CHRISTMAS GIFT

Meet the adorable Miss Alani!

I have a weakness for aprons, especially children's aprons! I guess you could say, I have a lot of weaknesses! One weakness that has taken over is FABRIC-- so many fabrics, so little time!

My list of projects to finish just keep growing and growing more each day! One project that keeps slipping away is CLEAN and ORGANIZE my sewing room! I walk into my sewing room to CLEAN and ORGANIZE and walk back out with a red and white polka dot with cherries on top apron!

I will tackle my sewing room this week, or maybe not! I have more polka dots sitting on my cutting board! It's so hard to clean and organize when there are so many adorable fabrics and projects staring at you along with a love to CREATE! Does anyone else have this problem? (The funny thing is, I can't find anything when I clean and organize my sewing room anyway. It's kindof like, I can't function when the house is quiet and everyone is gone. )

I've been decorating a lot of table tops lately. I love this idea!
This vintage table doubles as a desk and a bedside stand. To soften the look for the bedroom, cover the top with fabric and fasten it along the edges with upholstery tacks.
Spring is in the air! A beautiful 78 degrees today!
(Inspiration-BHG)

Adorable baby quilts!
Free Download! I love their easy to follow patterns.

Fabrics by: Wilmington Prints
Pattern available HERE from Fons and Porter!
Kits available at www.shopfonsandporter.com

Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 12-oz. can vanilla frosting
12 cupcakes, any flavor
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, chopped in food processor
1/4 cup pink decorating sugar
12 marshmallows
24 thin pretzel sticks
12 mini marshmallows
24 brown M&M's minis
12 pink heart candies, such as Runts
6 black licorice laces
Preparation
1. Spoon 2 Tbsp. vanilla frosting into a small ziplock bag. Frost cupcakes with remaining vanilla frosting. Roll tops of frosted cupcakes in coconut to cover.

2. Place pink sugar in a small bowl. Using scissors, cut large marshmallows in half crosswise. Press cut side of each marshmallow into pink sugar to make ears. Insert a pretzel stick into 1 short end of a marshmallow ear. Insert pretzel-stick end into cupcake to make ear stand up. Repeat with another pretzel and marshmallow ear; place second marshmallow ear next to first. Repeat with remaining marshmallows and pretzels, placing 2 ears on each cupcake.

3. Snip a small corner from ziplock bag with vanilla frosting. Using scissors, cut mini marshmallows in half crosswise to make cheeks. Pipe small dots of frosting and attach the mini M&M eyes, heart-candy nose and cheeks. Cut licorice into 1 1/2-inch pieces and insert as whiskers. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.

Hello Friends! New scripture bags soon to come!
Wishing you all a beautiful warm day!

If it's not so warm in your area.....here's a cute Mary Engelbreit Scarf to make!


Try your hand at sewing with this cute and cozy fleece scarf. Instructions for a matching hat and mittens and 10 other adorably soft fleece projects are available in the “Be Warm Inside and Out” booklet from Leisure Arts.

Materials
3/8 yd red fleece
1/8 yd blue fleece
1/8 yd yellow fleece
1/4 yd black fleece
1/8 yd white fleece
Scrap of green fleece
Tracing paper
Freezer paper
1/2″ diameter white pom-poms
Red, green, yellow and black embroidery floss (six strands of each)
Fabric glue
Two 10 1/2″ lenths of red pom-pom fringe
Two 11″ lengths each of 3/8″ wide red and black grosgrain ribbon

Here’s How
1. Cut a 10 1/2″ x 56″ strip from red fleece. Cut two 5″ x 10 1/2″ pieces from black fleece and six 1 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ strips from white fleece. Cut two 2 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ strips from blue fleece and two 1 1/4″ x 10 1/2″ strips from yellow fleece.

2. Matching edges, sew a black piece to each end of red strip, then sew a blue strip to each black piece and a yellow strip to each blue strip. Cut slits 1 1/2″ apart across black piece to within 1/16″ of seams. #2#(click here to see a diagram)# Weave white strips through slits in black pieces to make a checkerboard pattern; pin ends of strips to secure.

3. Use this flower pattern to cut two sets of flowers from fleece. For leaf veins, stem stitch down center of each leav with green floss. Blanket stitch a flower set to center of each blue strip with coordinating floss. Blanket stitch along long edges of scarf with black floss. Click here for a stitching guide. (For a quicker substitute, try Mary’s buttons or appliqués.)

4. Glue fringe along short edges of scarf. Folding ends under 1/4″, layer and glue black, then red ribbon over flange of fringe. Glue pom-poms to scarf.

Some Notes on Working with Fleece:
Match right sides and use a 1/4″ seam allowance for all sewing. Yardage amounts listed are based on 60″ wide fleece with an estimated “usable width” of 56″ after trimming selvages. To sew seams, use a narrow zigzag stitch with a medium stitch length (approximately 1/8″) to reduce stretching of the fleece. Trim seam allowances to 1/4″ after sewing.