Dream big!

In the economic downturn we currently are experiencing it seems like a good idea to dream big! My inspiration was a wool-felt heart on which I hand stitched Dream with pale blue DMC floss and also added some glass beads in the same color. I then blanket-stitched the Dream piece onto a pale blue cotton fabric which seemed to add a little depth! I chose a pretty piece of blue calico fabric and cut out two heart shaped pieces, then went to the ribbon drawer and there was the perfect burgundy compliment sheer piece of ribbon for hanging. I placed the ribbon in between the two calico pieces and sewed together, leaving a space for turning. After stuffing with polyfil, I blindstitched the opening. What an inspirational uplift on any peg or doorknob, reminding us to dream big and keep the faith!

Mom's 89th Birthday

Mom recently celebrated her 89th birthday and our family is blessed to have her with us and she is in good health and a busy, busy lady! We enjoyed a family get-together for her special day but I thought perhaps her friends would enjoy a little treat at their weekly card playing day (they play a card game called golf). The cake I chose to prepare was carrot and that always seems to be a moist and popular cake for most people. The frosting was cream cheese based and the cute little snowman just tickled my fancy! I made a carrot cake cupcake and then built a snowman with two different sized powdered sugar doughnuts and also a donut hole. Frosting was used to attach the pieces to the cupcake and then I topped it off with novelty snowman head. The little fellow needed arms to hold the Happy Birthday Sissy pendant so I treked out in the woods and found just the perfect branches! I built up a little snowdrift around the cupcake when I attached it to the cake to make it look more realistic. To top it off, edible white glitter was sprinkled over all! Mom and her friends enjoyed the surprise and I was honored to create the special treat!

Valentine Treats

The winter storm today brought back memories of Valentine's Day. I wanted to share treats with some special friends and family so I decided to focus my attention on sweets. Perhaps my favorite item was Cupid's Mix which was featured in the premier issue of Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade magazine. I also tried my hand at using Fancy Flours wafer papers on sugar cookies. It proved to be challenging, so I think more practice is in order. Since I already had some heart shaped sugar cookies, I frosted some with royal icing and piped a pink rose on top. Chocolate covered pretzel rods were also a hit, you can't go wrong with the salty and sweet combination. To round out the goody baskets I made heart shaped pecan sandies which were dusted with a coating of powdered sugar. A project like this is time consuming, but oh so rewarding!

Sunday Brunch

We awoke to a Spring snowstorm and decided to prepare a hearty brunch for our daughter and son-in-law who were visiting for the weekend. We had french bread and half-n-half on hand, so I decided on baked French Toast. To add a little depth, cinnamon and nutmeg were added to the egg mixture before I started the soaking process. Bob Evans provided the link sausage which which was a nice compliment to the scrambled eggs containing a dash of sugar, half-n-half, and chopped green onions. Since I always like to support Michigan farmers, I used local maple syrup given to me by a good friend. A dusting of powdered sugar and a strawberry garnish topped off the plating. We enjoyed orange juice with mango and fresh roasted Irish Cream coffee which gave us the energy to start our snowy day.