup can labels.
I took my quilt down to Springville a week ago to be looked at by the jury and was thrilled to have it accepted into their show! Next I needed a description/history for my quilt and I was bored just reading what I had. I enlisted my brother's help in writing something a little more entertaining. We had a ball brainstorming and ended up rolling on the floor with laughter. I think we find this more entertaining than others will, but I don't mind that a bit.

My quilt was quite plain and boring hung next to all of the elaborate and beautiful quilts but it was so rewarding seeing it there after making such a big goal for myself. I also am thankful for my sister and cousin who came several times in the end to help me finish quilting it before the deadline.

Now it's your turn. What have you always wanted to make/do that you never have? It's time to take the plunge and do it!

Cardboard Cottage Update

2010-07-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

a couple of posts ago, I shared my extreme frustration while trying to build a "simple" cardboard house with the children. To read about it, click HERE.

Below is our original finished house

the next morning we tried again and ended up with a big box.

Since I watered the cardboard with the lawn the day before, only some of it was usable, so we ended up having to forgo the roof. But we did get a little cupboard with shelves and a counter and checked curtains. We also had good intentions to paint and decorate the house, but I was done after all of this.

It was a big hit with my youngest daughter and her neighbor friend as seen in the video below.

So now I am back in the running for Mother of the Year. LOL

Sharing Time Handout for the First Week of August

2010-07-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

I really like to have a handout for the children in my primary as often as I can that contains the basic message and scriptural references used in Sharing Time so the children can go home and teach their families. I like this for two reasons:
First, it reinforces what the children learned that day and helps to build their testimonies, and
Second, it is a wonderful missionary tool for many of our families who only have their children attending church.

So, with that said, this is the handout I am making for my Primary for Sharing time to use on the first Sunday in August.
The theme for the week is "Jesus Christ is a God of Miracles". The outline for this week shares 2 of the miracles Jesus Performed but I chose to add two more to the list. They each involve fish and/or water so I decided to put the themes and scriptural references on the fish. Then I put them all in a "net" (a little drawstring bag I made from some great shimmering fabric I purchase at Hancock Fabric). I can be a little more elaborate with some of my handouts since I have such a small group of children to make them for. For a larger group of children, I would punch a tiny hole at the mouth of each fish and tie them to a string and attatch to a chopstick or dowel (to look like a bunch of fish caught and hanging from the fishing pole)
It would also be fun for singing time this week to have the children go fishing to choose what songs they will sing.

I have two versions of the fish handout I created. One, is all in color to print on white cardstock, and the other is a black and white version to print on colored cardstock which uses far less ink in printing.

Miracles fish Handout for Primary

Black and White Miracles Fish Handout for Primary

I love making things like this and would really appreciate your feedback.

Cardboard is NOT for fun

2010-07-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

I have held onto a good stock of cardboard from my husband's business for months now, all in preparation for a fun summer projects for the kids. (I am desperately trying to win back my mother of the year title this year. lol)
A cute little cardboard cottage with cardboard chairs and table inside with a small corner cupboard to hold their dishes.
In my mind I saw plans to make something similar to this:

Simple enough, right? Absolutely not!
So, yesterday we were at the store and discovered they didn't have duct tape but had clear packing tape. That stuff is usually pretty strong, but not this roll. It was like cheap clear gift wrap tape from the dollar store. So, after lots of measuring and cutting, we head out to the yard to begin assembling. It was a complete joke. All the kids were fighting over who gets to hold what part, wind constantly pushing the cardboard over and tearing apart what we had already done since the tape was so bad, two little toddlers constantly climbing all over me and the project as we are desperately trying to salvage it and some neighbor friends who had come to play that got to witness my meltdown. In the end, we ended up with a pile of wet cardboard (I forgot to turn off the sprinklers) a bunch of crying kids and a mother who had to put herself in time out.

(above)
Our finished version

After a semi-good night's rest, I feel a bit more optimistic about having some success with this project after gettinng the right materials. I think we'll try it again (without the neighbor kids and the toddlers) Wish us luck.

Thank You Gift for Primary

2010-07-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

I would like to have something special each month to show all of the wonderful people in my Primary that they are appreciated. Here is the first "Thank You" I have made to give to them.
I used a small first aid kit to create these. They are simple to make, especially since I created the images you will need to put them together.

The front of the tag attatched to the bag says "Thanks for coming to our AID" and the back says "We appreciate all you do. Love, the Primary Presidency".

Here are the images you need to make the tags and the labels for the first aid kits.

First Aid Image
First Aid Thanks
If you would like to order some of these already made, feel free to contact me at wonderwoman11@comcast.net

Lest We Forget

2010-07-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

I believe in One Nation Under God.
God, being the key to this Nation's success.

Patriotism All Buttoned Up

2010-07-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

A last minute patriotic craft. I love buttons and have a ton of them. I think I am hoarding them just in case there is a sudden shortage of buttons around the world, or something like that. I have a shoebox full of them that my Grandmother left me and I can't help but add to them regularly. So now it's time to finally begin using them.

I have had this planned in the back of my mind, gathering dust, for a couple of years now. As usual, I am doing this last minute.
I began by measuring the opening in my frame and tracing it onto a piece of tea dyed muslin. I basted the muslin onto a piece of cotton batting.

I ironed on some fabrics that were backed by Heat n' Bond lite, then blanket stitched around them.
I sewed buttons all over the entire thing, making sure not to let them go over the edge of outline. Then I glued it onto a piece of chipboard.
To prepare the frame, I painted it black, sanded the edges and transferred some text to it using carbon paper.
Here it is after tracing the words onto the frame.
Using cream paint, I painted the words, then sprayed a matte sealer to protect the finish. I placed the button flag into the opening and now it's done!

The light shines off of the buttons and it looks so pretty as it sparkles. I don't mind that I made this only the day before the 4th of July since I love patriotic decor all summer long.

Have a great 4th of July and stay safe!

July 2010 Handout for Primary

2010-06-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

After searching and searching the internet for something I want to make as a take home reminder in Primary for the first Sunday of July, I finally made up my own.
The theme for the month is "I Can Follow Jesus Christ's Example" and the first weeks theme is; Jesus Christ always obeyed Heavenly Father.

(below) the front of the card, closed

(below)the card opened

(below)the back of the card, closed

a video of how the card works.

I found a tutorial on how to make this sliding card HERE. I changed the measurements as follows:

Card- 4"x11"
score at 3 1/2", 7 1/8" and 10 3/4"

inside cards- top 4 1/8" high by 3 3/8" wide
bottom 4" high by 3 3/8" wide

pattern paper for matting on the front and back- 3"

Sayings and Scriptures to place on the mat- 2 1/2"

plastic bag strip- 1 1/2" x 8 3/4"

Below are the graphics and texts I created to make this card

Giraffes for Card Sliders
Measuring Tapes
Sayings for Giraffe Card

Heirloom Inspired Pajamas

2010-06-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

Pin tucks, eyelet lace, crisp white cotton, ruffles and clean and happy girls all add up to the sweetness seen below.

For years now, I have wanted to make my daughters white cotton pajamas for the summer, regardless of how impractical they may be.

Last week my two oldest daughters were out of town with their Grandmother for 7 days and it was just my youngest daughter and me. We had a lot of fun and I was able to do a lot of the things I have wanted to do for a while now, including making these sweet pajamas. They are each a little different using pleats, pin tucks, ruffles, piping, bias tape, buttons, ribbon and lace in different ways to give each girl to a unique top and pantaloons or bloomers.

Using different pieces from different patterns, I was able to make just what I wanted. I even made the top (seen in the picture below) with a pattern I created all on my own. Yay for me! hee hee

There is a fantastic park near us called This is the Place Heritage Park that is a full scale pioneer village with crafts to make, shops to visit, trains to ride, places to eat and animals to ride and pet. Not to mention rugs to beat, laundry to hand wash and hang, an old-fashioned school with teacher to visit and so much more. We have been going there for years now and love the lifestyle lived back then. This is what inspired me to make these pajamas for my girls when I saw a very simple version for sale in a shop there for far more money than I would pay for it.

I do realize that they will only be clean for approximately 10 minutes at most, which is why I would not let them wear them until I took pictures of them clean and white. I think I need a set myself.

Flag Sugar Cookies from a Kit

2010-06-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have a really sweet friend who is so talented. She is a fantastic cook and decorates the most beautiful cakes. She is my friend who helped me to make THESE flowers for my cousin's wedding cake. She also made my daughter the cutest teapot birthday cake for her second birthday.
This past Christmas, she gave me the best present...a sugar cookie kit, complete with sheets of pre-rolled cookie dough and 4 colors of frosting in decorator bags.
I forgot to take pictures of the kit before we began using it, so it's not nearly as pretty as it was when she packaged it. To see a picture of some of the other kits she made, click HERE
I am embarrassed to admit it, but I put it in the freezer and forgot about it until yesterday when I needed a quick treat for a group of ladies coming to visit. I only had half an hour so I cut the dough into rectangles (I hate to waste cookie dough, not to mention the time spent rolling them out again) then quickly made them into flags. She couldn't have planned better colors, even if it was meant to be used for a different season. And yes, they tasted fabulous. Her sugar cookie dough is my favorite, especially to decorate as it is sturdy with a great flavor. Perhaps she might let me share her recipe?

Now, don't judge my cutting and decorating skills too harshly. I only had a little time, remember?

Summer Planning

2010-06-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

I saw a fun idea on a blog a few weeks ago (I'm sorry, I can't find it now). She had created a check-off list at the beginning of each summer with ideas of all the things the family would do, including fun things, projects,crafts and activities.

I loved it so much that I had to do this with my children. It is nice for them to look on the fridge at all that is planned for summer and to help them remember things we have done. So when the kids are complaining about being bored, look at the list and pick something.

We have since added additional items to our list. Do you have any fun ways to keep boredom at bay in the summer?

Book Journals

2010-06-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

I belong to a fabulous book discussion group. The women are amazing and always eager to share their thoughts and experiences with others making our discussions insightful and fun. I love to write down notes and thoughts from each book to be better prepared for our discussion but frequently misplace them. I decided to get organized with a mini book journal to keep with each book.

I created a journal cover for some of our upcoming books. After printing them on a nice weight paper to the edges, I cut them apart and added some pages to the covers. Now I can keep them with me as I read to record my thoughts.
Thinking that others may like to do the same, I've included some blank covers for you to make your own.
HERE and HERE are some links with tutorials on ways to add pages to your books. I tried both and like both as well.
Artwork for one of the journals came from a new favorite blog called Free Pretty Things For You.
Book Journal Covers
Book Journal Covers 2

Heavenly Chocolate Frosting

2010-05-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is my recipe for light and fluffy chocolate frosting, and by light, I mean the texture, not as in good for you. No, this will definitely stick to your thighs and butt.

Heavenly Chocolate Frosting

1 1/4 cups butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 TBS cocoa powder
1/2 cup corn syrup
4 oz. milk chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

directions; with a mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and cocoa powder. Add the corn syrup and melted chocolates. Mix until smooth and creamy.
This makes just enough to generously frost 32 of my Black and White Cupcakes. YUM!

Black and White Cupcakes

2010-05-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a bit of a sad one as I said goodbye to several friends and their families. To celebrate their new adventures, a party was thrown on their behalf. I wanted to make something festive and yummy so I made these cupcakes.

I couldn't decide whether to make white or chocolate cupcakes so I decided to combine them in one. After baking them I just couldn't resist cutting one open to show you (and maybe to have a little taste).

They were very simple to make. I used a triple chocolate cake mix and a basic white cake mix. With my cookie scoop, I placed one scoop of the white cake mix in each cupcake well then topped that with a scoop of the chocolate. As it baked, it created this fun pattern. It didn't work as well when I reversed the order since the batters are different consistencies. I also fill my cupcakes 3/4 of the way full instead of the recommended 2/3 full. I just like a little bit more to the top of my cupcakes. Doing it this way gave me about 32 cupcakes.

No cupcake is complete without a little bit of sprinkles. They brightened up a boring brown treat. Then I added some handmade toppers. Scroll down to the end for a copy of these.

I also tried a new frosting recipe on these that was soooooooooo light and delicious! I guarantee it will be the most heavenly you have ever had! Perhaps if you are nice to me, I'll share it with you tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Cupcake Toppers

Good Luck Cupcake Toppers

I'm in the top 5! VOTE FOR ME PLEASE!

2010-05-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

This Contest Has Now Ended (and I came in dead last, it's pitiful really)

I entered a contest online on Studio5.KSL.com last week and made it as one of the top 5 finalists! The contest was to create a home decor item for $5 or less. I made this chair planter. (note: the plants were NOT included in the cost of the chair,they were for display)

It's fun to have others also enjoy what I create. Now, voting begins Monday through Thursday. If you like what I created, please go to Studio5.KSL.com under the CONTEST section to vote for me. You can watch the contest begin Monday at 11:00 am on Chanel 5 to see pictures of my project along with the other finalists.

This is how I made it.

Remove the seat from an old, cast-off wooden chair then lightly sand and paint it with leftover household paint.

Next, bend a scrap of chicken wire into the opening to create a basket. Staple it in place with a staple gun and cut off any extra around the edges.

Line the chicken wire basket with a coconut husk liner, stapling it in place, covering the sharp chicken wire edges. I purchased my coconut husk liner from Big Lots. It came in a pack of 2 for $5.

You could embellish this chair a lot more with some artsy painting, but I left mine simple ( I was in a serious time crunch to enter the before the deadline. I made it with 30 minutes to spare!)

I added a water tray to place at the bottom of the planter before filling it with soil and plants to help keep the water from draining right through. I cut the bottom of an empty milk container off for this.

Fill the planter with some great draping plants.

My daughter made one as well as my cousin at the same time.

After I submitted my project, my girls and I started creating this little critters from rocks that we painted to hide in the chairs. Here are mine-

A cute bumblebee

And a ladybug

And a goofy fly on a leaf (he's my favorite)

I love to make something useful from a useless item. This is a great gift that I've made several times and it is always a hit. I actually helped the ladies in my church group make these last month and they all turned out great!
Don't forget to go vote Monday morning after 11:00!

Linking to

Feeling Lucky!

2010-02-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day came and went, and so have my decorations. I love to see some bright, cheery decorations for the holidays around the house, but oddly enough, I don't own much for any holidays except for Christmas and Easter. I began picking up something here or there that I really liked for different holidays, yet my collection is pitiful.
I challenged myself this year to make something for each big,and some not so big, holiday. I also want to make it with things I already have or where I only need to purchase maybe one thing to finish it.
Here are my supplies for my for Saint Patrick's Day decoration. I'm not so into the traditional kelly green or little leprechauns and such. I found several free vintage postcards online that I printed and glued to some felt for stability and cuteness. I just love all of the little bows made from some green and brown homespun fabric.

I glued the postcards with craft glue to the twine and hand stitched the bows in between. It really brightened up the kitchen. I purchased some cute green fabrics (seen in the photo above) to make a table topper as well but I love the fabric so much that I think I will use it to make my girls some shirts or something. Fabric so lovely isn't meant to be hidden away in the linen closet for the majority of the year only to be brought out for one short-lived holiday.

I also hung this Christmas wreath purchased on Clearance after the holidays on my door with the same fabric as the bows in the garland.

I am loving the feathers and gold glitter instead of the traditional shamrocks.
My girls said "Good, now the house won't get pinched!"

Linking to-

Making a Boy's Birthday Present

2010-02-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

As usual, I was at a loss as to what I would make my nephew for his birthday. It's soooo easy to make things for girls, but not so much when it comes to boys' gifts. Then I saw THIS cute felt book made by Kalleen at Second Street

Though her book was made for a girl, I though it would be easy to use the same idea for a boy. I used only supplies I already had, hence the boring cream pages.

I made mine a little different from the example. I didn't use velcro since I knew this would end up at church frequently and hearing that rrrrriipppp-ing each time an element is moved can be disruptive. I've learned this after making about 10 file folder quiet activities for my girls to take to church using velcro. Now they can't even use them there.
Felt naturally clings together anyway so I just left it out. I made pockets for all of the little pieces to store in.

Instead of dressing up a little girl, I made a boy with 3 changes of clothing. The first outfit is playclothes with a baseball and bat. The second is a church outfit.

The third outfit is my favorite, and I'm sure will be his. It is a knight.

I included a page where he can create a dragon. The body is stitched down leaving all of the limbs and accessories free to be placed wherever he would like.

Since this was not for a toddler, I didn't worry so much about using these googly eyes.

I loved the coloring page that was in the original book. I had a little extra room to fit one more crayon on my page since I made my pages 9"x9".

I added handles to my book to make it easy to carry.

I also bound my book a little different, it was just easier and let's face it, this took a lot of time to make and I was soooooooo done by the time it came to binding the book.
(note: after posting this,I have had a couple of requests to show how I bound this book. I will work on creating a how-to for this)

My youngest wants one of these now but I'm going to have to take a break from this for a while before even thinking about it.

Something Sweet for my Sweetheart

2010-02-13T09:49:00.001-08:00

I was at a loss as to what I would do for my husband this Valentine's Day, then I saw this little book.
I found it for $.25 at a thrift store. It's a Christmas story book ornament, measuring about 2 1/2" square. I originally purchased it to put family pictures in for my youngest daughter who absolutely adores teeny tiny books.
Then I looked at it again and saw just how perfect it would be to make a sweet Valentine instead of a card.
Here is the inside with nice gold lining , 6 very simple pages with black borders and a ribbon bookmark.

I covered all of the text with pictures and fun embellishments. I cropped some of my favorite photos of my husband and I printed them at home. I loved this paper that I used on the front, it is a velvet-like flocked paper. I didn't want it to be too frilly and girlie since it was for my husband, but it's hard not to get carried away.

Here are a few of the pages inside. I wrote a couple of messages, included some romantic definitions, and copied a phrase from a favorite song of ours.

At the end, I added a fun little pocket to hold my heart, and maybe a little hand written note.

Then I placed it in a heart box with some other sweets and treats and a gift card to the movies, his favorite.

Check out this fun box! It was once a box filled with chocolates that I made over. I lined the inside with some more of that flocked paper, covered the nutritional label on the back with another nice paper and made over the metal heart tag that used to have a logo on it.
I hope he feels the love I placed in it for him.

Cowl Neck Warmer From Old Sweater

2010-02-10T11:35:00.000-08:00

I've decided to keep on blogging, for a time. I just need to remember why I started and stick to that. So, with that in mind, onto another project I made.

I recently showed you a neck wrap/scarflette that I made from an old sweater. To see it, click HERE. I got around to photographing the second one I made from the same sweater.

Neck warmer #2- This is just the bottom section of the sweater that I tapered on both sides toward the band. Very simple yet...

Very cute.

And warm.

In these pictures, I've noticed just how much my face has been against fighting the gravitational pull. I think I'm going to end up with jowls. Bummer. At least my neck is warm.

Messenger Bag From Cargo Pants

2010-02-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

I am finally getting around to make several of the items in my list of bookmarks that I've been eying for a while. One of them is this messenger bag from cargo pants.

I thought it would be a quick and easy project but it required a lot of fussy cutting, taking a fair amount of time. I also made mine a bit different with the addition of more pockets, a fun fabric flower pin, and wider gussets.
Check out my favorite part of this bag, a cell phone pocket on the side made from an embroidered pocket on the pants.

This flower was fun to make and looks fun on the front of my bag.

The outside of the bag is cute but tame so I made the lining from several brightly colored fabrics to make me smile each time I look inside. I also added a plastic canvas bottom for some support.

The funny thing about a lot of the clothing refashions that I've done is that I had to go and purchase used clothing to refashion. I've just used up all of mine already and I'm not done with my list of things I want to make. It just seems like I'm going about it backwards by purchasing used items to cut up on purpose instead of remaking my own clothing out of necessity.

Trying to keep warm- Neck Wrap tutorial

2010-02-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

Today feels like spring, I even went out for a walk with my daughter in the stroller today! Though it was plenty cold last week when I made a couple of accessories to help keep warm.

I picked out a gently used sweater that didn't fit, that's what too much lounging about in the winter months does to me. Then I cut it up to make 2 neck warmers. The first one was this cute and simple one that I lined with a super soft fleece. I love the chunky buttons!

Wear it straight or off to the side like this.

Here's the pattern. I cut off the bottom 10" of the sweater for another neck warmer then cut the next 6" in a strip from the front as well as the back. I seamed it together along one short 6" edge to make a long piece before I measured it for this.
Cut one out of strip from the sweater and one from fleece. Pin right sides together. Sew along all 4 edges, leaving a small 3" opening for turning. Turn and carefully press seams open and flat. Whipstitch the opening used for turning closed. Topstitch all around the perimeter. Place your button holes and buttons along the edges as shown in diagram. And you're done! It's so simple you could make enough for an army in an afternoon, given enough sweaters.

I didn't take any pictures of the second style that I made yet. I'll show you once I do.

Another Hobby, (like I needed another one!)

2010-01-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

Last spring and summer I made some clothing refashion tutorials. I really loved making something new and usable from an article of clothing I would have otherwise discarded. I don't know why I never thought of altering my clothes before that.
Now I am on another rampage to re-fashion everything I can.

Here is a discarded men's t-shirt, size XL. It was in perfect condition and I knew that the image on the front would be nice with what I wanted to do with it. I saw a tutorial to transform a large t-shirt into a tunic style shirt here.
I made my shirt a little shorter and added a fabric flower to the bust that I made from scraps. I love how it turned out!
Now I have several more refashions I'm working on. I'll show you them when I get them done. I keep having dreams in the night of all the things I could do to a t-shirt. My only problem is I've run out of t-shirts.

Bringing in the Love

2010-01-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

After cleaning up the Christmas mess, my house feels so nice and orderly, and BORING! I made a fun table topper for Valentine's, then I saw the easiest heart garland ever and had to make one, or two, or three.

My goal for any of these decorations was to use only things I already had on hand, so I wasn't as thrilled with my color options. I still think it cheers the place up though. I also made a super long one that I gave to my mother who hung hers up on her curtains.

Valentine Tabletop Decor

2010-01-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, after posting, I decided to make my own sunshine so I peeled myself out of my chair and got dressed. It's a good thing I did since I had a knock at my door from a good Samaritan who informed me that I had a strong gas odor outside my home. I immediately contacted my gas company who came and checked it out. Luckily, all was fine. I thought it was so kind that someone stopped to inform me when most people would not even care, so I made a yummy treat to give them.
After that, I felt like cheering up my space and made a Valentine table topper. I love the look of Scherenschnitte, which means "scissor cuts" in German, is the art of paper cutting design. The art work often has symmetry within the design, and common forms include silhouettes, valentines, and love letters. I began designing something with that feel. I pulled out some red felt that my Grandmother left me and my butcher paper to make a pattern with.

I folded a 30" square of paper like I would to make a paper snowflake and sketched a design on it with hearts and lovebirds. Then cut out the pattern and opened it to see what I had.

I had planned some more elaborate cutting but decided to keep it simple since felt stretches, unlike paper. I'm glad I did since the felt did pull a bit at the stress points. I traced my pattern onto the felt with a sharpie and carefully cut it out then pinned the red felt onto some cream felt.

After sewing with a strait stitch around all of the edges, I cut the cream felt about 1/2" away from the red.
This looks so sweet on my kitchen table and cheers up the space, though it does need something cute, perhaps this, for the center.
I think I might make something like this for each holiday since it was so simple and cute. It reminds me of a paper doily.
BTW, the sun showed it's face today since the air cleared finally! I suffer from seasonal depression and keep full spectrum lighting in my home to help with this issue. I'm just so thankful for sunshine today!
I linked this here:

In a Funk and Need Some Sunshine

2010-01-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

I've been debating whether or not I will continue this blog. It began as a way to document my creativity as I wish my Grandmother had (she made the most beautiful things). Lately, it seems as though I'm just trying to "keep up" with all those other amazing crafty ladies out there. That's not what I want to do, but I am competitive by nature.
I do like that in order to post, I take more pictures and even create some tutorials and patterns that I can share with friends or refer to later.
Maybe it's just gloomy January speaking here, and Utah in January is extremely gloomy with the inversion hanging over our heads! I normally am full of energy to clean, organize and refresh my home and craft but I can barely get myself off the couch to do the dishes or cook. I really need some sunshine!

I'll wait for a little while to decide what to do, until then, I'll sing this song-

"I've got sunshine

On a cloudy day.
When it's cold outside,
I've got the month of May."

Sunshine

2010-01-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Living with Fairies for this sweet award! It really brightened my day.

The rules for accepting this award are:

Put the logo on your blog.
Pass the award on to 10 bloggers.
Link the nominees within your post.
Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

This is nice for me since I can now pass the sunshine on to others who make me happy.

1. Modern Expressions Photoblog (she took my pictures and I love to drool over the pictures on her blog, especially her first entry.)
2. Schmutz family (sorry but this is a private blog, still, I LOVE it!)
3. Make it Do (I think we were meant to be sisters)
4. At Second Street ( a recent find)
5. Polka Dot Pineapple (unique projects from Hawaii )
6.Rick and Alexis (my sis)
7. Allsorts (The bright colors are fantastic!)
8. By Little Hands (fun for children)
9. Create Studio (lots of inspiration here)
10. The Flint Family (another private one)

Thanks again to Living with Fairies for passing on the love.

Aebleskievers

2010-01-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

With a little bit of time to spend, I thought I would treat my family for breakfast with a traditional danish recipe. My great-grandmother, my grandmother and my mother all made an unusually shaped pancake called Aebleskievers, my family on my mother's side were Danish (as far as I understand) so that explains my love for all things using lots of butter.

I learned to make these as a child, though I never did fill them with anything while they baked until today. I decided to fill them with Nutella, diced bananas and pecans. I grabbed my new jar of Nutella and found..

Nothing. Apparently my middle child loves this stuff and eats it by the spoonful. I found enough to fill one pan full of them at least. Then I decided to try some other fillings, applesauce and pecans and chocolate chips. I made my batter with a recipe found here, minus the blueberries. They also have a video on how to turn them in the pan in one flip, though I like to turn them in 3 rotations so they are round, not saucer shaped.
Here and here are some more recipes to try. I've made the first one and would love to try the version using yeast for a different flavor.

After filling the wells with half the batter, I added some fillings, then topped it with more batter to the top of the wells.

Let set 30 seconds to a minute then turn them partially with a chopstick.

Here, I've turned them all the way and let them finish cooking. Then I place them on my serving dish in the oven to keep warm while I make the rest. The first pan full I make each time usually end up a big mess as I get the knack of it each time.

Sometimes they don't quite close all the way. No problem, I actually prefer these since I can fill the holes with butter and syrup or fruit puree.

This is the fun part, it's always a surprise when you open one to see what is inside. I love to serve mine with maple syrup or fresh strawberry sauce.
My favorite fillings this time were the ones with Nutella, bananas and chopped pecans with a little maple syrup poured over them.

Relief!

2009-12-29T15:28:00.000-08:00

My husband found what was wrong with my machine and fixed it! Life can continue on now. Actually, I am quite burned out from the past few months and look forward to a bit of a break though I do have a few articles of clothing I need to make for my children and 2 slings to make in the meanwhile. Oh, and don't forget the new year deep cleaning that I usually give my house when we take down all of the holiday decorations on New Year's Day.

Help! I can't find something.

2009-12-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas day is nearly here and I am finishing my last sewing project today, except for one pesky one that is giving me problems. I wanted to make my girls a drawing set that I saw an example/tutorial (?) of not too long ago and now I can't find it anymore. It was made of fabric that held crayons or markers on the left side, then in the center it had a pocket for a drawing pad and then the right had another pocket for finished artwork. It folded up into thirds. I could make my own pattern with what I remember but I really liked the one I saw, not to mention my brain is tired now and I don't want to have to think about it too hard.
If any of you know what I am talking about and know where to find this project, please send me a link.
My girls are out of school and I plan on playing all next week with them!