the queen of pillowcases

Arghhh, ahoy matey's
I finally have the pics of some of the adorable pillowcases my friend Karen has been making.
It started out as a project for the children at the Shriner's Burn Hospital in Tampa. Our local quilt shop (Quilt Lover's Hangout) supplied instructions and also has kits to make fun colorful pillowcases for the children in the hospital. Well, Karen is hooked, and besides making them for the hospital she is making them for gifts now too. They are kind of addicting-ly easy and fun to
make. Plus, there are so many adorable fabrics to make them from. I have a stack started myself, but here are some of Karen's. I think she has made more since the pic. These are sure to bring a smile to someones face.

mmm...macs, meatpies & mini-cakes

It's been a busy yet productive week and I have been meaning to post this from last weekend.
We celebrated our 35th anniversary (yes I was married at age 4) and we also celebrated my father-in-laws birthday. We always offer them the choice of going out or to cook something at home.
My father-in-law opted for home cooked, which meant a day in the kitchen. But I made the most of it and decided to get creative with it. You know if you have lemons...blah, blah, blah.


Anyway ~ I saw a recipe for spicy meat pies on the food channel one day and decided to try them. They looked like fun and sounded tasty. Everyone loved them.
I then needed a simple side dish and so whipped up the macs& cheese recipe from my friend Marti. Oh-oh, come to think of it, I believe I promised you this recipe a while back, so look at the end of this post for the recipe - no really.
Then I decided to make a cake, then thought maybe cupcakes would be fun, then decided mini-cakes would be even more fun!
I baked the cake (devils food) in a larger then normal pan and adjusted the baking time so it wouldn't burn. After the cake cooled I cut it into about 3" squares. Then I made little individual layer cakes. I put cream cheese frosting in the inside, frosted the outside with chocolate, and then frosted the tops with cream cheese frosting and sprinkled them with grated dark chocolate.
I don't think I will win any awards for my frosting skills.

No, this is not a low cal meal but tomorrows will be.

So here is the super easy yummy macs & cheese recipe.

CAUTION; could become habit forming - use with care
Marti's Macs & Cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)
1 large jar of Cheese Whiz - yes I said Cheese Whiz (I think the jar is 12 oz. )
6 oz. milk
2 cups of elbow or small shell macaroni (measured uncooked)
1/2 cup bread or cracker crumbs - I used both because I ran out of bread crumbs
2 T. melted butter
Cook the pasta til al denté. Drain and rinse under cold water.
Spray a 2 qt. casserole (I used a 1-1/2 qt.and it bubbled over) with cooking spray.
Mix the Cheese Whiz, soup and milk together in the casserole. Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Bake in a 350 degree oven til bubbly and golden. About 40 minutes or so. Mix the bread crumbs and butter and sprinkle over the top about 10 minutes before it's done. (so after about 30 minutes)
That's it...told you it was easy and it's a crowd pleaser too.
Now off to nibble on some celery...... crunch, crunch, crunch

A fabric beads how-to demo

Hi, just wanted to let you know I just posted a new how-to demo on my website. The demo is for making fabric beads. They are super easy and lots of fun to make. One of the advantages is you can choose from your fabric stash to get just the right color for your project. Use them to string into a necklace or dangling earrings or use as an embellishment for an "arty" quilt. Check it out and give it a try when you have nothing better to do :)
I made these fabric beads to add to the fringe of a knitted scarf I just put in my Etsy store.
Have fun.

new kits

Just wanted to let you know about the new kits I just posted on my website.
The kits are for the Penny Pouch pattern which is a nice heart embellished little pouch made with woolfelt and blanket stitches. It also has a pattern for a matching scissor sheath. The pouch is great for carrying around small stitchery projects or to use for jewelry, makeup, or whatever.
A 6" x 9" vinyl project bag will slip neatly inside. The kits are available in several color ways and contain the pattern, all the woolfelt and plenty of pearl cotton to complete the project. This makes a great gift for stitching friends, give them the kit and let them make it!