New Stash

Last weekend I had taken a little road trip to a needlework shop, in Salisbury, NC.  I had no idea there was one so close to me until I read about it in Caroline Stitcher's blog.  The local one here had closed some years ago and the one in Raleigh that I had visited before closed last year.  So sad to see some of these places go.  I hope the one in Salisbury, called Spring Robin, continues to do well.  It is a darling little shop and although I didn't get to stay long, I had so much fun browsing and touching all the wonderful patterns she has in stock.  Robin, the shop's owner, is so pleasant and was so helpful in helping me choose some threads and fabric for a project.   Looking forward to going back sometime and enjoying the downtown area that it's in as well. 

Here's what I came away with:

(I needed more stash like I need a hole in the head!)

Little House Needlework's My Lady, CCN's Feb & Mar Cottages, lots of WKWs and GAST threads, Wisper thread and platinum belfast fabric for My Lady. 

Before going to the shop, I had placed an order with Country Stitches Online, Brenda Gervais' shop.  I purchased Be My Valentine along with 35 ct Abecedarian linen from R&R reproductions.  It's a popular linen that seems to go out of stock quickly so I decided to purchase it as soon as she got some in. 

Isn't this little heart cushion so sweet?  I love it!  I even have the Whitman's Sampler chocolate box too so that I can recreate it as Brenda has.  She includes a how-to with the chart.

Woke up this morning with a little dusting of snow.  Finally! 

(Although I really wished it would have happened on Tuesday so that we could have had a really long weekend.  We all love a snow day from school!)

Looks like powdered sugar on the ground.  It's not much and the temps are supposed to rise to be in the 50's with the sun shining so it won't last long.   Boys are getting ready to go out and play before it melts. 

Me?  I'm going to enjoy it from the inside with a cup of hot coffee.  And play with my stitchy stuff.

Have a great Monday!

Be Mine.....

Hello! 

Here's a Valentine card I made a while back.  I loved the way it turned out.  Quite feminine with the doily, paper roses and seam binding for the bow. 

Layered with a lace scallop nestibility circle in rose red, glitter on the pretty in pink circle.  The little girl from Greeting Card Kids was colored with ink pads and a blender pen.  Patterned paper is from a note pack from the dollar section of  Michael's, all layered on a white base with a strip of pretty in pink that was stamped with French Script on top.  Pearls at a the corners and rose red seam binding for the bow finish it off. 

Hope you have a wonderful day!

A Little Valentine Bird Stitch

Brrr.......it's a cold and windy weekend here.  The coldest weather we've had yet I believe.  It's such a shock to the system when we've had such mild weather.  But I don't mind it really, especially if we stay indoors for the most part.  And I'm not tired of wearing sweaters yet so I'm good. 

 Regardless of the cold, I braved out early Saturday morning for a nice drive to Salisbury, NC to check out a needlework shop that I had no idea existed.  Faye  (Carolina Stitcher) mentioned the place on her blog.  What a treat!   Came back with a few things for my stitchy stash.  Not that I needed to get anything as I have plenty of stuff to work on but....you know how that goes.  :)

So after getting my Blackbird Stocking done, I'm inspired to get more things finished.  Out of the stitched drawer and into the light to be admired. 

Here's one that was stitched last year:

Valentine Bird (Wee Ones) from Heart In Hands Needleart. 

Check out that long crease in the fabric!  Guess I need to improve my ironing skills. 

Stitched this on the called for fabric, 32ct Summer Khaki Belfast Linen, and used Crescent Colours and Weeks Dye Works listed on the pattern.   A little heart button from Just A Button Company adds a little emblishment.

Found the frame at my local TJMaxx.  It's a regular picture frame with the glass removed.  Used a little bit of batting to make it puff out slightly. 

A little bit of whimsy for February. 

Hope you have a great day!

Valentine's Day Class Favors



Happy Friday Everyone! 

It's been a long week.  I don't know if it's because of the full moon or spring like weather here, but school has been a bit, shall we say, exhausting.  Patience has been the keyword.

 

Here's a cute and easy little favor I did for each of the boys' classmates last year.  It uses Stampin' Up's Full Heart Punch and a coordinating heart border stamp from the set Sweetheart. 

The boys stamped "Happy Valentine's Day" on the back and signed their names on each one.  Turquoise/pink for the girls and red for the boys.  The ribbon is threaded through a hole punched just at the bottom tip of the heart and tied around the lollipop to secure it.  Real easy and simple.

This weekend I'll get started on the ones they'll share this year.  

My oldest selected this one: 



via Pinterest

And for my Lego, Star Wars loving younger son, he went with this idea:



via Pinterest

We'll be doing this Lego themed one in white and adhering it to red cardstock for a little color.  Then thread a glow stick right where the lightsaber should be.  Both should be easy and fun for them to get done on their own with a little help from Mom.   Just need to be sure I've got plenty of ink in the printer to get it done!


So glad it's Friday and am ready to enjoy the weekend the my little family.  My boys each have basketball games to play in and I hope to get some play time in of my own with some stamping and cross-stitch.


Have a great Friday!

     



tulip time..........

I love tulips.  They are one of my favorite flowers, especially in white.   They seem the perfect flower to perk things up in winter, when things can look a little bare.  Reminds me that spring will just be around the corner soon.

These were photographed serveral days after I had purchased them.  I change the water every couple of days and I think that helps keep them fresh longer. 

They are such a little treat, one that I don't frequently splurge on.   

Have a lovely Monday!

Valentine Mailbox

Happy Saturday! 

Can you believe Valentine's just around the corner?  Seems like January just flew by (with no snow I might add--boo).   Thought I'd pop in and share a little mailbox I made  as a little gift for my stamping friends that come to stamp with me.  I have such fun with these gals!

The small mailbox tins were a find at the Target Dollar Spot a couple years back.  They are a cute a little size.   I kept them fairly clean and simple, not too overly fru-fru. 

Covered them with a strip of SU's Love Impressions DSP (wrapped all the way around & secured with sticky tape), used Red Glimmer paper for the heart, backed with a Going Gray cs scalloped heart.  The flag tag used a stamp from the set Riveting.  Bits of different ribbon in gray, white & red for emblishment finish the little mailbox.   I tucked a little gift of a few stamping emblishments inside along with some chocolates for my sweet friends.

Had a stamping weekend last week and we made some cute projects.  Hoping to get them photographed today to share with you soon.

Hope your weekend is an enjoyable one! 

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Riveting

Paper: Love Impressions dsp, going gray cs, whisper white cs, red glimmer paper
Ink:  Going Gray
Accessories:  Spellbinders plain & scalloped heart die, SU! small heart punch, circle punches, red grosgrain, white & gray satin ribbon, red sheer ribbon, red gingham, red line sticky tape


Edited to Add:  I've added my mailbox to The Sunday Showcase Party no. 87 HERE.

A Cold Day Just Begs Fresh Muffins

We have a had such a mild winter here in North Carolina (so far) but a couple of weeks ago, it was a rather cold and windy day.  All I wanted was to come home to a hot cup of cocoa and a fresh baked muffin.  So as soon as the preschool day was over, I got to it.

Took the out the necessary equipment:

Got my recipe from Pinterest:  French Toast Breakfast Muffins and 35 or so minutes later,

Viola!

I had some fresh baked muffins and my hot cocoa.  Yum!

Light and airy muffins that are dipped in melted butter and rolled in a cinnamon sugar mixture.  Not too sweet with just barely a hint of nutmeg.  I might increase the nutmeg a touch more but if you're not a huge fan of the spice, the amount will be just right. 

I will definitely make these again!  The recipe makes enough batter for 8 regular size muffins.   May try these as mini muffins for a bite size treat next time. 

French Toast Breakfast Muffins

1/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg  (room temperature), lightly beaten
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. milk

Topping

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium-large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined.  Don't overmix. Scoop batter into muffin pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. I used a large ice-cream scoop and got 8 medium-large muffins out of this batter.   Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until they just start to turn a bit golden at the edges.  If you will be making mini-muffins, bake for 10-12 minutes. 

For the topping, mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another small bowl. Dip the warm muffins in melted butter (just the tops or the whole thing--your preference!) and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Makes 8 muffins

**I cut the topping recipe in half and found that it was plenty for the 8 muffins

Enjoy!