Embroidered Cards for Teachers

If you recall, I taught my daughter some simple stitches a couple of weeks ago. She loved it and has been practicing a lot since then. She really wanted to make something for her teachers, so I suggested cards since we already had purchased their "thank you" present.



We took a trip to the craft store and purchased cross stitch fabric and six strand floss. Per her request, I outlined a heart and the initial of each teacher on the fabric for her. I helped her along the way, but have to say that she did the majority of it. Once in a while, when I noticed she got a little distracted, I would suggest a snack or break. Once she completed the design, we cut them out and I used a zig-zag stitch to attach them to the cards.

It took a bit of time to do these, but it was worth it when her teachers opened them. Inside she wrote "Dear Mrs.____, You are the best teacher. I love you. I'm going to miss you. Thank you for my graduation." I wish I had taken a picture of the inside because it was just too sweet.

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Make-up Bag

Although I originally bought the latest Stitch magazine for the oliver + s Ruffled Halter pattern, I seem to have been more inspired by the many other projects amongst its pages. One of them being this little make-up bag.



Having tackled the zipper a couple of sewing classes ago, I figured I was ready for this. The original pattern included appliques and such, but I decided to go with a more basic design. I had this tiny Corduroy fabric in my stash and thought the stripped pink/white one would look great as the liner. My sewing teacher told me the thread should match the zipper, but now I'm hoping I hadn't listened because I can see the burgundy thread on the liner and don't like that. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my hand sewing isn't up to par.

This picture is a bit blurry, but it shows the great shape that this bag has. While the gusset is hard to sew on (I don't like sewing curves) I love the shape it creates, so it's worth it in my book.

The right side of the zipper looked very neat and great.

The left side, not so much! I don't like that gap- can you see the lining? I want it to be neat like the other side. I don't know why this happened, but I plan to bring it to sewing class tomorrow night in hopes that the teacher will be able to help me. I need to perfect this because everyone I know wants one :)

I'll keep you posted on what I learn and will definitely show you any others I make.

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Flowering Cake

Special Note: I just found out that my little blog reached 100+ followers today. I had a giveaway planned but didn't realize it would happen so soon. I hope to be able to post about it in a few days. Please stay tuned and thanks for following... you are making this journey a blast!



This was my final cake for the second course of the Wilton cake decorating class. We worked on the flowers throughout the first three weeks and then learned the basket weave during the last class.



The flowers were made using buttercream and royal icing. I liked making the royal icing flowers better than the buttercream ones, as they look more realistic to me. We also learned how to use color flow to fill in pictures.



I loved learning the basket weave and will definitely use it in future cakes. It's not as hard as it looks although it does require some concentration or you can get lost really easily.



The cake suffered some "trauma" on the way home from class, and I didn't have enough buttercream to fix it. I'm still really pleased with it and everything I learned in the second course.



This would make a fantastic Easter cake! Can't wait for my next class... gum paste & fondant- yippee!

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Gorgeous Blogger Award

Leslie, over at Night Owl Crafting, has awarded me this. Thank you so much Leslie, you are too sweet!



Here are the rules for receiving and passing it along:
1. Accept and thank the person who sent it to you.
2. List 10 things about yourself.
3. List 5 additional things you don't like.
4. Pass the award on to 10 other bloggers.

10 things about me:
1. I am a night owl and have a very hard time getting up early in the morning.
2. I twisted my right ankle several times playing volley ball in high school.
3. I addicted to going to school.
4. I have been married for 7 years, tomorrow is our anniversary!
5. I talk to my Mom & Dad everyday.
6. I'm a stay-at-home-mom and LOVE it!
7. I have two children, a 4.5 year old girl and 2.5 year old boy.
8. I love Hazelnut coffee with just cream, no sugar.
9. I crave my Mom's cooking on a daily basis.
10. I love playing board games with my family.

5 things I don't like:
1. Getting up early.
2. Scary movies.
3. Insects, bugs, slimy things... you get the idea.
4. Sad stories about children on the news.
5. Clutter.

I am awarding this award to these AWESOME blogs:
A girl and a glue gun
Cottage Instincts
Finding Fabulous
kojodesigns
Me and My Bucket
Moms the Word
Sew Much Ado
The Train to Crazy
Sugar Bee
Women Who Do It All

Enjoy!!!

Flor de Lis Lavender Bath Salts

Remember the Numbered Jars Tutorial I posted a couple of days ago? Well, the same day I found those jars, I also found one with a cork topper. I threw it in the cart not really knowing what I would do with it, but I had to have it. While I was figuring out the stencil for the numbered jars, I saw a flor de lis on the keyboard of the Cricut and this idea came to mind!

I followed the same steps as with the numbered ones:



The only difference was the size, which was 3 inches for the flor de lis.

I used a lemony green that matches the accents in the master bathroom:

I filled it up with homemade bath salts, following this recipe from the wonderful Maggie over at Smashed Peas and Carrots.

While I was setting the salts up in my bathroom I remembered a silver spoon I had picked up at a vintage store in Rhode Island. It had been sitting in a drawer of the china cabinet for years with no purpose. I gave it a quick polish and think it looks so happy now!

Happy and at home, hanging from some delightful lavender bath salts!



Update: I am currently training for a 5K and used some of these in a post-run bath last night... they were FABULOUS!!! Please make some for yourself, for your mom, for a friend... they'll love you!

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