FREEZER PAPER STENCILED TOTES ....

I was asked a while back, if I'd create some tote bags for a sweet young lady. She needed them to carry around her craft goodies, piano lesson stuff etc. Her Mom gave me a few themes she wanted .... kind of a tote for each season.

Christmas ... This one has a red, green and white striped fabric lining.

 New Year .... The lining for this one, is a fireworks fabric.

 Valentines Day .... with a red and white polka dotted lining.

 St Paddy's Day ... shamrock fabric for a lining. Their Family is of Irish decent, so this was a must !!!!

 Easter ... a green lining with the daintiest red rosebuds on it.

 Summer .... Sunglasses and flip flop lining for this one. I just LOVE his cool shades !!!!

Happy Birthday !!! Little seed beads for sprinkles and a cupcake fabric lining !!!

These were made in the same way I make all of my stenciled totes. The canvas bags are from Hobby Lobby ... 3 in a pack, and don't forget to use your 40% off coupon !!!
I use the SEI Tumble Dye fabric paints ..... the color choices are great, and the color stays vibrant even after it dries and has been heat set.
Freezer paper ... available at any grocery store.
DMC, Perle embroidery threads .... whatever I have on hand.

These would make super cute end of year teacher gifts ..... that's if you're still in school wherever you live. We are (it does feel like we're the only ones at this point), but only until Friday !!!
Summertime is in the air .... I can feel it. The pace has already started to slow .... routines are noticeable by their absence ...
Ahh Summertime !!!!

KNITTED DISHCLOTHS/WASHCLOTHS ...

They've been flying off my needles at a pretty impressive rate recently.
They're a source of almost immediate gratification - now who doesn't like that ?

These were knitted for Debbie, as part of her swap package. Super cute and super easy !!!!
I purchased this pattern HERE. I started these cloths on Saturday afternoon, and by Sunday evening they were both pinned to a towel drying after I'd blocked them.

These are possibly my most favorite dishcloths ever .... I absolutely LOVE this pattern. This pattern you can find HERE. The added bonus .... cherry on the top, is that it is a free pattern.
I have big plans for this stitch pattern, I've done some maths, and I think I may tackle a blanket in this stitch ..... I think it could look quite magnificent !!!

All of these dishcloths were knitted using Peaches and Creme 100% cotton yarn, and US size 7 needles (4.5mm).

I am a knitted dishcloth convert, for a number of reasons :
- They are real work horses !!!
- They're durable, and just keep getting better with each wash.
- They're far more environmentally friendly, than those nasty disposable cloths.
- Lets be honest now, you can color coordinate them to your kitchen decor. What's not to love about that ?

MORE LITTLE FELTIES ....

I warned you there would be more ..... they're just so addictive !!!
Isn't he just THE cutest ..... he's called The Classic Zombie, in the book.

CAKE POP PALOOZA ...

That was certainly the case in our house yesterday .....

 I baked cakes .... there were actually two. This strawberry cake and a vanilla cake.

 I crumbled those cakes into nice, fine crumbs. I discovered you get much better crumbs if you cut away the edges of the cake.

I mixed those crumbs with 3/4 tub of frosting, before rolling 11/2 tablespoons of cakey goodness into balls, and popping them in the freezer for 15 minutes.

 I added sticks to the balls, and dipped them in melted candy wafers .... delish !!!!
Notice my recycling effort ... those upside down egg boxes worked a charm.

Once that coating was dry, I did some artistic chocolate drizzling for prettiness :-)

 I wrapped each cake pop individually in a little cello bag, and tied it with ribbon.

Pop them in a box, filled with floral foam, and squiggly, shredded paper.  Pretty the box up, and voila .......
50 cake pops ready for the final teacher luncheon of the school year today !!!

NOW ..... I have found the ultimate, best ever, amazing ........ solution to candy wafers that stay all thick, icky, and difficult to work with,  once they are melted ...... I am very aware that I may be way behind the masses on this one, but I thought I'd share with you anyway. You never know how many others have never heard of these wonders .... 

PARAMOUNT CRYSTALS !!! 

Never will I work with melted chocolate again, without these little treasures close at hand ..... they make it all soooo easy!!!

PETER, PETER PUMPKIN EATER ....

Well, he used to be the pumpkin eater, but not anymore ..... he was zombified, and became Peter, Peter The Brains Eater !!!
My partner has received her swap package, so I'm not spoiling anything for her by sharing my creation. Y'all know by now, I can do cutsey without thinking twice. My partner prefers the not so cutsey, so I really had to put my thinking cap on. I am thrilled with how he turned out. I had never "built " a person from Sculpey before, so the technique was completely new to me ..... Oh, how I love the challenge of learning new things.

This image was my jumping off point.
Then while snooping around Debbie's blog (sunflowerhouseart.blogspot.com) I discovered THESE PICTURES, and THESE PICTURES - I had everything I'd need on hand to make him, and so my decision was made.

 Wire body ... that makes him poseable. He has his Sculpey hands, feet, hips, torso and head already (I forgot to take pictures prior to this stage of his construction.)

 His head ..... quite possibly my most favorite part of building him.

 Oh, lets add some fat too him, shall we .... Wrapped in strips of batting.

Not forgetting his skin .... Stocking cut in strips, and stretched around him, before being sewn to fit.

Then I sent him to The House Of Kerry, for some designer zombie duds, before giving him some hair and a paint job. Poor Mrs Pumpkin Eater ..... she is now brainless !!!

What to do about that pumpkin .......

I used a styrofoam ball, that I hollowed a chunk out of, before working some paper clay magic on it.

Oh Mrs Pumpkin Eater ....... you poor dear !!!!
Some paint, spray sealant,  floral wire tendrils, and some toothpick jail bars and my creation was complete.

I will be using this sculpey technique again ..... it was fun, it was easy (much easier than I thought), and I absolutely LOVE the results. Debbie's pictures, made it so easy to do - they were clear and concise.

I'll end off by showing you, the creation Debbie made for me .... There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe .....

Isn't she amazing .... She's a treasured addition to my growing Zombie Doll collection. Thank you Debbie for my doll and for giving me the inspiration to try something new.

ZOMBIE FELTIES ....

Val, my good friend (aka THE Zombie Swap Mama) has just hosted a Zombies In The Nursery Swap. It's busy wrapping up now, but wow, has it been fun !!!!
My package will be heading out tomorrow ..... This swap for me, was all about new techniques and new materials .... about pushing my creative boundaries.
I don't want to give too much away, and spoil the surprise for my swap partner, but I will give you a little sneak peek at one of the tuck ins I'm including. I'm sure I've mentioned it before ...... making the tuck ins, may just be my most favorite part of any swap :-)

I got this book a while back ...... quite a while back, in fact.

 It's a really well written,  cute book ....... but, the tininess of the felt pieces intimidated me !!! I put the book on the shelf, and forgot about it, until sniffing around Pinterest a couple of days ago, I  came across many cute versions of these felties .... out came the book, I threw caution to the wind, and gave it a go.

 Are the felt pieces tiny ..... you bet they are, but were they difficult to work with ....... not particularly, surprisingly. I made Pumpkin Head into a book band .... he really is the perfect size for this kind of project.

This gives you a better idea of his size.

I'm quite tempted now to give a few more of them a go .... there are all sorts of creations to try ..... a pirate, a vampire, a duck, a rabbit, a bride ..... to name but a few.

MASON JAR COOKIES ...

I have a "thing" for Mason Jars ...... I've made pincushions out of them, I store stuff in them, I used them too package gifts ....... oh yes, and lets not forget the real reason they exist ...... I've made jam and bottled them in the jars !!!
They're versatile, and come in many sizes, shapes, and even colors now. What can I say ....... I'm a Mason Jar kinda girl !!!

A couple of weeks ago, while browsing World Market (have I ever told you how much I LOVE their kitchen department ..... so many, cool, colorful, cheap and unique goodies). The stars must have aligned, because tucked away on a shelf amongst many other cookie cutters, was a mason jar cookie cutter .... I may have heard angelic choirs at this point !!! I remember the same feeling when I came upon my mason jar rubber stamp.

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week in our school district. Our PTA have put on a dessert and candy bar for the teachers in our Middle School today. Time to haul out the cookie cutter, and let the dough fly .....

 Some lovely Spring jars ...... they're not perfect (I need lots more icing practice), but they're so cute, and the response I got to them was exciting.

 I used THIS RECIPE, for the sugar cookie dough. I think it's the best I've tried to date. I also like that the dough doesn't need to be refrigerated for hours before you can use it.

I wrapped them individually in cellophane bags, ad tied them up with a pink ribbon (of course it had to be pink !!!). I lined the container with pink shredded paper, and delivered them to school.

I think these cookies could be made to suit any season ..... snow globes in Winter, a jar full of hearts for Valentines Day, bug jars for kids ..... I guess there'll be a lot of baking going forward.