Jump Start on the Holidays.......

I say this ever year and every year I wail till the weeks before Christmas to start my holiday shopping I hope to be different this year! But that remains to be seen..........

Oh well I have started my holiday sewing and I made this fun Stocking for Caramelo's Euro Winter launch on ebay starting September 23rd.

Detail of the ruffle and ric rac.

Then I made up this bag using a fabric from Heather Bailey's new pop garden line. I love how it looks with the chocolate brown cord, I also love the red and aqua together I wanted the red in the zig zag print to pop so I edged the middle stripe in a solid. Also I had to add a flower just for fun!

Here is it with out the flower.

I used the red for the interior as well!

Have a Happy evening! Meg

Sale Time............

I have reduced all of the prices in my Etsy store to make room for new fall/winter items! Check the side bar for links!

Have a happy afternoon! Meg

TGIF!!!!

I am so glad it is Friday not that there is anything exciting is going on this weekend but I was ready for a Saturday where I do not have anything scheduled those seem to be few and far between!

I started off the week crafting some holiday ornaments. Did anyone ever make these when they were younger? You start with a Styrofoam ball and hundreds of beads sequins and straight pins.....

After a few hours it looks like this...........

And if you still have your sanity the end product is this......

or this.....I simply love sequins, I love how they shine. I think the time it take to complete a single ornament is worth it, as the end product will be treasured for years to come on your holiday tree or if you are like me you will keep them out all year just to stare at.

I received my Ohio State University patches and I made up a
couple of fun "college themed" totes!
I finished my mini purse that I will ship off to be modeled for
an upcoming holiday launch with En.Core on ebay.



And of course I am still playing with my new
Heather Bailey pin cushion pattern. Here I have used my
Garden Party scraps and I just love how the pear turned out.

Also check out the cool hat pins. Which I will use to

decorate my pin cushions. I found them here!

Have a super weekend! Meg

Cook it Blog it........

Creamy Spaghetti & Beans

I originally found this recipe on Food Network it is by Rachael Ray. I have altered the ingredients a little as I am following a weight loss program and I feel it is just equally as yummy! Even my 4 yr old son ate it!

Here is the recipe:

first is the original/I have show my substitutes in red

• 5 to 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter / I used 2 tbs Parkay fat free spray butter
• 1/4 pound chunk pancetta chopped into small dice/I used turkey ham
• 4 cloves garlic,
• chopped 1 pound spaghetti/I used wheat spaghetti
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, cut into a small dice
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 5 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 (15-ounce) can Roman beans or small white beans (recommended: Goya brand)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup dry white wine, eyeball it
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• A generous handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Place the stock in a sauce pot and warm it over medium heat then reduce to simmer.
Heat the extra-virgin olive oil and the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the pancetta to brown slightly. Next add the garlic and spaghetti and toast the noodles lightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions and carrots, bay and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Soften veggies a bit, 5 minutes. Add wine and allow it to be completely absorbed. Add beans then add a few ladles of stock and stir the pasta. Keep adding stock a few ladles at a time allowing liquids to be mostly absorbed before adding more, as if you were preparing a risotto. When liquids are absorbed and spaghetti is cooked to al dente, 12-15 minutes, stir in cheese. Adjust salt and pepper. Turn off heat and stir another minute. Remove the bay and thyme stems. Serve in shallow bowls and garnish with lots of parsley.

My printed recipe & turkey ham. I also used minced garlic.

Slowly cooking the noodles so they absorb all the liquids.

Adding the diced carrots and onions.

Beans, Parmesan cheese, white wine
Stirring in the grated cheese.
YUMMY!

Enjoy! Meg

Anxiously Awaiting this Parcel…….

I have been anxiously awaiting this parcel to come in the mail from Heather Bailey's new online shop I place a pre order at the end of July and I have been counting down the days until it arrived!

Here are all of the goodies I got!
I love her new scrap booking line!

I ordered a few more Pop Garden Pints and this fun Fruit pin cushion pattern!

I have completed the Strawberry pincushion with the help of
Heather's pre packaged kits!

I also got another fun Trick or Treat Tote done!

I let the kids pick out the fabrics for this one!
My niece loves this fluffy fringe trim!

I also have to share this beautiful sunset I captured from Saturday evening!

Everything glowed beautifully!

Have a Happy Afternoon! Meg

A few New Designs

Well I have been busy at work sewing away and it has been raining all day here which is much needed!

School is getting ready to start and my niece has been getting bored so she sat down with a bag of my beading supplies while I worked on a new tote using the Pop Garden fabrics.

I knew from the moment I saw this print I wanted to pair it with a chocolate brown cord!

While my niece sat busy beading I decided to do a little beading of my own. I have a ton of pastel seed beads left over from beading Easter eggs and the colors matched the fabric perfect!

I love how it turned out! I completely understand why

this fabric line was named Pop Garden the colors totally pop!

Finished Tote!

This is the design I came up with for the Gallerbay Mini Halloween Launch!

Perfect for you little one to carry around to collect Trick or Treat candy!

This tote is now listed on ebay!

I am working on a new tutorial I plan to post later in the week!

Have a Happy Evening! Meg

Really Already???????

Is it really that time already? I am in the process of getting my fall collection together and my new ebay Boutique Group GalleryBay is having a Mini Halloween launch starting tomorrow!

Here is a peek at what I am working on.........

Here is another peek the components for a new tote design for fall using

Heather Bailey's new fabric line Pop Garden and some lovely chocolate cord!

I also had to share these pretty buttons I found. They are sure

to pop up on some of my new tote designs!

Have a Great Night! Meg