Santa Pins

The inspiration for this pin originally came from Evy Hawkins at A Bit of Stitch.  She had used one of her Holiday Button Covers to create a very artsy and fun pin.  I decided to take that idea and add my own interpretation to make a pin all my own.

I used items found at the craft store, and you can find a full tutorial for making a pin of your own over in my Tutorial section.  Please use these instructions as a jumping off point; the idea is to take something to use as a background  (I think a plastic glittered snowflake like this one would make a great canvas) and then layer on feathers, floral picks, pearls and other items to fill in the gaps.  Top with a focal point like an embroidered button or a seasonal decorative element.

I made a big batch of these for a craft show one year and they were a big hit.  I hope you enjoy making and wearing your very own pin for the holidays.

I'll be sharing over at Today's Creative Blog on Tuesday.

Like Santa's Workshop

Here's how I spent yesterday morning, embracing the new while honoring the old.

My electronic embroidery machine is cranking out little Christmas favors while I sit and hand stitch my Alabama Chanin dress.  New technology meets traditional craft.  It's the best of both worlds.

Many of you have asked me to post progress reports on my dress.  I finished stitching the first of six panels this week and have started on the second.  I'm making great progress at the moment, though a sore stitching finger required that I take a day off today.  Here are some pictures of the completed panel.

I'm waiting to do the reverse applique cutting until I've stitched all of the panels.  I'm still not sure which portions will get cut and which will just stay stitched or get beaded.  I'm finding the process of needle pulling thread very meditative; by the end of the sixth panel I will be a Zen master. 

Tomorrow morning I have a doctor's appointment and, for the first time ever, perhaps, I am hoping they will keep me waiting so I will have lots of time to stitch :-) 

Lunch Plans

It's that time of year again, time to make gifts for the teachers in our lives.  I really like making something for each person who takes such good care of my kids when they are away from home, but I worry that these gifts will not be what they want and will end up in the Goodwill box.  This year I've made very practical things, something that the teacher can use or even their kids.

I, like many people I know, hate using plastic bags that get thrown away and clutter the landfills.  So, several months ago I went looking for tutorials on the web for making some snack bags to send in my kids' lunch boxes.  I also went shopping for some fabric and got carried away with the coordinates I found.  That is when I decided I would also make some for the teachers on my gift list.  Each one is getting a reusable sandwich wrap (the large, octagonal shape) that doubles as a place mat and two velcro-closing snack bags.  Each piece is lined with PUL fabric which makes them easy to clean and keeps the outside of the bag relatively dry.  These items can be hand washed at the sink when cleaning out the day's lunch boxes and allowed to dry on the dish drainer overnight.  They could also be machine washed.

The internet is full of tutorials on making these so I will not duplicate those efforts here.  I will tell you that the sandwich wrap started as a 14" square, and to make cutting easy, the bags were cut 7" x 14" (I cut a lot of 14" squares and then cut some of them in half for the bags.)  I added a little coordinate stripe on some of them and fashioned the closure flap on the sandwich wrap from the corners I cut off the square to make the octagon.

I hope these will be useful gifts.  And maybe I'll get around to making my own kids a set one day (sort of reminds me of the tale of the cobbler's children).  What are you making for teachers this year?

Sharing today over at Today's Creative Blog and Sew Inspirations Blog Hop.  Hop on over!

Self-Indulgence

What a "me" day I had today.  I managed to pack a lot into today, mostly things that I love doing.  First off, I wrapped and mailed a beautiful package.

Some of you might remember that last year I wrote about how much I love using kraft paper and twine to wrap packages especially when topped with a little woodland-inspired clip which you can make yourself.  When I found myself needing to wrap a round can I wished for some kraft tissue paper.  My wish came true at Paper Source and I picked up several packages this week at my local store.  The tissue paper is simply gathered around the can, tied with twine and topped off with the clip which can be used as a Christmas tree ornament.  I finished off the package with a mist of gold glitter spray which gives it a nice sheen.  Never underestimate the impact of a beautifully wrapped gift.  (Humming "brown paper packages, tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things.")

I also spent time today working in my sewing room and finishing all of the Christmas presents for the teachers on my list.  I'll be posting those in a couple of days.

When I stopped and asked myself what I wanted to do with a day where I had nothing particular on the calendar, the answer was to work on stitching my Alabama Chanin dress.  I have not been making much time for that, so today I spent an hour this morning and an hour this evening stitching, both times at a local coffee shop while my children were otherwise occupied.  I have nearly finished the first of six panels; I'll post some pics when I do.

Today was all about indulging myself, filling the hours with things I love to do but don't have as much time for as I'd like to have.  The feeling was good (tinged with just a little bit of guilt, but not too much).  What have you been doing recently that feels indulgent?  Leave a comment.

Icing to die for

I've got a pile of projects that need to be photographed so I can write posts about them.  But that will have to wait until the sun is up again, so tonight I'm going to share with you an icing recipe I discovered this fall and used for my oldest son's birthday cupcakes.

First I should start by telling you that I don't typically like icing.  When I was a teenager I liked to decorate cakes and had my fill of buttercream frosting.  Most often when served a slice of cake or a cupcake, I will scrape the icing off and eat the cake.  The one exception to this is Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting like I used on my wedding cupcakes.  But this icing is a lot of work and would surely be wasted on a bunch of 4- and 5-year-olds.  So I went looking for another icing recipe.  What I found surprised me.

This recipe is unusual because you begin by cooking a roux from flour and milk.   One of the things I like about the meringue icing is that it uses a sugar syrup made from white sugar instead of confectioners sugar which I don't like the taste of.  The recipe I found also uses white sugar.  The original recipe I started with can be found at this link, but it is buried in a lot of comments so I have rewritten it for you here.

The texture of this icing is almost like whipped cream (there is a grocery store chain in my area that makes a whipped cream frosting for their cakes and this icing is a lot like that).  It is not overly sweet but has the rich taste of butter.  I used a boxed mix for the cupcakes (my favorite is Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Classic Yellow Cake and Moist Deluxe Devil's Food Cake) and piped the icing on in a swirl pattern using Pampered Chef's Easy Accent Decorator (like a pastry bag with a trigger).  The clown toppers came from Meri Meri.  The cupcakes were a big hit at the party, mostly with the grown-ups (one of my friends ate 4!)

This will be my go-to icing recipe from now on.  It is easy to make, most of the ingredients are always in my pantry and fridge, and the taste and texture are outstanding.  I think next time I make this I will use salted butter as I thought the flavor might be improved a bit with some salt.

Hope you enjoy this.  Some day I will dig out the pictures of my amateur cake decorating from my youth and we can all have a really good laugh.