Sugar Plum Delights

New Blog: Moonlighting Mama

2011-11-10T17:15:00.001-05:00

Change is a good thing; it keeps us moving, and can inspire us. I had been thinking for a while that it was about time for a change here at Sugar Plum Delights. When I started this blog, it was mainly about my crafty side-business of the same name. My original goals for the blog were basically to showcase what I was working on for my Etsy shop and craft fairs and so on. But as the years went on, the blog started to evolve, and I was posting more than just crafty things. So, I decided to diversify and start a new blog: Moonlighting Mama.

With this new blog, I intend to talk not only about crafting, but to work in more cooking (see Freezer Cooking Fridays), a little design here and there, home stuff, and maybe even a little financial management. I wanted to broaden my focus and not be tied down to a certain topic, which is how I felt with the this blog.

So, please bear with me as I build this new site; fun things are coming! All of the old contect from right here on Sugar Plum Delights is there, including all of the great recipes and tutorials. More of that is coming too! Please bear with me on the design of the new blog; I'm still working on it.

And lastly, why the name Moonlighting Mama? Well, I have two children and a husband, I work full time outside the home, I have a crafty side business and a Scentsy business to maintain. Most of the work on my other projects happens after the kids go to bed, which is when the moon is up. So, I’m a mama, and I moonlight.

Thanks for reading!

Extra Holiday Cash Part 2: Sell it For Cash on Ebay

2011-11-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

Looking to make some extra money for the holidays this year? There are multiple ways to do it, you just have to be a little savvy. This post is the second in my new series on ways to bring in some extra cash, most without dipping into your regular monthly budget. I'm by no means an expert on the matter, but who doesn't want a little extra cash here and there? Stay tuned over the next week or two as I list out more ideas to make your holidays a little less stressful on your wallet.

Part 2: Sell it for Cash on eBay

If you have some old stuff laying around that you're not using anymore, sell it for cash! If you have a lot of kids' clothes that are in good condition, but you don't need them anymore, put them on eBay and make a few bucks. This also goes for adult clothing. People are always looking for a deal, especially on kids' clothes and shoes, and even adult clothing. Brand names usually do better than generic store brand stuff, but you never know. Group like items (shirts, for example) together and sell them as a 'lot'. This time of year people are looking for gently used winter coats and boots and ski apparel. Take a few good pictures, list them, and wait. Of course there are fees associated, but they're minimal.

Household and electronics items are also popular, again, especially the brand names. This was more than a few years ago (my single days!), but one summer I basically supported myself by selling dishes on ebay. I would buy the dishes cheaply (clearance aisles at outlet stores!), then resell them for a profit. You just have to make sure that the brand name you're selling is what people are looking for before you start buying things. You don't want a pile of stuff you can't resell laying around taking up space!

If you don't have anything at home you want to sell, consider checking out yard sales and estate sales. Sometimes people just don't want the hassle of trying to make more than a few dollars on their used expensive items. That's where you come in: buy them out, clean them up, sell them on ebay! Thrift stores are another source, but you have to get there early. Find out when your local thrift store gets their shipments, or when they stock their shelves. Sometimes it's helpful to get know an employee or two. I once found a practically brand new Stephen Joseph child's backpack for $2. These bags retail for at least $20; more if they're personalized.

Again, unique, well cared for items generally do very well. Check your parents' attic or basement for the toys you had when you were a kid. Vintage toys in good condition could bring in more than you might think.

So take a look around! I have a bad habit of buying clothing that's a good deal, and then never wear it. Because of that bad habit, I'm about to start getting of some things myself! Good luck!

Want more ways to earn a little extra cash? Check back next week for tip #3. Don't want to miss any posts? Subscribe via email!

New Series: Making Extra Cash for the Holidays - Swagbucks

2011-11-01T16:17:00.002-04:00

Looking to make some extra money for the holidays this year? There are multiple ways to do it, you just have to be a little savvy. This post is the first in my new series on ways to bring in some extra cash, most without dipping into your regular monthly budget. I'm by no means an expert on the matter, but who doesn't want a little extra cash here and there? Stay tuned over the next week or two as I list out ideas to make your holidays a little less stressful on your wallet.

1. Swagbucks - Swagbucks is basically a search engine similar to Google. In fact, your Swagbucks search results are pulled from Google, but you can earn points, or bucks, just for doing searches. It's totally random; just do a Swagbucks search anytime you would use Google, and your bucks will add up quickly. Swagbucks also releases Swag Codes every now and then to add even more bucks to your account. So what do you do with these bucks you're earning? Use them to buy rewards, of course! My favorite reward is the $5 Amazon Gift Card, which you can buy for 450 Swagbucks. If you use the search regularly and keep an eye out for codes, you'll get there in no time. You can also earn bucks from referrals, taking surveys, watching commercials, and even playing games.

I highly recommend downloading the Swagbucks Toolbar for your browser, that way it's right up there at the top of your page any time you want to do a search. There are many rewards available, including gift cards to loads of different retailers and restaurants like Starbucks, Travelocity, Restaurant.com, Alice.com, O'Charley's and Home Depot, as well as electronics, toys, home accessories, and more. Go on, check it out.

I'll be using my Amazon gift cards bought with Swagbucks to buy Christmas presents. Or maybe I'll just save them up to get that iPad I've been wanting. :)

Want more ways to earn a little extra cash? Check back later this week for tip #2. Don't want to miss any posts? Subscribe via email!

Holiday Entertaining: Start Planning Now with This Guide

2011-10-31T09:30:00.000-04:00

Are you planning on entertaining this holiday season? Are you tired of trying to live up to all of the gorgeous pictures and ideas in those magazines at the checkout stands, and failing? Because, really, no one can recreate those tables and that home decor, except, of course, Martha herself.

If you're looking for ideas on how to beautifully decorate your home, cook a feast fit for a king, get the kids and the rest of the family involved all without losing your sanity and still keeping money in the bank, this guide is for you.

Erin Chase, also known as the $5 Dinner Mom, has created the perfect guide to thriving, not just surviving, this holiday season: The Holiday Entertaining Guide.

The guide includes:

How to budget for your holiday meal
What you must include and what you can leave out
Getting the most value from your coupons
A plan for cooking everything all in one oven
How to turn the leftovers into more great meals

And best of all, with this guide you get 30 simple recipes. Now that's a deal.

The Holiday Entertaining Guide is available now in eBook format, but it's also available for your Kindle, Nook, and coming soon to your iPad and Kindle Fire. Get it now!

You'll also receive the following bonuses:

FREE Holiday Planners
FREE Holiday Treats - an additional 10 recipes for yummy holiday sweets!

Special Offer!
Get The Holiday Entertaining Guide now for 50% Off! Enter the coupon code THANKS to receive The Holiday Entertaining Guide, free printable planners, and free additional 10 treat recipes for just $1.99. Go get it!

To give you a little taste of what's included in the guide, here's a sample recipe:

Carmelized Onion and Blue Cheese Bruschetta

Two powerful and delicious flavors collide over toasted bread slices.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 white onions, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
16 slices baguette bread, thinly sliced
½ cup blue cheese crumbles

DIRECTIONS

“Balsam-melize the onions” – In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, then stir in the chopped onions, sugar and balsamic vinegar. Let cook over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring often. (The onions can be cooked up to 2 days ahead of time and stored in the freezer until ready to assemble and broil.)

Meanwhile, slice the baguette bread, place on a baking sheet and run under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes to toast the pieces some. Then add the “balsam-melized” onions and a few crumbles of blue cheese to each bread slice. Run under the broiler again for 1 to 2 minutes, until cheese softens.

Serve Caramelized Onion and Blue Cheese Bruschetta.

Makes 16 appetizers.

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Doesn't this make you want more? Go here to get your Holiday Entertaining Guide now!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Freezer Cooking Friday: Menu Plan 10/29

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

I know I skipped Freezer Cooking Friday for the last two weeks, but it’s back! It’s time for another round of cooking ahead and getting my freezer stocked up again. I’ll be heading to Sam’s Club on Saturday morning bright and early (if 10am qualifies as bright and early) to pick up some staples and meat. I’ll be buying one 5 pound pack of ground beef, and one large tray of chicken breasts. Then Saturday or Sunday afternoon – most likely during naptime – I’ll be whipping up some dinners to have later in the week.

Here’s the plan:

Ground beef:

2 lbs taco seasoned meat; I use Old El Paso seasoning, but I want to try to make my own using this recipe.
1 tray of Easy Beef Enchiladas, using 1 pound of beef
2 loaves of Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Chicken Breasts:

Cheddar & Cracker Chicken - I still haven’t made this even though it was on the plan a few weeks ago. It’s at the top of the list, now!
Cheddar Beer Chicken in the Crockpot – Cheese, beer, chicken... I'm on it.
Crockpot Salsa Chicken, Freezer Style - super easy, and so yummy. I also discovered this is a good mix for nachos! Just shred the chicken after it's cooked, mix it all together with cheese while still warm so the cheese melts, and dip or top chips. Yum!
Crockpot Orange Chicken - can't wait to try this! Its cheaper than takeout, that's for sure.

So, that's the plan. Be sure to check back next week to see what I actually finished and have in the freezer! I'll also include reviews of any new recipes that we tried. Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in my Freezer Cooking Friday series!

Recipe: Easy Beef Enchiladas

2011-10-27T22:31:00.000-04:00

I don't even know how I started making this recipe, but I whipped it up one time for my parents back in my single days, and it's been a hit in my family ever since. My kids even love these enchiladas, and that's saying a lot right there. The recipe has been adapted a little bit over the years here and there - sometimes rice and/or refried beans will be added - but for the most part it stays pretty basic. I hope you love it as much as we do.

Shannon's Easy Beef Enchiladas

Photos Coming Soon!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 packet Taco Seasoning
1 onion, chopped
1 pack flour tortillas, small or medium, whichever you prefer - base it on your pan size
2 cups chredded cheddar cheese (I prefer Sharp)
2-3 small cans or 1 large can Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce (my fave) - amount depends on how saucy you like your enchiladas

Brown ground beef with onion until cooked through. Mix in taco seasoning according to instructions on packet. Remove from heat.

Pour about 1/4 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of greased baking dish and spread around. I usually use a 9x13 glass dish.

Place one tortilla on a plate, and spread about a teaspoon of sauce around entire tortilla. Scoop meat and onion mixture on tortilla, then sprinkle with cheese. Roll, and place seam down in pan.

Continue with the rest of tortillas until you either run out of meat or space in the pan.

Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas, making sure all of them are covered. I also like to make sure the sauce gets down in between the enchiladas - if they're packed tightly in the pan, I just scooch (technical term) them aside a bit as I pour the sauce.

If you're freezing the enchiladas to cook later, STOP HERE. Cover the pan in foil, then wrap in foil again. If you're using a smaller pan, like an 8x8 foil pan, cover in foil, then slip into a freezer bag. Make sure you mark the package somehow that's Enchiladas. No one likes a mystery pack in the freezer! When you're ready to bake the enchiladas, thaw, remove foil, then continue the steps below.

Top entire dish with shredded cheese according to your taste. We love cheese in this house, so I usually use a full 2 cups on the top.

Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes or until it's nice and bubbly and the cheese on top is melted. Tip: If you like crispy, or slightly burnt cheese, leave them in a bit longer. We happily discovered this one time when using an unfamiliar oven timer.

Dig in and enjoy!

The great thing about this recipe is that it's easy to adapt to your tastes. The measurements aren't exact; use as much or as little sauce and cheese as you like. Add more vegetables, use chicken or turkey instead of ground beef if you like.

Recipe: Crockpot Salsa Chicken

2011-10-26T17:53:00.000-04:00

If you're a crockpot nut like me, you're going to love this. The only thing better than throwing something in the crockpot in the morning to be ready that evening is just dumping the premixed ingredients out of a freezer bag into the crockpot. No fuss, no gathering of ingredients, just dump it, turn on the crockpot (a very important step), then go!

If you've been paying attention, I've started a series called Freezer Cooking Fridays right here on this blog. This series stemmed from my newfound love of Freezer Cooking, so I've been trying to combine Freezer Cooking and Crockpot Cooking. The results have been great so far! It's simple: take your favorite Crockpot recipe, gather ingredients, do any prep work needed, put everything in a freezer bag, and pop it into the freezer. Then when that busy morning comes along, toss everything from the freezer bag into the crockpot, set it, and you're done! You don't even have to thaw it out, which works out great for me.

So, are you ready to try it for yourself? Here's a perfect recipe to get you started with Crockpot Freezer Cooking...

Crockpot Salsa Chicken - Freezer Style

photos coming soon!

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar of salsa or picante sauce (regular size jar)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can of corn, drained, or about 2 cups of frozen corn

Combine ingredients in freezer bag, place in freezer. Done!

Night before Cooking Day: take bag out of freezer and leave in fridge overnight. If it doesn't thaw a little bit, you might have a hard time fitting the frozen chunk into the crockpot.

On Cooking Day: Dump contents of freezer bag into crockpot, and cover. Cook on low 8 hours or until it looks good. If ingredients aren't frozen, cook on low 4 hours or until chicken is no longer pink.

Enjoy!

Blogging FAIL

2011-10-26T17:04:00.004-04:00

So, remember back in the first part of October when I said I was joining the Ultimate Blog Challenge for the month of October? 31 posts in 31 days? Yeah. Well, it's still October, and let's just say I've failed this challenge miserably. I could blame it on the fact that I went on a bit of a vacation and wanted to "unplug" a bit while at the beach, or I could say that things have been super-busy at work (true), but really, I can't make excuses. I knew all of these things were going on when I signed up for the Challenge. I could have planned better and wrote posts to schedule for later. But I didn't. I got lazy. So now I'm owning up. I'm not going to hide from it.

Blogging FAIL.

But, I am planning to do things a little differently around here. I want to make more of this blog, attain a little focus, maybe change the name and add new goals for my bloggy-self. No more excuses.

Stay tuned!

Typography Tuesday on Wednesday - Subway Art

2011-10-19T17:25:00.000-04:00

Subway Art, or Subway Sign art, has taken the crafty blog world by storm. It's everywhere. And you know it's a thing when Restoration Hardware picks up on it and is selling it, too. Or maybe Restoration Hardware started the whole thing, I'm not sure.

Anywho, Subway Art is certainly trendy right now. It's inspired by the vintage signs found in subway stations with the different routes/trains listed. Something a little like this:

These are reprints that are being sold be Restoration Hardware. I love the look of them; clean, simple, straight, and not much extra space (or "white" space).

If you check out their selection, you'll see these reproductions are a tad bit spendy. So, crafty people out there in blogland are creating their own versions of subway art, and some of them are quite nice, in my opinion. This type of art is being adapted to many different things: family rules, wedding invites, holidays, birth announcements, etc. Below are a few favorites I've seen out there...

A birth announcement I created (of course I had to throw in something of my own!)

Simple Crafter - Free Printable!

Saved By Love Creations

Barn Owl Primitives on Etsy

Those are just a few examples of what my crafty friends are creating out there. If you have Photoshop and want to do this on your own, Saved By Love Creations has a fabulous tutorial. Check it out, and get creating!

Monday Update

2011-10-17T22:01:00.002-04:00

Well hello there. I admit, I haven't been keeping up with the Ultimate Blog Challenge, and now I'm over a week behind in posting. That's just not good. I feel like I have a valid excuse though: I was on vacation. And who thinks about blogging when they're at the beach? Okay I did think about it a little bit, but I just didn't act on it. I didn't open Blogger one time while on vacation. I don't think I even did that much internet surfing, which, for me, is kind of huge. But it was vacation. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Now, however, it's time to face reality and get back into routine. Today was Monday, the first day back to work and school, and it wasn't so bad. Hopefully that trend will continue for the rest of the week.

Stay tuned for regularly scheduled programming! I have some recipes to post, some typography to talk about, and more.

Thanks for coming back!

Freezer Cooking Friday: Recipes to Try

2011-10-07T18:03:00.001-04:00

Today's Freezer Cooking Friday consists of a list of recipes that I want to try, and those that we've enjoyed over the past week. I didn't do any freezer cooking this week, but we have been enjoying the fruits of my previous labors! I love having a stocked freezer.

Here's what we had in the last week:

Monday: Enchiladas (recipe coming soon!) - this was the first time I tried my regular enchilada recipe for the freezer. It was a hit! They weren't soggy, or too dry, so I'll be making this one ahead again soon. Really soon. I love enchiladas.
Tuesday: Hawaiian Chicken in the Crockpot, from Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer. Another yummy one that's always a family favorite. It's so easy to throw everything in a ziploc bag to freeze, then on cooking day, just dump it into the crockpot. Dinner is done!
Wednesday: Tacos - pre-cooked and seasoned ground beef, thawed, reheated in microwave. Such a timesaver.
Thursday: Leftovers for me and the hubs, chicken nuggets for the kids. Also known as "cop-out" night.
Friday: Typically our day to eat out, or dine with parents, which is the case tonight (spaghetti!).

The freezer stock is getting low, but we're on vacation next week, so I won't do another session of cooking/prepping for probably another two weeks. But I can still hunt down recipes in the meantime, and get a headstart on planning. Or at least, planning the way I plan - lists in notebooks.

Recipes I want to try in my next cooking session:

Cheesy Rigatoni Bake, Daily Dish Recipes - Looks so cheesy! I love cheese, so I know this would be a winner
Cheddar & Cracker Chicken, What's Cooking Chicago - This was on my list to try last time, but I ran out of chicken. Definitely doing next time. Again, cheese.
Pepperoni Roll-Ups, Dinner with the Donnells - I love pizza, the kids love pizza, and who doesn't like crescent rolls?
Taco Meat - a staple in our house
Enchiladas - see above
Crockpot Orange Chicken, The Pursuit of Happiness - this one looks really good, so I think I'll make it this go 'round.

Well, that's a start. Have you tried Freezer Cooking yet? Try it! You won't go back to those harried weeknight dinner times, I swear. Enjoy!

Pondering: Is A Cash-Only System the Way to Go?

2011-10-05T22:51:00.000-04:00

I'll admit it: I'm terrible with money. I always have been. And even in spite of my attempts to manage my money better, I'm still terrible. Confession: I LOVE spending money. It doesn't even matter what it's being spent on, most of the time. I like to shop, I like to buy things, I like to have things. I'm sure there's some psycho-analytical reason for all of this, but I've never had it evalutated. Maybe I should.

When I was in college especially, I would say, "I'm too young to worry about money", and I would spend every cent my parents sent me. Then the next week when another check came in the mail, I would do the same thing.

Now that I'm older (wiser?) and have a dual-income household to manage, that way of life is long gone. But I'm still not managing things very well. I use my debit card for everything, and claim to keep a running tally in my head, but I'm really not that great at math. I've been burned living this way many times, and Wells Fargo is loving having me as a customer, I'm sure.

So where does that leave me? Pondering going cash-only, that's where that leaves me. But is that the way to go? I know there are more than a few financial "gurus" out there who claim that it is the only way to go, but will it work for me? Maybe I should challenge myself to not use my debit card for a month, and only use the cash that's in my pocket. That would certainly be an interesting blog series!

I'm thinking what I might try is this: pay bills out of each paycheck, then withdraw cash for everything else. Things such as groceries, gas, eating out, etc. would all be paid for with cash. I'll have to do more research on the Envelope system.

What are your thoughts? How do you handle your family's budget?

Typography Tuesday: Font Addict

2011-10-04T17:46:00.001-04:00

I mentioned in my blog last week about how much I love Typography. Fonts, fonts and more fonts, I love them all. If you're a font addict like me, there are lots of great sites to get free fonts for you to have as your very own. Be careful, though. Make sure you read the terms for each font you download; I wouldn't want anyone to be sued for using and selling a product using a font that was only meant for personal use.

My favorite font sites:

There are countless others, but you'll probably just get stuck on dafont.com for hours, so I won't make a huge list.

In order to use all of the fonts that I have collected over the years - and I really should count them - I've recently been trying to come up with new ways (for me) to use fonts. I've embroidered with different fonts, but I just don't have much time for embroidery these days, so I've moved on to die-cutting and print. I've been personalizing different items using adhesive vinyl and my Pazzles die-cutting machine. There are lots of other people doing this same thing, so I'm trying to make myself stand out a bit by using fonts maybe not everyone is using.

This font is Ziggy Zoe, one that I found out there on a free font site, and thought it would be great on water bottles. It is. I've sold a ton of these things! Now if I could only get them back in stock...

I've also ventured into print a little bit, inspired of course, by Pinterest. Last week I featured my "I Love You Because..." print, and this week I have a slight variation:

It's a good daily reminder of what you are grateful for, making you think of something new every day. I know I need to be reminded sometimes, and seemingly a lot more lately. It's dry erase, so that makes it easy to change it up each day.

So, I'm going to keep playing with my fonts, and looking for great examples and more inspiration. Be sure to check back next Tuesday and every Tuesday for more Typography!

Duh, Pinning.

2011-10-03T16:21:00.000-04:00

It is true. I can't.stop.pinning. I pin at work, I pin at home, I pin on the go. It's ridiculous. I'm an addict. I can't help myself.

There is always new stuff on Pinterest, and I want to make sure I see it all. New recipes, new crafty ideas, new funny photos...the list goes on. My favorite categories are DIY/Crafts (obviously), Recipes, and Kids. There are so many great ideas and so much inspiration all in one place it's almost overwhelming.

Here are some of my recent Pinterest favorites:

I love Star Wars humor.

This original idea was for storing scrapbook materials (stickers, specifically), but I think it would be great to use in the kitchen, to hold all of the recipe printouts that I've found on Pinterest. A Spinning Cookbook. Oh, I better copyright that. Spinning Cookbook © <-- and I totally just googled how to make that symbol.

Baked Penne Pasta. I had this for dinner just last night and it was yummy! I made it ahead as part of my Freezer Cooking Plan last week; took it out of the freezer yesterday morning and baked it for dinner. I liked it, the kids liked it, we'll be having it again!

So, that's what I've been pinning. What have you found lately?

A Day in the Life of a Working Mommy

2011-10-03T10:30:00.000-04:00

My typical weekday looks a little something like this:

4:30am: Husband's alarm goes off; he's out the door in 15 minutes flat.
6:30am: Alarm goes off
6:39am: Snooze alarm goes off
6:45am: Feet hit the floor, and I'm up and running...or, sort of.
6:50am: Jump in the shower before the 2-year old wakes up, otherwise forget the shower
7:00am: Out of the shower, waking up children
7:05am: Getting dressed, waking up children
7:15am: Argue with 5-year old about wardrobe selections while trying to convince 2-year old to get a diaper change and get dressed.
7:30am: Tracking down shoes, while feeding dog, letting dog out and hopefully back in, getting snacks, juice boxes, and mommy-juice (aka coffee)
7:45am: Out the door, in the car
7:55am: Drop 2-year old off at school, try to avoid altercations in the super-tiny parking lot
7:58am: Convince 5-year old that Mommy's tired of the Backyardigans cd, listen to something else.
8:20am: Drop off 5-year old at different school
8:30-8:45am: In the office.
8:50am: Rest, enjoy the peace and quiet of the early morning office and coffee.
9:00am: Work, work, work.
6:00pm: Out of office, in the car
6:20pm: Pick up 5-year old from school
6:25pm: Car snacks and discussion of the day with 5-year old
6:45pm: Home
6:46pm: Routine tackle-hugs by 2-year old
7:00pm: Dinner (on a good day)
7:15pm: Convince children vegetables are necessary, and that we can't always have chicken nuggets (daily battle)
7:55pm: Cleanup
8:00pm: Kids Bath/Jammies/Cuddles/Storytime
8:30pm: Bedtime
8:35pm: Mommy/Daddy TV/blogging/crafting time
10:00pm: Off to bed to start all over again in the morning

Wow. I've never written it all out before Scary stuff. I'm fortunate in that I have a very flexible employer where I don't have to dress professionally everyday. If I had to fit in trips to the dry cleaner or finding matching heels and stockings everyday, I'd be in serious trouble.

What's your day like?

The Ultimate Blog Challenge - Again

2011-10-02T21:52:00.004-04:00

I've kind of gotten bad about blogging in the last couple of months, so I decided to challenge myself to keep up with things a little better. I enjoy writing, but it seems to have fallen by the wayside lately as I keep adding things to my neverending to-do list. So, for the month of October, I've joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge - 31 days of blogging, or one post everyday. If you've been following along, you may remember that I've done this once before, back in April. I didn't quite make the 31 posts in 31 days, but I was pretty darn close. This time around, my goal is to make it all the way. I know I can do it!

I do have some plans to try to keep it interesting around here: Freezer Cooking Fridays is one new series I've started. Take a look at the first post in the series and you'll see what I'm talking about. I've also started Typography Tuesdays recently. It's fun to have a day of the week tied in with specific posts. It makes it kind of easy to figure out what to write about! The first post was done on a Thursday, but it will be moving to Tuesdays starting this week. Stay tuned!

There will also be product updates, what's new in my shop, recipes, and tutorials posted over the next month, so please check back and see what I'm up to!

Freezer Cooking Fridays

2011-09-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

I decided to start a new little feature here on the ol' blog: Freezer Cooking Fridays. I've talked about Freezer Cooking, or Cooking Ahead, before, and I've become a huge fan of it. It's so easy to get a bunch of meals planned and prepped and stashed in the freezer, then have them ready to go on a busy weeknight. And let's face it, is there ever a weeknight that's not busy? Not in our house. Both my husband and I work full time, and we have two small children who are in school all day. By the time we're all home, we barely have enough time to get dinner on the table and the kids bathed before it's time for bed. Who wants to cook? Not me.

Enter freezer cooking. Some people do a month's worth of meals ahead of time, but I'm not that organized. Plus I don't have enough space in my freezer for all of that, plus the giant bags of chicken nuggets and fishsticks that are staples. I generally prepare enough meals for about 2 weeks...or whatever I have time to whip up after the kids are in bed.

Here's the plan: every week I'll feature what I have prepared in the previous week and have in the freezer. Not necessarily a menu (again, not that organized), but just a list, and maybe it'll inspire some of you out there to try it. I know you all are busy too, and I can't thank you enough for stopping in and reading!

This week, I started with 5 pounds of ground beef, and 6 pounds of giant boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I love Sam's Club. On Tuesday night I started with the ground beef. Here was my plan:

I knew I wouldn't have time to do the chicken and ground beef in one night, so I'm planning on doing the chicken this weekend.

From the ground beef, I made:

1 batch of enchiladas (recipe coming!)
2 batches (entrees) of No Boil Baked Penne - the recipe calls for a 9x13 pan, but I split it into 2-8x8 pans.
2 pounds of taco meat - ground beef seasoned with Old El Paso taco seasoning. We eat tacos A LOT
1 pound uncooked meat that was supposed to be Cheeseburger Meatloaf, but it was 10:30pm and I still had cleaning up to do, so I skipped it and froze the uncooked meat.

This weekend I'll be working on the chicken side of things. The plan, as shown above, is:

Teriyaki Marinated Chicken - I made my own teriyaki sauce a few weeks ago from a recipe in Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer. This cookbook is my main inspiration for freezer cooking. You should check it out!
Crockpot Salsa Chicken (recipe coming soon!)
Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing - I haven't figured out how I'm going to make this ahead yet. More details to come...
Cheddar & Cracker Chicken - this looks super yummy and I can't wait to try it!

I"ll post the missing recipes soon, and will continue to feature different recipes each week to help you on your way to a stocked freezer. Be sure to stop in next week for more freezer cooking fun!

Typography Thursday

2011-09-22T17:05:00.000-04:00

Well, Typography Tuesday might sound better, but since it's Thursday, I'm going with that. Maybe in the future I'll actually plan posts instead of posting willy-nilly. One can hope, right? But, I digress.

I've always been a fan of typography. I love love love all of the font sites such as dafont.com where you can download any number of fonts of all kinds for free, or for a small donation. I'm a self-proclaimed font geek. I have so many in my collection that sometimes I don't even know where to start! But I still want more..

According to Wikipedia, the definition of Typography is "the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible." I believe it really is an art, and once upon a time when I was pursuing a degree in Graphic Design (never finished), the typography courses were my favorite.

I've recently rediscovered playing with fonts, and come up with a few fun prints that I thought I would put out there and see what the internet at large thinks. The first is an idea I've seen on Pinterest, and I thought I would give it my own touch. Just a simple print framed behind glass that can be used as a dry erase board to write in your own sentiment.

Cute, right? What a great gift to give to a new couple on their wedding day. These are available in any color you choose, and listed in the shop now.

This idea came to me after listening to "Someone Like You" by Adele a few times. I thought it might be fun on a postcard, or a card to give someone when you're breaking up, or when you've been dumped. Don't ask where my thoughts come from; I couldn't tell you. Or, maybe you just really like the song...

I really just wanted to use these colors and this part of the song. I haven't made this print into anything yet, but if you're interested, just let me know what you'd like!

So, that's what I've been working on. What do you think?

Pinterest: Be Warned, It's Addictive

2011-09-21T13:36:00.002-04:00

Have you discovered Pinterest? If you haven't, you must go there. Now. Go on, I'll wait.

You're back? Good. See what I mean? There are SO MANY great ideas on there that I think I could literally spend days and days going through it all. Artwork, party ideas, quotes, recipes (OMG, the recipes!), crafty things, the list goes on and on. I love Pinterest because it's easy to keep everything that looks great to me all in one place. If I see a recipe I want to try, I just "pin it" to my recipes board so I can easily go back to it later. It sure beats bookmarking every little thing, or even worse, printing it out and then trying to find that paper later.

And it's not just ON Pinterest that you can pin things. You can install a handy little button on your browser menu bar so you can pin anything, no matter what site you're on. I.Love.It. And I'm an addict. It doesn't help that you can also get a Pinterest App. It's true. I use it.

I'm still on the fence about it, but I believe that Pinterest can also be used as a marketing tool. You don't want to constantly pin your own things, but I think that every now and then, like if you have a product you've created that you are really excited about, go ahead and pin it. I don't know how effective it is, but what could it hurt? Get your stuff out there. But again, don't go crazy with it. The Pinterest Etiquette states: "...try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion." If you have enough readers on your blog or in your shop, chances are it would be pinned anyway.

So, what have you been pinning?

Want to see what I've been up to? Follow my pins.

Frosted Mason Jar Luminaries

2011-09-08T11:58:00.001-04:00

I'm obsessed. There, I admitted it. I'm still going crazy with mason jars! The latest idea just sort of came to me; why not frost a mason jar to use as a luminary? And, why not add personalization? So, here we have a Frosted Mason Jar Luminary, personalized! On the first jar I did, I only used a single letter for personalization. Then I had a custom order through my Etsy shop for a full monogram, which is pictured above. I think I love that even more than the single letter! I fell in love immediately.

If you want to do it yourself, it's super easy. All you need is a mason jar, or an old spaghetti sauce/pickle/canning/whateverkindofjar, Frosted Glass Spray Paint (found at your local hardware store or Walmart),a tea light candle or LED tea light, and a way to monogram/personalize. I used my Pazzles die cut machine to cut out vinyl lettering, but you could also use paint, or good old fashioned glue and construction paper. I also used flat black spray paint to paint the ring of the lid to make it all matchy-matchy.

I'll try to put up a full tutorial with pictures and everything very soon, but that list should get you started! Have fun!

The picture above has an LED tea light in it. I just love the glow, and it even flickers a bit like a real candle would. So cute!

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Jar Crazy: Mason Jar Luminaries

2011-08-16T11:53:00.000-04:00

It's no longer a secret: I've gone jar crazy. It all started with the Redneck Wine Glasses. They're so simple yet so much fun! I've been making the glasses for a little while, and I've recently been thinking 'What ELSE can I do with these jars?'

Enter the internet and Pinterest. I'm also now addicted to Pinterest, but that's another blog post (coming soon!). I was browsing around and found that lots of crafty people have been making glass jar luminaries. Brilliant! Of course I had to try it. I'm trying to get a head start on holiday crafting, so I started with Halloween. The pic above is my result: Halloween Luminaries!

The process is very simple. All you need is a glass jar - I used quart size plain jars from Walmart, mod podge, tissue paper, and a foam brush. A lot of the tutorials I've seen out there say to cut the tissue paper into strips. That's a good way to do it, but I wasn't entirely happy with the way it came out. You can kind of see the strips on the Frankenstein luminary above. I decided to try one large piece of tissue paper applied to the jar all at once. I liked it much better, as it appears a little more seamless - that one was the orange jack o'lantern above. When I was finished and everything was completely dry, I just plopped a tea light in the jars to light them up, and voila!

I'll do a full tutorial soon, with pictures and everything, so stay tuned! In the meantime, I'll have to write down all of these luminary ideas I now have swirling around in my head.

Cheeseburger Meatloaf - The Recipe

2011-08-03T13:53:00.000-04:00

-- Photo Courtesy of MoneySavingMom --

Cheeseburger Meatloaf

1 lb. ground beef
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup uncooked regular oats (I had to substitute crushed Ritz crackers - still yummy!)
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. minced onion (I used chopped raw onion)
1 large egg
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 dry mustard
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup chili sauce (I substituted barbecue sauce instead)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 11 ingredients in a large bowl; stir just until blended. Shape mixture into a loaf, and place in an ungreased 8×4-inch loafpan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Pour chili sauce over meat loaf, and bake 40 more minutes or until meat is no longer pink in center. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and cut into 8 slices.

To freeze: If you used meat that had not yet been frozen, you can freeze this uncooked. When you’re ready to eat, thaw, and follow the instructions above for cooking.

If your meat had already been frozen, bake without chili sauce on top. Freeze. When you’re ready to eat, thaw meatloaf. Pour chili sauce (or BBQ sauce) on top and heat in oven until hot.

---> Shannon's Note -> Freezer Packaging: Form into loaf, then wrap in plastic wrap. Wrap again in foil, label, and toss in the freezer.

-- Recipe and photo courtesy of Money Saving Mom

My First Attempt at Freezer Cooking - And Not the Last!

2011-08-03T13:44:00.000-04:00

--Photo Courtesy of DailyDishRecipes

Freezer cooking. Have you tried it? A few months ago I decided I would give it a go and see what it's all about. I had read about it on sites such as Money Saving Mom and Once a Month Mom, and was intrigued. You mean I can prepare and/or cook a bunch of meals in one day and then throw them in the freezer for later? Then on a busy weeknight just throw something in the oven and be done? I'm in.

I actually didn't even go overboard on this project - shocker I know. I decided that I would buy a cookbook and look online, pick out a few recipes, then prepare enough meals for a week's worth of dinners. I did a bit of research and found Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer on Amazon, used some Amazon gift cards I got from Swagbucks, and poof! it was at my door in a couple of days. Have I mentioned lately that I love Amazon? Anyway...As soon as I received the book I was going through and making lists; tons of great recipes that even my kids would eat. Cheesy Chicken Bundles? Done. Hawaiian Chicken in the Crockpot? You betcha. There's even a recipe for Teriyaki Sauce that looks good, but I still need to make.

So I did my shopping, hit Sam's Club for the huge trays of ground beef and chicken breasts, the regular grocery store for the fill-in ingredients and I was ready. I temporarily misplaced my camera, so I didn't get any pictures, but here's a list of what I prepared:

2 pounds of taco meat (browned ground beef with taco seasoning)
2 loaves of Cheeseburger Meatloaf (check "Recipes" page for details)
1 Hawaiian Chicken Crockpot dish - just need to thaw it and throw it in the crockpot - done!
8 or 10 (I forget) Cheesy Chicken Bundles - probably enough for 2 meals, the way the kids eat
About 2 dozen meatballs - and I LOVE meatballs, so this will just be enough for one meal

All in all, I have about 8 meals ready and waiting in my freezer, and I did this all on a Sunday afternoon. There was very little cooking involved, thankfully - really the only cooking I did was the ground beef for tacos. Everything else I just prepared, packaged, and tossed in the freezer. Love it! Now all I have to do is figure out what we're having when, take it out of the freezer to thaw, then pop it in the oven. Dinner's ready! I love making taco filling ahead of time; all I have to do is warm up the meat, set up the taco toppings, and dinner's ready in about 5 minutes. Perfect.

If you're new to Freezer Cooking, or Once a Month or Week Cooking, I highly recommend Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer. There are lots of other books out there on the subject, and excellent blogs and ideas online, but this is the book I used. They explain in great detail the best way to package the meals for the freezer, and all of the recipes sound yummy.

I'll post the recipe for the Cheeseburger Meatloaf right after this one. Its SO yum. You'll love it.

In my research for this post, I also found Daily Dish Recipes, and am totally in love. I'll be doing lots of recipe-printing in a few minutes!

Pink Christmas in July - This Saturday!

2011-07-11T15:30:00.000-04:00

If you're looking for something fun to do this Saturday in Atlanta, come see me at the Pink Christmas in July Craft Show! There are lots of great vendors, and 10% percent of everyone's proceeds will go towards the Breast Cancer 3-Day here in Atlanta! What a great way to knock out some early Christmas shopping and support a great cause all at the same time. You can't go wrong! Plus, there will be prizes given away throughout the day.

There is a small donation/entrance fee of $2.50 for all attendees. For more information, go here.

See you there!!

Pick Your Plum: Iron-On Vinyl at 50% Off

2011-06-29T10:45:00.000-04:00

Today's Pick Your Plum Deal is a great one if you're into vinyl! And I have to admit, I'm into it. I'm an addict. Adhesive vinyl and my Cricut make me want to personalize everything and anything. It's almost ridiculous. Have you seen my laptop? But I digress...

Today's deal is Iron-On Vinyl at 50% off. You can't beat that! For $7.50 you get three 9x15 sheets of iron-on vinyl that can be cut with your craft cutter (Cricut, Silhouette, etc), scissors or an exact-o knife. Cut it out and iron it on. It's that easy! You'll receive one sheet in each of the following colors: Boiling Black, Toasty Turquoise, and Glowing Gray.

Decorate pillows, tote bags, t-shirts, skirts, shorts, whatever your little heart desires. My little brain is already bubbling over with ideas. Personalize your own stuff instead of paying someone else to do it (ahem- if you'd rather pay someone else, check out my shop!).

Get this deal while it's hot, there is a limited quantity. I can't wait to play with mine! I'll be sure to post what I've done once I have it in my hot little hands.

Go here to take a peek!

Monogrammed Tumblers - New!

2011-06-23T13:09:00.000-04:00

Have you seen these tumblers? I LOVE them! I remember seeing them last summer at a certain well-known coffee shop, but of course they had the shop's logo on them. I thought, oh, those are cute, but I didn't necessarily want the logo. Fast forward to this past Spring/Summer. These tumblers are popping up all over the crafty world with monograms and many other fun designs, and now we're bringing them to you!

These are double-walled insulated acrylic tumblers with a straw included. I absolutely love my tumbler because it doesn't sweat when I'm toting around a tasty iced beverage. The tumblers hold 16 ounces, which is just the right size for a Grande Iced Mocha at the aforementioned coffee shop. And of course the reusable straw is included!

If you're looking for a great gift, this is perfect. Just slip a gift card inside the cup, stick it in a gift bag and you're good to go.

So far the Vine Monogram font has been the most popular, but other fonts are available as well. I really like this one, it just looks nice.

I'm stocked up on tumblers and have another shipment coming in soon, so if you need one, check out the listing in the shop!

Pick Your Plum: Awesome New Daily Deal Site for Crafters!

2011-06-22T10:28:00.001-04:00

If you're not familiar with Pick Your Plum, you're missing out. Pick Your Plum is a great new daily deal site for the crafty set, offering supplies and projects at great prices.

From their website:

It's in our blood.
Have you ever glued your fingers together trying to put a project together? Stayed up all night just to finish that last project before your kids wake up? Gussied up your home just so the neighbors could gawk over your detail? Borrowed an idea from the store knowing you can make one too?
We have. We know. Join us.
Get it before your neighbor does:
*We have limited supplies on some of the most swank supplies. We have agents out in the field who find killer deals on high quality products.
*We delicately slap prim-o crafting supplies on our site at a stellar price!
*We sell it 'til it's gone or 'til time is up.
*You leave feeling like you just won Martha in a crafting contest.
*The supplies arrive in 7-8 shipping days and you've just picked your 'plum'! Doesn't it feel good?
Sign up for Instant Alerts so you always know The Deal. But don't blame us if you overdose. We only sell products we would use ourselves. We enjoy quality.

Don't miss out on another deal! See below for today's offering: Grosgrain Ribbon. I'm all over this one.

Pick Your Plum Deal for Wednesday 6/22:

Cotton Candy Grosgrain Ribbon. It's 70% off!
- 16 yards of grosgrain ribbon coming in at $0.28/yard!
- Make a ribbon wreath, decorate a flip flop, make a bow, fancy up that present, sew on a shirt, the list goes on. At 70% off it will add some sugar to that project.
- Each order contains 2 yards of each of the following:

Jolly Berry Blue (5/8 inch plain and 1/4 inch dots)
Silly Nilly Pink (5/8 inch plain and 1/4 inch dots)
Sassy Apple Green (5/8 inch plain and 1/4 inch dots)
Orange Orange (5/8 inch plain and 1/4 inch dots)

Fine Print: Shipping is $3.50 if you order one or if you order the max amount. Sweetness to the shipping costs!

Canada add $5.00 and a bunch of shipping days (as soon as the strike is over we will ship you goodies).

Today is June 22, 2011

750 available - But going fast! Get yours now..

I Spy Bags - Finally!

2011-06-14T16:37:00.001-04:00

I've been talking about I Spy Bags now for what seems like a year. Well, I finally have some to show off! Never heard of an I Spy Bag? They're bags made of fleece or fabric filled with poly pellets and little buttons or trinkets. Kids can manipulate the pellets through the bag to move things around and see what all is in there. Keeps little fingers busy!

In my I spy Bags, I add fun buttons, colorful little stones, beads, and whatever else I might find that would be fun for a child to find. I also add letter beads that spell out various phrases, or I can make a name if you choose. For example, on my "Go Green" bag (above), I added the prase "Go Green". Silly, I know.

These bags are made from super soft fleece, but regular cotton fabric could be used as well. If you wanted to make a bag of your very own, check out Katie's tutorial over on Little Monkeys. In case you're wondering about the bags pictured above with the circle window, I did those on my embroidery machine instead of a regular sewing machine. You could achieve the same effect on a sewing machine, you just have to have a satin or zig-zag stitch, and be able to sew really good circles. :)

Or, if you just want to take the easy way out, you can check out what I have to offer in my shop. The bags pictured above are available now! More patterns and designs will be added soon.

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Catching Up...

2011-06-09T13:04:00.003-04:00

My my my, it's been a while! I haven't forgotten about my readers, I've just been busy. And I am in no way complaining! I did squeeze in a vacation, and I had actually intended to blog while I was on vacation, but that just never happened. I guess I was just too busy relaxing!

So, in the coming weeks, you'll be seeing more of me here and there, with some new goodies to put in the shop, some new projects, and more yummy brownie goodness. I think I'm personally most excited about more stuffed brownies than anything else!

Stay with me...and thanks for reading!

...And just because I'm a fan of putting pictures in every post, the picture above is where we were on Vacation: St Simons Island, Ga. Love that place!

Introducing: The "Fancy" Redneck Wine Glass!

2011-05-19T11:37:00.008-04:00

If you're looking for something a little fancier than the Original Redneck Wine Glass, or perhaps a Redneck Champagne Glass, this is for you. The "quilted crystal" look on this jar will add that little extra sparkle to your backporch dinner party or bar! Or as a friend described it, it will add "glitz and glamour" when you're getting your drink on.

I just love these glasses; they're so much fun! At the Kirkwood Spring Fling this past weekend, I sold all but one.

So, if you're looking for gifts that are a little different, Redneck Wine Glasses are your answer. Bulk orders are welcome! Just let me know how many you need and I'd be more than happy to work out a deal.

Go here to purchase!

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Weekend Wrap Up - Thank You and Festival Recovery

2011-05-15T16:31:00.004-04:00

If you came by the booth at the Kirkwood Spring Fling, thank you for visiting! Everything that was at the booth will be listed in the shop soon, including more Redneck Wine Glasses. If you're looking for the Kids' Aprons/Toolbelts, crayon rolls, or crayon tote bags, check out Katie's shop, Happy2Knit. As a special thank you, use the code "Kirkwood10" at checkout in my Etsy shop to receive 10% off your purchase! Now back to regularly scheduled blogging...

Wow, what a weekend. Yesterday, Saturday, I had a booth at the Kirkwood Spring Fling. I was the first festival I had done in a year and a half, and boy-o, I forgot how much work it could be! First you have to find a festival or artist market where you think your work or craft might fit in. Then you have to apply, and wait to be accepted. Once accepted, the fun really starts. You have to make sure you have enough inventory to last the day (or two, depending). I always go with the idea that it's better to have too much than not enough. Well, yesterday Katie and I had tons of stuff, and we sold a bunch, too. That's definitely a good thing. But even just sitting there all day, in the Georgia heat, chatting with people, working on the display repeatedly; its exhausting. Maybe I'm just getting old? It was a large-ibuprofen-before-bedtime kind of night, that's for sure.

Anyway, like I said, it was a great day. My partner-in-crime/sister-in-law Katie couldn't be with me, so I was by myself in working the booth all day. I stayed busy, forunately, but I didn't have much of a chance to walk around and see what other cool stuff was at the festival.

Today, Sunday, I'm just taking it easy. It's my recovery day! I've been working hard the last few weeks to prepare, so now I'm taking a bit of a break. Well, by break I mean I won't be crafting every night after bedtime, just enough to fill current orders from my Etsy shop.

Now I think i'll take a nap...

Where to Buy - Kirkwood Spring Fling, May 14

2011-05-10T17:18:00.004-04:00

If you're in or around Atlanta this weekend looking for something to do, you should check out the 9th Annual Kirkwood Spring Fling and Tour of Homes! There will be an open air Artist Market, live music, a children's area, and of course, festival food!

There's also the Tour of Homes featuring classic Victorian Cottages, Craftsman Bungalows, and more.

Oh, and did I mention that Drivin' N' Cryin' is the music headliner for the festival? That's huge!

If you do come out, be sure and stop in and see me and check out all of the goodies I'll have available. You've seen most of them here on the blog, but there may be some other things you haven't seen...you just never know. I'll be in Booth #64, so make sure you say Hello!

Also cross your fingers that it doesn't rain. :)

The festival is located in and around Bessie Branham Park in the historic Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta. Close to East Atlanta Village, Little 5 Points, Oakhurst and Decatur.

For directions and more information check out the website. Hope to see you there!

Weekend Wrap-Up, May 9 - Tissue Cases and I Spy Bags

2011-05-09T10:28:00.007-04:00

This past weekend I realized that I only have a week (less, now) before I have a booth at the Kirkwood Spring Fling Artist Market here in Atlanta. I'm now officially in 'freak out' mode! So, I started feverishly working on goodies for the market. I was going to make some zippered tissue cases like I've done in the past, but decided to go the quicker way since I need to make a ton. So, here's a tissue case, non-zippered! Isn't it cute? Of course I didn't have a small pack of tissues handy to stick in there, but you get the idea, right?

This is a great way to keep tissues neat and tidy in your purse, backpack, diaper bag, on your desk, wherever you need it. I know my pack of tissues always somehow gets messed up and then I don't want to use them. Dirt or something yucky always seems to find its way in there, even in a semi-clean purse.

I made about 9 of them altogether; above is a sampling. I love these little things! I'll have them available at the market on Saturday, and afterwards in my Etsy shop.

I also started work on some I Spy Bags. I'll do a more thorough post on I Spy Bags at a later time, but it's basically a little bag filled with little trinkets that has a window for kids to search through and see what they can find. The little trinkets can include buttons, pennies, charms, anything that's little. Stay tuned for more details! Below is a pic of the piece of a bag that has the window. Still needs to be put together! These will also be available at the market, and later on in the shop.

And finally, as you all know, yesterday was Mother's Day. My day started with a breakfast in bed of Froot Loops, yogurt (that I was expected to share with my 2-year old), orange juice, and coffee. Fortunately we all managed not to spill anything, and it was a fun family time (I did share the yogurt). We went to church and enjoyed lunch afterward with my mother-in-law. Naps (myself included) followed that, and then, then, I got to craft uninterrupted for a few hours. Divine! I hope all of you mothers out there had a wonderful day like I did!

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Weekend Wrap-Up, May 2

2011-05-02T15:19:00.017-04:00

As always, I didn't get as much finished this weekend as I had wanted to, but I did get a few things accomplished. I think I expect too much out of myself, since weekends are really the only time I have to seriously craft. I also have to remember that the weekends are the only time I can really spend quality time with my children, and, well, the crafting falls to the wayside most of the time, and that's okay.

Ever since I made my first Oreo-stuffed Brownies, I wanted to try it again with mint cookies. And I did! I followed the same basic recipe: brownie mix, marshmallow creme, cookies. Only this time I used the Mint Fudge Creme Oreos instead of the regular. They were SO yummy! I highly recommend trying these brownies if you haven't already. Of course I didn't get any pictures this time around, but they look basically the same as this:

So, if you like minty cookies and brownies, you won't regret trying this one. Go here for directions and more pictures.

I also completed an order for my Redneck Wine Glasses. I still chuckle at these whenever I see them. I think Vivian's going to love her glass!

My daughter and I went shopping on Saturday afternoon, and we found these fun water bottles for kids. Of course my first thought was, I can personalize these! My daughter's first thought was, I want one in every color! That's my girl. So we got a bunch of them, in every color, and I put her name on her favorite color, pink. I love this font I just discovered recently, too: Ziggy Zoe. So fun, and perfect on this bottle.

The available colors for the water bottles are: pink, green, purple, red, blue, turquoise, and orange. I think they look great with white personalization, but other colors are available too. These are now avaiable in the shop, check them out!

That was my crafting for the weekend. What did you do? I'd love to see it. :)

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Crafting Update - The Redneck Wine Glass and More

2011-04-27T11:43:00.012-04:00

I've finally gotten around to updating my Etsy shop with a few things I've been working on.

First up, the Redneck Wine Glass! I first saw these on a message board/forum that I frequent, and thought they were hilarious. I apologize, but I didn't keep track of where the original idea came from, so if you're out there, great job!

These glasses are so much fun! Imagine sitting on that couch in your yard with your friends drinking your favorite refreshing beverages with this fancy stemware. You'd be the talk of your neighborhood! Personalization of your choice is included in the price. This one was made for my brother-in-law Brian, who wanted one as soon as he saw it.

Another new addition to the shop is a few more designs of the checkbook covers that I just love.

These are so much better than those boring bank-issued covers, and just as sturdy. Matching card holders are available, too!

That's about it for now. I've also been working on I Spy Bags, but haven't gotten any pictures yet. I'll be writing up a tutorial on those soon! Your kids will love them.

Now I must go and snack on some more peanut butter balls to maintain my sugar levels at super-high. :)

The Ultimate Blog Challenge - Progress

2011-04-26T22:08:00.004-04:00

As you may remember from a previous post, I joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge for the month of April. The idea was to write 30 posts in 30 days in order to gain more readers, and also to make it habit to blog regularly. Well, here it is, Day 26, and I'm behind. My original goal was to complete the challenge, obviously, and I still might by bombarding my readers with posts, but I feel like I've still accomplished something great by doing this Challenge. It got me to think. I've been thinking a lot about my blog; how I can improve it, how I can make it look better, how I can draw in more readers, and keep them coming back for more. It has also gotten me to write more, which is something I've been wanting to do for a long time, but for whatever reason, I just would never sit down and do it.

I essentially have 4 more days to write 9 more posts, for a total of 30. Can I do it? I'd like to think I can. Will I continue to blog regularly after April 30? You betcha. I've really enjoyed sharing what I've been up to, and my creative juices are flowing! I want to craft more, I want to bake and cook more, and I want to share it all and hopefully inspire one or two people along the way.

What would you like to see? I love feedback, please share! And thanks for reading. :)

Get Rewarded with Swagbucks! It Works!

2011-04-26T10:14:00.004-04:00

Are you using Swagbucks yet? If you do a lot of internet searches using Google or Bing, you could be earning Swagbucks just for using the Swagbucks search engine, and you'd get the same results. Your search results will actually be pulled from Google, AND you'd be earning points, or bucks, so it's a win-win!

How does it work? Like I said above, you would do your internet searching just as you would with any other search engine, only you would randomly be awarded points, or bucks, that you can later redeem for great prizes. I use the Swagbucks Toolbar so it's super-easy for me to search for anything and everything. Even if I'm going to a page that I use regularly, and know the address, I'll just type it into the search box for another chance to earn Bucks. The more you use it, the more you'll earn!

What can I get? There are tons of awards to choose from in the Swag Store. My favorite is the Amazon gift cards. Anything I'm looking for is generally available on Amazon, so that's what I go with. There are also gift cards available for Starbucks, Target, Restaurant.com, Travelocity, and so many more. You could even get cash through PayPal. There are prizes other than gift cards, too, such as a Digital Rice Cooker and Food Steamer, or a Wii. Lots of options!

How can I earn more? You can earn plenty of Bucks just using the search option, but there are other ways to earn as well. Random Swag Codes are put out during the day, and they can be entered into the Code box on the main Swagbucks page. You can check their blog, Twitter and Facebook page to see when a code may be available. You can also earn Bucks through Referrals; just refer your friends, write a post like this one on your blog, Tweet about it, or post on Facebook. Let others know that you're getting free stuff, and they'll sign up too!

Does it really work? YES! I've earned over $100 in gift cards since I first started using Swagbucks last year. You can too!

Go here to sign up and start earning.

Note: If you signup for Swagbucks through the links provided in this post, I will get referral credits. I hope this doesn't sway your decision! :)

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls - A Love Story

2011-04-24T20:58:00.013-04:00

When I went home earlier this month to visit my parents, I rediscovered something from my childhood that I absolutely loved: homemade chocolate-covered peanut butter eggs. One bite, and I was in heaven. It took me back to the days when I didn't have a care in the world.

When I got home to Atlanta, I decided that I would make these delightful eggs for myself, and thus began the quest for the perfect Peanut Butter egg recipe. Little did I know that my own dear grandmother (may she rest in peace) used to make these eggs for her kids - for some reason she never made them for my generation, her grandchildren, but I'll let that one slide. So, a special thank you to my Aunt Cindy for sharing Grandma's recipe with me. I'll be sure to pass it on!

If you want to make these for yourself, here's what you need:

2 pounds of powdered sugar (10x)

1 cup peanut butter - I prefer Jif, but use your favorite brand

2 cups marshmallow creme

1/4 pound margarine (1 stick)

a smidge of milk, if the mixture gets too dry - I had to use a little bit because the dough, or batter, was getting too hard to mix together

chocolate to melt for dipping - I used milk chocolate chips, but you can use semi-sweet or dark. Whatever you prefer.

Mix ingredients together, kind of like pie crust. I ended up having to use my hands because it really was doughy, and I had to knead it in order to get it all mixed together. I think next time I'll try my stand mixer and let it do the dirty work. If it just gets too thick to mix together, that's where the milk comes in. Just add a little at a time until everything is mixed together nicely.

Instead of shaping the dough/batter/mixture into egg shapes, I just rolled them into balls. After all that kneading, I was ready for something quick and easy, so rolling the balls fit the bill. At this point it's best to put the rolled balls in the fridge to set for at least an hour. Try to hold out, it's worth it! Some recommend letting them sit over night in the fridge, but I just can't wait that long.

Once everything is nice and firm, it's time to dip them in chocolate! I used my handy dandy little Wilton Chocolate Pro to melt the milk chocolate chips. Of course you can also melt the chocolate in the microwave or crockpot. I think a crockpot would be nice and easy, since it will keep the chocolate melted until you're finished.

Use a skewer or a fork to stab each ball and roll it in the melted chocolate, making sure it's covered entirely.

Plop the chocolate covered goodies onto wax paper to set, cover the holes with more chocolate, and you're finished!

I could barely stand to let them set as long as they needed to, so I put the first batch in the fridge until the chocolate wasn't so gooey. The second batch I'm just letting sit out overnight to see how that works.

When the chocolate is set, grab one and dig in!

So yummy - enjoy!

The next time I make them, I'm going to add a little more peanut butter, just because I love peanut butter. I'm a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg addict, but I really think these give the Reese's eggs a real run for the money!

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A Simple Skirt - Finally!

2011-04-24T08:30:00.000-04:00

I've been meaning for a few weeks to make A Simple Skirt for my daughter, but I kept forgetting to buy the 1-inch elastic that the tutorial calls for. Well, this weekend my sister-in-law and her family were in town for Easter, and since she also loves to sew, she brought her sewing goodies with her.

Last night we had a little sewing circle that involved wine and various little projects, including a "2" shirt for my boy. His birthday was last Saturday, but I'm a little behind. He is going to be 2 for a whole year, afterall.

Anyway, last night while we were sewing we decided to use some of my mountains of fabric and make the girls (her daughter and mine - they're 3 months apart and the best of friends) matching skirts. Perfect, I thought. And she just happened to have the 1-inch elastic that we needed.

The simple skirts turned out to be just that - simple. I love projects that are fast and easy, with instructions that are easy to understand. I meant to take step-by-step photos of the skirt-making, but we were all just chit-chatting and having a great time, so I didn't do it. I do plan on making more of these skirts in the future, so I'll post photos next time I make one. In the meantime, hop on over to MADE and check out the tutorial for yourself.

Next time I'll make it a little shorter since it gets so hot in Atlanta over the summer, but I like it long, too!

Oreo Stuffed Brownies - A Recipe

2011-04-23T21:20:00.004-04:00

I was bloghopping the other day when I stumbled upon this sinfully delicious-looking recipe over at Moms of all Trades: Oreo Stuffed Brownies. Brownies? Oreos? Marshmallow Creme? I'm all over it. And boy-oh-boy, I did not regret trying this out one little bit. Do you want to try it?

Here's what you need:

Brownie Mix - any brand/variety will do

Oreo cookies, or other chocolate and cream-type cookie - I used the store brand because I didn't have a coupon for regular Oreos (I'm thrifty that way). They taste just as good as the real thing for this project. Next time I'm going to try the Mint Oreos for that extra little kick

Marshmallow Creme - usually found in the baking aisle, or maybe even close to the peanut butter

Step 1: Spray muffin tins with Pam, making sure to cover completely

Step 2: Mix brownies according to package directions. Add 1/2 cup marshmallow creme, mix well.

Step 3: Open up your cookies. Try not to eat them all...

Step 4: One cookie at a time, dip into brownie batter, making sure cookie is completely covered.

Step 5: Place in muffin tin. I also scooped a little extra batter on top of the dipped cookie, just to make sure there was enough.

Step 6: Bake according to package directions. Mine got a little charred around the edges, but I didn't mind. I like the crispy brownies.

Step 7: Let cool, them pop them out of the muffin tins. From the outside you can't even tell there's a supersweet surprise inside...

Once they've cooled just a little bit, take a bite, and enjoy!

You're welcome. :)

Just think of all the wonderful goodies that could be stuffed into brownies!

Craft Envy and the Working Mom

2011-04-19T17:36:00.003-04:00

Confession: I have serious craft envy. I have a day job where I have spare time throughout most days; this spare time is generally spent hopping around to different crafty blogs to see what others are creating out there. I see so much creativity and think: these are moms, like me, but they don't have a day job. This makes me envious. Then I think, well, if I didn't have to work, I could get so much done! I could work on all of the projects that I see and want to try for myself, but just don't have the time! Sewing, baking, Cricut crafting, fun with mod podge...oh yeah, and spending more time with the kidlets fits in there somewhere, too.

I realize that the grass is always greener on the other side, and I have no idea what daily life is like for these other craft mavens. Maybe they're envious of someone like me for getting to come in to an office full of adults having adult conversations everyday (it's not all it's cracked up to be, let me tell ya). Not likely, but you never know.

For now, I do have to work, so I have to make do with late-night craft sessions and cramming too much into weekends. I have to remind myself to be thankful for what I have: a job that supports my family, two beautiful healthy children, and a husband who puts up with me jumping from project to project without rolling his eyes too much.

Maybe I'll just stop sleeping so I can finish everything I want to do!

Mother's Day Gift Ideas - A Guide

2011-04-18T15:27:00.012-04:00

Mother's Day is rapidly approaching; in fact, I just realized today that it's only 2 weeks away! So, since I'm a consistent procrastinator, I decided to help out others who might be in the same boat by providing a quick list of great Mother's Day gift ideas. Mother's Day is May 8th, so if you're looking for something customized, you better get your orders in asap! Off we go...

Help mom keep up with her correspondence with the In Touch Clutch (tm) from DownstairsDesigns. This handy-dandy little clutch is super-versatile, and cute to boot! $28 for this great gift.

This is something that's on my own list, the Dainty Drops Necklace from The Vintage Pearl. It's sweet, simple, and holds your children close to your heart. And it's reasonably priced at $32.00 for one charm, or two charms for $45.00. Love it!

Another goody that I've been eyeballing for a while, a Perpetual Wooden Block Calendar from QueenVannaCreations. This one is "Country Kitchen Icons", but there are many others to choose from, and each only $19.00! There are lots of other fun items in her Etsy shop, so make sure you take a look at everything.

If your momma loves iced beverages like I do, especially iced mochas from a certain popular coffee franchise, then this is perfect! A Personalized Acrylic Double Walled Tumbler, with a straw, from little ol' me (my Etsy shop). She can use this cup over and over again and save a few disposable plastic cups in the process. I can do any font you choose, and currently have the following vinyl (for the personalization) colors available: pink (as shown), red, black, white, purple, ocean blue, brown, and kelly green. Only $12.00!

I love this Granny Square Messenger Bag from Happy2Knit! It reminds me of snuggling under my grandmother's afghans when I was little. This hand-crocheted bag is just the right size to carry everything you need, for $45.00. There are other fun goodies in this shop as well, like a crochet cupcake keychain!

Every mom deserves to be pampered, and what better way than a nice, all-natural, sugar scrub? This Saucy Scrub Sampler 4 Pack from Saucy Somethins is a great way to refresh mom's tired skin. For only $22.95, you get 4 4-ounce jars that are great for travel or the gym.

That about wraps up this edition. You may have noticed that these gift ideas came from Etsy - I can't promote handmade gifts enough! Support small businesses, crafters, and moms just trying to make a little extra money by shopping on Etsy. If you're looking for something unique for yourself or for a gift, there's no better place!

Birthday Bubbles!

2011-04-17T08:30:00.000-04:00

As I was poking around Target yesterday searching for the perfect birthday gift for my 2-year old, I discovered this Bubble Generator. Now, having a 4-year old and a 2-year old, we go through a lot of bubbles. I've run out of breath countless times trying to keep them happy by blowing bubbles. If you have kids, you know one thing: kids love bubbles. Lots of them. It doesn't matter if you're tired, if you're blue in the face, or if you're about to pass out, they want more.

I was originally leaning towards the bubble blowing lawnmower, but then I saw the Bubble Generator, and was intrigued. Once I saw the "Sale!" tag, I was sold. It was $10! That seemed like a deal to me, so into my cart it went.

After naptime, we were all outside enjoying the beautiful day, playing "Moo Ball" (basketball with a cow ball that says Moo on it), when I decided to bring out the bubble machine.

O.M.G. BOTH of the kids, and their daddy, went crazy. It took longer to get out of the packaging than it did to get it set up. It came with batteries (6 AA) and bubble solution (4 ounces - have more on hand), so it was ready to go right out of the box. And believe me, that's a good thing; I don't think anyone could have waited for me to round up the materials for this thing.

I turned this sucker on and was immediately blown away. The bubbles! They were everywhere! I think the 2-year old's jaw literally hit the ground. Bubble dancing commenced.

I was able to sit back and watch, instead of turning blue trying to keep the bubbles going. It was a hit, no doubt about it.

If you want to be wowed, you could check out the Amazing Bubble Generator on Amazon, or just go to Target, where it's considerably cheaper, even when not on sale.

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

2011-04-16T22:24:00.006-04:00

My boy turned two today. It's hard to believe that this little guy was so tiny, not so long ago. It seemed like he would never grow into those jammies!

And here he is, two years later; getting taller by the day, learning from everything he sees, and also learning how to be a little charmer. You have to watch out for those sparkling blue eyes.

He's mischievous, sweet, daring, cuddly, happy, charming, and a bundle of energy all rolled into one adorable little person.

And I wouldn't have him any other way. Happy Birthday to my little guy - never change.

Covered Button Badge Reels - A Tutorial!

2011-04-15T17:01:00.013-04:00

A few years ago when I first got my embroidery machine, I discovered personalized badge reels. Having to wear an id badge at work all the time, I thought this was a great idea, and I created a tutorial to share with others. Well, not so much share, as sell. And sell it did. But now I'm older and wiser, and in more of a giving spirit, so I decided to share the whole tutorial, with pictures, here for you! Hope you enjoy!

Materials:

~ Badge reel

~ Size 45 Ready-to-Cover button (1 1/8 inches)

~ Button covering tool (available in starter pack with buttons at most fabric/craft stores – 2 pieces, usually 1 blue, 1 white)

~ Small Piece of fabric with embroidered initial (embroidery is optional)

~ E6000 Adhesive, or other really strong glue (be careful, this stuff is powerful!)

~ Pliers

Covering the button:

Embroider small initial or design onto fabric of choice. The size of the font/design should be 1” or less, ¾” is preferred

Centering initial/design on fabric, cut according to template on back of button package, referring to the size of your button. The fabric should be roughly twice the size of the button when cut

Again, making sure the design is centered, place fabric face down in button covering tool (mold)

With pliers, remove shank from button back

Place button face on top of the fabric in tool with rounded side down

Tuck fabric into back of button face, then place back on top

Press plunger (usually the blue piece) down on top of everything until you hear a pop

Pop button out of mold, and

Voila! You have a fabric covered button!

Attaching Covered Button to Badge Reel:

Make sure the shank (metal loopy piece) has been removed from back of button
At this point, some crafters like to fill the indentation on the back of the button. If you choose to do this and save a little glue, one option is to glue craft foam to the back of the button. Let that dry completely, then proceed with the following steps.

Glop some E6000 directly onto the badge reel/clip or the back of the button, spreading it around almost to edges of reel or button

Center, and gently place button on top of glue, smooshing out the extra glue to make sure the edges of the button are covered

Carefully wipe away excess glue, being sure not to dislodge button placement

Let sit for 24 hours to allow glue to fully dry

Enjoy your new supercute badge reel/clip, and be the envy of your coworkers!

Sources:

Retractable ID Badge Reels:

Office Depot, in stores and online

Office Max, in stores and online

Staples, in stores and online

Wal-Mart, in store in the Office Supply area (not all Wal-Marts carry them)
Various online retailers (Google “ID Badge Reels” for wholesalers)
eBay.com is always a good source

Check Etsy.com as well

Buttons To Cover:

In Stores:

Hancock Fabrics Store

Joann Fabrics in stores

Michaels

Hobby Lobby

Your local sewing store

Online:

http://www.joann.com/
http://www.jcarolinecreative.com/
http://www.craftersvision.com/
http://www.hancockfabrics.com/
Your favorite online craft/sewing supply site

E6000:

Available at hardware stores as well as craft stores, in the glue section

For online availability and more information, check the manufacturer’s website.

NOTE: This is an industrial adhesive, so please follow directions and make sure to read the “Caution” section!

Small Embroidery Fonts:

There are lots of places to get small embroidery fonts, but my favorite is Jolsons Designs at http://www.jolsonsdesigns.com/. The font pictured on the badge reels in the tutorial is the “Tiny Curlz” from Jolsons. They always stitch out great, and fit perfectly. Another favorite is from Reen at http://www.embroiderygarden.com/. She has lots of wonderful designs available, and even a set of templates and fonts specifically for Covered Button projects. Be sure to check it out!

Be careful, making badge reels can become addictive!

Coming Soon - More Recipes, Tutorials, and More!

2011-04-14T21:50:00.004-04:00

I don't have a super awesome post for you all to read today, and I apologize. I wanted to be more organized with this whole blog challenge thing, but I'm slipping a bit. Hopefully I can get caught up over the weekend! So, since I don't really have a plan for today's post, I thought I would let you know what you can expect to see here within the next few weeks. Will that work? I hope so.

Coming up on Sugar Plum Delights:

Crafty Tutorials: Covered Button Badge Reels and Ribbon Key Fobs

My quest for the perfect chocolate peanut butter Easter egg recipe - have one?

New projects I've been working on...top secret!

What I accomplished on my recent mini-break (I love that term, mini-break)

Craft Show preparedness - watch the madness as I get ready for a show on May 14th!

I might, just might, attempt a video, but don't hold me to that. No promises!

Container gardening with a 4-year old

The Birthday Boy

Etsy shop updates

Is there anything specific you would like to see? Just leave me a comment and let me know! I'd love to have more reader feedback.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

2011-04-13T14:13:00.005-04:00

I think last night was quite possibly one of the worst nights of my life. As I mentioned the other day, we took a trip north to visit my parents. In Pennsylvania. We live in Georgia. That's 12 hours. With a 4-year old and an almost 2-year old. Yeah.

The drive up wasn't too bad; it seemed to go quickly, the kids slept well for the most part. Of course young mister Pukey McPukerson displayed his newfound affliction - car sickness - before we even got out of the state of Georgia. So that was fun. Little did I know that that was only the beginning! But we made it in about 12 hours, then crashed as soon as we got in the door at my parents' house. The hubs and I weren't worth anything for the next two days, but the kids and grandparents were happy, and that was the point.

So, we had a nice visit, did lots of fun things, but then it was time to leave. We decided again to drive at night that way the kids would sleep, wouldn't need as many stops, blah blah blah. You know what they say about 'best laid plans'? Prime example right here.

We got everything loaded up and hit the road around 8:30, figuring that was plenty of time for dinner to have digested at least a little bit. Well, 30 minutes later, Pukey McPukerson made another appearance and we had to stop. Got that cleaned up, jammies changed, everything's hunky-dorey. For about two hours.

As soon as it wasn't my turn to drive anymore and I finally had a chance to take a nap, the little man decides he doesn't want to be in his carseat anymore, after vomiting yet again. I figured I would be able to lay down on the floor of the van and cuddle with him a bit and we could both nap. Disclaimer: I know kids should be buckled into carseats at all times, and I know it's illegal, so don't send me hate mail.

Have you ever spent the night on the floor of a moving mini-van with a sleeping toddler using you as a cot? It's not pleasant. Thank goodness for stow and go seating is all I'm saying. So, it's 2am, I'm trying to get comfortable with a vomitous kid sprawled out on top of me, and I'm completely miserable. I decide then and there that we're flying to grandma's house next time. I don't care how much it will cost! We'll see how that goes.

Anyway, so I've been out of town with severely limited internet access, which is why things have been a little quiet around here. I'm now behind in my posting for the Ultimate Blog Challenge, but I'll be catching up throughout the rest of this week and over the weekend. Stay tuned for more!

**If this post seems kind of rambling, it's because I'm still sleep-deprived. :)

Easy Weeknight Recipe: Monterey Chicken

2011-04-09T13:30:00.002-04:00

I know it's Saturday, but I decided to go ahead and post an easy recipe, perfect for a weeknight! My friend Jennifer discovered how easy and delicious Monterey Chicken is, and I had to try it.

Here's what you need:

McCormick Grill Mates Monterey Chicken Seasoning

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - I used three rather large pieces for the 4 of us

Lawry's Seasoned Salt

About 2 tbsp of butter or margarine

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease your baking dish with Pam, just in case.

Coat both sides of each chicken breast lightly with Lawry's, then again with the Monterey Chicken seasoning. Place in dish.

Put a little splap of butter or margarine on each chicken breast.

That's it! Put them in the oven for about 35 minutes or until the juices run clear, then serve and enjoy! Tonight we had rice and veggies on the side, but of course any side will do.

Yum!

If you try it, let me know what you think! The seasoned chicken is also good in salads, and I have a hunch it would be quite tasty in tacos or sandwich wraps as well...I think I'm going to have to try that. There are also other varieties of the Grill Mates seasoning I'm going to try. This one is so good, the others can't be that bad, right?

Enjoy!

- No, this was not a sponsored post. :)

Flashback Post: Placemat Purse Tutorial

2011-04-08T17:45:00.003-04:00

I'm going to cheat today, and bring back a post that I did way back in 2008: My first ever tutorial! I hope you enjoy!

Ta Da! Welcome to Shannon's First-Ever Tutorial! I was browsing around sewforum.com today and saw a very nicely done version of a placemat purse that I had never seen before. The person who posted her pictures didn't post how she did it, so we (me and a few others on the board) decided that we could just figure it out. And we did! I was at work all day, so I started playing around with a piece of paper, and ended up with a very nice office paper purse, complete with staples. I'll have to post that picture, just because it's funny. Anyway, I have a ton of placemats lying around just waiting to be made into bags, so I got home and after putting my neanderthal/toddler to bed, I started to play with a real placemat. And this is what happened:

Alternative Placemat Purse Tutorial (better name is pending - I'm open to suggestion!) 1. Start with your standard placemat. This one is 13” x 19”.

2. Fold in half lengthwise.

3. Rotate

4. Fold bottom up until you have the desired size of your bag. Pin and sew all the way around (you don’t have to do the bottom unless you want a top-stitched look). Make sure you use a heavy duty needle or a walking foot, depending on the weight of your placemat. This one is heavily interfaced, so it was pretty thick at the corners.

5. After sewing, you’ll have two pockets on the inside. It’s magic! Feel free to attach any closure at this point; snaps, Velcro, ribbon, whatever. I didn’t attach a strap to this one as I didn’t have any cord on hand, but I would attach it here.

6. And, voila! The almost finished placemat wallet/purse. This is relatively small, so I envision it to be used as a wallet while traveling, shopping, clubbing, any time you don’t want a large clunky bag with you. Great for moms! I didn’t permanently attach the ribbon, since I’m not sure if I’ll stick with it or not. I may embroider it.

Variation: I didn’t add any depth to the bag, but here’s what you can do: 1. Flip bag inside out 2. Cut about a 1-inch notch out of each corner at the bottom of the bag (I hope you can visualize this..Word won't let me copy the cute little graphic I drew) 3. After cutting, smoosh corners together and sew across the smoosh on both corners. I’m sorry, but I don’t have a picture to illustrate this, and my drawing skills are limited. If you have any questions please ask! 4. Flip bag right side out, and now you have a little depth to your bag!

There you have it! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, and I'll do my best to help you. Special thanks to tzb123 on sewforum for my "A ha!" moment! I'll be sure to post pictures of the bag when I do get it completed with strap and embellishment. This should give you the basic idea, though! Go on! Be creative!

4/8/11 - As of this repost, this purse is STILL sitting in a box without a strap. I think it has pins in it, too. Don't tell anyone...

To Grandmother's House We Go...

2011-04-07T16:41:00.005-04:00

Note: This blog may or may not contain information about crafting.. :) Tomorrow night we're hitting the road, driving from Atlanta to the middle of Pennsylvania. Overnight. With a 4-year old and an almost 2-year old. It's a 12-hour drive. To say I'm not looking forward to it would be the understatement of the year. So why do we do it? Because flying the four of us to Harrisburg would be ridiculously expensive and too much of a hassle. Why not take the train? Honestly, I would love to take the train; but again, ridiculously expensive, and it would actually take longer than driving would. Go figure.

So, to grandmother's house we go. Over the river and through the woods, times 5 (at least). We've made this drive so many times, it really barely phases us anymore. We've come to the conclusion that traveling at night is the best option for us; there's less traffic, the kids sleep at least part of the way (bliss), they need fewer stops and less entertainment. Of course they're generally so excited that they're going to see their grandparents that they finally literally pass out from sheer exhaustion. But that's okay, I'll take it.

If I had been thinking over this past weekend, I would have made up some entertaining projects for the kidlets to do while they're literally jumping up and down in their car seats with excitement. I've been wanting to make "I Spy" bags for quite a while, but for some reason just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. That actually might be a fun project to do with Grandma while we're there, then they can play with them on the way home. Hmmm...

Also while we're visiting, I'm planning to tackle a few craft projects, such as the simple skirt I mentioned yesterday, a fabric business card holder or two, and maybe a few zippered pouches.

The one downside of visiting my parents (aside from the drive) is the lack of high-speed internet. I'm not sure how I'm going to survive! I can't even pick up 3G on my iPhone most of the time, since they seem to live in a 3G void. How can that happen in this day and age? But, I committed to posting for 30 days, so I'm going to do it. I might have to hang out at McDonalds everyday and take advantage of their free wi-fi, but at least they have a playground...

New Project: A Simple Skirt

2011-04-06T21:45:00.008-04:00

-image from Dana at dana-made-it.com

I decided that while I'm doing the Ultimate Blog Challenge, I'll do another sewing project. Before I participated in the Sew Along for Japan, I hadn't actually sewed anything for a while. I finished a few projects on my embroidery machine here and there, but I hadn't actually sewn anything in...well, a while. Oh wait, I did sew a couple of key fobs, but those take about 2 seconds, so I don't feel like they really count.

I actually forgot how much I enjoyed sewing, so I started looking around for another project I could work on and blog about. I've been doing more craft blog hopping lately, and have been finding some wonderful blogs that offer a great deal of inspiration as well as tutorials. My first new favorite is Living with Punks, as I've mentioned before; this is where I participated in the Sew Along for Japan, and rediscovered my love of sewing. Just yesterday I was browsing around the interwebs and stumbled across Made. I don't even remember how I found it; I believe it was because a Facebook friend had "pinned" this particular tutorial and it struck my interest.

So, my next project is to make "A Simple Skirt" from Made for my Pookie. I figure with a tutorial this easy, I should be able to do it without a problem. Maybe I'll make her two. Or maybe I'll make one for myself. Maybe, just maybe, I'll even make matching skirts for my nieces. But then, both sisters-in-law also sew, so maybe they'll just make skirts for their own girls. ;)

I dug through my fabric stash this evening looking for some purple polka dot fabric (Michael Miller, I believe) that I know I have around here somewhere, but couldn't find. I unearthed this purple fabric from Joann's instead, so I'm going to go with it: Again, I apologize for my terrible pictures. Someday soon I'll get it together and take non-cellphone photos in actual daylight.

This fabric is perfect for a summer skirt. It's hard to tell in the pic, but it's a nice laverder-y purple color with hearts and swirls throughout. Supercute for a 4-year old!

I still need to wash the fabric, round up some elastic, and take measurements, but I'll get that taken care of and get started. Stay tuned for the finished product (or products!). Maybe I'll even (gasp!) use bias tape. We'll see how it goes.

Oh, and go check out what all Dana has to offer on her blog. There are tons of tutorials, patterns, recipes, and other great stuff!

My Cricut and Me: A Sort of Love Story

2011-04-05T21:33:00.011-04:00

The Cricut Digital Craft Cutters and I have a long history; I've been drooling over die cutters like the Cricut for years. When I first heard of a machine like this, I didn't even know what I might do with one, I just knew I wanted it. So, a few years pass, and I continue to drool. I think to myself, if I could justify the cost, actually have a use for one of these puppies, I'll treat myself. Believe it or not, I never came up with a good reason; at least not reason enough to spend around $200 - which is funny, because I've spent way more than that on other more silly things, go figure.

Fast forward to Christmas 2010. I was finishing up my grocery shopping at Kroger, when I came across a display near the front of the store, filled with Cricut Personal Cutters and various cartridges. The price of the machine was $99. "Hm", I said to myself, "that's not a bad price." I kept walking and went on with my day.

A month later, early January, I saw them again at Kroger, this time marked down to $65.99. I had never seen them priced that low. So I thought about it for a bit, but kept on walking. Again, I couldn't justify that purchase, even though it was a geat price. The next couple of times I was in the store, I kind of kept an eye out to see if they were maybe marked down any further, but I didn't see the display. I just figured they had sold them all, and went about my business.

Then, in February, I was again doing my weekly grocery shopping, when I randomly went down the "Seasonal"/Pet Food aisle. I'm not sure what drew me down that particular aisle, as I knew we didn't need dog food; maybe it was Providence. Anyway, there were a lot of Christmas leftovers, toys and various other things, marked with clearance price stickers. Lo and behold, there was the Cricut. The price? $35.99. That was it, my decision was made. There was NO WAY I could pass that up. I would find a purpose to use this machine. I would find a way to make it pay for itself. Afterall, I'm crafty, I could use die cuts. Plus, adhesive vinyl is all the rage in the crafty personalization world, right?

So I grabbed one. I couldn't wait to use it. No more drooling! Then a few days later I went back and picked up another one for my sister-in-law Katie, because I'm awesome that way.

Now, there was something else that had been stopping me from buying a Cricut for all those years: the fact that you couldn't do anything with it unless you had a Cricut cartridge. You couldn't use any of the fonts on your computer, or any other designs you already had. You could only use what was available from Cricut on their cartridges. Personally I found that to be a little stifling. I didn't want to be limited to the cartridge-based system, especially when the cartridges themselves start at around $45. This may be okay for some, but I don't want to spend that kind of money everytime I want a new design. Of course there are other die cutting machines that don't require any sort of cartridge, but where am I going to find one of those for $36?

So I did some more research, and found out that there is software you can buy (online) to enable your Cricut to use any font you have on your computer. Hurrah! I was sold.

I know there are ongoing lawsuits and issues between Provo Craft, the makers of Cricut products, and these other software companies, such as CraftEdge/Sure Cuts A Lot, but I feel like these companies have opened the doors for crafters everywhere to be a little more creative with their machines. I'm happy I have my little Cricut, but I'm also happy to have options.

If you have a Cricut machine, any of them, I highly recommend looking into Sure Cuts A Lot, while it's still available. You'll be amazed at what you can do with it!

Selling Your Handmade Goods on Etsy

2011-04-04T17:25:00.006-04:00

I first started selling on Etsy in May of 2007. My daughter had been born the previous September, and I was looking for ways to bring in more income. I was originally hoping to be able to start a business that would someday enable me to stay home with her - I'm still working on that. Now my Etsy shop has grown into more of a hobby. I love to create and explore new ideas. I love fabric, and I love being able to create something out of a yard of fabric that someone could actually use. I also love paper and have been playing around with papercrafting, so I'm not sure where that might take me!

I feel like I've been fairly successful with my little shop. Of course there are shops out there that that have had 100 times the sales that I've had, but my shop works for me. Here are a few things on selling on Etsy that I've learned over the past few years. Hopefully I can help someone out! Again, I'm by no means an expert; this is just what I've learned:

List or renew items daily - Keep your shop fresh, and your items to the top of searches – if I don’t list something new everyday, I’ll renew one or two things just to keep whatever item at the top of search results. Try it at different times of day – you never know when the right shopper might be looking for just what you’re offering.

Price items fairly - Pricing is kind of a double-edged sword in the crafting world. You want to have your prices low enough to attract buyers, but at the same time you want to make a profit. I have a tendency to keep my prices low, maybe a little too low, but it’s always at a point I’m comfortable with. You have to definitely make sure you have the expense of your materials covered, first of all – if you don’t have the cost of materials covered, you might as well stop right there. After that, you have to take into consideration the time it makes to create your product. Don’t undervalue your time and efforts! Here’s a geat article on how to price handmade goods by my crafty friend Becky.

It’s also important to note that you don’t have to under-price your items just because someone else on Etsy is selling something similar to yours. We all have different styles and different tastes, so a similar item in your competitor’s shop may not appeal to one person while an item in your shop does. And vice-versa.

Great Photos - I have to admit that I don’t always take the time to try and get nice photos for my listings. When I finish something for my shop, I’m generally so excited about it that I can’t wait to get it listed to see how fast it might sell. I’m funny that way. There are a few dark cell phone pics in my shop right now that I’m a bit ashamed of, so this is something I need to work on. Take a little extra time, use a real camera, make sure the lighting is decent, and take photos. The photo of your item IS the listing – if you don’t have a good photo representing your product, chances are it won’t sell.

Those are my tips for now. I may be throwing in a few more here and there as the month progresses, but I feel like these three things are the most important tips for successfully selling on Etsy. There are also tons of great articles and stories from super-successful sellers available right on Etsy. If you’re serious about your shop, I highly recommend checking out the Etsy Seller Handbook.

Now, go sell your crafty goodies! And let me know your shop links; I love checking out new shops.

Weekend Wrap Up - Crafting and Etsy

2011-04-03T22:20:00.006-04:00

Here it is, Sunday again. Tomorrow I have to face the world again and deal with Monday. I'm not excited about it. I'd much rather stay home and play with the kids and squeeze in some crafty-type things. But, who wouldn't?

This weekend was a pretty good weekend, as they go. I spent a lot of time with my two little ones, did some grocery shopping...oh yeah, and some crafting! As I posted yesterday, I finally finished that cute little t-shirt that will brighten a little Japanese girl's day. That took up more time that I originally intended, so I didn't get some other things done that I had planned for the weekend. But that's okay.

I did have some sales in my Etsy shop, which I love. The picture at the top is of three orders all ready to go. There's no greater feeling than waking up in the morning and seeing an email that a purchase has been made overnight. I don't mean that in a boastful way, but it's the truth. I love it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that someone likes my "stuff" enough to buy it for their very own.

If you've never shopped on Etsy, I highly recommend it. It's a marketplace for handmade items that has really taken off over the last two years. There are so many unique items, it's just mind-boggling. Just do some random searches; you never know what you might find. If you're a crafter, I highly recommend setting up a shop. It's so easy to do, and you'll definitely benefit from it. In fact, this week I'm going to work on a post or two to help out Etsy shop owners make the most of their shops. I'm not an expert by any means, but I've learned a thing or two over the past few years of selling on Etsy.

I also finished a few more checkbook covers and card wallets, so they'll be up in the shop as soon as I'm able to get a few good pictures. It seems like by the time I get around to having a photoshoot, it's too dark for good pictures. I need to work on that.

So, in the coming week, check back for some great Etsy tips and tricks, and more crafty projects! I think I'm really going to like this Blog Challenge; it's going to keep me motivated to not only keep up with blogging, but to finish some projects as well.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Sew Along for Japan - Complete!

2011-04-02T22:16:00.006-04:00

Finished! It only took 5 days instead of the 3 that were actually planned, but the important part is that it is done. I'm quite pleased with the way the shirt came out; it's almost like I'm not the one who did it. I was worried the entire time I was sewing the appliques on the shirt that I would sew the shirt together, or that somehow the sleeves would end up attached to the hem. Luckily, I didn't have a single issue!

This was the first time I've ever appliqued a shirt, or anything, without using my embroidery machine. I have to say, I have a much greater admiration of those crafters out there who applique with a regular sewing machine all the time. I'd gotten spoiled by just loading an applique pattern on to my trust embroidery machine, and letting it do all the work. My poor little sewing machine has been lonely for far too long.

So, this lovely little shirt will be on the way to Japan via California very soon. I'm working on another shirt exactly like this one for my 4-year old (Pookie), and she's very excited about it. I've been talking to her about how the Japanese people have had a terrible tragedy, and that I made this shirt to hopefully make a little Japanese girl smile. I want Pookie to understand that we have to do what we can to help people in such situations...I want her to have a giving heart.

Anyway, I wanted to give yet another shout-out to Susan over at Living with Punks for putting this Sew Along together, and to Chelsea from Pink Fig Boutique for creating such a cute shirt! Be sure to check out all of the awesome shirts the many participants have made. There's even a boy version!

And now, a few more pics of my most awesome applique t-shirt ever:

Sew Along Update - Slacker City and Toulose-Lautrec

2011-04-01T17:32:00.004-04:00

So, now I'm even further behind on the Sew Along for Japan; I didn't finish my t-shirts last night as I had intended. But, I do have a good excuse: the hubs and I went to the High Museum of Art to see the Toulose-Lautrec exhibit (loved it!). My plan now is to work on the shirts tonight and hopefully get good pics and link up with the rest of the super-cool shirts tomorrow. All of the participants have done such a geat job, go check them out!

I've also made another possibly crazy decision: I've joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge for the month of April. The goal is to write 30 posts for the month of April. I'm hoping to drive more traffic to this blog, my Facebook page, and Twitter. So we'll see what happens. This really is going to be a challenge for me, especially on weekends. Weekends are my time for relaxation; some Saturdays I don't even get out of my pajamas. But with working a full time job and managing a family of four, I feel like I deserve those Pajama Saturdays.

So, stay tuned and check back with me over the next month, and we'll see what I can get into. My goal is to write about my crafting, but other things may slip in from time to time. You just never know!

Sew Along Day 2 - Sewing By Hand

2011-03-31T10:55:00.006-04:00

Hand sewing is hard! It's been a long time since I've actually done any needlework other than a few stitches here and there. With Day 2 of the Sew Along for Japan, I was sitting for almost 2 hours with needle and thread working on these sweet little faces:

The felt for the hair was sewn by machine, but everything else was all hand stitching. I was tempted to give up on the eyelashes and just draw them on with my trusty black Sharpie, but I stuck with it! It is for a good cause afterall. I also doubled up on the stitching for the smiles; I was using a really pale pink thread, and I wanted the mouths to show up a little more.

(Sorry about the picture quality - it was 11pm and I was ready for bed. One of these days I'll get my photo/light box setup and be able to take nice pictures no matter what time of day. But, getting that thing set up is kind of like map folding, and I'm no good at folding maps.)

So, I'm still a day behind everyone else participating in the Sew Along, but that's okay. I was hoping to get caught up last night, but those little boogers pictured above took longer than I anticipated.

Tonight will be the last part of the sewing - everything will be sewn onto the t-shirts, and I'll be finished, hurrah! Check back tomorrow...

Sew Along for Japan Progress!

2011-03-30T15:17:00.006-04:00

In my last post I mentioned I was joining in the Sew Along for Japan over on Living with Punks. It started on Monday, but of course that day turned out to be super crazy and I didn't get the 'Day 1' part finished (or even started). So, I'm a day behind!

Anyway, last night after the kids (finally!) went to bed, I got to work. Here's my progress so far:

My 4-year old, Pookie, picked out the fabrics; I think she did a great job! She gave her input on the hair colors as well, but by the time we got to the felt section at Joann's, she was a bit distracted ("Look, tiny hats!"). So, we quickly agreed on gold and brown.

Tonight comes the sewing part; I'm not sure if Pookie will be involved in that part or not. I may not be able to get anything done again until both kids are in bed...oh the life of a crafty mom. :)

Check back tomorrow to see more progress! And it's not too late to join in on the Sew Along - Go here for more details, and the steps up to this point. There's also a Giveaway for everyone who participates and links up.

Help brighten a Japanese child's day by making a super-cute shirt.

Sew Along - For Japan

2011-03-26T14:57:00.002-04:00

The other day I stumbled across what has turned out to be my new favorite blog: Living with Punks. There are so many crafty tutorials and projects and fun things posted, I'm still reading through it. Love it!

Most recently, Susan at Living with Punks (blogger, mom, crafter, sewing maven-extraordinaire) posted an Applique T-Shirt Sew Along to benefit the children of Japan. I thought this was a super idea as I've been trying to come up with a good way to help the country that is reeling from that terrible Tsunami. The patterns for the appliques are provided at no cost by Chelsea from Pink Fig, you just have to supply the materials

We see so many terrible images of the devastation, but what we see isn't even the half of it. These people have lost everything. I mean, everything. Can you imagine?

So, I decided to join in on this Sew Along and make a few of the super-cute t-shirts that will be sent to the children of Japan. We may not speak the same language, but at least maybe they'll be able to smile at the thoughtfulness of others around the world.

Go here for the details on how to join the Sew Along and to download the pattern.

The Shop is Open!

2011-03-16T16:56:00.004-04:00

Come in, stop by, take a look! We have some great new goodies - checkbook covers - already posted, and there's more to come! New items will be posted throughout the rest of March.

And to celebrate the Grand Re-Opening, everything is on sale! Enjoy the lower sale/introductory prices through March 31st!

You might want to join the Sugar Plum Delights Facebook page too - you never know when an extra discount code might show up!

Kirkwood Spring Fling

2011-03-02T16:36:00.010-05:00

The 9th Annual Kirkwood Spring Fling is Saturday May 14th! Here are some of the things you'll find in our booth, if accepted:

Hope to see you there!!

Don't Call it a Comeback...

2011-03-02T16:06:00.002-05:00

...I've been here for years.

No really, I'm getting ready to fire up the crafting machine again, hurray! I know its been a long time, but the end of 2009 just became incredibly overwhelming for me, and I took a much needed break. What started out to be a "short" break turned out to be over a year...but I never lost the desire to sew and embroider and do the things I love.

So, here we are. For 2011 I have a lot of fun things planned: I recently invested in a Cricut and will be adding personalized vinyl items to my line! There will be lots of fun new items, as well as the old favorites.

Stay tuned for more details!

Crayon Rolls, Key Fobs, and Lunch Totes, Oh My!

2009-12-09T15:49:00.005-05:00

Wow. It’s December. Christmas time. The most wonderful time of the year. I seriously don’t know what happened to the last 3 months! Well, I shouldn’t really say that; I do know what happened to the last 3 months. I have been super-duper busy! And that’s definitely a good thing.
So, what have I been working on, you ask? First, lunch totes. Moms are discovering that personalized lunch bags make excellent party favors. I had two large orders of them that were used as favor bags, with lots of goodies stuffed inside for the party guests. Ages have ranged from 1 to 10, and then some! I introduce more designs whenever I can, and of course I’m always open to suggestions. The most popular designs have been the train (new!) for boys, and daisies for girls. I’ve started using a new kind of bag as well. They’re the same size as the bags I offered before, only now I have more colors (yay!) and there’s a pocket on the front of the bag. So cute!

What else have I been working on? Key fobs, key fobs, and more key fobs. I’m still working to complete a very, very large order (for me) of personalized key fobs, both wristlet size with a full name, and a mini-size with one initial. Key fobs are one of my favorite things; I just think they’re so much fun. Everyone should have one (hint hint). I was also very excited to make a new discovery when I was searching for a new webbing supplier. Glitter! I’m now offering Glitter Key Fobs, in either size, in pink, blue, silver, and gold. I haven’t even had time to get these up in the shop yet, but look for them soon. If you just can’t wait for them to appear in the shop, shoot me an email!

And last, but certainly not least, crayon rolls! I had a special order for Christmas crayon rolls, and we decided to use Riley Blake’s ‘Be Merry’ Fabrics. They are so freaking adorable! With it now being so close to Christmas and with me being so swamped, I don’t think we’ll see these in the shop. But you never know…

So that’s what’s been going on. The shop is looking kind of bare at the moment, since I’ve been so busy, but if you’re looking for something, just let me know!

DEADLINES: For custom/personalized items, the last day to order for guranteed Christmas delivery is this Friday, December 11. For non-personalized items, the last day to order for guaranteed Christmas delivery is Wednesday December 16. If you don’t have a deadline, order away!

CURRENT TURNAROUND TIME is 7-10 business days. Please be patient! I appreciate your business, and thanks for reading.

Rings & Things

2009-10-09T15:35:00.009-04:00

Earlier this week I didn't have much going on for a few minutes, so I started thinking of all the crafty-type supplies I have in my stash. Some haven't seen the light of day in a while, so it was either destash them in my other etsy shop, or actually use them to make something. So, I produced some cute little button rings!

These are a lot of fun to make and to wear, so I'm going to be making some more of them, until I run out of rings. Anything in particular you'd like to see? Check my shop for more cute designs coming soon!

Since it's October, I feel like I have to mention that it's Breast Cancer awareness month. Last month I was trying to think of ways I could contribute to finding a cure by using my crafts. I heard a coworker talking about how is wife was going to be participating in the 3-Day, and was trying to come up with ways to raise money. He said they were doing some events such as a pancake breakfast to raise funds, and were looking for things to raffle. A ha! I thought. Fortunately I had one more pink market tote in my stash, and this tote is now going to be raffled off to raise money for the fight.

Please, whether or not you know someone with cancer, do what you can to help find the cure. There are many ways to help.

PS: I'm available for hand modeling. :-)

Feature: Etsy Treasury!

2009-10-08T11:49:00.003-04:00

I love browsing through Etsy Treasuries, and today my little monogrammed keychains were featured! Check it out here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=86547

More updates to come!

Trick or Treat!

2009-09-22T16:48:00.006-04:00

October is almost here, and that means it's time for Halloween! Autumn is my favorite season, and I love Halloween: the candy, the costumes, the smell of candy apples.. Halloween wouldn't be the same if it wasn't in the fall, in my opinion. I'm still trying to decide what costumes my kids should wear this year. This is the first year I'll have two little ones to dress up, so I want it to be good! I don't know yet if I'll be making something or not. Last year my daughter was Little Red Riding Hood in an outfit made by me, and the year before that she was a bumblee, also constructed by me. Do I have to keep making her costumes now that I've done it two years in a row? We'll see what we come up with...

I do know one thing, my daughter is set for a Trick or Treating bag! Every kid needs an awesome bag/bucket/receptacle for all of the goodies and treats they'll be getting! I personally think that all kids should have something with at least their initial on it, especially if they have siblings. I remember many fights with my brother when I was a kid over whose plastic pumpkin was whose. Of course I have a solution!

Avoid the fights, the bickering, the whining with these emboidered treat bags! Available with either just an initial, or the initial and name of your child as well as the super-cute ghost, and topped off with ribbon! These bags are really sturdy (think reusable grocery bags) so they'll last for Halloweens to come, and hold lots of loot. For more information, check them out in my shop.

October also means that my coworkers will be spending more time hanging out at my desk; every October I keep a treat basket on my desk stocked to the brim. Candy = happy workers.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Holy Lunch Bags, Bat Man!

2009-09-15T17:24:00.004-04:00

Has it really been over a month since I've blogged? There goes my mid-year resolution to blog regularly. Since you've last tuned in, I've been a busy girl. I had a large order of lunch bags to embroider (34 total, whew!), and I'm finally completely finished with them. Talk about a sigh of relief. So now it's time for clean-up, and to get ready for the holidays.

I keep thinking of fun things to make, and hopefully I'll be able to make them all soon!

Weekend Wrap-Up: Robots and Princesses Oh My!

2009-08-04T16:54:00.007-04:00

I actually had a pretty productive weekend, and that makes me happy. A friend of mine is having a Wall-E birthday party for her soon-to-be 4 year old, and that got me to thinking about robots. I already have the adorable Michael Miller "Robots" fabric that turns into such cool crayon rolls, but what other robot-type things could I do? So I did a little research while Daddy had the kids on Sunday, and this is what I came up with:

Aren't they fun? I fell in love with them as soon as I saw the design (thanks Embroidery Library!). I only had a chance to make two of them, but there are 6 of them in the set. I can't wait to make a small army! They measure about 4 inches tall, so I'm thinking they would be awesome party favors. I promised a set to a friend of mine who is having a baby boy; the nursery theme is space and robots. Perfect! Anyway, I just had to gush a little bit. They'll be doing the robot into the shop soon!

I also decided that it was time for a new Princess bib design. Again, did a little research, and this is what I found:

I think it's way cuter than the previous design; a little more modern, maybe? This bib is in the shop now. Personalization is available!

So that's what I've been working on. I just had a large order for personalized lunch totes which I'm very excited about, so that will be keeping me busy over the next few weeks. But don't worry, I also have some other ideas I'll be working on. I'm also trying to get the super-cute monster pillows up in the shop soon, as well as the tissue cases. Maybe a few other things? Who knows!

New! Feature Friday...

2009-07-31T13:25:00.010-04:00

I've decided to start something new here on the ol' blog: Feature Friday! Every Friday (hopefully) I'll choose 4 products/sellers from Etsy and feature something from their shop. Fun, isn't it? I haven't decided if I'm going to have a theme every week or not, so we'll see. This week I just picked items from my Favorite Sellers' shops. Check them out!

1. bealoo, Fairy Collection

2. FabricSupplies: Wendy Slotbloom, Pond Life Stripe in Pink Lily Pond Fabric

3. QueenvannaCreations: Perpetual Wooden Block Calendar - Sweet Birdies and Houses

4. SarahJaneStudios: Read With Me - Blue

New! Zippered Tissue Cases

2009-07-29T14:39:00.006-04:00

If anyone has been keeping up, you'll know that I love "in-the-hoop" embroidery projects. "In-the-Hoop" projects, for those unfamiliar with machine embroidery, means that the design is sewn completely (or almost) by the machine. I love this. Anything that I can do quicker and easier I totally go for. So, when I saw this design by GG Designs Embroidery, I got it immediately. I finally had a chance to stitch it out this morning, and voila! Love!

I can see making tons of these things, they're so useful. Not only are they great for tissues, but you can put in makeup, cell phones (it's a bit snug for an iPhone), iPods, personal items....anything!

Guess what my kids' daycare teachers are getting for Christmas?

I only have one made up so far, but plan on doing many more and having them available in the shop. If you just can't wait and need one immediately, just let me know.

Things are a-changin'...

2009-07-28T14:48:00.006-04:00

Look a little different around here? With the re-opening of the Sugar Plum Delights Etsy shop, I decided to do a little updating. I added a new background to the blog, changed a few things on the sidebar, added some things...just general mid-summer cleaning, I guess. I was going to add a widget for Twitter, but I can't seem to get anything to work for it. Suggestions?

I also made the decision today to close down my website. I haven't had time to work on it, and it wasn't getting much traffic anyway. So, I decided to stick with free(ish) things like Etsy, Blogger, Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook. My next project is to update my Flickr page, possibly by the end of the week.

Other than that, there hasn't been too much happening in Sugar Plum Land. I work on new crafty things to add to the shop when I have a chance, which doesn't happen often with an almost-three-year-old and a three-month old! But be sure to check back though, and see what might be new!

And, don't forget that I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on everything in the shop until July 31st! Don't wait!

Mini Market Totes!

2009-07-23T17:32:00.007-04:00

Get them while they're hot! I'm taking orders for the mini version of the hugely popular Market Totes! They do not have lids so it's incredibly handy to just toss stuff in there. My daughter used one as an Easter basket this year, and she loved it. She still carries it around with toys and who knows what else in there. I'm sure there are goldfish crackers stuffed in the inside zipper pocket.

For Halloween this year, I'm going to personalize a black one for her to use while trick-or-treating. How cute would that be? I'll have to play with designs, but I'm thinking of adding a pumpkin or a witch along with her name.

This is a slightly different style than what's pictured above, but still basically the same. They collapse flat for easy storage when not in use.

Colors available are: Black, brown, light pink, hot pink, royal blue, red, yellow, Kelly green, purple, royal purple (think LSU purple), orange, turquoise, lime, and navy

Please let me know as soon as possible if you're interested! They're going fast!

The price on the mini's is $15. Personalization included! Larger totes are also available; just email me for more info!

Grand Re-Opening Today! SALE!

2009-07-13T16:22:00.005-04:00

We're back! Stop by the shop and see what's new! I'll be adding new items throughout the week this week, so be sure to check back every day! To celebrate the re-opening of the shop I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on all items! Enjoy the free shipping until July 31st.

Looking for something specific? Please don't hesitate to contact me! I love to do custom orders...

Coming Soon!

2009-07-09T14:43:00.005-04:00

We'll be back soon, I promise! The last 6 months have flown by and lots has happened, but we're gearing up to get the shop open again ASAP! There will be new crayon rolls, new totes, keychains, bibs and burps, and lots of other fun stuff! Something new that's a personal favorite is...Monster Pillows!

These are the cutest things, and kids just love them. They can even be personalized, if you wish! I'm also working on Crayon Roll Party Packs, Birthday Party Packs, and Craft Kits of various sorts.

So, stay tuned, and be on the lookout for our Grand Re-Opening, happening soon! There may even be a sale...you never know!

Here's what I have been working on while the shop has been closed:

My little man, born April 16. Gush!

Where Does the Time Go...

2009-03-31T15:39:00.002-04:00

It's almost April already, I cannot believe it. My second child will be making his appearance on April 16th, so that's my excuse for not doing much so far this year. :-) I still haven't gotten the Etsy shop up and running again, but I have great plans. I'm hoping to have a productive maternity leave, so we'll see what happens!

We do have one event scheduled for the spring, and that is the Kirkwood Spring Fling on Saturday May 16th. Come out and see us! There are always a lot of great vendors, lots of things for the kids to do, great food, and great music. We've done this festival for a few years now, and have had a fun time at each and every one. Don't miss it! We will also be debuting a few new products at this one...what fun! If you're not local, keep an eye out here for new product announcements!

The official website is up and running, and there are products listed. There will be more coming soon! If you're looking for something you've purchased in the past, just email me and let me know.

That's it for now! I'll try to get better about posting updates in between the day job, the toddler, and napping when I can.

Baby Legs!

2009-01-14T14:51:00.005-05:00

New! BabyLegs (r) are now available on the website! There are so many styles available that I haven't gotten them all up yet, but I'm working on it! Most of them are there now, and the rest will be added in the next few days.

BabyLegs are wonderful for babies and toddlers. They have so many uses! My own daughter loves them; she's worn them since she was just a baby, and now she's an active toddler. Here she is sporting the yellow and black stripes as part of her Bee Halloween costume in '07:

They're a perfect match for tutu's and pettiskirts, too! Okay, enough of the selling. Check out my site for more info!

In other news, I'm diligently working on the website whenever I have a chance, and will soon be adding more of my handmade items, such as crayon rolls. Custom orders through the site will also be available soon, and will include personalized bibs and burp cloths, as well as personalized crayon rolls.

Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-07T11:46:00.003-05:00

I know it's been a while since this has been updated, but I've had a lot going on in life lately! No worries, everything will be back up and running very soon, with some great new products and other fun things to come!

2009 will be a great year!

Get Out and VOTE!

2008-11-04T12:24:00.004-05:00

Just do it! Go vote!

Upcoming Shows

2008-11-03T16:57:00.006-05:00

Well, we finally have a few things nailed down for the Holiday Season. Check out the 'Upcoming Events' section over to the right to see where you can find us live and in person! Our first market is this very Saturday, Nov. 8th at Mary Lin Elementary in Candler Park (intown Atlanta). Come out to see us! We would love to meet you and show off our latest goodies. Katie has been knitting up a storm and turning out super-cute baby hats and booties. I watched her knit a hat yesterday, and it was adorable! If I had thought about it, I would have snapped an action shot. Next time! As for me, I've been working on crayon rolls galore, and am hoping to actually get at least 2 tutus made for Saturday. No promises, but I'll do my best! If you're interested in a tutu, let me know, and I'll make one up especially for you.

I also have to show off Pookie's Halloween costume, since I'm proud to say it was made entirely by me. :-) I was happy with how it turned out...it was my first-ever attempt at clothing of any sort! Thank goodness for Google, is all I have to say.

Until next time...

What happened to September?

2008-10-20T11:45:00.006-04:00

Okay, okay, I know I'm LONG overdue to post, and I apologize sincerely. The last couple of months have been a blur, for some reason! But there is good news: We'll be expecting our second child in April! Hurray! So, that's the main reason I've been absent; I've just been exhausted with this pregnancy. I'm not sure what happened to September, other than I spent a lot of it napping whenever I could.

ANYway, Katie and I are working on our Holiday show stops, and that's the main reason for this post. If you need to see more of our work, for a submitted application, curiosity, whatever, you can simply click here to check out the gallery on Flickr. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

I'll include a few pics here, just for fun, and to prove that I haven't just been sleeping for the last little while. I've been working here and there! :-)

I'm here, really...

2008-08-19T16:51:00.002-04:00

I have been so engrossed in the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer that I haven't been doing much besides reading these four giant books. They're huge! But I've finally finished all of them, and despite feeling a little empty because of not being able to read more about Edward and Bella, I'll be getting back to work! More monsters, more crayon rolls, more covered button goodness, more everything is on it's way! I promise! If you like the little green monsters/aliens, you'll also love what else I have coming...wait and see!

Attack of the Fuzzy Green Monsters...And Twilight

2008-08-11T16:01:00.005-04:00

If you can't handle incredible cuteness, you better stop reading now. I know I've mentioned my newfound love of "in-the-hoop" embroidery projects before, so this will be no surprise: Monsters! Made on my embroidery machine!

I can't decide if they're monsters or aliens, but either way, I think they're simply adorable. So far I've only made them in green, but I just bought some wonderfully purple fuzzy fleece and cannot wait until that fleece turns into monsters. There's also some hot pink faux fur monsters in the works, too. Ah, if I only had more time. The little green guys are up in the shop now.

Speaking of more time, I've recently been spending time doing something I used to do quite often: Reading books. Since marriage, baby, work, and small (tiny) business all came into my life, reading has been saved for vacation time. I almost feel guilty now, when I try and read a book...I feel like I should be doing something else. That was until I finally broke down and bought Twilight. I could not stop reading this book. Then, when I finished that one, I went out the next day and bought the next book in the series, New Moon. I just started this one, and I can't wait until I can pick it up again. I'm already plotting how I can get my work done AND read at the same time. How bad is that? I guess you can officially call me a Twilight Addict.

Oh, and Team Edward all the way. Seriously. How could you NOT fall in love with this fictional vampire?

Things I've Learned About Machine Embroidery

2008-07-31T10:26:00.002-04:00

I have to admit I'm still new to machine embroidery. I have an awesome machine that I purchased back in February, but I still haven't figured out all of the ins and outs and what all it can do. I have a great program that I'm also still learning how to use. I absolutely love embroidering and creating things, it's such a great sense of accomplishment when something absolutely adorable comes out of my machine. In all of this, one thing I've learned is the most basic thing that we all learn in Kindergarten:

FOLLOW DIRECTIONS

You would think that it would be a given, especially when you're using a machine that cost a pretty penny...even more so when that pretty penny was your very own.

So, when you're making a super-cute "in-the-hoop" project on your embroidery machine, follow the directions. Don't get ribbons caught in the presser foot. It could be ugly. :-)

They're Back!

2008-07-29T16:03:00.005-04:00

When I first started making things, I made fun crayon rolls. A few of them anyway...I never really made very many, but I had planned to make at least a million. Funny how plans change and never really come to fruition! But, at long last, Crayon Rolls are back at Sugar Plum Delights!

I'm making them a little smaller now, because do you really need more than 8 crayons when you're on the go? The process has also been streamlined a bit, so I can crank them out a little quicker, and I love that. They're available with or without personalization, but why not go for it and add a name? These would be excellent party favors for your kids' birthday parties. Each child can have their very own, with their name on it! Have a party theme? Rolls can be made to match! If you have a special request, please email me, and I'll see what I can do.

These three rolls are available now in the shop! I also have another super-cool crayon keeper up my sleeve, but for girls only (sorry guys). I should have that one available within a week or so.

I've been very happily busy with Monogrammed Badge Reels lately, so I haven't had a chance to work on some other new stuff I'm planning, but don't worry, it'll be here soon!

Happy crafting!

Catching Up...

2008-07-24T16:14:00.005-04:00

Wow, has it been a week since I've posted? Goodness gracious, sorry to leave you all hanging out there! I've been fairly busy with some custom orders and requests, and have finally finished up most all of it. I think I only have one more thing to complete, then I can take a breather. Whew! And did I take pictures of any of these things to show off to the masses? Of course not! Aside from orders, I've been working on Fall and Holiday craft shows, and figuring out what we might want to consider. I've never been good at planning, and have a tendency to forget things (who me?), so I figure if I get a jump on it and keep the list in the back of my mind, I might be okay.

Imagine this keychain multiplied by 20. That's what's been keeping me (happily) busy! RLAG stands for "Run Like A Girl", a book by Kathy Vick, to be released in 2009.

While I was in the middle of my pile of custom keychains (Thanks Kathy!), my sister-in-law/partner-in-crime Katie has opened up an Etsy shop of her very own, Happy 2 Knit. She's been knitting up a storm, and is really creating some super-cute knitted goodness! You'll find it hard to resist the things in her shop, but make sure you stop by. She will be more than happy to accept custom orders, too.

I think the finger puppets may be my favorite. They're just adorable.

I have a 3-day weekend this weekend, and that is making me very happy. I will, hopefully, finally be able to work on some things I've wanted to do for a while, but just haven't gotten around to yet. Or, I may just stay in my jammies all day and watch silly movies. You just never know what may happen at Sugar Plum Central...

Buttons, Buttons, Buttons...and Ribbon, too

2008-07-16T11:52:00.008-04:00

I've gone crazy for covered buttons. Really. I dream about them. I think all day of things I could make with them when I get home. It's official, I'm Button Crazy. The good thing is, I have piles and piles of different size buttons, and I'm pretty sure even more are coming! Yay! So far, as you've seen, I've created the Super-Fun Covered Button Bracelets. I think that might have to be the official name for them. I'm currently waiting on more bracelets to arrive so I can make more of them and offer them at wholesale prices to local shops and boutiques. We're movin' up! I've also made a few Awesome Covered Button Ponytail Holders:Notice anything? This set is made to match the Chocolate and Cream Button Bracelet, also in the shop. These are so easy to make, I can watch TV while making them. What's next in Crazy Button-Land? Headbands, more badge reels, lots more pony-o's, a million more button bracelets, RINGS (that's right, I said rings), and Earrings! And whatever else I might think up.

Another obsession of mine seems to be ribbon. I have a ton of that as well, and collect it like some might collect stamps or matchbooks. I love using it, and have made lots of things with it, including Tag Blankets. Tag Blankets are one of the first things I started making when I first broke out my used sewing machine that I had bought 3 years before I actually used it. I made lots of Tag Blankets, out of adorable flannel fabrics, and they sold well for me, on Etsy and at local craft shows. Recently I received a note from Etsy Admin saying that they had removed my Tag Blanket listings, because they had been contacted by the Taggies company saying that anyone who was selling something similar to their product was in violation of their patent. Now, I love Etsy, and have respect for their policies, so I responded nicely saying I wouldn't post anything resembling a Taggies product again. However, I think Taggies is being ridiculous on this entire issue, and I will never buy any of their products. That's all I'm going to say about this, as it could get ugly. But, I wanted to let you all know why there are no longer Tag Blankets in my shop. If you're interested, please contact me.

Mid Summer Sale Starts Today!

2008-07-08T16:25:00.003-04:00

It's the middle of summer...it's hot, it's hot, it's hot. So, what better time to have a sale? Shop from the comfort of your air conditioned home or office (coffee shop?) and check out Sugar Plum Delights' Mid Summer Sale! Save up to $5 on select items now through July 15th!

Don't Miss Out!

Summer Mode

2008-07-01T11:00:00.005-04:00

I guess I've been in "Summer Mode" lately...I just haven't been doing too much, it seems! June flew by in an instant, and now here it is, July. I'm sure this month will go just as quickly. I am looking forward to this long July 4th weekend, however. I'm hoping to get caught up with my goodies. My long awaited shipment of fun stuff has still not arrived, but I'm expecting it any day now! In the meantime, I can introduce something new and fun:

Button Bracelets! Isn't it superbly adorable? I just received the supplies yesterday, so I sat right down last night after Pookie's bedtime and made one up. When I ordered the supplies, I didn't realize the buttons were so tiny! But it worked out, and I think it turned out great. What do you think? I'm going to get some more made up as soon as I can, and get them listed in the shop asap. The bracelet measures 7 inches long, and the little buttons are about 1/2 inch in diameter. I'll have to get a pic of it on my wrist, it lays quite nicely!

Who loves Dollar Tree? I know I do..I love to go in there and poke around. I always come out with something. Thanks to a recent tip from my friends at sewforum.com, I found some little cooler lunch bags for, you guessed it, only $1! They're great for embroidering, and perfect for kids..if they get messed up, no biggy, it's only $1 to get another one! So I bought a few of each of the different colors they had - red, green, pink and blue. I finally got around to embroidering one for Pookie, and I think it turned out very nice.

It puckered a little bit, but I can't really expect too much for a buck. Pookie LOVES carrying this thing around. We put her sippy cup in it and took it to Grammy and Pops' this past weekend. I should have jumped on these a bit sooner, as they would have been perfect for kids to take to day camps and VBS and so on. They still might make an appearance in the shop, I haven't fully decided yet.

And last, but certainly not least, I finally produced something I've been wanting to do for a while:

A Fabric Pony-O! The pic here isn't the best, as I did it myself, obviously, but you can still get the idea. It's cute brown and white polka dot fabric with a little white daisy in the middle. These also will be popping up in the shop once I get a few more made (when that elusive shipment comes in). And of course there will be some available that are monogrammed. You knew that one was coming!

Okay, I guess I have been doing a few things here and there, I just feel like I should have more to update! But, as always, stay tuned for more to come! I still have more fun stuff in the works!

Badge Reels, and More Badge Reels

2008-06-18T15:13:00.007-04:00

I'm having fun with these, and they seem to be popular! I haven't even put them (aside from the PBR one) in the shop yet because I'm waiting on a large order of blanks. Here are a few I've done recently:

The bottle cap idea came while I was trying to figure out what to do with the TON of beer bottle caps my husband has saved for the past...oh I don't know, at least 5 years. I was working on embroidered badge reels at the time, and kind of had a lightbulb pop up over my head. So, I don't know if there will be much interest, but I think it's fun! It's currently listed in my alter-ego Etsy shop, MooreCrafty. Look for magnets to be making an appearance very soon!

Well we just have to have a UGA badge reel, right? This was a request not only from my friend Sara, but from another coworker as well.

This was a special order from yet another coworker. These girls are loving these things! And I love them. :-)

I know the badge reels don't really fit into the Babies and Kids theme of Sugar Plum Delights, but we're here for mommies and daddies, too. Plus I think they're a lot of fun!

I also had a special order for "Future (insert occupation) " bibs, and I really liked the way they turned out! These will be making an appearance in the shop very soon, just in case anyone else needs them!

So, these things should keep you happy for now. But just know that there are many many more fun things coming soon! I'm just waiting for some shipments to come in...and I can't wait!

Oh wait! I can't believe I almost forgot to mention this! Are you interested in making Embroidered Badge Reels on your own! I've recently published a How-To! "Make Your Own Embroidered Badge Reels", the tutorial, is now available in the shop! The instructions are very simple, there are lots of pictures, and even a source list! And it's cheap! I'll be putting together a "Starter Kit" to go with the tutorial very soon!

Update! Finally!

2008-06-11T17:13:00.004-04:00

I decided earlier today that I really needed to update my blog, so this afternoon I started typing. All of a sudden I had written over 800 words, and decided that it was WAY too long to post here, when basically all I was trying to say was that I bought myself a Cuttlebug. It ended up sounding like a column in a magazine, so I thought, what the hay? I'll submit to a magazine or two, and see what happens. You never know.

So, I bought a Cuttlebug! Isn't it cute?

I was looking for a quick and easy way to make nice, professional-looking hangtags for my products when I spotted this little dealie. It can do a lot of things, so I'm very excited about it. I might even try my hand at making cards, I haven't fully decided yet.

Anyway, June has been busy at Sugar Plum Central! I had a lovely vacation that was much needed, and now am back to work. I've been working on a few new things that will be unveiled later this month, hopefully. I'm very excited about them! Orders are coming in left and right for my Monogrammed Initial Key Fobs, and I introduced a new color, Lime Green. Love this one! I think it looks great with the blue thread, but I can do whatever color thread a customer may want.

I've also had orders for my badge reels from people at work. I'm waiting on a shipment of them, so I haven't posted them in the Etsy Shop just yet. But if you're interested, just let me know! Here's a batch I did last week:

They turned out great, even though the picture didn't, and I was told that the recipients loved them! I love hearing that my things make people happy.. :-) In case you can't tell, the pink and blue letters are on a brown background, on black clips.

So that's all for now. I'll try to post a little more regularly, and try to keep things interesting!

Quickie Post!

2008-06-03T17:12:00.004-04:00

I just wanted to do a quick post to let you all know that I'm back from vacation! We all had a wonderful time, and I'm very relaxed. I really needed that break! But now I'm ready to get back to work and back into the daily groove. In the meantime, enjoy this lovely photo of the beach at St. Simons Island, where we had the pleasure of staying for the last week..

Isn't it gorgeous? I can't wait to go back. Updates coming soon!

Off to the Beach!

2008-05-23T10:25:00.002-04:00

It's official! I'm on vacation, and I can't wait to get to the beach. We'll be heading out of town this evening, and it's not getting here fast enough!

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend! I'll be back the week of June 2nd.

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-05-19T17:24:00.005-04:00

Happy Monday! Thankfully, mine is almost over. I wanted to post a little earlier today, but was distracted by flickr, sewforum, various Yahoo groups...oh yeah, and I did do a little work, too.

The Kirkwood Spring Fling on Saturday was fabulous! The weather was beautiful, although a little windy, but not too hot, and not chilly. It was comfortable! Of course I completely forgot to take pictures of the booth setup, and I'm now kicking myself, as it looked really good! Thanks to all those who came out to see us, we appreciate you!

I debuted a couple of new products on Saturday. One, as was mentioned previously, was the Market Tote. I'm taking orders! Here is the example:

For more information, check it out in the shop. Like I said before, these are so cool! There has been lots of interest. I'm working on getting more colors and a collapsible tote that's easy to store! They'll be a little different, but it's the same principle.

I also made up some UGA Bibs and Burp Cloths. I didn't get a pic of the bib, but here's the burp:

If you're interested in products made with licensed fabric, email me. You won't see these in the Shop.

Sunday was very relaxing at Sugar Plum Central. Just did a little surfing and promotion while Pookie napped, and not much else. It was great! Now if Friday would only come faster.. I'll be on vacation next week, and I can't wait!

Kirkwood Spring Fling! Tomorrow!

2008-05-16T17:21:00.002-04:00

Come out and see us! We'll have lots of great stuff available, and there are 90 other vendors to shop with! There will be something for everyone...Great music, great food, fun things for kids, and even a Tour of Historic Homes! Don't miss it! Click on the pic for more information.

Market Totes!

2008-05-15T14:38:00.007-04:00

Okay, I am SUPER excited about these things, and I can't wait to get home and embroider one. Introducing, the Market Tote!

I thought I was going to have to wait a month until my order comes in, but today I was lucky enough to find a local source for these puppies. Hurrah! I stocked up on green, pictured above, and will also have red and blue available. And now for the best news, if you're in the Atlanta area, I'll have these at the Kirkwood Festival this weekend! Of course if you want them personalized, you'll have to wait a few days, as I won't have my machine at the festival. If you simply can't wait until Saturday to place your order, email me.

Anyway, here are a few details about the totes: They measure 16.5 in L x 11 in W x 9.5 in H. Includes a zippered top and a zippered pocket on the back. Cover is removable from frame, but not machine washable, unfortunately. Wipe with damp cloth. Three-letter monograms available, or one name.

Yay for exciting lunchtime finds!

Busy, Busy, Busy (again)

2008-05-14T11:09:00.005-04:00

It seems like whenever I have a festival or market coming up, the week prior is super-hectic. I do this to myself, as I am an Extreme Procrastinator. Always have been, most likely always will be. There doesn't seeem to be anything I can do about it, and I've learned to live with it. I'm comfortable! So, in my mad rush to get more things finished for Saturday's Kirkwood Spring Fling, I've produced some cool stuff! Or at least I think it's cool. Of course, it is only Wednesday, so that means three more nights of production...more stuff to come!

Yesterday, since it was dead at the day job, I decided to take a half day to work on some goodies. I embroidered a nice pile of key fobs, and just have to add the hardware. Ever wonder what a stack of unfinished key fobs looks like? Here you go:

I was able to do 12 pieces per hooping, so I was super-impressed with myself. Those who do machine embroidery, you know what I'm talking about. :-)

Also did a couple of bibs last night with a new theme. Introducing...Miss Monkey!

Isn't she adorable? More designs featuring Miss Monkey are on the way, and personalization is avaiable on bibs and burps. I haven't mastered t-shirts yet, but I'm working on it. These designs will not be available in the Shop until afer this weekend, but if you simply cannot wait, just email me! And if you're in the Atlanta area, come out and see us at Kirkwood!

I'll try to update again before Saturday with more new stuff.

Promos!

2008-05-07T12:06:00.005-04:00

close up.
Originally uploaded by queenvanna creations

----------------------------------------------

I know I mentioned doing my own clothespin promos in a previous post, but I wanted a lot of them, and I wanted them rather quickly, so I ordered these from QueenVanna Creations! Aren't they fabulous? There was no way I could have produced 100 of these babies in 2 days, which is what she did! Plus hers are 1000 times better than the ones I did, I can tell just from the pics! I can't wait to get them in the mail. So, if you come out and see us at Kirkwood, or make a purchase from our Etsy Shop, you may just get one of these cuties!

The Weekend Wrap Up

2008-05-06T11:13:00.007-04:00

I meant to do this yesterday, but it got a little busy at blog central (work). So Tuesdays are okay for weekend updates, right?

Here's what I did on Friday night:

These were done in last minute preparations for the Sketchworks Art Mart that was on Saturday. Look for these items in the shop soon!

So how did it go, you ask? Well the weather did not cooperate, so we didn't get as many people in as we would have liked. We still had fun, though, and we did sell some things to other vendors! And of course we bought some things, too. It was so nice to meet other Etsy sellers and to see their goods in person. Hopefully we'll be able to join in another Sketchworks Art Mart later this fall. (By the way, I think the "Boob Man" bib is my favorite!)

Now we're getting ready for the Kirkwood Spring Fling on May 17th. Be sure to come out and see us! I'll be debuting a couple of new designs, which you will see here first, of course, and all of the things you've seen so far will be there too. Here's a sneak preview of our setup, from the Art Mart:

Hi Katie!

And we might even have cookies again, courtesy of Katie's wonderful hubby (they were so yummy!).

I had been working hard to get lots of stuff made for the Art Mart, so I've been taking a little break the last couple of days. Break's over! Back to the embroidery machine so I have more fun stuff for Kirkwood. Great stuff is coming!

Sketchworks Art Mart This Saturday!

2008-05-01T15:55:00.003-04:00

If you're in the Atlanta area, come check us out! More info below:

Come out to the Sketchworks ArtMart, this Saturday, May 3rd, from 11 AM to 5 PM.

Featured artists/crafters include:
-Sewphisticate: Paper goods as well as hand-forged metal accessories
-Graceful Babies, all the way from New York! Clothing and accessories for kids
-LeAnn Christian: Lampwork creations
-Studio Marcy: Glass focals and beads
-Jinkywink: Fun paper goods including invitations and cards
-Sugar Plum Delights: Handmade goodies for babies and kids, including embroidered items and custom tutus
-Knotty Sheep: Jewelry and accessories using the Chinese Knot technique
-Adripat: Knit and crocheted wearables and home goods
-TSI Photography: Beautiful photography
-Frillz, Art-to-Wear: Handmade silver jewelry and more

Get your Mother's Day shopping done all in one place with these wonderful handmade items! There's even a bake sale!

Sketchworks Theatre
3041 North Decatur Road
Scottdale, GA 30079

Also, be sure to check out Etsy.com if you haven't already, for even more handmade items from around the world. Lots of fun stuff!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-04-29T10:26:00.007-04:00

Most of this past weekend was spent getting ready for the Sketchworks Art Mart on Saturday, and I feel like I was pretty productive. Saturday was not productive, however, in that respect, but it was still a fun day. We went to the Inman Park Festival, and it was great! Bought a cute little dress for Pookie (which I forgot to take pics of) from hipkiddie and a matching hairclip from Poopadoop. I'll be sure to post pics of the model in her new outfit soon. I also got the requisite kettle corn...man I love that stuff. So we walked around and got all worn out, then pretty much napped the rest of the day. That Market is so huge, and there are so many fun things to see. The food prices were ridiculous though: $18 for 3 corn dogs and 2 lemonades. That's almost as bad as Turner Field! Anyway...

I had taken off work on Monday to do a few things, and I was happy with the result. My embroidery machine was working hard almost all day. I finished 2 burp cloths, and 5 or 6 bibs. Of course I didn't take any pics last night or this morning, so I'm waiting for my VP of Marketing & Promotion (aka; my hubby) to take some today while I'm at work. Lots of cute stuff!

**EDIT** Pictures!
Here are the bib designs I was working on yesterday...Aren't they cute?

I was doing a bit of Etsy shopping (Etsy-ing?) last week and stumbled on this fabric, and I had to have it:

It's from Luminous Threads, and she has a ton of wonderful fabrics! I'm loving the Heather Ross stuff right now, so there may be some goldfish and/or bicycle fabric in my future. In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out what to do with my new gnome fabric. Suggestions?