Drawings

Gerry at Older Rose is having the loveliest give away!  There are 2 prizes. This gorgeous pincushion:

And these incredible beautiful hand-painted buttons:

Please hop over to Gerry's blog and enter her drawing.  

Oh, those buttons with the bluebirds just scream at me!

And don't forget about my drawing for this sweet little Sewing Art Quilt:

 

When I reach 300 followers, my husband will draw a name from the basket and the winner will receive this quilt!  I'm almost so there!!!  Details can be found here.

I wanted to give you an update on my current work in progress.  I got home from WalMart today and decided that housework and laundry could wait.  I needed to stitch so stitch I did!

 

I did a lot of silk ribbon roses on this piece.  It's not quite done yet.  I still have some do-dads to add so be sure to stop back and see it completed.  I'll be framing this one.

Lastly for today, I added 2 more of mom's Victorian Halloween Tussy Mussy's to the shop:

  

These are just so pretty!!  Very glittery and festive!  They can be found here.

I guess that's the new for today.  Be sure to stop by on Saturday for my Pink Saturday post!

Grandma Kellogg's Sugar Cookies

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before or not.  My husband Scott is a Kellogg of the Kellogg's from Battle Creek, Michigan.  William Keith Kellogg, who invented Corn Flakes, was my husband's great, great, great uncle.

Being that we like anything vintage and that we're rather proud of my husband's heritage, we have gathered a few fun Kellogg's collectibles.  The above tin sign is a reproduction but I love the soft colors.

I charted this little sampler from an old Kellogg's advertisement magazine page:

If memory serves me, I stitched this little sampler 3 times.  One for Scott's dad, one for Scott's sister and of course, one for us.

This magazine ad is quite old.  My sister gave it to Scott for his birthday one year.  That little cat underneath is some sort of tin mold.  I picked it up at Flea Market years ago.  It's one of my favorite treasures.  It's rusty and crusty and I love it!

This plate came from the Kellogg's corporate headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan:

We visited there years ago and they treated us to a lovely tour of the facility.  Before we left, they gave us this beautiful collector's plate and a copy of W.K. Kellogg's biography.

These treasures hang in my kitchen.  And speaking of my kitchen, I thought I would share with you today, Grandma Kellogg's Sugar Cookie recipe.

Grandma Kellogg's Sugar Cookies are to die for!!!!  I have always loved them.  In my personal opinion, these are the best sugar cookies I've ever had.  Grandma knew I loved them and she went out of her way to make them whenever she knew I was going to be there.

Scott's grandma was a tiny little women with a big heart and a strong attitude.  She loved to bake and was really good at it!  She also crocheted but knitting was her thing.  Grandma passed away 2 years ago in September.  She was almost 93 years old.

She had given me her recipe for her Sugar Cookies a few years before she died.  What a treasure to have that recipe in Grandma's handwriting!  Unfortunately, although I've tried to make these several times, they never compared to Grandma's.  Grandma used Oleo, which to my understanding is a type of margarine.  I've always used real butter in my cookies.

I recently gave Grandma's recipe to my sister Kathi.  She made a batch the other day and guess what?  They are darn close!!!  Very close!

So here's the recipe for Grandma Kellogg's Sugar Cookies which she called, Ethel's Sugar Cookies:

3/4 cup Shortening (part Oleo)
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 teaspoon flavoring (part Lemon/part Vanilla)
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt

Chill for at least one hour.
Roll to 1/8 inch thick.  (Grandma's cookies were actually about 1/4 inch thick.)
Bake 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

Cream Oleo & shortening with sugar.  Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time and beat well.
Add flavorings.
Add sifted flour, baking powder and salt a little at a time and mix well.
Chill covered at least 1 hour - better over night.

Grandma always frosted these with Royal Icing.  YUM!!!!!

If you try these, please let me know what you think of the.  I miss Grandma Kellogg and the stories she used to tell me.  She was very fond of me and very good to me.

In other news, I want to share our latest addition to the shop:

Is this too cute or what?  This is an original needle-felted Halloween Cat by Kathi!  Check out the spider on the pumpkin.  I am so in love with this little sweetie.   I can't believe Kathi did all that in needle-felting.  Amazing!

Before I head off to stitch, here's an update on my latest crazy quilt project:

Book Review - The Handmade Market Place

A few years back, who would have thought there would be a book available on how to sell handmade items online, at craft shows and in brick & mortar stores?  Handmade is all the rage these days and I think it's going to continue to grow.  People are tired of mass produced, poorly made, big box store items.  People want quality.  People want things that will last and things that are made with love and care.  Shoppers are looking for a more old-fashioned way of life and they're starting with buying handmade.

I picked up Kari Chapin's "The Handmade Marketplace" over the weekend.  It was an easy read, filled with warmth & humor and I can honestly tell you that Kari doesn't miss a thing!

This book covers everything from branding your business (I didn't understand what that was until I read the book) to dealing with taxes & paperwork to advertising both online and in the real world.

Kari discusses photographing your work, blogging, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and how to choose which online marketplace is right for you.

Loaded with tips and helpful suggestions from some of the most successful crafters in today's world, I strongly recommend that if you plan to open an online shop (or if you already have one) or if you plan to work craft shows, farmers markets and the like, this book is a must read.

I was thankful to find out that I've already been doing much of what Kari's book covers but I learned a few things and I'm thrilled to have a handbook where all the info is in one place.    If you love making things like I do, pick this one up.  You won't be sorry.

Before I head out today, I'll leave you with mom's latest creations, Victorian Halloween Tussy Mussy's:

These are available here.

Peach Pound Cake Recipe

I mentioned yesterday on Facebook that I was making Peach Poundcake.  The response to that post was amazing!  Everyone was asking me where I found the recipe.  We'll it's a Taste Of Home recipe that found.  It sounded so good that I just had to try it:

They are indeed, AWESOME!  I made mine into cupcakes as you can see and after trying one, I decided that they didn't need frosting.  Nor do they need the extra calories!  LOL!!!!

Here's the recipe:

PEACH POUND CAKE

* 1 cup butter, softened
* 2 cups sugar
* 6 eggs
* 1 teaspoon almond extract
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 2 cups diced fresh or frozen peaches
* Confectioners' sugar

Directions:
* In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the batter alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Fold in the peaches.
* Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350° for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Yield: 12-16 servings.

~~ Taste of Home June/July 2003~~

I actually found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs but for the life of me now, I just can't remember which one.  I feel bad because I like to give credit where credit is due. If I remember, I will add the link.


For now, give this recipe a try while peaches are still in season.  I used fresh peaches and like I said, these are wonderful!


Tomorrow, I will post a book review.  For now, I'll leave you with my current work in progress:

Quick Edit:  I found the recipe on Sheri's Prim Rose Hill Studio blog.  Please stop by and say hello.  Here blog is just lovely!!!  And she has another recipe that I want to try!

New Items In Pam's Etsy Shop

My little cat is my signature, my logo or brand so to speak.  I love making these sweet little crazy quilt cat dolls.  I worked this one in a Cottage Style:

Just like with real cats, no two are alike!

I also listed a gorgeous pair of Goldstone earrings by Kathi:

Check out the sparkle on those goldstone beads at the bottom!  So glittery!!!  The pearls are freshwater copper pearls and Kathi uses only Sterling silver for the hooks or posts!

Both can be found here.