Baptism Towels

My Embroidery Machine is going in for a check up and a cleaning tomorrow. I have had company for 6 weeks and haven't had much sewing time lately. So, as you can imagine, it will be hard to see my little friend go in for a few days.  Hopefully she will come back purring like a kitten. My last little project on my machine was this CTR towel. Our ward (church group ) provides the towels for the children getting baptized and I put a simple CTR on them in the primary colors. CTR stands for Choose The Right.  I have seen some very fancy baptism towels with names and dates on them, but this works well for our purpose. We have a large primary, and this way they are ready for any child to dry off with on their special day. The child of course gets to keep them as a memento. When my machine comes home, I will finish the stack of other towels so they will be ready for their moment to shine, or dry, or whatever.

My Wrap Wreath

One thing  you will learn about me is that I absolutely love aqua and red. This wreath is in  my living room. It worked for Christmas because my decor is none other than aqua and red, and it was ok to leave it up long past the season, because it still matches in there.

I used the thick yarn to wrap around a styrofoam wreath. It took me about 2 1/2 hours of wrapping. I tied a  knot in the beginning wrap, and then just wrapped over it. At the end, I did the same, tied a knot and hid it under some wraps.

I found this lovely white button in my stash. I am pretty sure I bought it at JoAnn's fabrics.

I love the wool felt. The thickness is awesome. They sell a lot better selection now at Micheal's Crafts.  I was one excited girl to find the aqua back there on their shelf. I even bought an extra stash of it to play with in the future.

Mary Engelbreit rocks

My daughter Elizabeth gave me this book about 8 years ago. I am a Mary Engelbreit fan. I love her sweet illustrations and the bright colors. This little book is full of Valentine little posters. Sometimes I want to cut this book up and frame the pictures, but that poses some problems. The first is my book would then be messed up, the second, I would have to decide which side to use. All of the drawings are so cute, that would be hard. So, I have decided to leave it in its perfect condition and just adore it as it was meant to be adored.

 Each page is so cute. I was seriously trying to pick a favorite to share, and as you can see, I couldn't pick just one.

She gets every little detail right. I love her little signature ' ME'. How is that for perfect initials?

This is one of my favorites, ahh

I love this one too.

Now come on, wouldn't these be cute framed?

Remember when I mentioned her attention to detail? In the little book is a vellum envelope attached to  the inside cover with a little gift heart.  Isn't it just so beautiful?

Even the back is covered in cuteness. 

My Valentine Decorations

I know it is a little late to share Valentine decor, since most of  you will be taking yours down today, but I just wanted to share some of  the things I had displayed this year.

I really love my embroidery machine. There are so many fun things you can make with them. I love this design on my pillow I made, my little love birds.

We made these little wooden stands at a Super Saturday at our church. I  will do a tutorial of them soon. I was teaching another class at the time so  my friend Staci put these together for me. I need more, so when I make them I will share it with you. My friend Marcia sent me that puppy card last year. It was a must keep for my holiday decor. I just love it. The blocks were a fun find in the Target dollar bins one year. I love a good bargain. Those poor blocks keep getting switched around to say all kinds of things this  year. Little hands keep spelling a certain not so Valentiney word. Good thing I checked before this pic was taken.

This board was my attempt at decoupage. I found out it was harder than I thought. Don't look too close. I just had a board on hand, and left over doo dahs from my scrap booking phase and I put this together.

I found this door at a Good Will store for $35. I was with my daughter at the time and we were fighting over it. I won. It hangs in my courtyard by my front door. I tried to decoupage again. This attempt was a little more successful. I sprinkled some glittery stones on them before they dried. I waited a few hours, (maybe not, I am not that patient while crafting), and then hot glued them onto a ribbon.. 

My Be Mine blocks came from a party I went to last year. My friend Sierra won them. She knew I liked them, and she liked the prize I won, so we switched. Friends are good. I found this white metal tree at a store called Real Deals. I like to decorate it for different holidays. Some day I would like to find little frames and decoupage pics of my family in them. The little keys were found in the $1 bins at Micheal's. I couldn't pass them up. Too cute!

I made this Be Mine banner on my embroidery machine. I have been getting into the banner mode lately. This one looks a little vintage to me. It was tough to take this photo because my dog kept wanting to get in the shot. She can be pretty sneaky at times. I am sure you will see her in some other post. I also made that love pillow on the table. I love decorating for the seasons.

I have been married for 33 years to my Mark. That may seem like forever to some, but to me, it is just a beginning. I made this little pillow for fun. It is nice to have some things personalized.  I love my husband. On the Friday before Valentines Day  he took me out to dinner. While we were driving there, he turned to me and asked, "Why aren't you wearing any earrings"?  I reminded him that my ears closed up about 6 years ago. I noticed the panic in his eyes, and I asked him if he got me earrings for Valentines day- which he did. That night after dinner we went to the mall and got my ears pierced again. That was a fun night.

Valentines Treat Bags

February, the month of love.  I had a few friends that needed a little sweetness, so I came up with this from an idea I saw on pinterest. Aren't they cute?  These little bags are awesome. You will want the 1x8" bags. They even have a self seal top. I bought the heart toppers at JoAnn's Fabrics, or you can make your own pretty toppers. These came together really quickly, and every one likes chocolate, right?  Skittles would also work. I love how you can buy candy in colors to match any holiday.

I tied a few up with ribbon and put on a tag, or they would be fun 

to put by a table setting, or to display in a vase.

I love the white ones in the mix. I had to really sort through the bag to get enough of them. I liked at least 4 whites ones in each bag, but that could be just me.

                                               

  Happy Valentines Day!