DIY Craft Show Banner

SEW.....

Time is being spent preparing for the up-coming shows.

Making soap, sewing, all the things that come with running my own business.

This is the latest....

 

I needed a more detailed banner and

funds being what they are, I decided to make my own.

 

craft show banner

 Found the letter templates at

http://chubbiecubbie.com/abc123printables.htm

 

I bonded the letters to my fabric panel with wonder under

and then stitched them down as an added precaution.
 

I outlined the panel with bias binding and

added loops on the corners and in the center top and bottom.

 

 

The fabric panel was what I had left over from making my kitchen curtains.

 

 

The fabric flowers were free from my local thrift store.
The whole project was constructed with things I already had on hand.
 It was a bit time consuming but, worth the effort.

What great projects are you into?

Till next time,
Bonjour

 



The "New", Used Sewing Machine

Dallas Farmer's Market

I was looking for a used sewing machine on Craig's list

the other day and found one for $29.00.

A singer touch and sew, circa early 1970's.

Not a bad price for a machine in a cabinet, plus the matching chair.

 

The only problem?

 

It's location was in Dallas, about an hour away.

I might not even want it...

Maybe it wouldn't sew properly...

Maybe it would need work...

Maybe this was one of those Craig's list scams...

 

You can let the maybes deter you or just go do it!

 

So, off we went to give it a test drive.

 

It was a fine machine with bells and whistles,

 plus a few extras thrown in for good measure.

 

 

We tarped and tied her into the back of the pickup

and headed over to the Dallas farmer's market.

~Couldn't waste the fuel doing just one thing!~

 

Well, I have some sewing to do and soap to cut...

Hope you have an excellent day!

 

Till next time,

Bonjour

 



Out For A Sunday Drive, Corsicana, Texas

 

Hubby wanted to go to Gander Mountain in Corsicana to

check prices on sausage casings.

I was like, yeah, OK, sure.

 

 

The ride in was on the interstate, lots of cars going way too fast!

 

 

When we got finished at the Gander,

we headed into town proper to hit the local Walmart.

 

 

My suggestion for the ride back was to take the back roads.

Out came The Roads of Texas Atlas.

(I love that atlas).

 

These photos were taken on FM 1126, just outside of Emhouse.

A beautiful drive back home, wouldn't you agree?

 

How was your Sunday?

 

Till next time,

Bonjour

A Woman's Best Friend And Protector!



Found Fluffy

I admit it, I’m not really into pets.

I think it dates back to my childhood.

I’ve had several pets in my lifetime, dogs, cats. birds, rabbits …

Pet equals, eventual death of pet.

Why put yourself in the mix, risk heartache?

At present we have three dogs, all rescue of some sort or another.

Fluffy is the latest in the mix, wandered up on New Years Eve of last year.

Cutest little Australian Sheppard ever,

who would leave this pup to fend for herself ?



Abandoned dog!

Now, Fluffy is laying in the floor wondering,

“why do I feel like crap, why was I left at an unknown place

all day without my buddies, why can’t I have food or water“?

Because Fluffy….

We had to get you “fixed”.

I’m sorry!

I realize these dogs would lay down their lives for me.

They position themselves in a triangle around me, wherever I am,

covering any angle just in case…..

And poor little Fluffy, in her less than perfect condition,

is in the mix, protecting me.

How cool is that?



My newest best friend at my feet!

Till next time, realize!

Bonjour





Good Day At The Market



Mucho Soap!

So....

We were finally able to get back to the Waxahachie Farmer's Market

after two weekends of rain outs.

Not complaining... Just saying!

We're reaching a whole new demographic at this venue,

not just the handmade craft seekers. Actual customers that want

the more natural alternative to the store bought soaps and bath products.

Bon...

We've only been at this location a few months but we are

experiencing a repeat customer base here as well,

and as a bonus we're also getting more,

my sister, mother, friend told me about your products, referrals.

How cool is that?

You know you have a good product when you get referrals!

So I'm totally happy/thrilled/grateful about this aspect of our venture!

Eight years of serious dedication is starting to pay off.

On another note...

Since I am currently not employed/ punching anyone else's clock,

I've had more time to create in other ways.

I do love to sew, bead, repurpose, imagine...



Mini bag

Today I sold two aprons and a mini bag.

They are on their way to Japan!

Thank you lovely Japanese ladies,

who oo-ed and awed over my sewn creations.

I am so grateful!



Apron

The other apron didn't get photo-ed, that I can find, but thank you Sue

for the fabric/valance on this one!

Grilling tomorrow, still too hot for inside cooking.

50 cents each for large, colored bell peppers and 50 cents for a 12 ounce tomato,

$3.oo for the sweetest cantaloupe.

Still working through that half, grass fed cow!

Till next time, be grateful,

Bonjour

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups Recipe

So…

Are you past the Mouse Quest, post yet?

Good, cause I have a recipe.

No, not the jello!

This one is for homemade peanut butter cups.

I wanted to make the hubby some sweets for his lunch pail,

something that didn’t require turning on the oven.

So I started rummaging around in my “CLEAN” cabinets.

I found almond bark, marshmallow cream, toffee crumbles,
colored sugar sprinkles,

mini baking cups, most of which were left over from the
Christmas candy making frenzy.

Peanut butter, powdered sugar salted peanuts and raisins.

That’s a start!

I know, peanut butter cups are just that, peanut butter.

But what fun is that, good yes, but could be better with a

little extra goodies thrown in.

I tried to come up with more goodies for the inside besides
creamed peanut butter, peanuts and raisins….

But canned tuna or salmon, or dried beans just didn’t sound good,

although, if I would have had bacon, I would have fried it up,
crumbled it, and put it in too.

Everything’s better with bacon, Target has a t-shirt that says so!!!

Anyway here’s the recipe.

Peanut Butter Cups Ala Terry

Ingredients:
Inside
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp. salt
4 ½ tsp. Butter, softened
¼ cup marshmallow cream (optional)

Cream these together in a bowl.

Outside
1 cup creamy peanut butter
A handful of toffee bits (optional)
About 14 oz. almond bark (7 squares)
(I had the white almond bark, chocolate colored looks better).

Melt these in a double boiler, stir to incorporate.

Method:

1. Line your mini muffin pan with the mini baking cups.
2. Drop a teaspoon or so (the kind you stir your coffee with) of the
chocolate mixture into the cups, add a slight teaspoon of the creamed peanut butter mixture.
Here you can add a few raisins, peanuts, almonds, bacon, whatever.

(Probably not canned tuna or salmon or dried beans though).

3. Top off with another teaspoon or so of the chocolate, add some sprinkles and your almost done.
I put a raisin on top of the ones with raisins inside, a peanut on the ones with peanuts inside.

I sprinkled toffee bits on the ones with no bonus ingredients.

4. Set in fridge to harden up, and now you’re done.

Makes about 48

There you have it, easy munchies, no oven involved!

Better go wash my face, I feel something sticky on my chin.

Marshmallow cream I bet!

Till next time, happy cooking,

Bonjour

Mouse Quest, So Gross

DAMM....

Please excuse my language.

Mice....

You know when you have them, there are signs.

I'll skip the graphic descriptions,

 cause,

it makes me want to,

well, you know.

 Ew, Ew, and again Ew!

I put out the bait last week,

three goners thus far,

Ew again!

Yummy grill stuff!

Today I'm cooking the hubby breakfast taquito's

from the stuff we grilled on Sunday.

Veggies, meats, you know!

Breakfast Taquito's.

Nat6han says, "yum".

And I still smell Ew!

DAMM!

Again, please excuse my language.

Gross, gross!

Since this place is still under construction....

I pulled out every cabinet/drawer I could, looking for said Ew.

Lots of dust and you know what, but no Ew!

Drawers, floors and cabinets are sparkling clean,

even cleaned the oven and fridges.

Not a Ew in sight!

Needless to say,

no sewing/soap-making happened today!

Although,

 I did learn how to make my own flavored jello,

stay tuned if your not too grossed out.

Till next time,

Bonjour

Rose

SO....

I'm still at the sewing machine, (I love my sewing machine)

but this time I'm making dolls.

I think handmade dolls are cool. 

 On the one hand you have the mass produced dolls,

bland with no personality, all the same faces, clothes, and they smell funny...

On the other hand you can use one doll pattern and come up with

so many variations of handmade dolls, no two look alike.

And who says the body has to be a plain muslin fabric?

Why not black, or brown, or in this case yellow with flowers?

Scan the pattern to vary the finished size, use crazy yarn for the hair,

tiny roses for the eyes and mouth....

The possibilities are endless!

So, here we have it, or should I say her?
ROSE


Rose




Her clothes



Her skirt was a blouse that I picked up at the thrift store.
I really liked the pin tucking and thought I might use the piece for a bag.
Rose had other ideas!
Her eyes and mouth are little roses, and, as you can see,

her hair is a flaming red!

Once I had her body finished she pretty much told me
how she wanted to be dressed and how she wanted her hair done.

My husband said she looks like she has a Port-wine stain.  

 (flat purple-to-red birthmarks made of dilated blood capillaries.

These birthmarks occur most often on the face and may vary in size.

Port-wine stains often are permanent (unless treated).

That never even crossed my mind as I was laying out the pattern pieces.
I chose to put that flower there.
Perhaps the powers that be directed my hands in anticipation
of a little girl with the same birthmark finding Rose.
And if that occurs I'll give her Rose.

Miss Ivy

I sold Miss Ivy at my last show to a middle aged woman,
I'm just saying....

Well, my sewing machine is calling....
Who cares if the grass is knee high and the floors are full of dog hair!
I need to create.

Blogger is underlining things and generally not doing as I command.
So.... I'm just gonna hope for the best and go with it!

Till next time,
Bonjour

Spring Break

So....

What's more calming than a walk in the woods?

Several walks in the woods :-)

Nathan is over for spring break so we went to our favorite place, the park.

If you get off the concrete path there's a whole other world

just waiting to be explored.

GREEN SPACE

 A creek, trees, flowers, birds, snakes ....and ticks!

Yep, ticks.

I found me a few of those ticks too!

Never heard of ticks till I came south.

Maybe we had them up north, I just don't remember.

We also found this in the creek.

At this point we were pretty far in and

the trail kinda petered out,

 and since I was wearing flip-flops instead of hiking boots.....

Is it just me, or does the tree on the right look a little obscene?

Today we're going to a shabby chic, junktique, up-cycle show,

should be fun.

Till next time,

Bonjour

The Planets Have Aligned In My World!

 I admit it.....

I love to sew, doesn't matter what I'm sewing, I just need to do it!

Seems all things align and the world is right when I sew.

So, today was a sew day so to speak..

This is how the story goes....

A few years back I made a quilt for Nathan's bed,

a very nice quilt if I do say so myself.

Traditional piecing for the top and crazy piecing for the drop.

(I really don't quilt, I piece and then

tie the whole thing together with embroidery floss).

Anyway....

Our dog Red likes to lay on Nathan's bed , not allowed,

but while the masters are away.....

Apparently those embroidery floss tassels tantalized her.

A nip here a scratch there, well you can guess,

rips and tears beyond repair.

I took it apart and salvaged what I could, the crazy squares!

What could I do with these crazy squares?

It hit me today....Bedside rugs!

(We're living on concrete floors here)!!!



My Dad made the chest of drawers when I was a baby.

The legs came from a chair that the previous homeowners left here.

Crazy blocks are pieced onto a foundation fabric,

plenty enough thickness in those squares for a rug.

I had enough squares to make two, 27" x 37" rugs.

The backing is made from

a dis-assembled couch throw that didn't quite work out.



I'm back in the groove...

 Sun is shining, temps are in the 70's, life is good!

Hope You' all had a creative and fruitfull weekend.

Till next time,

Bonjour

The Gifts Just Keep Coming!



Welcome Fluffy!

So...

We found this little thing on our front porch New Years Eve morning.

A whining, crying, shivering, little fluffy ball of fur who stole our hearts.





We're guessing she's a Blue Heeler/Saint Bernard mix.

Big feet, big head, Blue Heeler markings on her snout.

Lots of straight fluffy fur.

Dang!

I was hoping the next dog that showed up would be short haired!

I think Fluffy wore Dad out!

Lady and Red are not so sure what they think about

this new little fur ball so Steve will be taking her to work with him for awhile.

Who abandons a barely weaned puppy out in the country

where Coyotes abound?

Are there brothers and sisters "out there" shivering in the night?

This is so sad!!!!

And how did she make it all the way down the drive to our house?

If you have opinions/suggestions

 as to her breed /mix please feel free to share.

Till next time,

FIX YOUR PET!

Bonjour



My Special Christmas Gift!

Jaelyn Grace Wheaton

Born - 12/29/11

6 lb. 2 oz.

18" long

I'm a great-grandma!

Glad I'm still young-ish enough to enjoy her!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Seeking, Searching - Finding

Sorted & labeled

Well...

I've been searching for a good muffin recipe and google was not being very helpful.

I kept getting sweet muffin recipes, what I wanted was savory.

I guess it helps if you put savory in your search criteria.

 Cheese, bacon, corn, all very good

but not what I wanted either.

It finally hit me, try herb.

Better, but not great.

Then I found a plain muffin recipe at all recipes.com with suggestions on fillings.

They were mostly sweet suggestions but at least I had a place to start.

They're called Best Ever Muffins, and I have to agree.

They baked up more like a biscuit than a cupcake or muffin,

but were still moist and light.

I did five variations, two with herbs and three with sweets. All mini muffins.

1. dill & red pepper flakes

2. rosemary, onion flakes & parmesan cheese

3. poppy seeds & raspberry jalapeño jam

4. nutmeg, cinnamon & carrot cake jam

5. nutmeg, cinnamon & quartered, large gumdrops

Numbers 3,4,5 - I put a small amount of batter into the cups first,

then the jam/gumdrop, then filled with more batter. I only used a scant

 teaspoon of the jams, or at least tried to.

Here's the recipe if you're interested.

Best Ever Muffins

2 cups flour                                                                                                 1 egg
3 tsp. baking powder                                                                                1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt                                                                                                 1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar (I cut the sugar to 1/4 cup on all variations)

1. Preheat oven to 400° 
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt & sugar in a large mixing bowl (add herbs if using).

Make a well in the center. Set aside.

3. In a glass measuring cup add the milk, oil & egg. Blend together.

(I added the milk first to the 1 cup measurement, then the oil till  the liquid was at 1 1/4 cups then the egg.

Saves washing so many utensils)!

4. Pour the wet into the dry & mix lightly, should be lumpy.

5. Spoon batter into oiled or paper lined muffin cups.

6. Bake for 25 minutes for regular size, 20 minutes for minis.

7. Remove pan from the oven onto a sturdy wire rack, let sit for 5 minutes, 

 then remove muffins from pan to a cooling rack.



In progress

The jams were made by my friend Loretta, (traded soap).



If you happen to be on my Christmas list....

 I guess you know what you're gettingJTJTJ

Till next time,

Make some expresso and taste test!
Bonjour

P.S. Was meeting someone at What-A-Burger

to deliver soap & saw this in the backseat of a guys car.

Giant piñata?

He was from Michigan.

WHAT???

Need Some Warmth So I'm Making Biscotti

Oh My....

It's cold in this house.
I noticed it late yesterday evening and wondered,
why isn't the heater kicking on.

I'm thinking,

maybe the hubby programmed the thermostat too low?
I checked, it was 65 degrees. It’s suppose to be 69 degrees.

Still thinking…

Ok, I’ll bypass the preset and take the chill off.
The heater does not click on at all.
Not good.
Hubby is already asleep, no help there.
So I throw another quilt on the bed,
get into some warm jammies, snuggle under
and decide to worry about it tomorrow.

Tomorrow is today.

I informed the hubby of the dilemma this morning.
His advice?
Let’s just wait and see if it gets any better this evening.
WHAT?
Like I said,

OH MY….

My advise?
Call someone today and set up an appointment for tomorrow.

Geez.
See if it gets better?
It doesn’t have the flu.

By the way, it didn’t get better.
It’s still 65 degrees and the Tech will be here in the morning.
So I turned the oven on and made some biscotti.

My first time, obviously I need more practice.
It tastes super yummy but ….
I ate too much.
Now I have a tummy ache.

Till next time,
Trust me, it won't get better!
Bonjour

MOO, First attempt!

Well….

Today I needed to make soap and other products for our upcoming shows,

but I really wanted to cook some of that cow….

What to do, what to do?

Both of course!

I started by getting some of the said cow ready for the slow cooker.

I had the pikes peak roast defrosting in the fridge,

along with some Chicken thighs.

I had googled recipes for this cut, aka heel of round,

and they were all pretty much the same.

Steve and I aren’t big beef eaters because of the cost,

so I’m counting on google and you guys to help me on my way

through cooking this cow.

With help from The Texas Beef Council and

Recipes from a Kansas City Cook

I was ready to go.

Picture from Culinary Arts

I deviated from the original recipe due to not having the proper ingredients.

Here’s what I did and it turned out super tender and flavorful.

Ingredients:
4 lbs. Pikes Peak Roast

Liquid:
1 cup canned tomato juice
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1 cup cider vinegar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. prepared brown mustard

Dry:
2 tsp. dry mustard (I didn’t have dried mustard, so I used mustard seeds. I ground the seeds with the salt and sage with my mortar and pestle)
2 tsp. dried sage
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. Super Nate spice (I think this batch was rosemary, lemon balm, thyme & oregano)

Small hand full of dried ground garlic
Small hand full of dried ground onion
2 beef bullion cubes

Olive oil for browning roast

Method:
Preheat slow cooker on high.
In a large skillet, heat three turns of the pan of olive oil on medium heat.
Add first five dry ingredients. Using tongs, brown roast on all sides in olive oil/herb mixture.
Transfer roast to slow cooker and cover.

Add last three dry ingredients along with all the liquid ingredients to the skillet.
Bring to a simmer stirring constantly.
Transfer liquid to the slow cooker.
Cover the slow cooker, reduce temperature to low and cook for about 6 or 7 hours.

YUMMO!!!

I cooked the chicken thighs in my electric roaster with

lemon balm, lemon pepper, canned bean sprouts and a little water.

Also
YUMMO!!!

I wanted some cookies too so
I made up some brown sugar drop cookie dough.

I split the dough,

half a batch with grated white chocolate and dried coconut,

the other half with raisins and dried cranberries.

Between making the roast, chicken,
soap and the other Blue Moon products

I ran out of time on the cookies.

(It’s still too hot during the day to turn on the oven).
I just saran wrapped the cookie dough bowls, refridgerated and I will

bake them in the morning when it's cooler.

I just love cookies for breakfast!!!

You' all probably have way more experience cooking beef than I have

so feel fee to Email me with any recipes/suggestions or posts.

Can't wait for the burn ban to be lifted

so I can try my hand at grilling a steak!

(We don't have a normal bbq grill).

Don't even ask!

Till next time,

Beef, it's "what's for dinner"!
Bonjour