Here Comes the Bri.....well, not quite yet!

 My niece gets married in a couple of weeks. She got a dress off Ebay; and we've been "fixing it". We added lace along the bottom skirt and train. The lacing in the back went too low...about where here "southern cheeks ended". So, we created a bow with tails to cover up the bottom third of the lacing and add a little Wow! factor to the back as well. The slip (above) is almost done...and the lace is sewn around the hem of the dress. Next, the veil...and more lace on the dress bodice. Looks like we're gonna make it...but, I still have the finishing up and the pressing to do as well. And, the flower girl's dress "might" need adjusting...it arrives next week so we'll have to wait and see then. Here are some photos of the bow. The dress is ivory with white accents...

All in the day of the Aunt that sews!!

French Script Saturday - L

Jelly?

My sister came over today, and we went picking! Muscadines! Aren't these gorgeous!I'm thinking that they would make great jelly...but I've not tried that before. So, I'll be searching the internet for directions and such! Any advice?

Are you the Snack Queen?

If so, we need to talk! I'm always looking for good ideas that are also cost saving. And, I'm willing to share...here are two of my favorites.1) Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...frozen! Yep, you can freeze these babies up to 3-weeks. I dress them up by taking my Magic Chef Pastry Cutter/Sealer and triming off the crusts. 

 Then, I cut them in half and pop them into zipper style sandwich bags. Then, several go into a freezer bag...and I grab one in the morning to put into Aidan's snack bag for school. The sandwich is all thawed out by snack time at school! And, she thinks she has something really special since it is round and without crusts!

I think a biscuit cutter would work too. Or, just trim the crusts off with a knife, and cut into halfs or quarters!2) Muffins! These can also be frozen...just make ahead and you've got dessert with the PB&J!So, what are your favorite tricks for snacks?

Wednesday Wine Country Monograms - O

 

Needlepoint Chart Sampler

Here's a little needlepoint sampler, worked from the middle out. It is just a little fun thing to stitch, and could be used a part of  book cover or can be framed very easily since it is so small. Here is the stitch chart...it is easy, so I'm sure you can figure out the stitch just by the photo. 

Marvelous Monday Motifs - 8/15/2011

You can read all about my idea for Marvelous Monday Motifs here. Today we have pages 29-30 of the J. F. Ingalls Company, 1886 Catalog of Perforated Parchment Stamping Patterns. 

Please NOTE: This catalog is not under copyright any longer; but the scanned version released to the public domain on 17 July 2007 (the source of my information) does come with restrictions. None of these designs can be sold. They are for your individual use.

Mug Rug and Embroidery Design

I recently finished a mugrug for Marcella in the Netherlands; a swap organized over on StitchMAP. She let me know yesterday that she received it...so I can share a photo with you...and not spoil her surprise. LOL!

And, here is the design if you want to stitch one up too!

French Script Saturday - J

Tomato Gravy...Soup

Do you like making gravy? Want a quick gravy...than can become soup in a few seconds? Well that is what tomato gravy is. If you have never been to the southern United States...tomato gravy might not be a dish you have tried...but it is wonderful! And, once you have made it...just add milk and it becomes a wonderful tomato soup as well!You will need simple ingredients: Bacon grease (or Vegetable Shortening), flour, crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper.

 Start with the shortening. (I like to save all the grease drippings when I cook bacon; and I pour them up into a ceramic mug I have...which then gets put into the refrigerator. So, I spooned up my shortening from there) just a spoon full about 1/8 cup I'm guessing. The heat is medium...not too hot.

Once the shortening is completely melted...add the flour. 

 I used about 1/2 cup (I didn't measure). There is a full quart of tomatoes going in...and some milk...so a fair amount of flour is needed. If you do a smaller pan of gravy...adjust your amounts down of course. Stir until the flour starts to change colors. Make sure your heat is not too high, or you will scorch the flour.

 Pour in about 1/4 of your tomatoes.

 Here you can see the amount of tomatoes I've poured from the quart size jar. 

 These were canned this year from the garden, but 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes from the grocery store would work just as well. Pour in the remaining tomatoes and continue to stir. As the mixture gets hot, it will begin to thicken. 

Continual stirring will prevent any lumps....and keep your heat to a medium temperature. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste. Viola! You have tomato gravy! Now, if you want soup...

 add some milk and/or heavy cream.I like to ladle my soup into a bowl, and add a doll-up of sour cream and some graded cheese. Yum! I ate two bowls!
 

Forgive me...

I love to blog about what I stitch...(okay, or about my darlin Aidan)...but, I don't like to blog much about my Studio. However, this past few weeks...I just keep doing that more and more!! But, seriously...I have just this past month added a lot of different things to the shoppe; and I finally got off my be-hind and beaded some more cabochons...so HAD to show you those. And, I found a great wholesaler for the darling types of clay flower beads that I use myself...sparingly!! And, anytime I can get cute little charms...like the ones I showed you just Tuesday...I mean, who wouldn't want to know about those!

 So, here I go again...tooting my Studio's horn (so to speak)...cause I have landed a great supplier for HAND TATTED LACE TRIMS! Now, I use these already...if you check out the photo of the "Queen" above in the Blog Name...you'll see that her 'fence' is actually made of tatted trims. 

 But, I had to get them retail then, and at a pretty penny!...so I was just flabbergasted to find this supplier! I hope to get several more types...but for starts (cause you know I'm on a 'retired' budget now!)...here are three darling little trims to drool over!!One is in-stock and the other two are scheduled to arrive the first of next week!!

And, I added one more color of roses...SALMON!

And, I added acrylic beads...perfect for seams!! 

Especially if you do purses...as these won't break like the glass or crystal might.

(Of course, you know my heart is still with my Swarovski!!! Can't ever get enough of the BLING!!) So, hope you enjoy checking out the new items...and I promise not to post about the Studio again for a little while...cause I just CRAMMED all the new items into this post!! Ha! How clever is that!!

Wednesday Wine Country Monograms-M

I'm posting this a little early...