NOV.15th (last day to place orders)

I will not be taking orders after Nov.15th till January. We will be leaving on vacation and will be traveling throughout the Holidays so I will not have time to take orders. So get your orders in now!

For the boys...

Since I have been doing so many girl designs, it is high time for the boys to be represented. Here are a few designs that I have been doing with boy themes.
Cute dinosaur applique from www.appliquecafe.com. I used green seersucker for the applique.

Santa Clause applique from www.sewforum.com. Don't you just love Santa's Minky dot fabric beard?

My favorite! My boys will be wearing rudolph this year! Rudolph applique from www.fivestarfonts.com. I really like the brown gingham fabric antlers!

Go Wild and Princess Ella!

Mouse shirt for a customer who is going to Disney World for the Animal Kingdom. Zebra and hot pink look really good together! Mouse applique from http://www.stitchontime.com/. Disney font from www.embroideryfontshop.com.

Princess shirt with crown applique from http://www.appliquecafe.com/. I added the word princess, that is not part of original design. I used minky dot fabric on the top and bottom of the applique. Can you tell I really like the minky dot fabric?! I seem to be using it on all my appliques lately.

Tip on using the minky dot: always use a sticky stabilizer on the back of the minky dot before appliqueing. It keeps it from stretching or moving in the applique process. Also DO NOT use a iron on the minky dot, it melts it and it loses its softness.

Non-traditional colors

Here are some more Thanksgiving/Christmas shirts in non-traditional colors. I love the hot pink/lime green for Christmas for girls. I also made a hot pink/lime green bow to match.

Thanksgiving/Christmas

Turkey applique from http://www.emblibrary.com/ with Curlz font and Christmas tree applique from http://www.sewforum.com/ with Curlz applique.

I can't believe the Holidays are so close at hand. I have been working hard this week, to finish up Thanksgiving and Christmas orders so that we can leave on vacation in a couple of weeks,YEA!!

More Orders!

Here are some new designs I have been working on! I love using minky dot fabric for appliques! The kids seem to like it also, since it feels so soft.

Cherie applique from http://www.jolsonsdesigns.com/ with brown minky dot fabric. Apex font from http://www.apexembdesigns.com/.

Bird applique from http://www.sewforum.com/ also with brown minky dot fabric. Pinafore font (can't remember where it came from)

Purse applique from www.ginabugs.com. IfI had a little girl I wouldn't want to part with this shirt! It turned out so cute! Pink minky dot fabric on top part of purse with Curlz font initial.

Customer Orders!

I am swamped with orders right now, but just wanted to post the latest of my creations! A dipaer bag set and some applique shirts! Enjoy!

Baby Shower FUN!

My sister-in-law had a Baby Shower on Saturday and I was so excited to make some baby girl things for her! Girly stuff is my favorite to make, because I LOVE all things pink and frilly!

The finished projects

Cherie applique font from www.jolsonsdesigns.com. This site is fabulous. All of their fonts are ONLY $3.00 each!

Resort font from www.8clawsandapaw.com . I tried something different by adding a ruffle to the bottom of the burp rag.

Love font and Curlz font. I have had these fonts for a LONG time so I am not sure where they came from.

Minky dot bib (my design) and burp cloth with Girls are weird font. The name Ava was a freebie from www.sewforum.com. For the burp rag I sewed the minky dot fabric down the center of the burp rag for a boutique look.
Cherie applique font from www.jolsonsdesigns.com. Again, home of the $3.00 fonts!

Same font as above, but just wanted to add these onesies came from the Dollar Tree! What a fabulous find for $1.00. They are constructed well for one buck and come in all colors and sizes.Since Baby Ava will be here before Christmas she has to have a Baby's First Chirstmas onesie to take a picture in!! Can't remember where the design is from, but as soon as I find it I will post it.

A fun way to trade!

A recently came across an add on craigslist where a lady who sells Mary Kay makeup was wanting to trade makeup for handmade items (bows, clothes, etc.). I use Mary Kay makeup and thought it sounded like a fun idea. Mary Kay makeup is not cheap if bought at full price, so I figured I could embroider some items for her and I would get my make-up for a fraction of the cost. Today we met at McDonalds and swaped items. It was such a fun way to trade items. I got my makeup and she got some cute embroidered items! (By the way, I looked the lady up on the Mary Kay website before I aggreed to the deal, she was a reputable Mary Kay seller.)

Boys R Gross font with football applique from http://www.sewforum.com/.

Minky dot blanket with Carmen font from http://www.8clawsandapaw.com/.

Pillowcase dress with fluttersleeves pattern from www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88150

The only thing I changed was the size of the sleeves. I cut out a 4 1/2in by 9 1/2in rectangle for each sleeve before hemmed and ruffled the bottom material before attaching.

Halloween pillowcase dress

I am so excited for HALLOWEEN!! It is one of my favorite holidays! I love putting decorations out and making the boys their Halloween costumes! A customer wanted a Halloween pillowcase dress and this is what I came up with. I am so thrilled with the results. It puts me in the Halloween mood. I also made a coupleof Halloween bows for customers.

Spider applique came from www.stitchontime.com. All the fabric came from Hobby Lobby. The pattern for the dress came from www.bumblebeelinens.com/pillowcaseDress.php
I changed the pattern slightly, using a yard of material instead of a pillowcase and adding a fourth of a yard of material to the bottom. I also added a different color of fabric for the casing around the neck.

Baby, baby , baby!!

It seems like everyone is having babies!! I can't keep up. I still have 3 more orders to finish by next week. Sounds like I am going to be busy,busy! Here are a few items I have made lately.

Blanket from Walmart with Carmen font from www.8clawsandapaw.com

My own bib design with ghost applique from www.embroiderygarden.com and name in Apex font from www.apexembdesigns.com
My own bib design made with Minky dot fabric with name in Resort Font from www.8clawsandapaw.com

Bib and burp rag set for my sister's friend. Font is Apex font and polka dots are free from www.sewforum.com.

Halloween,Fall, Birthday, Baby

I have been super busy with customer orders and gifts for friends! I am not complaining though, because I get to make stuff that I love while getting paid for it! :)

Halloween shirt for my niece. I think this ghost it just the right mix of cute and spooky! Ghost applique from www.sewforum.com with curlz font. The applique is filled with white minky dot fabric.

When I saw this little owl, I knew she would be perfect for fall! She looks just right with a bow on her head and a name on her tummy. Owl applique from www.picklepiedesigns.com with curlz font. The applique is filled with brown minky dot fabric.A personalized towel for my niece for her baptism/birthday! Flower applique from www.lynniepinnie.com with curlz font.

Baby set for a family member. I found this ribbon at Hobby Lobby and fell in love with the colors. Flower applique from www.lynniepinnie.com with Kaleigh font.

Helpful Information

I hope this sewing/embroidery blog becomes more than just a show it off blog, so I am starting to include the specific information on where to get the fonts/designs and patterns, along with some of my favorite products and tips/hints that I have learned along the way. Hopefully this will help any sewer/embroiderers out there looking for the pattern/design or font. I post my creations in order to give customers an idea of what they can order, but my main reason for posting my items is to inspire other people and give them new ideas for their home sewing/embroidering projects!! I am just a beginner sewer/embroiderer learning as I go. I still make many mistakes but LOVE having a creative outlet where I can de-stress. Thank you for letting me share all of my creations with you!!!

Some of my favorite Products!

I thought it might be useful to post some of the products that I use the most. These are tried and true products that wont let you down. I try many different brands of things until I find the ones that work the best at the best price. So here we go...





Cloth Diapers- Gerber Premium 6-ply prefold. I buy them at http://www.babiesrus.com/. The rest are JUNK these are the best ones out there to sew or embroider on. They hold up in the wash and don't shrink and pile like the other ones. They are super absorbent, but not too thick and work wonderfully for burp-rags!

Embroidery Thread- Metro thread from http://www.metroembroiderythread.com/. There are other very superior embroidery threads out there, but this seems to be the best quality for the cost. Good quality embroidery thread can be very expensive and cheap embroidery thread can break and shread. Metro thread seems to be a good combination of both good quality and price. I do have to use a thread stand with this thread since it is comes cross threaded on the spool, if not it will tangle when coming off the spool.


Bibs- Koala baby is the best quality for the price. I buy them at http://www.babiesrus.com/. The terry cloth does not pull out as in some bibs. They are not too thick to embroider on but are very absorbent. You can get them in white, boy colors or girl colors in 10-packs.
Stabilizer- Stabilizer is used on the back of items you embroider to hold them still and keep them from shifting. My favorite is Sulky Sticky on the roll, but it is very pricey. So to get it at a lower cost I have found that you have to wait till Hobby Lobby sends their 50% off coupons via e-mail and then purchase at half off. I never pay full price for it. Being that it is self-adhesive you can embroider items by hooping only the stabilizer and then sticking the item to embroider onto the sticky stabilizer. Thus for going the hooping of the item to be embroidered. It makes embroidering bulky or small items alot easier.Embroidery Soft Backing- I don't know if you have ever noticed, but items that I embroider have a soft lining over the back of them. This is too keep threads from unraveling, make it soft to the skin and to keep the embroidery from shrinking up in the wash. I use Cover-A-Stitch from http://www.allstitch.net/. You cut a piece a little bit bigger then your embroidery and then iron it over the back of your embroidery.

Craft glue- I absolutely LOVE Scotch Craft Stick. You can buy them at Wal-Mart in a two pack. I use it in the traditional way for scrapbooking, but my main use is to hold down ribbon, fabric or trim in the proper position, in stead of pins, before sewing. I measure my fabric,ribbon or trim and then glue it down to the burp rag or bib. You can then reposition it till you get it perfect and then let it dry. After drying (which takes a matter of minutes) you can sew the item on with no stretching, shifting or pins to get in your way. You will get a perfectly straight ribbon,trim or fabric each time!

More baby items

Cute diaper/wipes holder for a customer. Boyz R Gross font from http://www.sewforum.com/. Free pattern for the diaper/wipes holder at www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/dipecase.html. I enlarged the pattern by an inch on the sides.

Brown and Blue seem to be the hot baby colors this year! Here is another brown and blue baby set for a customer. Carmen font from http://www.8clawsandapaw.com/ and Cheri applique font from http://www.jolsonsdesigns.com/.

My sister is having a baby girl, very soon! I can't wait to have a new niece!! Good Luck Lenora with the delivery of baby Julia! Resort font from http://www.8clawsandapaw.com/. Apex font from http://www.apexembdesigns.com/.

Back to School!

I embroidered this backpack for one of my YW who lives down the street. I LOVE the teal and hot pink together! It is embroidered in Curlz font .

This one is my oldest son's backpack for Kindergarten! They have to wear uniforms so the backpack is the only thing that they can express their personality with (at least I hope he dosen't get in trouble for having a design on his backpack). Cooper picked out the pirate skull. It is embroidered in Apex font .

Baby Bryson

A baby set I did for my friend Jennifer. The cursive font is Resort font and the curly font is Carmen font. They both came from sewforum.com. I really like how the blue and brown looks together!

Dresses for my nieces

I made these dresses awhile back, but wanted to put them on my blog to show some dress styles that I can make. The brown and pink one was for my niece Emily and the blue striped seersucker was for my niece Anna. Later I added an applique A to the seersucker,but forgot to take a picture. Free dress pattern from www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88150

Customer Orders

I did these shirts for a customer for her 18 month old daughter. I love doing short names because I can do different fonts and appliques and not worry about running out of room. I really like the applique name.

Applique name found at www.sewforum.com

Baby Boy Set

This green and blue polka dot fabric has been one of my favorites to use for boy things. I bought around 3 yards of it and have used it to make diaper bags, burp cloths, bibs, t-shirts and much more. Finally I have used it down to the last piece. It makes me sad to see it gone. Who knew you could become so attached to a certain print of fabric! :)

Towels

Beach towels for the boys to use at the pool.

For a special girl on her Baptism/Birthday! Her favorite colors are red and blue!

Sports fan

Any sports fans out there? This had become one of my most popular sports fan baby sets! I also have a Bama baby set and a Saints fan set, so let me know if you have a favorite team and I will design a set for you. The pawprint applique and the Varsity font are free from http://www.sewforum.com/.

Flower Power

I love this flower applique from http://www.lynniepinnie.com/. It is very cute for little girls. The short sleeve shirt was for a big sister (I did an onesie for the baby to match, but forgot to take a picture) and the sleeveless shirt was for my niece. The polkadot fabric is from Hobby Lobby and looks fantastic with this applique.

Little boys in blue!

I LOVE this blue seersucker and had been trying to figure out what I could make with it for the boys. For Cooper I finally decided on a pair of shorts with a applique sailboat t-shirt. For Carter I went with a simple jon-jon with red initials. Both the shorts and the jon-jon patterns are very simple sewing and are great for the beginner sewer. For the jon-jon I did something different this time. I altered the pattern and added snaps to the bottom. It was a first for me, and I was excited that it actually worked!! The pattern calls for a closed bottom, but snaps make is ALOT easier for diaper changes!

If anyone wants an easy first time jon-jon pattern it is the Martha Pullen pattern in her yellow applique book. (it comes with a girls a-line dress pattern and an apron pattern also.)

The sailboat was a free design from www.sewforum.com and the letters on the jon-jon are from www.ggdesignsembroidery.com pencil font.

A little bit fishy!

I have had this fish design for a while and have been wanting to try it,but have not been able to find the time. Well today was a rainy Memorial Day and our plans of going to the beach or the pool did not work out so I decided to do a bit of sewing. Here is the end result! I am in LOVE with this fish. It turned out cuter than expected. The tail of the fish is 3D which means it moves and is not attached to the shirt except at the tip. It was sewn first seperately and then attached as I was doing the fish body.

The fish design is from www.lynniepinnie.com.

Cooking 101

My group of Young Women from church are doing a 3 week crash course on cooking. For the first activity I was in charge and decided to make all the girls personalized aprons. I only put their first initial on them since I had 12 girls to make aprons for, but I think they turned out really cute! Best of all the girls were really excited to have an apron created just for them. After the activities are all over they will get to take the aprons home and cook up some delicious recipes!

The Whimsy dots font is from http://www.fivestarfonts.com/.

Baby gifts and more

Okay Jill, now that I have finally given you all of your baby gift items, I can post them on here. I was determined to keep them a surprise until your shower, even though they were oohhed and aahhed over by my sister-in-law the day before.
Diaper bag and wipes/diaper holder (my first time ever making these items)Minky dot blankie (all I can say is Minky dot is TOUGH to sew with, it stretches all over the place)
Hooded bath towel and t-shirt Burp-rag (Nathan and Jill have two dogs, so we couldn't let them feel left out!!)

Saints bib ( Don't you love my little model?)

I had so much fun doing this set!! Since I found out that the baby's name was going to be Drew from very early on, I had plenty of time to make things and just have fun playing around with new designs. So for all of you pregnant mommas who want some gift items from me, you better talk Jills lead and tell me the baby's name months in advance. :)

Also on this post I made some items for Aunt Jane to give to her grandbabies. I hope they like the designs!! I never know if kids are going to wear the stuff I make, because if they are like my kids they have their own ideas about fashion. :)

Customer orders

Awhile back I put some ads on craigslist for my embroidery items and got around 10 orders. I was so excited that people liked my work, but even more excited that they were willing to pay for it. Last week I got some more orders from previous customers, which is awesome, because it shows that they liked my work enough to order again! So here it is~~

Girl 3-piece applique set (bib, burprag, onesie)

Boy 2-piece name set (Bib,burprag)