Embroidery Machine

I think I'm finally about to make up my mind. I've had my eye on this embroidery/sewing machine for a little over 4 months. I'm really leaning towards getting it. It's a pretty basic one, but it's rated really high and has great reviews. I love the sewing machine I've been using and it's from the same line. I think this would be a good one, but I'm not sure because I don't have any experience with embroidery machines. If any of you have ever used an embroidery machine and have any advise, please share your thoughts with me. I'd really appreciate it.

Project of the Week - Nutter Butter Truffles

I LOVE Oreo truffles! There are several variations of them and I wanted to test out another recipe last week. I tried the Nutter Butter truffles. They are made the same way as the Oreo ones (click here for directions), only with Nutter Butters. In my opinion, they aren't quite as good as the Oreo ones, but they're still pretty good. They taste like a peanut butter cup. This time I stuck a toothpick in them before I put them in the freezer. It made it so much easier to dip in and out of the chocolate almond bark. I decided to just leave the toothpicks in them so they were easy to pick up and eat. I also think these taste better from the fridge rather than room temp. Since Chad and I didn't need to eat the whole batch, I took them to school and shared them with the other teachers. If I had time, I'd do that at least once a week. I love making desserts and sharing them.

Project of the Week - Cork Boards

I ran across this idea this summer. I love to stick up a few of my favorite photos on cork boards at school. Why not make them look cute? I know this isn't a very good picture, but I think you can get an idea of what they look like at least. This is what they look like without any pictures on them. Here's what to do if you'd like to make a set.

Supplies:
4 square cork boards (they come in a set at target and walmart)
fabric (enough for 4 13.5 inch squares)
hot glue gun and hot glue
ribbon
heat and bond fusible interfacing
iron and ironing board

Cut the fabric into 13.5 inch squares. Follow the directions on the heat and bond and fuse the fabric to the cork board with an iron. Pull the fabric around the cork board and hot glue it to the back side. Cut some ribbon and hot glue it to the back as well and you're finished. Very quick project.

Project of the Week - Podium

So remember the ugly fake wood podium I had. I finally got some fabric to cover it with. I also cut out some letters and put my name on the front so that it wouldn't be too plain. Then I modpodged the thing. I love using modpodge! Anyway, here's what it looks like now.

Project of the Week - Bookcase

I haven't had a chance to do anything decorative to my podium yet. I wanted to practice on something first, so I worked on one of my bookcases at school. It was super easy to do. All I did was cut some material the size of the shelves and then ModPodge it on there. I'm thinking I may do the podium in zebra print too.
Before:and After:

Oreo Trufles

So I've had a lot of computer time this summer and I've stumbled across several really good blogs. One of my very favorite ones is bakerella. Everything she makes looks sooo good. I have a long list of things I want to make from her site. If you have time, you should check it out and bookmark it.

Chad and I invited a few people over to hang out and play Rock Band last night and I made these Oreo Truffles. These are one of the things that bakerella makes, but the first time I tasted these was a couple of years ago at Danielle's wedding shower. Julie's mom made them and I fell in love with them. If you like Oreo's, you'll love these!

Ingredients:
1 Package of Oreo's
1 Package of Cream Cheese
1 Package of Almond Bark

Directions:
Crush the entire package of Oreo's until it's really fine. A magic bullet or food processor works great for this. Mix in the package of cream cheese. I left my mixer going on high speed for a couple of minutes.






Form the mixture into balls...about 1 inch. Place onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper and put it in the freezer until they are hard. I left mine in for about an hour.




Melt the almond bark over low heat until completely melted and smooth. Dip the Oreo balls into the bark and place on wax paper.





I topped mine with crushed oreos.








Place in refrigerator until ready to eat/serve. You don't have to keep them refrigerated long, it just helps the chocolate coating harden.

Soon-to-be Project of the Week - Restyling Furniture

This was my inspiration. I've read several tutorials on restyling furniture with paint, mod podge, and fabric. I've really been wanting to try this on my own, but I didn't want to mess up any of our furniture. Plus, we really don't have room for any more furniture. Well, I happened to stop in the Salvation Army store in Joplin a few weeks ago and I found a podium and a desk that I liked. I've been needing a podium for my classroom for a long time, but I've refused to pay a ridiculous amount for a new one. I'd rather spend my money on other things. So I've just been trying to balance a book in one hand while trying to write on the board with my other hand...not fun. Anyway, I got both the desk (which I think is really neat) and the podium for only $10 each. Crazy good deal! Now I'm just trying to decide how I want to do it. I'm thinking about painting the desk black and covering the podium with some sort of black and white print. I have a hard time visualizing what things will look like when they are finished. If you have any suggestions on what might look good, let me know. I plan on working on this the week before school starts. I'll post pictures when I'm finished. I really can't wait to do this one!

Project of the Week - Hattie's Chirstmas Quilt

I wanted to make something for my niece, Hattie, for Christmas...I've been trying to get ahead on Christmas gifts during my time off this summer. I don't know how excited a 4 year old will be about getting a quilt, so I'll throw in a toy or doll to go with it. I wanted to make her something she could use for a long time. I hope she likes it. I machine quilted this one and I love how secure it makes the fabric. This one will only get softer and more comfortable with each wash. I'm sorry this is such a bad picture. When I have time, I'll replace it with a better one.

Project of the Week - Picture Frame Dry Erase Board

This week's project of the week is inexpensive, quick, and easy to make....which is a good thing. Right now I'm in the middle of making 4 quilts. I'm trying to focus my time so that I can finish them before we go on vacation....I can't wait to be on the beach!!!! Anyway, back to the craft. I think these would make a great gift for someone going to college. We all had dry erase boards hanging on our doors so that people could leave us messages. I wish I would have made one of these for us to use back then. I think it would be really cute hanging by a ribbon. If I had counter space in the kitchen, I think I'd use it to write the menu for the day. I think I'm going to set this one on my dresser or night stand and write a different verse on it each week....I need to find some fabric that better coordinates with our bedding. To make one yourself, all you need is a picture frame, fabric, and a dry erase marker. (If you want what your writing to stay on there longer, use a Vis-a-Vis marker and wipe it off with glass cleaner). I hope you all are having a great week!

Project of the Week - Rit Dye

This week I'm really just working on orders and Christmas gifts, but I felt the need to post something new that I'm making...What am I making? I'm not sure yet, I just picked up a box of Rit dye last night. They didn't have much in the way of colors at Wal-mart, but I picked up red thinking I could make something with OU on it...since football season is around the corner. I'll update this later today with pics of what I made. :) Hopefully it turns out ok. I don't think I've ever used Rit dye.


UPDATE: So I dyed a onesie, one of my old grungy tank tops, and two burp cloths. I wanted to experiment with a few things I already had on hand in case it looked really bad. Here's a pic of a before and after shot of the onesie. It's kinda hard to tell from these pics, they are a little blurry, but I appliqued 'Boomer' on the bottom of it. Right now the front is plain, I haven't decided if I want to add anything else to it. For the other items...I'm going to put 'SOONERS' on the back, bottom part of my tank top and maybe put OU on the front. I think I'll just put OU on the burp cloths.

Project of the Week - Wristlets

I love to use wristlets! My problems is, though, none of the ones I have are big enough to hold what I need. It's like I always had to carry half of my stuff in my wristlet and the other half in my hand which kinda defeats the whole purpose of a purse. So I decided to make one that was big enough to hold all of my stuff and this is what I came up with. Now my phone, credit card holder, camera, lip glosses, keys, and whatever else I might need will all fit in one small purse! Yea! These are what I'll be working on this week.

Project of the Week - Applique

If I keep making things and still enjoy doing it after the newness has warn off, I'm hoping to some day have an embroidery machine...nothing fancy, just a basic one. Until then, I have to come up with other ways to personalize things. That brings me to this week's Project of the Week....Appliqueing things. My first project was a kitchen towel. I just grabbed one of ours that we already had and some scrap material that was left over from another project. I decided to outline the "i" in red since our kitchen colors are red, black, and white. I can't decide if I like it better with the red thread or if I like a more subtle look where the thread blends in. Anyway, this is what I'll be working on this week. I'm starting to make my list of things to applique. If you have any requests, let me know!

Project of the Week - Etching Glass

Last week my thoughtful dad sent me a package in the mail with all sorts of sewing stuff. One of the items was a collection of buttons. I've just had them sitting around in plastic baggies the last few days and then I got an idea. I wanted to get a jar to keep them in, but I thought it would be fun to etch the jar. I had never done this before, but I thought it was worth a try. It was a little tedious, but I really enjoyed doing it. I can't wait to etch some more...I'm thinking personalized baking dishes, canisters, drinking glasses with an initial....my mind really hasn't stopped. I'll probably be adding these items in my store soon, but here's my project of the week....

Tuesday

I'm taking a break from sewing and thought I'd share a few things...
1. The coupon for a flatbread sandwich. I get some good coupons every now and then. I'll start passing them along to you.
2. The video at the bottom of my page. I came across this and thought it was pretty funny. I don't know how to link it into one of the blog entries, so for now it's just at the bottom of my page.
3. Here's a picture of the quilt I'm working on. It's pretty big and I couldn't quite get it all in the picture, but you get the general idea. The sashing is a diagonal black and white plaid and the back is solid black. I'm hand tying the corners this afternoon. Tomorrow I'll hand sew the binding and then it will be finished!4. I'm also adding some coupon links over in the link section. The radio stations offer a 1/2 off coupon every week. Sometimes they are really good. I did this all the time in OKC. So far I've only found one that does it in Joplin.

New Items!!

I've posted several new items in my online store www.PlaidPeach.etsy.com I'm offering free shipping on several items through Saturday. I'll be posting some aprons tomorrow and then I think I'll have everything up to date. I hope you all are having a great week!

Hooded towels

I just added a hooded towel to my online store. I found some really cute towels to use and I was so excited to get them. I've been looking for cute towels, and I hadn't had much luck until last weekend. I'm also really excited about the next item I'm adding. I decided to make a swaddle wrap thing instead of a hooded blanket. I like them much better. I kinda have a busy week since this is the last week of school and softball is also starting this week. I hope to have it up by the end of the week anyway though. I also got some sew-in labels in the mail today. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. There were lots of designs that looked cuter than the one I ordered, but I wanted to get one that I could use on all the products. The one I ordered is black and white, but still cute I think.

I'll try to update my blog again tomorrow with stuff from last weekend.

www.PlaidPeach.etsy.com

My online store is set up. I don't have everything in it yet, I'm just starting. If you'd like to see it so far, it's www.PlaidPeach.etsy.com Yea!!!

BREAKING OUT THE SEWING MACHINE

I am going to start sewing again!!! I am planning on setting up a website soon with samples of what I'll be sewing. I want to make a few samples of the products first before I even try to describe them.

In the mean time, I am going to start making t-shirt quilts. If you or anyone you know would like one, let me know. I'm planning on selling them for $120...at least until I get things going. You provide the t-shirts and I'll provide the sashing strips between the shirts, outside borders, stabilizer (I will tack the quilts with yarn), internal batting, and backing all in the fabric colors of your choice. I can also make a mini quilt (the size of a baby blanket or larger) with baby t-shirts, onesies, or pieces of material from your favorite outfit if you'd like. The price on these will vary with size. Sewing is a hobby of mine and I want to start doing it again. I love t-shirt quilts because they are so full of memories. The one posted is one that I made Chad for Valentine's day one year. I used shirts from places we had been, such as concerts and sporting events. I even included the softball shirt I was wearing when we met. (The red one with a #9.) T-shirt quilts are custom made with your own t -shirts. These quilts make great graduation gifts. They are also make a great keepsake of annual events...bike races, marathons, tournaments, high school events, college events, etc. If you're interested or have questions, email me at isaacs898@yahoo.com