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.