Giveaway Goodness

Stash Manicure is having a fantastic Autumn giveaway. Go check it out!

Quilt Shop Visit

Last week, my husband and I got away for the night. As part of our excursion, my husband agreed to take me to a wonderful quilt shop. It is the Mission Rose Quiltery in Syracuse, NY. There is so much to love about this place! They have so many rooms with inspirational displays. It makes you want to make one of everything! Just look at these bag displays. I love seeing them made. It is so much better than just seeing a pattern with a picture on the front. They also have lots of yarn and knitting books. Then there are displays with needle punch and felt candle mats. I love cats and collect veggie things for my kitchen and dining room so these displays really caught my eye. The ladies that work there are so friendly and very knowledgeable. You should definitely try to stop at the Mission Rose if you are ever near Syracuse. My husband brought his laptop to play chess or watch a movie while he waited for me(what a nice guy-I am truly a lucky lady!). I totally lost track of time while I was in there. I felt like I had been in there about 20 minutes, but it had been over an hour and a half! Like I said, I am a lucky lady! I ended up buying patterns for a unique apron, pot pinchers, a tote bag and a really cute wristlet bag.

We enjoyed the rest of our getaway. We had lunch at the Olive Garden-I am anxiously awaiting ours to open locally! Then we went to a casino and tried our luck. We aren't seasoned gamblers so I would say we were fairly lucky to come out ahead twenty dollars or so! After that we went to a little lakeside community and spent the night. Neither of us slept very well, so we were very happy to get home the next morning.

When we got home, my husband wasted little time with the demolition of what will be my new and very much improved craft room. My house is filled with sheetrock dust and I can't get to my sewing machine to hem my new pants let alone have fun creating anything, but I am excited about all the space and organization I will have. I have some before and during pictures to share, but that will be later. Please drop me a comment or an email to give any craft storage tidbits you have. I would really appreciate it! Have a great week and take care. Nancy

Getting Ready for School and Exciting News

I wasn't able to sew or paint (or crochet) anything this week. I was relatively busy with appointments and back to school shopping. My 19 year old was unable to join us, so my 16 year old and I set out. We had to order sneakers for him because they didn't have his size in the style he wanted. I am hoping against all hope that they fit when they arrive in the mail. I don't want to go back there! I did, however, get myself some cute shoes. After all, I am also going back to school. Anyway, you see below most of a morning's worth of shopping with a teenage boy(minus the sneakers of course!) Yesterday, a very good friend came over and was kind enough to help start a perennial garden for me. The picture of the little garden with a fountain is the one by my porch my mother-in-law was kind enough to help me start last fall. I forgot to take a picture while everything was blooming, but it was a great success. Now here is a picture of the area before. Notice the missing shutter-my hubby is making all new shutters for our home. My friend and husband did a fantastic job. This is the same friend, by the way, whose gardens I put on my blog several posts ago. She is a magnificent gardener. And here is the end result. I took this photo in the pouring rain, so it is a little dreary, but I am so thrilled with my new garden. I am so grateful to her(and my husband!). Now for some exciting news.....I am finally getting my craft room! I am doing the happy dance! We have decided to redo our outer living room and my husband is building me a craft room 8ftx12ft. He is doing all the work himself including some built in cabinets for me. I will be including many before and during pictures along the way. I would really appreciate any advice you crafters can give me about what makes your crafting space efficient and cheerful. I have lots of ideas but I love to hear from people who have similar interests as myself. One thing I know, this little girl's new bed is coming in there too! Well, I have a busy week ahead of me. My husband and I are getting away overnight(yay) alone together and I have several more appointments. On our getaway, we are taking a detour to a wonderful quilt shop called Mission Rose so hopefully, I will take some pictures to share and I will have loot to show you! Please comment or email me with any suggestions you feel would make my craft room function well. Have a wonderful Sunday evening and take care. Nancy

"I Did It" Monday

I am so excited! I have been wanting to sew some pillow shams for my bedroom for quite some time. I had leftover curtain material that I wanted to use and that limitted my design because I only had so much. I wanted something different. Time was ticking away. I change all the elements(curtains, comforter, pillows) twice a year and October first, I will be changing to the fall/winter set. I was thrilled when I came across a tutorial at Sew Much Ado showing some fabulous throw pillows with shirred middles. They were to die for. Now, all I had to do was figure out how to adapt them to sham size. Well, I did it! I feel a boost in sewing confidence. I am a little disappointed I was not able to match the stripes, but I had a small amount of fabric to work with. I had a little helper along the way. I guess I couldn't have done it without her! Here they are with all the other pillows on my bed. I like alot of pillows! I love toile so I was so thrilled to have enough left over from 2 tablecloths I purchased from TJ MAxx years ago to make the gathered middles in these pillows. It ties them in to the throw pillow covers I made last year. What do you think? I am very happy with them. Now on to a recipe I made last night that I thought was really good and kind of unique. They are peanut butter mini muffins. Here is the recipe: Turn your oven on to 350degrees. Lightly grease(or use papers like I did) 36 mini muffin cups. Cream together: 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter, 1/4 cup softened butter, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar. Add: 1 egg. Then add: 3/4 cup buttermilk, 3 Tablespoons oil, and 3/4 teaspoon vanilla. In a separate medium bowl, sift together: 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt . Mix your dry ingredients in with your creamed ones. Divide batter evenly among your muffin cups. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup baking M&Ms. Bake 15-17 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. cool on wire racks. Prepare chocolate glaze: melt 2 1oz. squares semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave per package instructions. Add 1 Tablespoon butter. Stir until melted. When the mixture is smooth, put it into a zip-loc baggie and snip the tip(very small snip). Drizzle over muffins and sprinkle with more mini M&Ms. Enjoy! I hope everyone gets the week off to a good start. Take care. Nancy

New Shoes, New Book and a Taggy

Happy Friday! Aren't they pretty? Beautiful and inexpensive(I didn't want to say cheap-that would be insulting!) I love houndstooth. Basically I love all checks and plaids but this is classic. And check out the shiny patent toes. I know I have way too many shoes but I had no choice these were coming home with me!

I got this in the mail two days ago. What a cute book. I immediately found myself picking out different projects for friends and family as tie-ons to their Christmas gifts. It looks like the projects are fairly easy and fun to complete and easy to personalize. As with the shoes, I have way too many craft books, but this is a must(do you see a pattern here?!)

I needed a little gift for my nephew so I didn't show up empty-handed at a party this weekend. So, I decided to tackle one of these taggy blankets I have heard so much about. I wouldn't say it was too difficult, just a little time consuming and fussy. I measured out all the ribbon placements and tacked them down both for ease and safety-I don't want these babies not sewn down when the baby pulls and chews on them! Then I put the fabrics face to face and sewed. I chose a plush fleece and Minky. Next time, I think I would choose flannel. Minky is not the easiest fabric I have ever worked with, but I do love how soft it is so it was worth it. When I had sewn around, I must have been a little preoccupied because I left way too small of an opening for turning. I had to get the seam ripper out and the stitches were a little hard to see because of how plush the fleece was. Note to self: when making a taggy leave yourself a large enough opening to turn all those pinned down ribbons comfortably! Finally, I topstitched at the edge of the blanket. It isn't as professional looking as I would like a gift to be, but it is the thought that counts, right?

As I leave you to enjoy your weekend, I wanted to give you some Mickey love. She always looks so stern in these pictures but she really is a sweetheart. Per

haps she heard that the camera adds five pounds and she doesn't like getting her picture taken. I understand that completely! Take care. Nancy

Garden Inspirations and An Easy Recipe

I am gardening challenged. There-I said it. I have absolutely no houseplants. I seem to forget to water green things. My husband said it is a good thing my boys and the dog and cat can physically let me know when they need something or they too could have been overlooked! Well, I don't know about that, but I admit it is a struggle for me to keep up with plants and flowers. I do have some landscaping outside and that is thanks to my mother in law. She has a wonderful green thumb and she has given me lots of advice and hands-on help when I need it. I have a friend(the same kind soul who taught me to crochet) who could do magazine layouts. Her gardens are that beautiful. The picture above is from her home, as well as these others. I have just scratched the surface with these pictures. Her whole house is landscaped beautifully.

She has agreed to help me plan out a patch on the side of my home that she suggested would look nice with a flower garden. I will submit a "before" picture of that at a future date. I am excited and a little nervous. I am hoping this will be fun and informative for me. I like learning new things. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I wanted to share a fantastic recipe for refrigerator rolls. It is a great go-to recipe to have rolls at the ready without all the fuss of raising and shaping and rolling them out.

Take a package of yeast and mix it with 2 Tablespoons of warm water in a small bowl. Let it stand 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, add it to 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 beaten egg, 4 cups self-rising flour, and 2 cups warm water. Mix well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours. When you need rolls, spoon int greased muffin tin and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Keep in fridge for up to 4 days.
I love to make them for breakfast. I mix softened butter with honey and serve it with them. Delish! Have a great day and take care. Nancy

Time Is A Flyin'

Wow-where is this summer going? I have had a pretty productive and very happy summer. Starting this blog has been a perfect way for me to push myself to finish more projects and that makes me feel great! I made another project from One Yard Wonders. This obi-inspired hot & cold pack was so easy and genius in design. I hope you can see it clearly in the picture-I chose an argyle fabric which makes it difficult to make out how it works. It basically is like a belt with ties and a pocket in the middle that holds a separate pack filled with flaxseeds that can be warmed in the microwave or chilled in the freezer. Put the pack in the envelope and tie it on wherever it is needed. So cool and so functional! One of the things I have enjoyed about my blogging experience is the sharing of ideas by all of you out there. I have been having a blast making recipes and crafts suggested by your posts. From the Kitchen of Bettie Rocker made this Cherry Pecan Bread and I had to try it. It was amazing. I couldn't believe how moist it was. My whole family loved it and it didn't stick around long! I keep seeing beautiful camera straps but I don't have a camera to use them with :( so I was thrilled when I saw a tutorial from A Pretty Cool Life with a little strap for my little beauty. I have many more projects to pick from for my next thing to start. I may switch it up a little and do some painting. I have a lamp to finish that has been waiting in the wings forever! I have a recipe to share with you next time and some pictures of one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever been in. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and take care. Nancy

Two for Tuesday

It is still hot and muggy up here in the northeast. I feel like I am losing contact with what is happening outside my house! I go to an appointment here and there or a lunch(or breakfast to avoid the afternoon heat) with a friend and that is about it. I stay in my air conditioned house. I don't recall a humid spell like this before- up here anyway. I am anticipating going back to work in September. Now that August is here, time will fly. My youngest will be a junior this year and my oldest is starting his second year of college. My how the time whizzes by. I want to share two projects I completed. I decided to take some of the fabric I won and make a patchwork belt. I used the instructions in the Pretty Little Patchwork book. I have also seen similar belts on blog tutorials. It was fun to pick the fabrics to put together. I got kind of carried away and made my belt a little long but that is ok because I like to sometimes wear it lower on the hips and I can tuck in the extra. I also mentioned I was making something using a tutorial from one of my favorite blogs. Well, I made this super easy and cute apron from a tutorial on Karen's blog Sew Many Ways. This will make a great apron to wear outside to hang out my clothes. I usually stuff my pockets with clothespins so I can just have them with me instead of going back to the container every few minutes. I used fabric I had on hand but there are so many great fat quarters out there, I may make another couple! I am working on a third project right now that I thought was going to be easy, and it is proving to be difficult! I am probably just having a brain cloud in regards to the directions so I will have to seek a little guidance on this one! Hopefully, I will be posting soon with my troubled project finished and perfect. Take care. Nancy