Fabric, fabric, and more fabric

I. love. fabric.



Michael Miller
Anna Marie Horner
Mary Engelbreit
Amy Bulter
Heather Bailey
Portabellopixie
Sarah Jane Studios

These are just some of my favorite designers.

Nancy's in Las Vegas is having a HUGE sale. $2.00 a yard, on everything! EVERYTHING! So Juliana and I made our way their this morning and bought a few pieces. This is what I bought.


Side note: There was hardly anything on the shelves when I walked in so my selection was pretty limited.

I am so happy with what I bought! SO many cute baby stuff I can make! But I really need to STOP buying fabric and start sewing!!!!

But if there is another to die for sale... I am there! :)

Christmas food gift ideas

Every year in early December I start making yummy goodies that my husband delivers to his clients during the Holidays. His clients always love them and this year I am on the hunt again for a cute homemade food gift idea. Here are some ideas I found on the Internet thus far...

I found this lovely Christmas idea at Spoonful of sugar. Isn't that milk carton too cute?


I was thinking of filling it with Snickerdoodles. I have never baked them before but I found this great recipe at Brown Eyed Baker that I will try.



I also came across this lovely decorated tin filled with popcorn that I found at Martha Stewart



Also found this Chocolate-Dipped Peppermint Sticks which I found at Country Living.



So many cute gift ideas out there! But these three are what I am centering on. Now I have until beginning of December to narrow it down to one and start baking!

Craft Hope Project 9: Pillowcases

I first heard about this project at MADE and was so excited about it that I decided to join in! Here is more info on the project found at Craft Hope.

I have been collecting fabric for a while and they have been piling up and I just didn't know what to use them for. But when I heard about this project I thought, "perfect!" So here is what I made for these children.



They were so easy that I decided to make some more!



They are all folded up and ready to go to a special child! :)

My little Jane Austen dress

I love Jane Austen and love the dresses they wore at the time. I mean look at them...






Here are some more photos from other films that are not from Emma as above.




So I decided to make one for my daughter. This is what I came up with.





I had fun with this and will make some more in the future.

I think I will try one with this kind of sleeves.

Peasant Shirt

Here is a peasant shirt I made for my daughter a few months back but never posted. I added a black with white polka dot fabric for the trim and sash. The strap I made extra long so I can wrap it all around her waist and tie in the back. I think it looks cute!

Girls vest

I made this vest for my daughter a few months ago and wanted to share it here on my blog. I found this b/w checkered fabric for half off at Joann's and it reminded me of Chanel.

and yes, she is sitting on her favorite stuffed animal she calls "meow". She takes him everywhere she goes, even at this little photo shoot outside.






So I made my own version, using Simplicity pattern 2534.

Pin cushion

I made this pin cushion using a cute little flower pot I bought for 60% off at Michael's last week. I also used a scrap of ME fabric for the top part.

A new home for my pins.

Mary Engelbreit Cake Stand

I was at Michaels a few months ago and found this darling Mary Engelbreit Cake Stand. I know just what to use it for. Check out my family blog to find out!

Here are some darling ME cakes I found on the web just for fun!

photo courtesy of Susie Haz Cakes.

And she made a cute cake box to go with it.

photo courtesy of The Good Apple.

photo courtesy of Sweet Babe.

photo courtesy of Cake Decorating Corner

photo courtesy of Devany's Designs

photo courtesy of Mary Engelbreit

The other 2 I found on cake central.

Chocolate Soufflé

I was looking through a Good Housekeeping cookbook a few weeks ago and found a mouth watery recipe for Chocolate Soufflé. I look at the ingredients and instructions and thought, ok I can do it. So I tried. But before I did I wanted to look at videos of how people baked Chocolate Soufflé just to make sure I was going about it correctly. Well then I came across this video of Mark Bittman preparing this dish and he made it look so easy that I copied him and used his recipe.

This is what you need follow by his instructions:


About 1 tablespoon butter for dish

1/3 cup sugar, plus some for dish

3 eggs, separated

2 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted

Pinch salt

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar.


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 2-cup or one 4-cup soufflé or other deep baking dish(es). Sprinkle each with sugar, invert it and tap to remove excess sugar.

2. Beat egg yolks with all but 1 tablespoon sugar until very light and very thick; mixture will fall in a ribbon from beaters when it is ready. Mix in the melted chocolate until well combined; set aside.

3. Wash beaters well, then beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until whites hold soft peaks; continue to beat, gradually adding remaining tablespoon sugar, until they are very stiff and glossy. Stir a good spoonful of whites thoroughly into egg yolk mixture to lighten it; then fold in remaining whites, using a rubber spatula. Transfer to prepared soufflé dish(es); at this point you can cover and refrigerate until you are ready to bake.

4. Bake until center is nearly set, 20 minutes for individual soufflés and 25 to 35 minutes for a single large soufflé. Serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings.


Warning: Very chocolately! Milk may be required!