Baby Appliques

Appliques, appliques, everywhere!

I took some time this weekend to make a whole bunch of appliques to keep in my stash. I love to applique onesies, tee shirts, etc. for a quick and lovely handmade gift for friends and co-workers. I figured that appliques were something I should always have a stock of - especially with the holidays upon us!

I found these two fabrics lately, and snapped up a quarter yard of each. These work perfectly because the images are already outlined in circles. Much easier to cut and sew!



You'll be seeing these lovelies again soon, that's for sure! To see my how to on making and sewing your own appliques, head over HERE for a tutorial.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Halloween Tricks & Treats - Featuring "Batty for You" Stamp Set.

I've been a busy bee prepping samples for a Stampin' Up! workshop this weekend. With the holidays coming up there are all kinds of projects to demo that are super cute and functional, too! At Saturday's workshop we're focusing on some Halloween projects and some Christmas ones as well. Here are some great Halloween gift ideas featuring the "Batty for You" stamp set from Stampin' Up!

Supplies used: Pillar candle (on sale at Michaels), Batty for You stamp set, Basic Black Cardstock, Basic black stamp & write, Lovely lilac cardstock and stampin' pad, 1 3/8 circle punch, Scallop circle punch, Cast a Spell paper.

Supplies used: Pixie sticks, Batty for You Stamp set, Real red cardstock and stampin' pad, 1 3/8 circle punch, Scallop circle punch, Only orange cardstock and stampin' pad, lovely lilac cardstock and stampin' pad, tempting turquoise cardstock and stampin' pad.

Supplies used: Halloween pencils ($1 for 8, Target dollar bins), Batty for You stamp set, Basic black cardstock & stamp & write, Old Olive cardstock and stampin' pad, 1 3/8 circle punch, Scallop circle punch, Only orange cardstock and stampin' pad, lovely lilac cardstock and stampin' pad.

Supplies used: Halloween candy, Batty for You stamp set, Basic black stamp & write, 1 3/8 circle punch, Scallop circle punch, Cast a Spell paper, Only orange cardstock and stampin' pad, lovely lilac cardstock and stampin' pad, Old Olive cardstock and stampin' pad.

If you're interested in ordering this set, or any others, feel free to drop me a note and let me know. I can place orders for anyone, no matter where you live, and have your stamps mailed directly to you! If you want to order for Halloween though, we'll need to place orders by Monday at the latest to get your stamps to you in enough time for you to get creative before the holiday, so keep that in mind!

In Color & The Aqua Painter!

Since I'm still a NEW Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, I'm trying to take a little time each day to play around with products and create. I've been working a lot with the "In Color" series, and recently began experimenting with the Stampin' Up! Aqua Painter to color images on my cards.

Here's what the tool looks like, in two sizes...


Essentially you put water in the barrel of the Painter, and use the brush paint with your Stampin' Pads to watercolor images. It's like real painting but less messy - and is super easy!

Here are a couple of examples of cards I made (pardon the poor light in the photos - it's awfully dull and grey here!)






Tools used: Stampin' Up! In Color Cardstocks, Whisper White Cardstock, In Color Stampin' Pads, Aqua Painter, All Natural Stamp Set.

I love how to Aqua Painter really "kicks things up a notch!" and makes a simple design pop. These cards would be really quick and simple to create in a large quantity in different color combinations.

Like what you see? Hop on over HERE to check out the latest Stampin' Up! catalogs - and feel free to contact me (no matter where in the country you are!) if you'd like to place an order. Also, check out my Stampin' Up! page on Facebook! (see the box on your left!)

October CUPKINS - Halloween Double Whammy!

It's the first Monday of the month - welcome to the October edition of CUPKINS, a collaboration between Meg at Mega•Crafty and I. This month's theme ingredient is PUMPKIN... of course!


I jumped the gun a little this month and posted my pumpkin cupcakes before CUPKINS time, so for some delicious pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting topped with candy corn - please head over HERE.

And for our double cupcake feature - how about some SPOOKY eyeball cupcakes for Halloween? So much fun!


Now that we're getting into the holiday season things are beginning to get busy - and you don't necessarily have the time to bake from scratch all the time. When that happens, I go to a couple of recipes from Saucy over at Saucy's Sprinkles to save time without compromising flavor!

Saucy recommends forgoing traditional box cake directions and combining the following...


1 box chocolate cake mix (Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines)
3 eggs
1 cup water
1 half cup butter


Her frosting is even simpler - 1 cup butter, and 1 cup crisco combined. Add 4 cups powdered sugar (gradually) then finish with 1 tsp vanilla and 2 tbsp whipping cream. Easy!


For the extra spooky eyeball cupcakes, I colored the frosting purple, added purple and black sugar sprinkles, and topped them with caramel chocolate eyeballs. YUM!


Now what are you waiting for? Click on the CUPKINS logo at the top of the page to head over to Meg's to check out her Jack O Lantern Pumpkin Muffins!

The Quilt Patch - Tecumseh, Michigan

My parents live in Tecumseh, MI - a small town by Ann Arbor on the east side of Michigan. I was in town briefly this weekend, and as always my Mum and I squeezed in just a little shopping time.

We headed to a few of Tecumseh's little boutique stores, which are mostly of the home decor / gift nature. My Mum suggested we go visit the quilting shop - The Quilt Patch - since I have never been. So off we went...


I didn't know what to expect - other than I envisioned a quaint mom+pop shop with a small selection but some interesting things.

There were some great displays when we first walked in, and two large classrooms for the full range of classes they offer. Neat!



And then a reached the other part of the store. WOW!




I did NOT expect there to be a HUGE selection of fabric. Yikes! Great names too - like Moda Bake Shop and Amy Butler. Plus patterns, notions, and so much more.

I purchased some cutsie animal fabric (project coming to this space soon...) and an adorable apron pattern, but could have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars in there. No joke.

Shame on me for having such low expectations of this GREAT small town find. Mum tells me people travel from all over to visit it! Check out their website for more info - I will definitely be returning soon!