My First Blog Hop

I am joining my first blog hop ever...  so excited.  I am going to Dare to Dresden.

This is hosted by Mdm Samm at !Sew WE Quilt! blog.  I must admit that I have been admiring dresdens for quite some time (ever since I purchased the SU Dresden die about 4+ months ago) and I have been thinking and sifting through ideas on Pinterest for a while. 

When I saw this blog hop I knew this was the encouragement I needed to sign up, first for more ideas, second so I could actually make something instead of just thinking and dreaming about it. 

More info to come...  Wish me luck!!

Merry Christmas!

We wish you love, peace and joy

today and everyday!

From The Fipps Family

Oreo Truffles

Made Oreo truffles (aka Oreo balls) for Christmas Eve's Eve.  I had never made these before but had tried them when one of the interns in my office brought them during the summer.  OMG are these good!  I don't even want to think about the calorie count!  It's so difficult to just eat one or two or three!

I followed this recipe at Better Homes & Gardens, but the same recipe is available at many different websites. 

The recipe yielded 36 balls for me, I guess I made them a little bigger than one inch. I added red sprinkles and put them on a green dish.  They were a hit with the familia.  These were so good, I'd love to make them for different holidays with fun sprinkles. 

Another good, easy recipe to add to my file.  Try them, you will love them too!

Proud of MNHS band students

So it's the Saturday before Christmas and Micaela and I venture out to Stonebriar Mall in Frisco (about 10 minutes from our house).  Stonebriar is one of the largest malls in the Southwest.  I typically steer clear of the mall because the crowds are crazy and finding a parking space on a typical Saturday can be a challenge.  I had somethings I wanted to exchange (before the holiday)so we headed out and just hoped for the best

After searching for a parking space, we got one, parked and proceeded to hike to the entrance.  By chance the closest entrance was JCP.  This was not where we were headed but we were just glad to find a parking space and get in the building. 

We walk and walk, we can finally see the door and notice there are two young men playing christmas carols at the entrance.  It was nice listening to the music as we walked.  We start digging in my purse for money to put in the Salvation Army kettle.   As we got closer we noticed they were high school students.  When we got real close, I was elated to see they were from McKinney Boyd High School Band.  We made our little donation and took a picture.  So proud of these kids, I had never seen anyone do this... usually what you hear is the bell ringing.

Thanks for letting me brag about kids in my hometown, hope your holiday shopping is done!

Rosebud Set for Adalee

Made this set for a local customer.  I've made like four sets like this for the same person, it's her go to baby shower gift for baby girls.

This is available in my Etsy store.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Quilted Coasters

Made these stipple quilted coasters in the hoop on my embroidery machine.  These are so easy!  It takes  longer to cut fabric and batting than it does to do the actual sewing.  Literally five minutes to make each one!  This design is from Five Star Fonts. 

I made a bunch of these for gifts.  Christmas is just a few days away!!  Thanks for stopping by!

Dallas Arboretum Chihuly Exhibit

My parents and aunt & unlce were in town this week.  I took them to the Dallas Arboretum Chihuly Exhibit.  It was incredible. 

 

It was a cold and overcast day but here are a few of my favorite pictures.  Average age of these folks is 75, I hope I am that active when I am thier age, here they are in front of this incredible sculpture. 

 

This is my favorite picture because it looks like it's one continuous body of water but it's not. 

 

Two of my favorite three ladies in the world, my Mom and my Tia Lala.

 

A little more about the artist: 

Artist Dale Chihuly creates free-standing sculptures, large-scale artwork installations and drawings, which have been exhibited at museums, gardens, architectural environments and galleries throughout the world. Ninety-seven exhibitions in seven countries have presented Chihuly artworks during the last decade, which have been enjoyed by more than 10 million visitors.

Zippered Pouches

These are four different zippered pouches I have made in the last week or so.  A couple are orders, a couple gifts.  Wish I had taken a picture of individual ones to show details but I was in a hurry to get them delivered and in the mail. 

 

Thanks for stopping by!



Christmas Table Runner

I received this adorable table runner from my PTA Secret Sister. 

 

 

I love receiving handmade items.  I have this on our kitchen counter. Thanks for stopping by.

Christmas Swap going to Indiana

Here are the four items I made with the fabric I pictured on Friday.  I really like the way everything turned out.  

I started with the zippered bag, then the set of four coasters-- did stipple quilting on both.  I decided two things was not enough so I made the mug rug with fabrics from the group (more stipple quilting) and then when I started to arrange everything in the box there was a little more space so I quickly made the key fob (took a break from stipple quilting...lol).  I hope my swap partner enjoys these items as much as I enjoyed making them. 

The Red Snowflake and Beige Christmas Toss fabrics are from the 12 days of Christmas collection by Kate Spain and made by Moda. I love the colors and the patterns within the items like the Christmas tree and stocking. The Stripe and the Dot are Candy Cane Christmas by Stampin' Up!. I love how these two totally seperate collections coordinate. I had been saving these fabrics for special projects and the day to use them finally came!
My two favorite items are the zippered bag and the mug rug.  The zippered bag looks small in that collage but it's actually 7" wide and 4.5" deep. 

I tested the mug rug with one of my Lenox Butler's Pantry mugs and thought it looked good so I will have to make a mug rug for me.  

I've got to make a bunch of gifts in the coming weeks, I feel like I am off the ground and running- thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week. 

Apples for Teachers

One of my co-workers ordered a couple of little embroidered apple tea light covers for Christmas gifts.  This design is from Embroidery Garden, the apple is in their Fall Collection.   I made one of these at the begining of the school year for Micaela's teacher and I had forgotten how simple and cute they are. 

Here is the one for Mrs. Hill.  I used a red polkadot from my stash and a green print I picked up at The Quilt Asylum here in McKinney-- sadly I had to selvage to reference but I think it was Moda from last summer.

I used two different red fabric prints so they would not be the same.  This red looks like a ginham but isn't, I didn't have a selvage on this one but it was also from TQA. 

I am pleased with how these turned out, I hope the teachers enjoy having them on their desks.  Hope you are having a great Monday. 

Christmas Swap Sneak Peak

These are some of the fabrics I am using for the swap items I am making for the swap at Pink Stitches.  My partner is swaping with me so I've gotta be kinda discrete until she receives the package in the next week or so.

I love all of these fabrics and I have been holding on to them for a while.  The Red Snowflake and Beige Christmas Toss fabrics are from the 12 days of Christmas collection by Kate Spain and made by Moda. I love the colors and the patterns within the items like the Christmas tree and stocking.  The Stripe and the Dot are Candy Cane Christmas by Stampin' Up!. I love how these two totally seperate collections coordinate.  I had been saving these fabrics for special projects and the day to use them finally came!

I'll be posting the finished projects in the next few days so sit tight and thanks for stopping by!

Bloomers for Trinity

Just embrdoiered these bloomers for someone in San Antonio.  I wish I had had an embroidery machine when Micaela was a baby, her bloomers would have all been embroidered!

These are available in my Etsy store for $13 and available in any thread color combination.  More sizes coming soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

Master Gardener

Hallelujah!  I am done with my Master Gardener classroom training.  WooHoo!

This was a long twelve weeks of homework and quizzes but final exam and graduation was last week and I was so busy I forgot to post about it.  I am now officially an intern.  Now I have another 65 hours to do in volunteer work before I am certified but somehow that seems easier than all that classroom training! 

I have learned so much!  I am dying to get in the yard and start working.  I have so much I want to do!   I am also looking forward to sharing much of what I have learned in the green seminars I host in the community for work!   Thanks for letting me share and thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving Rainbow

Thanksgiving rainbow. Thanks be to God!

This appeared outside my in laws back door while we finished dessert.   Hope you have had a great Thanksgiving. 

Legally Blonde, the musical

Took Micaela to see Legally Blonde, the musical at McKinney Boyd High School last week.  It was really terrific.  We really did love it.  We pretended it was Broadway and got all dressed up. 

I thought it would be great fun because Elle Woods is like a Barbie doll with a cute dog and Micaela loves both. 

Well, I TOTALLY forgot about the gay pool guy accused of the affair with the stepmom, the wife accused of killing her husband PLUS the daughter that kills her Dad.  It was hard to explain all that on the way home.  I tried to focus the conversation on the incredible music and singing.  Wish someone had warned me, putting this out there for any Moms out there who might research ahead of taking young daughters.   I will say, the musical was really wonderful, it's just not totally appropriate for young children. 

We just returned from four days in my hometown of Mission.  We traveled there so I could attend my 25 year High School Class Reunion. I graduated from Mission High School in 1988... gulp!  Of course it's hard to believe it's been 25 years!

We had a 500+ mile drive each way and our daughter had to miss two days of school but it was so worth it.  The reunion festivities were spread out amongst three days.  On Thursday we got to tour the school campus and see all the changes and additions that have been made since we left. 

The campus is giant now and even includes a collegiate campus which allows students to get their associates degree while still in high school. 

After the tour we were hosted at a small reception with alumni from other classes. We felt pretty young next to the classes from 1962, 1973, 1983, but a little old next to the class from 1993.




After the reception we attended the Pep Rally.  That was great fun and I was so excited to hear the Mighty Mission Eagle Band play the Fight Song-- weird little things make me happy!








That evening we attended the football game and got to walk across the field-- walking across the field was fun and corny.

Here we are at the football game.  You can see everyone shows thier Mission Eagle pride by wearing marroon and white.  Notice the guy in the red STL hat?  That's Troy showing his hometown pride, LOL.

The next day was our big party.  We had a social hour, sit down dinner, presentations, live band and a photo booth.  It was terrific. 

 

All the walls at the venue were decorated with poster size copies of our yearbooks, it was great!

 

Here's a picture of Troy and I.   We really had a good time.

 

About 20% of the people there I had known since kindergarten, the rest from junior high and of course high school.

Here's a picture of my kindergarten crowd.  This is one successful bunch, we've got people in every field, pharmaceutical sales,  nurses, lawyers, entrepreneurs, pilot, restaurateur, law enforcement, oil business, etc.  Our elementary was one of five at the time and we had the most representation.

I can't tell you how much fun this weekend was for me,  Troy was a good sport to come along to all the celebrations-- he did well getting to know the few non Mission spouses that were brave enough to attend as well.  I look forward to the next celebration in 5 years!  Thanks for stopping by!

100% Baby Boy Set

One of my cousins is expecting her baby boy in the next week. I stitched out a few items for her before leaving town. Here is the set.

  I love this fabric, it has cute boy words all over.  Here is a close up of the zipper bag.  

 

And the finished hem on the opposite end of the burp cloth. 

 Thanks for stopping by....

Getting into Christmas Spirit

Many stores are already decorated for Christmas and I've had a few items in my Etsy store listed for over a month.  The other day I was surprised to get an order for three Christmas Santa Towels from a grandma in North Carolina.  She wanted them for her toddler grandchildren to go in her Santa themed bathroom.

Here are the towels...

She was so happy when she received them, this is what she wrote:

They are GORGEOUSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! OMG, they are going to look fabulous in their Santa bathroom!!!!! WOW!!!! I am sooo crazy about them!!!! GREAT job!!!  I absolutely LOVE them!!!!
Thanks so much!!!!!  My Grands are going to FLIP over them.......... their Mom too!!!!  Thanks again!!!  Regards,  Barbara :-)

It's always nice to get a note from happy customers!  Thanks for stopping by!

Secret Santa Swap 2012 by The Apronista

As you all know I participated in a couple of Halloween Swaps last month and loved it.  Now I am hooked!  The other day I was literally googling to see if I could find others and found a really cool one at http://flirtyapronswap.blogspot.com/ by The Apronista, Shawnee Halligan.  I am so excited.  Her swap is a little more structured and I am required to post my questionaire and info here on my blog so here it goes....

1. What are your hobbies?  Making a house a home, Sewing & Embroidery, Texas Native Gardening, Baking, Scrapbooking & Paper Crafts (card making).
2. What are your favorite colors?  Rich Ruby Red, Dark Green and Vintage Gold
3. Do you collect anything? Seasonal Dishes & Tabletop Items (love snowflake and gingerbread items), Vintage Sewing Memorabilia, and commemorative postage stamps since I was a child
4. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals?  None
5. Do you have any pets?  Yes, a black & white Piebald Daschund named Oreo
6. Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate?  Not a fan of dark chocolate, coffee or tea (yes that is weird).  Love Milk Chocolate...
7. What do you like to read? Yes, magazines & books mainly anything from Better Homes & Gardens or Good Housekeeping... not much into fiction but like biographies from women I admire.
8. Do you prefer Cookies or Candies as a sweet?  Love anything with pecans, candy or cookies....anything with caramel, pecans, walnuts, and fudge.
9. What is your favorite holiday treat?  Candy Cane Kisses by Hershey's
10. Describe your favorite holiday tradition. Traditional Mexican Catholic Posada on December 24, Virgin de Guadalupe mass and Las Mañanitas with live mariachis on December 12 at dawn and christmas shopping with the family afterwards
11. Did you believe in Santa as a child?   Yes, very much so until I was about 8-9 years old.
12. When do you open presents?   We open some on Christmas Eve and some on Christmas morning.
13. Do you put up a tree and when?  We put up several trees in our home.  A large one in living room and small ones in kitchen, dining room, and some bedrooms. 
14. Does your tree have a theme?   Living room tree is traditional stuff in red, gold, bronze and green, kitchen one is gingerbread and cooking items, daughter's bedroom one is whimsical bright stuff like hot pink, lime green turqois, etc. 
15. What has been your favorite gift to give? to receive?    I love the Texas-shaped Waffle Iron I got from my husband and the Cricut I got from my parents many years ago.  Gave Micaela a Janome mini sewing machine last year and a dollhouse many years ago- she was over the moon for both. 

Secret Santa Swap package should be a minimum of $15 in value before postage, and include the following:
At LEAST One Handmade Item

Something to Read (book, magazine, poem)
Something for the Tree (garland, ornament, topper, skirt)
Holiday Goody (candy, cocoa, tea, coffee, chocolate)

Challenge: Include one gift for each letter needed to spell out a word from the season (SNOW, JOY, FAITH, LOVE, HOPE, GIFT, TREE, JESUS, STAR, SANTA, etc). Of course, the perfect gift for an "A" is an APRON.

Zipper bags in school colors

Made these zipper bags for my two God-daughter's in their high school colors, royal blue and gold.  We got together with them a few weeks ago and went to a football game at Highland Park High School.  HPHS is an old very established high school and it was a nice change from the schools in our area which are less than 5 years old.  The band was incredible, the drill team was incredible, the football team won by a landslide and it was so nice to get together with my Comadre and chat. 

Emma is a junior and is on the drill team, Nina is involved in choir.  I thought these bags would come in handy for make up or stuff in their purses.  I love making these little zipper bags, can you tell?  Thanks for stopping by!

Owl Dish Towel & Pot Holder

I found these cute little owl dish towels and pot holders the other day and just had to buy them, I thought the applique was so cute.  I personalized 3 sets of these for my mother in law and two of hubby's aunts. 

I need to stock up on these because they turned out to be great quick gifts I could stitch up in no time when I need something fast.  Thanks for stopping by!

2nd half of October is a blur...

Sorry about my absence the last few weeks.  As I mentioned before, we've had some big changes at my work which has dramatically increased my responsibilities and work load... 

Since my last post, I have been a little busy with the following:

• My Master Gardener certification class is almost done, we have three more class meetings and then I am done with weekly tests and homework.
• Hosted a litter pick up event (Trinity Trash Bash) with 150 volunteers on October 20
• Co-hosted a water conservation event (Water Wise Irrigation workshop) with 5 other cities on October 23
• Hosted another city wide event (Recycling is Fun Day) with about 300 attendees on October 29
• Hosted another city wide event on Halloween (Be Green on Halloween Costume Contest) on October 31
• Hosted a Lunch & Learn for city employees on November 1
• Presented to elementary student body and went on a field trip with daughter's school on November 2
• Was intending to catch up on November 3 (yesterday) since we had nothing going on except a pot luck at church but while I was grocery store, daughter had an accident and ended up in emergency room with 3 staples in her head!  (all is okay now but last night was a little scarey).

So now that all that is done, I am going to get back to regular posting.  I have so much comp time accumulated at work, I am going to take two weeks off in November.  Woo Hoo!  Thanks for hanging in there with me, I appreciate it very much.

Halloween Swap headed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Here is everything I mailed my second swap partner in Baton Rouge, LA. 

It was so fun to make everything.  I really hope she likes it all.  I had no hints on her style or preferences so I am crossing my fingers. 

The zipper bag and coaster were my two favorite items.  Here is a closeup of each.  The coaster was actually an applique design I modified to be a coaster with a backing.  The coaster is almost 5 inches in diameter.

The other favorite item was a zippered bag.  I was pleased with the way it turned out when I fussy cut only one witch in the design.  .  I love the bat charm on the zipper.  Again, I hope she likes it.

The Halloween Swap was hosted by Bonnie at Pink Stitches, I think she is hosting another swap soon and I am hoping to participate.  Hope you all have a great week.

More Fun Mail part 2

Hope you had a great weekend.  I can't believe it's already Wednesday and I posted last Thursday.

Here are a few more things I received from Ruth, my swap partner in Laredo.  Did she spoil me or what!  Isn't this draw string pouch totally cute!  I plan to use it to carry little stuff that gets lost in my big tote to work.

 

 Next is a few more things.

I love the print on the square zippered bag, the weenie dog push pins, the key chain, owl charms & post it notes, halloween hand sanitizer and even some magnets!

Can you believe there is more? Yes, stuff she sent to Micaela!  Isn't that sweet?  I never knew swapping online would be so much fun.  I'll post the other stuff in the next few days.  Thanks for stopping by!

More fun mail...

Came home to a package from my other sewing swap partner, Ruth in Laredo....  She sent so many cute things, I will post one at a time.

Here is my favorite thing....  a teacup pin cushion with clay pins she handmade herself.  Are these not the most adorable pins you have ever seen?

I will post more of her goodies in the coming days...  Thanks for stopping by!

More Swap Stuff

Here are a couple more things I made for my swap partner.

A Halloween Jack O'Lantern Hand towel for my swap partner's 3 year old son Jacob.  She said he wants to keep washing his hands to use it,  I guess that is a good thing since flu season is here.

The other item I made for my partner was a Halloween Witch Dish Towel.  I have been making these since last year, they are like a staple.  I have made one for most of my friends and family.

I have more things to post, thanks for stopping by and keep checking in.

Halloween Pennant Banner

Here is another one of the items I made for my swap partner Ruthie.

This Halloween Pennant Banner is more than 60 inches wide and was difficult to photograph.  The pennants measure 10 inches wide and are 11.5 inches long. 

This fabric is called Pumpkin Patch Jack o'lantern and it's by Alexander Henry.  I'll post some more stuff tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by!