It is my turn to share a while on the blog as Deb is going to be traveling.  And dear readers I am not apologetic in saying my world is pretty small because I am having so much fun with my time, just shopping for fabrics and sewing, so I doubt I will give you any awesome blog posts like Deb’s on Mother’s Day.  There I am bragging again

I sew at least 4-5 hours almost every day and never seem to tire of looking at something finished and exclaiming, “wow you are so cute” or touching a fabric and saying,  “you are so beautiful.”  Everyone always said my flower gardens flourished because I spoke only love words to them from the beginning of the season until the end.  A real lesson in choosing our words to bring life and encouragement to others.  Too bad I didn’t know that as well as I do now when raising my children Okay, on to what I wanted to share.

Really I am not here to promote our business but love sharing some of the unique opportunities that come our way.  Today I am shipping a custom order for a friend we made while visiting Warsaw, Missouri for a festival last year.  She found the fabric and asked me to make her the apron.  See what you think.

The fabrics are Michael Millers Gnomeville Border and the yellow is Michael Miller Gnomes.  Now this apron looks pretty simple but….the apron top layer that usually takes 1/2 yard took over a yard to get all that border visible.  The little gnome houses are not evenly distributed on the border, another dilemma that was very challenging for a while.  Finished apron will ship tomorrow morning and I hope she loves it.  Take a look at some of the close-ups of this adorable fabric…but please no more custom orders of this fabric…way too much wasted fabric for me.

Thanks for stopping by and hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

What do Mother’s love to do most?  Brag about their children.  I am doing that today.

Some of you may recall the post I did on folding an Easter Bunny napkin.  Today I am posting a napkin Debbie made.

Can’t you just see this napkin setting in the middle of a pretty red, green, gold or any color plate?  It would “wow” my guests for sure.

I am “hoping” Martha, you know,  Martha Stewart whose instructions I gave you for Easter Bunny fold sees this so Deb can get her napkin in a national magazine!

Well I am her Mother so I can dream big for her.

I thought they were cute beyond words and loved the fold she put on them and wanted to make sure you had a chance to see how talented she is

I still pinch myself on occasion to think at my retirement age of life I am having so much fun.

Recently I had an inquiry from a lady in Portland, Oregon who teaches children’s dance. She had seen an apron in Creative Chics online store and wanted to know if I could create aprons for her dance recital.  The theme of the performance was an Enchanted Garden and the little 3-5 year old girls would wear scarves on their head and have a feather duster in their hands, remindful of Cinderella cleaning. She only had two specific requests; rick rack and a double layered full skirt.

Well of course, I said yes.  Shopped for fabric sent her suggestions and here is the final result.

Can’t you just see these little angels flitting around the stage?  I asked for pictures and sure hope I get some.

One way to beat the long winter blahs is to have growing plants indoors.  A suggestion is make a terrarium, time required an hour or less.

What is A Terrarium? A terrarium is a miniature landscape with living plants and even sometimes small animals like lizards or turtles.

A terrarium is a miniature ecosystem which is a complex system of relationships between organisms and resources of different types.  If you have a good balance of plants, soil, nutrients, and water in your terrarium you will be able to seal it up and watch it grow and thrive for very long periods of time – sometimes even years.

It’s quick, easy and doesn’t have to be expensive. To save money, on your terrariums, look around your house for a container or shop discount stores, flea markets or consignment shops to find glass containers, jars or even goldfish bowls. The plants you’ll use are generally small houseplants, which can often be bought for a couple of bucks each, so the whole project, depending on the size of your jars, can be made for well under $20. Terrariums also make wonderful and impressive gifts, even for people who consider themselves plant-challenged.

There are lots of tutorials online to help you along the way, here is one I found that has very specific easy to follow instructions.  Kerry Michael at about.com has a great tutorial with lots of pictures..here is an example of her finished project.

When your done send me a picture and I will post a picture of mine.

Reminder:  Leave your comment this week and tell us what is your least favorite chore around your house.  Your comment will enter you in the drawing for this cute embroidered towel.

I was blessed recently to have a lady in Canada want to purchase 15 little girls aprons for favors for the guests at her daughter’s birthday party.  We worked out a special pricing for her based on using 2009 leftover fabrics and remnants to allow me to price them within her budget.  Thought you might like to see what the birthday party girls will be wearing.

This apron was especially made for the birthday girl!  I hope she loves it.

What a great idea for a gift that has so many purposes…I hope each one will wear them and remember the fun they had at the party.  And the birthday girl, well of course I had to make her’s special.  Mom said she is a girly girl so to me that meant ruffles and more ruffles, bright colors and all the trim…I hope she loves it.

It is always my prayer that the person receiving something we have made will sense the love we put into our craft of making something special and unique for them.  I hope that is especially true of these little girls aprons.

My 13 year old grandson, Kaleb,  lives in the city, loves button down shirts, hunting, fishing, all sports but especially basketball.  He has never had a male role model so I think it is in his genes to be so “all guy” and love guy things…For Christmas he told me he wanted cowboy boots and a cowboy hat…

Wearing a button down shirt the day he told me all of this, he crossed his arms and said, “Grandma, when I grow up I am going to be a Texas businessman.”  I had to smile and tell him, “you can do whatever you set your dreams on” and hope his dreams come true…

This picture was taken Christmas day when he opened his cowboy hat…at 13 he is 2″ taller than Grandma and wears a man’s size 9 shoe.  But isn’t he handsome and oh that smile.

I couldn’t find boots that fit I could afford so I went online and ordered boots and then they were back ordered until April!!!!!!!!!!!  I was somewhat put out because when I ordered online it said, “in stock, ships next day.”  So last weekend I finally canceled the order and hit the local stores and found a pair of boots that fit his wish list, (with some extra funds from Mom and his Christmas money he received).

Then I forgot to take pictures of him in the boots but trust me he loved them.  He made me go for a walk on the walking trail so he could get used to walking in them ..he climbed up four flights of stairs several times….he made those heels smack when he walked…he was all smiles, all day….  Way to go cowboy Kaleb, you are my partner for sure.

Tablescape Thursday hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.  Many of you may be aware Deb and I have an online store at CreativeChics.com. Recently she had finished up several new napkins patterns and brought them over for a photo shoot utilizing some of my dinnerware that would help pick up the colors of the napkin fabrics.

So today I don’t have a tablescape for a meal but thought you might feel a touch of spring from some of these beautiful new designs and photos.

The beautiful flower pot in these photos is another story…take an old clay pot glue some moss to the outside of the pot for a beautiful old aged look…fill it with flowers, in this case pink anemone’s and you have a marvelous arrangement that just keeps getting prettier with age.

Surely these are giving you spring fever, they sure did me….

Here are just a few others, she did a super job of getting wonderful spring colors and I can’t wait to use some of them, after all they match my dishes:)

Orange the new “hot” color…is too retro for me…. but these are beautiful.

Spring Fever, yes I have it.

How about you?

Check out all of the beautiful tablescapes at Susan’s it is time well spent.  If you like Deb’s napkins there are more at CreativeChics.com.

The 96″ tie I turned and told you about yesterday….  Today you are in for a treat of treats…  Please hold the applause until the end

The apron is finished and I cannot resist showing you pictures, not because the apron is so swell….but the model…she is super, fantastic, fun, beautiful, and I am so glad I can call her my daughter.

Now you have to admit she is absolutely gorgeous!!!!  Not because of her attire but inside and out.

Get a load of this one I took while she was trying to give me instructions…

Now that was a shot we laughed about and loved…. We had so much fun.  She came prepared with white clothing knowing it would show well with any of the aprons she was modeling for me and get a load of those heels….I think my comments were, “where did you get those gorgeous shoes”, her answer to those kinds of questions is always a beautiful smile, and “I don’t remember.”

Check these out…

Now who could resist a cookie from that girl?

Then she really got domestic on me and wanted the swiffer, not like she is really cleaning folks, just having fun with me…I have to admit she definitely entertained me…  And you want to see the model’s shoes for this outfit..

It didn’t matter what we put on her, she looked great in everything…beautiful little girls are like that..

A wife and Mother to the nth degree with four beautiful children, a grandmother to one, a retired Sprint Director, former Hallmark computer wizard, a tech savvy lifesaver to the whole family, loves family, friends, home and garden, and most of all a special friend to her Mother….

I know all of you who have girls no doubt think they are the most beautiful but my three girls….they are so gorgeous, so special and I am so proud of all of them…  Thanks for letting me boast a little…

No, not a man’s tie!  An apron tie… I decided to try some new patterns out the first of the year.  I took a pattern idea out of a book and threw a few of my ideas into it and I am in the process of sewing it up after a day of figuring out the cutting…

The ties to the apron are 96″, yes that is ninety-six inches, long…why, because it wraps around and ties in the front.  I have observed the ties wrapped around to the front is a new look that is catching on and I wanted a shot at doing it.

This morning I put the ties together, two fabrics, one front and one on the reverse side.  Then it was time to turn them.  The ties are 3″ across but it still took me forever to get those long girls turned right side out and almost as long to get them to lay flat under the iron.

In the picture to the left the ties are folded in eighths.

The next picture on the right is in fourths.

And this picture on my 3 foot by 4 foot styroboard I use for photography!!

Big!!

And the one in the center of the board; that is the one I have left to turn and press. I was hoping someone might want to come help me

I hope the new apron is worthy of the price I will be putting on it to account for all of my labor not to mention the three yards of fabric!!  And I can already say, “I won’t be making it again, at least not this pattern!”

As Deb would say, “Go Sew Girl” and quit your whining, it’s a joke between us!

A favorite soup of my family is potato soup.   In my single days, potato soup would be on the menu if I cooked for a man because I knew they would love it.  Serve it with a salmon steak, grilled asparagus, and a hard roll and you will win hearts, my husband loved it.

Today I made potato soup and wanted to share with you how it was made.

The ingredients

2 medium sized baking potatoes

1 cup of diced ham (purchased diced so I would not have to chop ham and as a substitute for bacon, cholesterol  and weight issues)

1 cup low fat sharp shredded cheese, (low fat substitute for Velveeta, same issues as bacon)

2 stalks of celery

6 green onions

1 teaspoon (or more, I didn’t measure) fresh ground black pepper

I wash the potatoes and leave the skin on because that provides better nutritional value, then I chop into bite size chunks, (every kitchen requires a good chopping knife).

Chop the celery and onion and set aside enough  of the onion tops, and cheese to garnish 6 servings.  Place the chopped potatoes, celery and onion  in a pan of boiling water, adding a heaping teaspoon of sea salt.

Cook until potatoes are still slightly firm and never mushy!

While the vegetables are boiling take a small saute skillet on medium high heat sligthly brown the ham.  This process will bring out the flavor and juice in the ham better than just putting it into the boiling water.

Doesn’t that look juicy and yummy?  Set the ham aside to enhance flavors.

Drain the potatoes and add 3 cups milk (2% milk and no butter, those same issues with cholesterol and weight just kept coming up.)

Add the ham (setting aside some ham for garnish if you want) and cheese and stir until melted and smooth, won’t take long if you use shredded cheese.

By the time I got to this stage my mouth was watering….

Next we have to add the absolute must for me but you can go lighter than my preference, fresh ground black pepper.  I use a lot!

Once the cheese has melted serve in soup bowls and garnish with the onion, ham and cheese to suit each individual’s taste.  If you prefer to have the soup thicker take a tablespoon of flour and mix into a small amount of milk,maybe 1 tablespoon, less than a 1/4 cup.  I never measure but you want a runny paste.  Stir into the soup and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring to be sure you don’t scorch it and until it thickens slightly.

Trust me it was delicious….I decided 6 cups even with all the good health choices I made for ingredients was probably still more than I needed to be eating so I took a couple of bowla next door for my neighbors and “yes, they loved it.”

Now if any of my kids read about me giving potato soup away and not calling to invite them first, well…..I may have to make more!