Chalkboard Mugs and Mug Rugs

 


I had a fun time making up these cute mug rugs out of Cream and Sugar by Ampersand Design Studio for Windham Fabrics. I think they turned out fantastic and I'm a little disappointed that I didn't keep any for myself. I used some thermal Insul-Bright batting. I have heard from friends and family that they work great.

I also took some mugs I found for less than $2 from Crate and Barrel outlet and painted them with porcelain chalkboard paint.  I think the combination turned out great!

And here are some pictures of my one year old trying to climb the cabinets to pull them off the counter!

Quilted Christmas Stockings

I have finished the stockings for David and Little Man. I think they turned out pretty good. I did not manage to finish my own stocking by Christmas, but now I have an entire year to get that done!

I used the Thimble Blossom Merry pattern, with a few alternations to make it go together easier, and hopefully hold up better. For example, I used interfacing in the stocking cuff to give it a thicker feel more similar to the rest of the stocking. Otherwise, it just seemed too flimsy to me.

I was also really excited to use my machine's bar tack stitch for the hook loops. That's one I don't get to use very often!

The BEST Caramels Ever…No, Really. EVER.

I know, it's a bold statement. But really, truly, these are the best. In our family, we pretty much consider Fran's Salted Caramels to be the best out there. They are made here in Seattle and when we took my mother-in-law into their shop by Pike Place she thought we were in a jewelry store.  They are wonderful.

However, my husband is now of the opinion that these are the best caramels he has every had. I have to say, I'm pretty in love with them, too.

It started with a recipe in the Our Best Bites - Mormon Moms in the Kitchen Cookbook. I took their recipe and instead of using 2 cups of light corn syrup I used 1 1/2 cups of light corn syrup and 1/2 cup dark corn syrup. The addition of the dark corn syrup results in a richer flavor.  Add to that some rich bourbon vanilla from Trader Joe's and some lovely pink sea salt and voila!

I dipped half of the caramels in dark chocolate, which I prefer. I think my husband likes the plain caramels better.

I use this large mixing bowl for everything!! Here it is sitting in a pan of water melting chocolate.  Please excuse my messy stove!

Beauty!

Little Man's First Trip to the Tree Farm

We took Little Man to the Tree Farm Thanksgiving Weekend. He absolutely loved it. I had no idea he would be so into it.  He kept trying to wander off into the trees on his own.  As a kid, we always cut down our own tree. This was the first time my husband has ever done something like this and I think that he loved the experience, as well. It was quality family time. Definitely a new tradition for our little family.

The hunt is on.

So happy!

We found it! Unfortunately, I was so excited I didn't take this from another angle, so we have this giant house in the background.  

You'll notice I brought some ground protection along for the husband. He was impressed. It's not my first rodeo.

Mission Accomplished. 

Hexies Are Coming Along

I have my pieces put together. It was a lot of hand sewing, but very enjoyable. It has been a while since I had a sewing project where I could sit on the couch and watch TV with my husband while working.

Back of the basted hexes.

Paper Removed. Now to do some cutting.

Get Your Hexie On

Halloween is officially over and I'm ready for Christmas! Here is a little preview of my first hexie project. Stay tuned to see what I'm making.

ChirstmasTree Skirt

I did not get to making my tree skirt before Christmas, but with the week off, I decided to tackle this project. Using the Small Plates pattern from Elizabeth Hartman's The Practical Guide to Patchwork, I came up with this 25 block mini quilt. Rather than making a round skirt, I went with a square shape.  If I were to do this again,  I think I would work on making the quilting a little tighter and perhaps in a less loopy pattern. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of it around a tree since I finished it after Christmas.

One of my favorite squares. I love these owls.

Tree skirt back.

Christmas Gift Recap #2 - Homemade Vanilla

Each year my husband's family does a stocking-stuffer exchange. Each gift must be $10 or less. This year we decided to make our own vanilla.  The idea came from a link I found here at Whipperberry.  My husband was in charge of label design, I think that what he came up with is beautiful. Here are a few tips we found and some ideas for where to source things:
-Whipperberry suggests vodka as the alcohol, we used vodka in some and bourbon in others, if I were to do this again I would just go with the bourbon, it has a richer smell and comes out darker immediately, which is think is more aesthetically pleasing.
- We sourced our bottles from an online company, Specialtybottles.com, which actually turned out to be located in Seattle, so shipping was super cheap. They have a wonderful selection in all shapes and sizes, I would definitely recommend them.
- Our labels are printed on velum and we used a spray adhesive to attach them to the bottles.
-We did not strain our vanilla, we both decided that we like the little bits in there.

I'm pondering homemade grenadine for next year....yum!

Christmas Gift Recap #1 - Cameron's Cape

My two year old Nephew has recently developed an imagination. It is awesome, he runs around making his dinosaurs roar (while telling them not to bite), pretending he's a gorilla and changing his stuffed animals diaper. It is so fun to watch.  We all think he's the most amazing child ever, of course.  How many just 25 month olds do you you know who can say "Stegosaurus" and "Triceratops", while identifying them correctly from the pile of dinos in front of them?

For Christmas I made Cameron his own superhero cape. I had plans for some kind of utility belt, but things got busy at the end of the year and I didn't get to make it.  That's in the past though...I'm just going to celebrate my success on this one.

This picture shows the back of the cape. With the help of my husband, who drew the flames for me, I was able to applique this black C on to the silver fabric with double sided Heat N Bond.

In this picture he's saying "Fire. Hot." He immediately knew that these were flames.

Here he is wearing the cape, a perfect length for now, and as he gets taller.

Happy New Year - Resolution #1... (Advent Quilt)

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I took the week between Christmas and New Year off this year and it was awesome. I don't think I've had that many days off in a row since I started my job four years ago. I managed to finish my Advent  Calendar Quilt (started 2 years ago), and I am super happy with the way it turned out. I have also started a square tree skirt.

The Advent Quilt pattern is from a SewMamaSew post that Elizabeth Hartman of OhFransson did for them a few years ago.  I think that I got the fabric in a Christmas fat quarter bundle at some point. This is the first real machine quilting that I have ever done, which was very exciting, in a really dorky way. The feed dogs on my machine don't lower, so I just unscrewed the plate covering them and took them out while I was doing the quilting. This actually worked very well. When I was done I just screwed them back in and everything was good to go.

Applique detail.

Quilt back

Casserole Caddy

First Christmas gift revealed.....The Casserole Caddy.  I got the pattern from the Moda Bake Shop here. I have some ideas for how this could be better going forward, but that's a subject for another day.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product.

I also personalized a casserole dish for Deirdre using some etching paste and my new personal cutting machine.

I haven't  quite figured out the best way to do the vinyl yet, but I'm sure that with practice it will get better.

Ornament Exchange

I went to my first ornament exchange last week.  At first I thought I would sew something, but with all of the Christmas sewing going on, it just wasn't working out. Instead I went with a beeswax ornament. This was my first experience with beeswax, but it went really well. The ornaments came out all beautiful and golden, and they smell wonderful!

Melting the solid wax

Mom, thank you for getting me an OveGlove last year for Christmas, it is fantastic for holding hot jars!

Hot wax in mold.

Semi-solid ornaments

Once the wax cools, it shrinks and the ornaments pop right out!

I stamped each ornament with the date right before the wax hardened. Be careful if you choose to do this, stamp too soon and it can really mess the ornament up.

Hang these babies in front of a light and they glow on the tree.  Merry Christmas!