Use What You Got Quilt

Three and a half years ago I made a window pane quilt which used up less than half of the fabric I had bought to make it.  That sad pile of leftover fabric has been waiting all this time to become something.  Here is how I finally decided to use up that material.

 Nothing complicated, just a quick project. 

 I even pieced the back so nothing went to waste.  Now I won't feel guilty about buying too much fabric.

On a different note, I tried a new machine quilting pattern.  Tons and tons of circles!  Took FOREVER but I like it now that it's done.

Diana

Aqua Pumpkins

I didn't do hardly any decorating for fall this year.  Just have been too busy.  But I did do this simple arrangement for the coffee table.

I bought a handful of tiny pumpkins at the craft store and spray painted them aqua.  I filled an old wooden box with foam which I then covered in spanish moss.  Then glued the pumpkins in and there you have it, a fall decoration that matches my color scheme!
Diana

Postage Stamp Quilt

 Just finished another quilt.  Each square is 2 inches by 2 inches.  It was easier than it looks because I did strip piecing using jelly rolls!

The colors are so cheerful.

 The last picture is a little out of focus but it does give an idea of how many squares are in this quilt!

Diana

Baby Boy Quilt

Just finished a quilt for a newborn baby boy out in California.  This was an easy quilt to piece as you can see.  Went together very quickly.  I think the colors are pretty cool and neutral enough for the little guy.

 This was my first attempt at edge to edge machine quilting on my embroidery machine.  Because my biggest hoop is 5x7 it took a lot of time and 64 hoops to complete the quilting.  Love the finished look but it was soooo time consuming.

Glad to be finally finished with it and now off this quilt goes across the country to it's new owner!

Diana

Almost Done with Trailer Exterior!

Just a quick post to show the finished exterior paint job on the trailer.  It took a long time to get this done and an enormous amount of tape and drop cloth. 

We kept the original color theme and used automotive paint for durability and shine..  A little more trim work and she will finally be ready to hit the road ( and maybe a car show or two for fun).

Diana

NOT!

Looks like a simple project doesn't it?  Not so much.

 Well it actually was a simple project, I must have walked under an ladder or crossed paths with a black cat cuz it took me multiple tries to get this right.  And we won't even talk about the other project I really messed up........  And yes I do get the irony of the above wall hanging sentiment........

 First started with a vinyl stencil cut on my silhouette that I totally put on the wood crooked.   Didn't figure that out til after I stenciled all the words.  So repainted cream over the entire thing and decided to give myself a day to figure out how to do it better.  Today I redid the silhouette file and tried to cut new vinyl and it would not cut for the life of me.  Not the first cut or the 6th, 7th or 8th cut.  That's a lot of vinyl to waste.  Put in a call to the hot line,  Got some good advice.....none of it worked.   So I cut out cardstock stencils instead (silhouette would cut paper, just not the vinyl......go figure),  It was much messier to do it this way since the paper isn't adhesive like the vinyl but it worked!  After I finished the Today sign I did a little Farmhouse one.  

We are slowly redecorating our bedroom to match the master bath we remodeled last year.  New paint and some new items (like the bird cage light) brighten up the room.  We have new carpet on order too.  A few other rooms are getting facelifts so we are really staying busy around here.  Stay tuned for more updates.

Diana

First Ever Fondant Cake

I love to try new crafts, recipes and techniques!  Lately I have been wanting to make a cake with both edible lace and fondant, neither of which I have ever tried to do before.  With a winter storm on it's way and an afternoon with no pressing activities, today seemed perfect for a little kitchen crafting!

 I made a tiny 6 inch cake from Dessert For Two that was as cute as can be.  It is actually a 2 layer lemon cake with a lemon curd filling.  The cake has a coarse crumb and the curd is nice and tart.  I gave it a skim coat of buttercream and then attempted the fondant.  Because  the fondant was store bought, I warmed it up a little to make it easier to work with.  Despite all the horror stories I had heard about fondant, it went really easy!  Next I made  a bunch of edible lace that I tinted yellow.  This stuff is wonderful.  I did an earlier post on the lace here.  The linked post shows how you can use it for pretty lace dollies to use in cocoa!

 You can see the seam where I didn't quite match up the edges.  To get the lace to stick to the fondant I used a little corn syrup.

Wouldn't this be a dainty little cake to serve for an English Tea?  Or maybe a special treat for your spouse on a wintry night......

Diana