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Monday, December 31, 2012

LACE WEDDING GOWN

I've been doing quite a bit of sewing lately.  I have a client that I'm making several business casual dresses and jumpers for, but I'm most excited about a project that my daughter and I are collaborating on for this coming Spring.  We're working on a bridal portrait styled shoot.   I'll be providing the gown and she'll be capturing the images.   Wedding gowns are my all-time favorite project since I get to use every ounce of my creativity along with my sewing skills. 
This gown is going to be a lace overlay, very romantic with an A-line silhouette.  I found some wonderful satin and lace here locally which can be a challenge.  But I had great success at a shop called Allyn's in Denver.   If you've never been, it's a crazy little shop that is chock-full of fabrics, laces, trims, etc.   It can be completely frustrating, since it is so disorganized....but so exhilarating when you find what you're looking for!  It's a treasure trove of goodies.
This is just a sneak peek ..... I'll be posting pics of the completed
gown once we've finished the project.  I hope then to be able to sell it to a boutique here in town.    The fabrics and trims are so beautiful that I've already changed up the the design a bit from my original sketch to highlight some of the unique features of the lace.  Stay tuned!


Monday, December 24, 2012

CHRISTMAS COOKIES

Happy Christmas Eve! 
Like most of you I've been busy with baking and just wanted to share a couple of new favorites that I've added to the traditional favorites that my Mom used to make year after year.  Now, I don't go crazy like my Mom used to do with 10-12 different varieties and literally hundreds of cookies.  I've settled on 5-6 and I try one or two new ones each year; keeping the sentimental favorites that take me back to my childhood. 
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookie Cups
Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies
Don't they look awesome!  You can almost smell them fresh out of the oven in this picture.  They are equally delicious, that's why they've become my new favorites.  I'm going to share with you the recipe for the Peanut Butter & Chocolate cookie cups.  I apologize it's too late for this year, but I encourage you to copy this recipe and put it in your recipe box for something to look forward to next year.

3/4 cup softened butter or margarine
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cup Nestle Toll House Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate morsels
2 large eggs
1 (14 oz.) can condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease (I used cooking spray which worked great) 24 mini-muffin cups.  Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl until creamy.  Add flour and beat until mixture is evenly moist and crumbly.  Roll rounded teaspoon of dough into a ball; press onto bottom and halfway up the side of the cup.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Place 5 morsels in each cup.  Beat eggs in medium bowl with a wire whisk.  Stir in milk and vanilla.  Spoon into muffin cups, filling almost to the top of each cup.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until centers are puffed and edges are just beginning to brown.  Remove from oven to wire racks.  Gently run knife around edges of cookies.  Let centers flatten.  While still warm, top cookies with half of remaining morsels, mixing up the chocolate and peanut butter (they will soften and retain their shape).  Repeat with remaining morsels.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  With tip of knife, release cookies from cups.  Makes 24.

Have fun and enjoy!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

RE-PURPOSED PILLOWS

Thanks to the generosity of many of the wedding guests, my daughter and son-in-law have been using many of the gift cards they received to decorate their home.  They now have a color theme in mind for the Master Bedroom and recently bought a new bedspread for the guest room.   With the change in the bedspread for the guest room, the throw pillows no longer coordinated, nor were they needed.  Voila', that left pillows available for the Master; just what they were looking for to add some contrasting color to the room!
BEFORE
AFTER
The pillow forms themselves were in good shape, so with some new fabric, they were good as new.  As you can see, the accent colors are red and grey; nice touch for the white/black main theme.  Pillows are about the easiest things you can make.  Really!  

It's amazing what you can do with a yard of fabric.  Here are a couple tips for you:
  • Cut the fabric the exact size of the pillow form versus adding the seam allowances into your measurements; that way, once you take your half inch seam allowances, the fabric will be nice and taught against the form versus looking under-filled.
  • At the corners, take a bit of a curved route versus stitching a perfect 90 degree angle at the corner.  That will minimize those really pointy corners.
Pillows are an awesome project for a novice seamstress or if you are teaching someone to sew. A basic running stitch around 3 1/2 sides and then a hand stitch to close up the opening where you inserted the form.   Easy Schmeazy!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

PINE CONE WREATH

Call me a sappy, sentimental fool.  I decided to make my daughter (and son-in-law) a pine cone wreath from the pine cones and greenery we used at their wedding.  I thought it might be a nice keepsake and it could be fun to see it celebrated year after year just like their wedding anniversary.  Like I said, I'm a sucker for mementos. 
I purchased a grapevine wreath at Michael's at 60% off; I love a good sale!  I also picked up the snowman ornament for 50% off.  The rest of the goodies were all from the wedding.
 
The project was just a matter of arranging the pine cones and greenery and gluing them into place.  I would place two to three here and there, balancing the look of the arrangement as I made my way around the circumference.  I was just planning to do a little corner of it last night and I found I couldn't stop.  The whole thing took me just about an hour!  Now if we could get a little bit of snow around here it would really start to feel like the holidays.  Happy Christmas everyone!