Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Handmade Christmas

As I mentioned before, Abby received the American Girl of the Year, Mia, for her birthday. She had a Christmas list a mile long and 99% of it was things for Mia. Aaron and I decided that he would make Mia a bed and I would make a quilt and mattress.
Yes, that is red velvet on the headboard!

A friend of the family researched antique beds and replicated his findings.

I absolutely LOVE the fleur de lis cutouts. This bed is pure Louisiana History!

I used a variation of the basic pinwheel pattern for the quilt. The pattern that I used had the pinwheels but a secondary pattern of diamonds emerged after joining the blocks. You can find it here along with tons of other free quilt block patterns. Some of the fabrics were from my stash and some of them were from the shop. Abby loved it! Now I have to make a matching quilt for her bed........

Friday, December 12, 2008

Snow in South Louisiana?!

My little sister called at 4:45 am yesterday morning to wake me up and see that it was snowing. It never snows in south Louisiana!! I rushed to wake the kids up. They couldn't believe it! We played in the snow (in the dark) for a bit but had to go in because we are not equipped for snow! (mittens, boots, etc.).

It snowed for about 3 hours and we ended up with 5 inches on the ground!

Sadly it started raining and the temp rose so most of it melted by sundown. I am so happy my children experienced snow. Nate kept saying, "It's a miracle, Moma. A Christmas miracle!"

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Creamy Pecan Pralines

My mother-in-law taught me how to make her popular Creamy Pecan Pralines a couple years ago (i feel OFFICIALLY part of the family now lol). I will tell you like she told me......CPP is about technique not recipe. I will do my best to explain:Add to a pan:
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 stick butter (not margarine)
2 cups sugar
2 Tblsp Karo light syrup

Stir and bring to a rolling boil. Cook at this rate for 30-40 minutes, stirring constantly. It should begin to look like this:Now here is where the technique comes in......

At about 30-35 minutes, I drop a small bit of the mixture into a bit of cold water. Pour the water off and if it makes a ball, you're ready to add the pecans. If it still runny, let it cook a few minutes more and try the water test again. Usually around 38-40 minutes I am ready to add my pecans. At this point you need about 6 inches of cold water in the sink. Add 2 heaping cups of whole pecans and stir gently. Try not to break the pecans up because it just makes prettier pralines when the pecans are whole (and that is MIL speaking again, not me).

Sit your pan in the sink of cool water and begin to stir gently. Scrape the sides and bottom making sure that the candy covers the pecans. As it cools, it will stick to the pecans and get thick.
When it is almost too thick to stir, start spooning out the pralines onto wax paper. The candy should NOT run off of the pecans when you spoon it out. I use 2 spoons. One to scoop and one to scrape. (please ignore the winter medical supply)

The first pralines will be smooth and shiny. The last few will start to be rough and .....well..... not shiny. This is natural as it cools more toward the end and as I tell my kids sometimes, "just because!!". Let the pralines set until cooled and then feast! I have never had pralines like this in my life. If the timing is right on each step, the sugar will be smooth and creamy (hence the name). Every praline that I had ever eaten before these were more grainy. This recipe should yield 12-14 pralines depending on how big you scoop them out. Let me know how yours come out!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Christmas Ideas

If you need a last minute idea for a quick Christmas outfit, here are a couple:



Old Fashioned Baby's Sweet & Simple Daygown pattern is a perfect pattern for a winter daygown. You can make a snuggly, Christmas daygown with Swiss Flannel and embroider a simple design with Floche. For this design, I chose modern Christmas shades of red and green instead of traditional shades. Sweet & Simple Daygown includes a long sleeve and embroidery designs. DMC Floche colors shown are 899pink and 955green. We are offering this discounted kit for a limited time:

Kit includes:
OFB Sweet & Simple Daygowns
1 yd. White Swiss Flannel
2 skeins Floche
5 MOP Buttons

Cost with pattern: $33.85
Cost without pattern: $25.20


Toddler Smocked Apron is one of my all time favorite patterns. TSA is a classic, versatile pattern. It is sweet with little bloomers or long pantaloons peeking out. This is a quickie since it can only accommodate one smocked figure. Santa would be really cute peeking from beneath the collar or the Christmas tree with all of its gaily wrapped gifts. This discounted kit is available for a limited time:

Kit includes:
Collar's Etc. Toddler Smocked Apron
1 2/3 yd. Jockey Green Broadcloth, 45 inch
Mr. and Mrs. S. Clause by Lou Anne Lamar
3 skeins DMC - 321, blanc, 699
1/2 yd. off white ribbon
1/2 yd. red ribbon

Cost with pattern: $19.15

Cost without pattern:$9.55

Kits are available until December 10 and are listed under Kits and New Items.

December is my favorite month of the year. Celebrating Christ for a month is one of the best experiences I can give my children. Aaron has never wanted to hang lights outside but the children and I persisted until he gave in :). We also decorated our Christmas tree and are now working on Christmas presents. I try to give as many handmade presents as humanly possible. Of course, I over plan since I think I am SUPERMOM lol. Abby received an American Girl for her birthday in October so she is crocheting Mia an afghan for Christmas. She also wants to sew for Mia so we have started our sewing lessons. I will start making Creamy Pecan Pralines this weekend. CPP is my MIL's recipe and a cajun favorite around here. I give lots of them for Christmas and start making them early as they keep forever in a sealed container. Since my customers are such wonderful people, I will share the family recipe next week. What are your Christmas traditions?

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Princess Designer: Suzy Peterson of Little Memories


When I learned to smock, it was with a Little Memories picture smocking plate. In retrospect, it was a bit ambitious for a smocking newbie lol. I am pleased to present our December Designer of the month: Suzy Peterson of Little Memories.
Crystal: Hi Suzy! Your smocking plates are absolute perfection. How long have you been smocking and what was the first thing you ever smocked?

Suzy: I started smocking when my daughter was 2-she is now 26 or in other words, a very long time!!! My very first project was a basic yoke dress using the Molly Jane Taylor plate that had ballet bears (can't recall the design name though.......). Most start smocking geometric designs but, I learned how to smock by stacking cables!

Crystal: What prompted you to start designing smocking plates?

Suzy: As I told you, I started picture smocking for my daughter (Jessica) from the beginning and once Jessica was 3, our ritual was to go to the local fabric store to let her pick out the plate that she wanted for a particular outfit. The only problem was that there weren't designs published that she wanted. So I started drawing out what she wanted and through trial and error figured out how to translate those drawings into cable stitches. People would ask me where they could get the designs and eventually had my first group of designs printed in 1987.

Crystal: Children are the first step down this slippery slope! What inspires you to design?

Suzy: I'm not really sure what inspires me..............Sometimes a thought, sometimes I will see something that unlocks an idea, and sometimes I the title of a design will come and the design follows after. There is no method for this. Having done this for so long, you realize that the creative "button" isn't always there to push, so when it is "engaged" I do as much as possible. Stresses in life are the biggest enemy of "creativity" and you have to use it when it is there and be patient when it isn't because it will always return at some point!


Crystal: You plate titles are so witty. Overall, I can tell that a lot of thought and love goes into these plates, not just the designs. The smocking on your plates is perfect. Do you have any tips for perfecting our picture smocking?

Suzy: The consistency of the tension in each cable stitch is crucial. I make little adjustments in almost stitch to keep the embroidery thread straight as it wraps around the pleats. I also make sure that whatever project I am working on, that I have a wide enough pleated piece so that the pleats never have to be stretched apart. The pleats should always rest against the next. This keeps the embroidery thread from having from having to travel across extra distance for neat cable stitches. Thank heavens for 50-60" wide cotton fabrics! I typically use a wider fabric on anything bigger than a size 2. You don't have to use all of the pleats in a wider insert but it is there if you need it!

Crystal: Is there any particular fabric that you favor for inserts?

Suzy: I use 54" Spechler-Vogel Broadcloth mostly. I absolutely love to smock on Cashmere Flannel. The pleats are a little fatter but it is luscious! I do smock some on Kona Cotton, it has a lot of body.

Crystal: Cashmere Flannel is yummy! What is your favorite smocking plate that you have ever designed?

Suzy: Kelsey's Collar - it was named after my scottie that passed away about 4 years ago.

Crystal: What other hobbies do you enjoy?

Suzy: I love doing home dec sewing. If it sits still long enough, I will slipcover it! Also, I am slowly developing a love for gardening. Both of my parents had a green thumb and I never understood why they spent so much time in the dirt. My mom could plant a stick and it would bloom a flower!!! I have lost them both in the last year and a half. I received 2 rose bushes after my dad passed away and in preparing the bed to plant them, I listened to the birds and watched squirrels carry on intense conversations and I suddenly realized that gardening is more than just making plants grow. It is connecting with nature and I realized it was my dad helping me to appreciate all that I have taken for granted. I am waiting for a course in language to come to our local college- specifically "squirrel" so I can be more involved in the topics of the day!

Crystal: I’m so sorry for your losses. What a special ‘inheritance’ to receive from your parents. I have a brown thumb. If it grows, I can kill it! Is there anything you would like to add, or anything else you would like our customers to know?

Suzy: Not really, except that it is my customers that give me the desire to keep designing. Without them, there would be no reason for me to do it- year after year.

Thank you Suzy for your time. We loved getting to know the "brains" behind Little Memories!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Welcome, Princesses!















Welcome to Princess Designs! We have been working furiously to get our new castle ready for our wonderful customers. Princess Designs has been to the 'Royal Salon' and gotten a face lift and a new hairdo. We have so many new and exciting things to share with you. We will shortly debut designer interviews, product demos, and free projects.























Make yourselves at home, ladies, and we will make you feel like a Princess!
 
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