Friday, August 29, 2014

Alice in Wonderland Flamingo Croquet Mallet & Hedgehog Ball Pin Toppers


I owed a friend of mine a favor and his mom just happens to like sewing and Alice in Wonderland! So I created her this trio of pins.

Do you remember the part in the movie where Alice plays croquet with a flamingo as a mallet and that poor little hedgehog is smacked around like a ball?
I have always loved the Queen of Hearts' garden in the movies. I designed the tree to represent her and also when she demands that the roses be painted red (hence the one little rose in the left hand corner with red edges.
I decided to make this set available in my shop. Each pin is a la carte too!

Thursday, August 21, 2014

LOVE Patchwork & Quilting Magazine Blurb


Hello Friends~
Well it's been a really long time since I've posted here on Blogger. It's quite embarrassing actually lol. Anyway, I'm trying to stay connected as of now let's see how it goes!
Tomorrow in the UK my little pins will be in issue #10 of LOVE Quilting & Patchwork! So excited to see it in person! Here's the proof page:
When I was contacted the gal asked if they could use pictures of my pins from Etsy since there wasn't enough time for me to make pins and then send them so I sent her a few pics to choose from. Whoever edited my original photo did an excellent job! This is a shot of my original here:

Kinda cool huh? I thought so too : )
Well friends I hope to post again very soon. I'm working on a Halloween pincushion already which I'm very excited about! Fingers crossed I can stay on track.
I bid you adieu,
Annie

Sunflower Sisters



A gal contacted me recently and asked if I could make her some special Sunflower pins for a quilting retreat she's attending up in Washington State next week. She and her friends call themselves The Sunflower Sisters! The seeds in the photo are Mammoth and I'm growing them in my yard this Summer. Some of them are reaching as high as 10 feet so far!

Triple Layer Vanilla Cake with Pink Icing and a Garden Rose Pin Topper


I love it when someone orders a pin from me and they say "Can you make me something special?"
My answer is always Yes! I've only made a triple layer cake slice one other time because it's a bit time consuming but I'm happy to say I'll kindly do it again.


I sculpted the rose in white and then painted it after it was baked so it ended up with a little more detail than usual.
The Mad Hatter Pincushion available too in many color combinations! I'm working on a dark gray schemed one for Fall. More pics coming soon.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

An Old Fashioned Favorite

A Birthday Girl requested Old Fashioned Home Made Chocolate Chip Cookies for her birthday CAMP OUT last night. My mom was an amazing baker back when I was growing up. She loved crisp light cookies the best. In the recipe following I've adapted an American Icon's classic Blue Ribbon Recipe ~ Mrs. Debbi Fields!

2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar (Mrs. Fields uses 1/2 c. sugar)
1/4 flaked coconut (Mrs. Fields omits coconut)
2 sticks of butter (salted & softened)
2 large eggs
2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. chocolate chips (Mrs. Fields uses 2 c. of chocolate chips)
1 c. chopped walnuts (Mrs. Fields omits walnuts)

Has anyone ever heard about baking cookies SLOW & LOW before? I swear it really does the trick.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well and set aside.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, blend sugars and butter to form a grainy paste. Scrape the sides of the bowl down. Add eggs and vanilla just until blended ~ DO NOT OVERMIX!
Add the flour mixture, chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts at low speed ~ again do not overmix! Drop the dough by rounded Tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 18-22 mins. I usually bake at 18 mins on the dot but some ovens are different. Transfer immediately to a cool surface or wire rack.