Appliqued Baby Blanket

One of my co-workers had a new baby girl recently. I purchased this Shabby Rose Alphabet quite some time ago, this seemed like the perfect time to put it to use! I just added the bows for a little more texture.  I love the variety of appliques available at Planet Applique  I've purchased dozens over the past years and have never been disappointed! 

Creative Giftwrapping

I like to be creative when giving gifts.  This often extends to the wrapping as well.  But at Christmas time (yes...I admit it I made these back in December), time is short and I have to be careful to be "equal".

Equal meaning I don't want one gift to look more extravagant than another....for some reason kids think things should be equal/fair! And "hell no!" do I want to be the aunt who shows favoritism or even appears to show it! So after wracking my tired/worn out/holiday stressed brain...I came up with the idea of personalized embroidered pillowcases as wrapping! "Genius!", if I have to say it myself...guess I did! Of course having just made the wedding gift pillowcases I would have to say that pillowcases were on my mind! This idea even allowed for me to use up some of that HUGE ribbon stash I have sitting in the back room!

Congratulations Mr & Mrs!

Ok, so if you're still with me, you know that I have ignored/neglected this blog for over 365 days.  You also know that I am creating this blog as a documentary of my life...NOT! But I am hoping to document most of the projects I have made along the way...unfortunately I didn't always remember to take pics before giving things away. But I am going to be more mindful in the future...I am going to be more mindful .... I am going to be mindful.  Whew! Trying to come up with a motivating mantra for myself and I realized just how damn wordy I can be!

Anyhow, one of my oldest (not eldest) friends chose 12-12-12 (how freaking cool is that!) to be her wedding day, and I wanted to personalize something for the two of them....ya know, something that would make them think fondly of me as they crawled in to bed at night....NOT!   LOL!

Final Graduation Blanket

I embroidered so many blankets for graduation gifts this year...I know that I won't be planning on any in the near future! This is the final blanket-for a grand total of 16!

Embroidered Blanket for a New Marine

High School graduation gift for new Marine.

Congrats KC 2012 Grads!

Our oldest son graduated from high school this year (YEAH!!) and I knew we'd have several graduation parties to attend...in addition to throwing one for him! This winter I purchased several 50" x 60" Holiday Time Plush Throws on clearance after Christmas. Since my son's school colors are red and white my brain immediately began thinking "graduation gifts"! I used a 2" collegiate font (slightly reduced), I didn't want a solid font as I like the look of the plush showing through the letters. The design has just under 25,000 stitches.

Baby Shower Gifts for Anna

Close up pic of the baby gifts/decor. The banner was made to match the baby's room, each letter was completed in the hoop!!

Baby Shower

My niece and her husband are expecting their first baby the end of this month. I was asked to bring along some decorations for the shower....well....I ran out of time to shop, so I turned my gifts into decor! LOL! Hey a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!! :)

Hunter's Headband

Trying out a font "converter" on my new machine.....the "u" may be a little too funky for a boy...

Gifts for Macy

Another vinyl lined tote and embroidered cup.

Welcome Simon!

One of my colleagues was blessed with a new addition to their family this past Christmas Eve!
I decided to do some internet searching to see if there was a pattern out there to make another bag similar to the leopard bag I made and lo and behold I found one on Little Lizard King. The pattern was similar to the one I whipped up on my own, but hers only had the one handle and I really like that so I used it on this bag. I also chose to line this one with HeatnBond Vinyl to make it leak proof! I bought several rolls of this when it was on clearance at JoAnn's a while back. Now I've got the perfect use for it! I see many more bags in my future!
The applique patterns for the burp and bib are from Planet Applique.
The Elephant is holding a minky style blanket that I embroidered with his name and date of birth.

I Massage!

Another embroidered T-shirt gift for my fave massage therapist! :)

Bus Driver T-Shirt

Isn't this a funny saying? I couldn't resist making this for my sister who starts her debut as a school bus driver today!

Two new Great Nieces

We had two new Great-Nieces born this year!
I'd been seeing HomeGoods store advertisements on TV for quite some time now and was finally able to shop at one! When I was on a business trip last month I looked up a HomeGoods and convinced one of my co-workers that we HAD to go! And boy did we have a good time! I found these great banks and baby blankets there (as well as several other fun things).
I used a paint pen to put the babies names on their piggy banks (simple dimple).

Brooklyn Headband

I found this headband in the dollar spot at Target and decided to personalize it for my great niece.

Live Love Laugh Blankets

These blankets were my "go to" gifts for Christmas this year. They were super simple to stitch out, but turned out looking quite nice!

Neveah's Christmas Gifts

I love having nieces to make girly gifts for! These were two of the gifts I made for my niece Neveah. I love the raggy flower on the jacket and these were two of the first items made on my new embroidery machine which I LOVE LOVE LOVE!! Applique's came from Planet Applique

Christmas Towels

I found some really fun Christmas designs this year. These two made really cute towels. Unfortunately, the burgundy one, which says "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" didn't photograph well...it looks great in person though!

Fun Stuff

I had so many Christmas gifts and baby gifts to make this month that it became a blur! This was a fun "gift" that I made for a white elephant game. The embroidery was done on an actual roll of regular toilet paper!! I'd been wanting to try this and this seemed like the perfect time! :)

Monogramed Hand Towel

I love the look of embossed towels. I decided to try a couple different files one free one and one purchased. I'm much happier with the purchased one from embroiderydesigns.com