hooray for mail!!

October 30, 2009 at 9:16 am | In My Goods | 1 Comment

mail

chocolate dipped caramel apples.

October 28, 2009 at 1:11 pm | In Holidays!, feed me!! | 1 Comment

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These make a great fall gift for good friends and teachers. I will be passing them out to my daughter’s ballet class.

Start with this…

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the best caramel recipe ever.

1 cup butter
1-16 oz. package of brown sugar (2-1/4 cups packed)
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

In a saucepan melt butter over low heat.  Add brown sugar, milk and corn syrup.  Mix well.  Cook over medium-high heat until mixture boils and then clip a candy thermometer to the pan and continue boiling, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches 248 degrees (firm-ball stage).  This takes about 15-20 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from heat and add vanilla.

At this point you can either dip your apples in the caramel, or you can pour it into a foil-covered and buttered 8X8X2 pan.  Once the caramel in the pan has cooled, take it out of the pan, remove the foil and cut it with a buttered knife.

yum…

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You could stop here. You could… or you could dip them in chocolate and sprinkles or nuts. Try dipping them in crushed cookies.

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Wrap them up in food grade cellophane and pass them out!

becoming icarly.

October 26, 2009 at 6:25 pm | In Holidays! | 2 Comments

How do I get this cutie…

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to become this cutie?

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Here’s how!

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and just to help people recognize you…

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Lumberjack plaid is really hot right now, so I made a simple little dress lined in fuschia to be layered with a long sleeve tee and leggings. The suede boots and wig really made my daughter start feeling the part. I gave a haircut to an inexpensive “witch” wig and curled the ends with a curling iron set on low. I made the necklace out of jewelry wire and beads. That’s all I did. She added the sass all on her own!

3rd annual quest for quilt market!

October 11, 2009 at 4:40 pm | In friends, going places | 2 Comments

We had so much fun in Houston this weekend at the International Quilt Market. Here are a few highlights. Craftapple’s Linda and I met up with Melanie from Above All Fabric. After a long day of traveling and too much frivolous spending at Sample Spree, we started off fresh in the morning.

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One of the best things about Quilt Market, besides meeting the designers, seeing new fabric, a frenzy of eye candy and hanging out with good friends, is seeing all of the booth spaces! Take a look at Anna Maria Horner’s. Her new line had me the most worked up.

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Check out Heather Bailey’s. That’s her behind the door. Her new line is my fave of hers, so far.

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We ran into Kathy Mack of the ever popular Pink Chalk Studio. Both her and her mother were so lovely.

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The Michael Miller zone was so much fun. It was their 10th anniversary so they went all out!

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There were also some great photo ops from Moda.

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Amy Butler

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Paula Prass

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Sandi Henderson

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Well, those are all the pictures I’ve got. We had a great time and I will be looking forward to next year.

upcycling shipping materials.

October 8, 2009 at 11:53 am | In Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Waste not, want not.

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I try to reuse all the shipping materials possible but I know that everyone still wants to recieve a pretty package in the mail. I resurface my mailers with snazzy scrapbook paper and heavy packing tape. I know how a package can sometimes brighten your day!

cutting a rug.

October 2, 2009 at 1:39 pm | In sewing | 2 Comments

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While doing some much needed tidying up in the craft studio I came across a mountain of terry cloth scraps leftover from making hoards of hooded towels. I sewed them together to make 3 reversible kitchen/bath rugs. Waste not, want not. My girls and I were “rug dancing” on the tile floor to The Beatles this morning. Almost feels like ice skating. Now why didn’t I think to put some floor cleaner down first?

easy peasy freebies.

September 29, 2009 at 6:53 pm | In Uncategorized | 1 Comment
With all of the grab bag madness buzzing around Etsy Fort Worth, I thought it might be a good time to share my take on adding a little “somethin’ somethin’ ” to orders and grab bags.Making custom notepads is easier than one would think. Get out those cereal boxes you’ve been stashing for a rainy day!
Plan out what size you want your notepads to be. Get creative and map out what you want on them. As a seamstress, I can never have enough rulers around. By my machine, by the iron, wherever. I have made the edge of my notepad to be a ruler. Hopefully others will find it useful, as well.

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Decide how many pages you would like for each notepad. I think 25 is a respectable number. After printing them out, you can cut them out yourself with patience and a great paper cutter. I chose to take it to a professional printer to be cut.
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You could get a nice sturdy pressed cardboard for the back of the notepad… you could. Personally, this is where I like to use all of the recycled materials that I’ve been stashing. I’ve got tons of cereal boxes and various cardboard pieces just for these types of projects. Cut these down the size of your notepads. Place the paper on top of the cardboard. Align the edges and secure them with clothespins.

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You’re going to need this stuff. Get the small bottle. A little really does go a long way!
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Paint the top edge with the padding compound. Make sure to paint all of the pages and the bottom cardboard. Let them dry following the manufacturer’s instructions.
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Easy, right? They are all ready to be tucked into grab bags for some lucky shoppers!

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pink poodle pancake party.

September 21, 2009 at 8:38 pm | In Holidays!, family, kidstuff | 2 Comments

invitation

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Pink, pink and more pink.

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60 pink balloons make a great pink chandelier.

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Personalized dog collars awaited each guest. The “dog tag” was made from shrinky dink paper.

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Getting ready for the marshmallow sculptures.

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Breakfast for dinner!

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Time for “cake”! Freshly baked cinnamon rolls with pink cream cheese frosting to top off our breakfast theme. These toppers were the finishing touch.

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Make a wish!

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Perfect little take home treat for the guests.

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This pretty little princess was tickled pink!

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Big sister is already scheming ideas for her next birthday!

Ball of Fall Fun

September 15, 2009 at 3:54 pm | In Holidays!, feather my nest | 1 Comment

To the untrained eye this may seem like a jar full of yarn balls. Okay, yeah it is…but let me tell you how to make this fun Fall display for less than $2.


Start winding the yarn around a handful of stuffing. Keep the yarn moving in various directions. It may look a mess at first, but as the yarn builds it will come together.

After the yarn ball is the desired size, cut the yarn and secure the end down with hot glue.

 


Make as many that you need. Personally, I love displays in odd numbers.

I filled one of my favorite glass canisters with 5 yarn balls in various sizes. To top it off I stuck a pair of wooden knitting needles into one of the balls. Honestly, they were too long for the lid so I had my hubby saw them down. You know, I don’t knit anyway!

Klutz Paper Fashions Fantasy Giveaway WINNERS!!

September 11, 2009 at 9:58 am | In Uncategorized | 1 Comment

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