More inchie Bows

More Inchies!!!! I am absolutely in love with these little guys! And all in pink too! Pretty, pretty, pretty..... I used the snap clips for these instead of the aligator ones. I like the shape a bit better.

This one is a mix of felt and fabric. Topped with a button and it is toooo cute.

Another owl (can you have too many....I think not).

A bunny for Easter or just because. How sweet these will love in a little girl's hair. Diana

The Other Quilt

Last week I posted a yellow and green rag quilt I had made for my Amish friends. Here is the green and blue version for the second child. It is identical to the first quilt except for using blue instead of yellow.

Here is a close up of the heart.

While this one is a little out of focus, it does show the stitches fairly well. I loved how delicate it is. Now we get to deliver the quilts and enjoy a visit to their farm. Diana

Little Fimo Treasures

I have never played with fimo before but, when I found out you could make cute jewelry with it, I had to try it! I ordered some teeny tiny molds from an Etsy seller and loaded up on different colors (I did forget to get basic white and black though). After a few rejects, I got the hang of a few of the shapes. Check them out! These cute little roses have a lot of detail. You bake them in the mold so they don't lose their crisp edges.

These little Scottie charms have to be cooked out of the mold because I had to put a hole in the top for the metal hook to fit in. I really would like to do a few in black but that will have to wait til I get to the craft store.

Chocolate candies! Love, love, love these!

Here is a view of the sides. You can see how tiny these are in comparison to the ear ring backs.

Ice cream cones. The white soft serve is too translucent so next time I will use solid white. I also need smaller posts cuz these are sooooo small. These were a lot of fun to make. I did have to wear magnifying glasses to see what I was doing! On top of my regular glasses! Cute......... Diana

Hot Chocolate On A Stick

Tomorrow, at church, a few of my friends are going to get a little treat! Hot Chocolate on a stick. Or in some cases, on a spoon. I saw these on Cookies and Cups. She has a great tutorial so I won't go into any detail on the "how to". This chocolate is so rich! Fondue chocolate, powdered sugar and cocoa powder.....yum! Then I dipped them in white chocolate and different sprinkles.....double yum!

Instead of plastic spoons, I did a few with silver teaspoons. I used silver jimmies to match.

The mold I used is an ice tray in the shape of hearts. It is flexible silicone so the chocolates pop right out.

Green spoon needs green sanding sugar.

On this one I used a sucker stick instead of a spoon.

Stuck in a goody bag with an instruction tag tied on makes these easy to pass out to friends. I saved a few for me too! Diana

Rag Heart Baby Quilt

Our dear Amish friends have two new grand babies coming soon. My husband and I wanted to do something personal and special to mark their arrival so I made this sweet little blanket. I will make the other one soon! Of course we don't know if they are boys or girls so I stuck with neutral colors. This first little blanket took only one full day to complete. I cut strips of fabric 3 inches wide and 36 inches long of both the front and back fabrics. Then I cut 7 inch squares in both front and back fabrics, six of each (twelve total). On the squares I appliqued these little patchwork hearts. I did them on the embroidery machine (design from GG Design Embroidery) but you could do them with your regular zigzag stitch.

Sew it all together and cut down to a 37 inch square. Bind and then clip all the seams and throw in the washer and dryer. I love how this quilt feels, so soft and cuddly. Just right for a new little one. Diana

I was inspired by the wreath found here http://theprettypoppy1.blogspot.com/2010/07/pretty-little-rosie-wreath.html to make hairbows for my girls. It was really easy. A few pieces of felt, hot glue, alligator clips, and a couple minutes later we had some cute hairbows.

cindy

baby quilt

I put on a baby shower for a friend at church and one of the activities was creating squares for a baby quilt. The guests left little notes with fabric pens on squares I had previously cut. Then I assembled the quilt this week. Here is the final product. I know the mom and baby will be able to cherish this quilt throughout the years. Cindy

Monkey Model

I made another hat and scarf for an American Girl doll. I don't have one myself but my grand children suggested I use my sock monkey as a model. It is very close in size to the doll and putting clothes on the monkey makes me happy......I know, wierd but true. These were knitted in a few hours. I used 10.5 needles which made the hat and scarf a breeze. A little girl at church just got her first American Girl doll for Christmas so I am giving these to her on Sunday. Diana

Cinnamon Milk

A few years ago I tried this at a friends house and immediately fell in love with it! She had gotten it years ago from the magazine The Children's Friend. This drink is wonderful on a cold day or late at night right before bed. I use it to help me fall asleep. Warm and rich, just the ticket! Plus it uses dry milk from my food storage that I won't drink otherwise!

Hot Cinnamon Milk

2 Cups dry non fat milk (best to use the powdered not granulated)
1 Cup dry dairy creamer (we buy this at Amish bulk food stores)
1 Cup sugar
4-5 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix all together and store in air tight container. Use 1/3 cup per serving. pour mix in mug and add hot water. So good! Diana

Valentine's Banner

Here is another design from GG Design Embroidery. The banner craze I have been seeing on the blogs for months has really appealed to me. So here is another one! This one is a gift but I think I will make myself one too!

Look how delicate the stitches are. And the button hole is great for threading a ribbon through.

Seriously, these stitches are great! I also got to use my new pinking shears to cut out the hearts. Diana

Inchie Hair Bows

Aren't these cute!!!! I really love the owls. I found these alligator clip covers and the owl inchies at GG Designs Embroidery. This company is in Australia and I love the designs. The covers are for 1 7/8 inch clips.

They have a lot of different inchies to choose from and the prices are great, even after you figure in the exchange rate. Just remember to add about 1% to your total to come up with the US dollar equivalent. If you use paypal they do the calculation for you!

I added some buttons to this cover. Not entirely happy with them but I guess they are OK. Diana

Stained Glass

I have always wanted to learn how to make stained glass and a while ago I was able to finally take a class! This is my first project. It is so much fun and the results are very satisfying.

My favorite part is the raindrop glass! I haven't made another piece yet. Maybe once it warms up. I don't feel up to working in the barn in this weather. That is snow you are seeing out of the window! Diana

Creamy Pralines

Some friends down in Louisiana brought my husband some pralines to work that he really loved. I asked for the recipe and finally made some today. Since I never got to have any of the originals, I hope these are how they are supposed to turn out! These have a high gloss and are very creamy. Here is the recipe.

1 can evaporated milk
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1-2 cups pecans

Mix milk, butter and sugar together. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture reaches soft ball stage. This will take at least 35 minutes. I had a lot of trouble getting a good temp on my candy thermometer so I had to use the ice water method. Just drop a small amount of syrup in ice cold water, let set for a minute or two and if you can pick up the blob of syrup and it holds it's shape, the candy is ready. The syrup/candy will look a nice caramel color and be kind of spongy.

Remove from heat. Add vanilla and nuts and stir to coat. Prepare a piece of wax paper by spraying with Pam or other nonstick spray. Drop candy by large heaping teaspoons onto wax paper.

Let candy set up and then enjoy. I am a huge praline fan so I am sure these won't last long enough to share! Diana

Scripture Tote

Here is another scripture tote that I just made up. It is fully lined and has a ton of pockets inside! I made it a little larger because it is for an adult and I wanted extra room for the RS and Sunday School manuals.

The "C" was appliqued with my embroidery machine so it was a snap! I love the rose fabric and now want a tote just like this one. That always happens. Diana

Chalkboard In A Gilded Frame

Since I had the chalkboard paint open for the previous post on the cocoa jar, I looked around for something that NEEDED to be painted. This huge blank picture stared right at me. It has been hanging, blank, for over a year down in the basement TV room. Now with a couple coats of chalkboard paint, I can use it for messages all year long!

Here it is before. Well, actually it had an ugly 70"s picture under the mustard paint first. That's why I got it for FREE to begin with. Diana

Cocoa Jar...For Now

We don't drink coffee but, during the winter, we do drink cocoa.....a lot. And it comes in an ugly size 10 metal can! I had left the can out on my counter for a few weeks when I couldn't stand it any more. Must....make....pretty. Now with I have this cute cocoa jar with it's own chakboard label. And the best part is, after winter is long gone and I am no longer living on cups of cocoa, I can change the words to something else! Like maybe "cookies" or "chocolate". Love it!

I used my cricut to cut a stencil out of contact paper. Then I put three coats of chalkboard paint on. Let the paint cure overnight. Remove the stencil and clean up any overspill with a razor. I am pretty sure this jar can't go through the dishwasher, but you should be able to gently hand wash. The jar is available at Walmart. So is the paint!

One look outside and I can see this is a day to stay indoors with a nice warm cup of cocoa from my new jar and maybe stalk a few of my favorite craft blogs. Diana

Hospital Couture

One of my friends has a sweet baby undergoing chemo. They have spent months in the hospital, and I heard the gowns are just not suitable for this sweet girl. So, a few online pattern searches and a few hours later I had this.

My pattern was adapted from this site . The pattern is very easy and can be adapted. Little Averi is so small that I just used the general idea to make my own pattern. The best things about it is the overlap of fabric in the back and the velcro and button top arm seam closures. I have a few more in the works and will post pictures as I complete them.

~Jennifer

French Mini Pedestal

Last night, just before bed, I checked out the blogs I follow one last time and what did I see? http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2011/01/diy-individual-cupcake-stands-by.html had made the cutest little cupcake stands using small flower pots and a wood disk. I had both of those things! So at 10:30 pm I HAD to make one! I got out my glue gun and paint..... While I loved what she did, I had to put my own stamp on this project!

The crown is from Graphics Fairy. I fussy cut it out and mod podged in on the painted top.

The clay flower pot I chose was really pretty (Goodwill) and the disk I used was from the craft store. In addition to giving the whole thing a couple coats of white paint, I cut tiny strips of scrapbook paper and mod podged it on the edge of the disk. Once dried, I sprayed a few coats of flat sealer on so I can sponge clean the stand. I now have the sweetest little stand for cupcakes or whatever! Diana