Victorian Halloween Tussy Mussy's and a Sneak Peek

Bubba and I went to 2 Flea Markets this morning.  I found some little bits and bobs.  A few vintage millinery flowers, a bit of old lace, an old mirrored dresser tray and a couple of gorgeous frames for my crazy quilting.  I didn't take any photos because it isn't anything all that exciting but you'll see everything eventually as I use them.

When we got home, I packaged up 2 orders, washed some dishes and sat outside on the deck for a little bit.  It's a hot one today!!!!  Very humid again!

I just finished adding a couple more of Mom's Victorian Halloween Tussy Mussy's to the shop:

Mom is having some surgery the end of September to relieve a pinched nerve and wanted to get her Halloween things ready early.  I believe mom has some Thanksgiving Tussy Mussy's ready for the shop too.  I'll be seeing her tomorrow so I'll know for sure then.

And speaking of seeing Mom tomorrow, I'll take my laptop over and mom will write her next "Notes From Mom" post.  I can upload it when I get home tomorrow.

So let's see, what else is happening here?  Well, Bubba snapped a few photos of Nightmare sleeping in the rocking chair:

Scott and I learned a long time ago, never to wake up a sleeping Nightmare!  LOL!!! 

In other news,  I've decided to take a little Pink Saturday break for a few weeks.  I want to get back to writing my Creatively Coping articles and I have some new project ideas that I want to work on.  I have to remind myself that I'm only one person and can only do so much so I'll take a break from Pink Saturday for a few weeks to do some other things.

I'll leave you with a sneak peek of my Lady With Roses Crazy Quilt piece:

Happy Pink Saturday Everyone!

Another lovely Pink Saturday!!!  I have 2 things to share with you today.  Both of these gorgeous Victorian Tussy Mussy's were made by mom:

These were custom orders.  I love it when mom does kitties!  If anyone is interested in a custom order for Tussy Mussy's, please drop me an email.  Mom is thrilled when she's asked for something special!!!

Before I head out for today, we're really getting close to 300 followers.  That means we can have our drawing for my Sewing Art Quilt soon!! 

If you would like to enter to win this quilt, please click here for the details.

I would like to say thank you to our Pink Saturday hostess Beverly at How Sweet The Sound.  Please take a moment to visit Beverly's blog and while you're there, check out some of the other sweet Pink Bloggers!

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.