World's Best (and easiest) Deviled Eggs

I am feeling quite a bit better finally today.  The sun has been out for a few days which helps, for sure.  It almost feels like Spring is here for good, but I think it is a couple of weeks too early to tell.  What is the saying "if March comes in like a lamb...."     Yeah.  That one.

I love these vintage Easter cards. I have been thinking about a spring/Easter garland that includes a few of these great pics.  Hmmmm......

Anyway....... back to the Deviled Eggs.....this is so easy and so good, you will never turn back.  Ready??  Okay!

  

So there you have it.  :D  You should be able to click, save and print it off.  This has been my *Secret Family Recipe* for years.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

Eewwww........It's The Flu!

I was tired before my Florida trip, really tired while I was in Florida, and exhausted by the time I got home.  I went to see my PC Doctor the day after my return pretty much draggin' myself along.  I figured that a common issue that goes along with my Lyme had returned, and that is Mononucleosis (or Epstein-Barr) and the test results and my enlarged spleen did not disappoint.  However, what has really gotten me down, down, down the past week has been the Flu.  

So here I am.....

The good news is that between blowing my nose and sleeping with my mouth hanging open I have had some time to explore some new project ideas on the internet.  I have been super frustrated the past few days looking for the new Silhouette Fabric Interfacing.  It is one of the big reasons I wanted Silhouette SD, and the stuff is just sold out everywhere.  I did find ONE package of the iron on type (fingers crossed) and got it ordered today (fingers double crossed), so hopefully I can be artfully creating fabulous projects of fabulosity in the very near future.  

Oops.......looks like the Nyquil is kicking in again.

Okay.

(back soon) 

Super-de-Duper Valentines Garland

 Happy Super-Bowl-Sunday!!  Here in North Texas it is all we have heard about on the news for about a month now.  They have even had a countdown clock (I kid you not) at the bottom of the TV screen just to give us a second-by-second update.  *sigh*  I do like professional football a great deal, but having the Superbowl here at Jerry World is causing me burn out.  

This past week was certainly a trying one.  Like most of the country we had winter return in a really ugly way.  My son, who thank God is a sophomore and not a kindergartener, was home a record 4 out of 5 days last week.  So at least he can occupy himself and it kept cabin fever to a minimum around here.  We baked (and ate) chocolate chip cookies, watched movies, and I was free to work on projects all day long!  Since there is no snow removal equipment here, you just sort of have to tough it out until the ice and snow melt and things get back to near normal.  I keep the house stocked with food and toilet paper anyway, so I can hole up here for a month if need be.  

With Christmas long gone, the house seems a little bare now that the decorations are packed up and put away.  And let me tell you, after the gloom, sleet and snow we had last week, I was looking for a little pick me up in decor around here!  So, I pulled out some supplies and got to work......here is the result:

If you have a few fabric scraps and a little time on your hands, you can easily make one, too!  Here is the tutorial:

You will need basic sewing supplies and/ or hot glue

Print a copy of the Pennant Template

(note: I printed it at 125%)

I upcycled an 80's Valentines vest I thrifted, and pulled together a few remnants that complimented my decor

I started with red bias tape, but ended up using black double-fold bias tape instead.  I just liked the way it looked with my accents better.  I made 16 yo-yo's using my orange Clover yo-yo maker.  If you do not have one, it is approximately a 4 inch diameter circle made into a yo-yo.  I just mixed it up with various fabrics that I thought worked together.

I wanted to give the pennants some weight, so I cut 3 layers- the face fabric, a layer of felt and a layer of flannel.  I did that for all 5 pennants, so a total of 15 pieces. 

All you need to do is just layer them together, pin to hold them somewhat in place, and sew just over 1/4" all the way around the face.  Don't worry if they are *wonky*, you will fix that in a little bit.

New Year, New Ideas

I'm still here, for anyone that was wondering.  I customarily use January as my month to assess what worked or did not work in the previous year.  I like to re-organize things and get a fresh start.  

My specialty has always been organization, and my work with the rich and famous gave me endless ways to help people keep track of what they owned.  My designs were always what I liked to call 'living organization'- a true reflection of the person and how they lived.  I had women tell me that they would just sit in the awesome closets I designed and eat lunch, or watch TV.  Or spend hours in Butler's pantries and kitchens marveling at how it all just 'worked so perfectly'.  There were private prayer rooms, secret hidden offices, beauty salons, magnificent libraries.  So, people would always comment how my home must be so perfectly organized. Hmmm.....the cobbler's children have no shoes.

Honestly, it really is not all that bad.  However, I always see room for improvement, and when things really just blow up all around me, I realize it is time to take stock once again.

So, don't hate me for having an awesome husband and son who work hard to make my visions a reality, but let me show you my newest little "me" place in my home:

I was at a bead, button and fiber store in McKinney when I saw the antique wooden spools used to organize the trims, as well as lots of little jars.  I knew right away that it was what I wanted!  So, since last April I have been collecting different sizes of wooden spools as I see a good deal, and hoarding little jars of all shapes and sizes.

This isn't all of them, but you get the gist of it.   I painted wooden lids black, and used black & white scrapbook paper to cover metal lids.  The best thing is- I can see what I have!!  I still have a little way to go with the final design on this- I would like to add a fabric covered tackboard under the upper cabinet, and some art on the wall, but all in all, I am very proud of what I have accomplished so far! 

So, that is some of the work that has gone on behind the scenes.  I have bought some great books with projects that involve spray paint (one of my favorites), and easy methods to dye fabrics.  So, there will be a lot of new fun projects this year- I promise.  

I also wanted to share a couple of things I have for sale up at Artizan's Alley right now.  They are ideas you can easily copy, or change to reflect your own tastes.  The 'Texting Gloves' are certainly not a new idea, but since I only text with my thumbs, I kept the other fingers of the gloves intact.  Why should all of the fingertips get cold??  

I used a little fray check around the edge of the cut off thumb, but if you did this project with polar fleece gloves fraying would not be an issue.

This pair is simply a silk mum disassembled, and 2-3 layers of petals held in place with a button.  A little hot pink trim just adds pizzazz!

I am still working on a way to make the file sharing easy for the embroidery fonts.  I think I have it....just bear with me a little bit longer on that.  

I would love to hear how you have eeked out crafting room in your home.  With space at a premium in so many areas, I would love to see how y'all have overcome challenges.  If you email me a photo of your space, and permission to post it, I would love to be able to share these ideas with everyone!

 

Happy New Year!

Wow- just looked....I've been gone awhile!!  I am so happy to be through the holiday season, and am working hard to get Christmas eradicated from my home.  I just don't want to look at it any more!  I don't know how people can leave the tree up until February.

I don't *do* resolutions, so to speak.  But if there is one thing I want to work on, it is watching less TV.  Not that I actually get to *watch* much, but it is on a lot, and I think it is draining my soul.  

I am also determined to get out one free machine embroidery font file a month.  I would like to make my blog about sharing ideas, as well as my files.  Blogger does not allow me to upload files directly to the blog, so I have to email them as they are requested by readers, but that is also something I am working to improve on this year.  It may mean moving the blog to the webstore address, not sure yet.  My daughter was kind enough to give me a cool book for Christmas this year that I think will help.  

This is it: 

I am really excited about this book, and hope to put it to good use this year.  It has a ton of info on blogging, free links and pages to help with site building, and a general wealth of information that I seriously need to be a better blogger.  

I am also thrilled with the Corel software I got and Santa brought me a Silhouette SD Machine!!  I have been so busy with friends and family that I honestly have had zero time to even open the boxes.  My mostest favorite sister came to visit me for Christmas and we had so much fun!  I love her dearly and she is my best friend in the world. 

So that's it for now, really.  I have a few more boxes to put away, a few more things to get organized, but all in all I think 2011 is just going to be exceptional on so many levels.  If I also eat a little better, exercise more and drop 20 lbs it will just be the icing on the *hoorah*  :D