Embroidered Shabby Chic Pillows

During the month of the December, Mom & I decided to keep our crafting simple.  We pulled out my boxes of Vintage Iron-On Embroidery Transfer Patterns.  We traced a bunch of things so we had some easy projects to Stitch on during the holiday chaos activities.  We both completed a few projects:

First is mom's Shabby Chic Candlewick Pillow:

And then Mom made this lovely Blue Floral Door Knob Hanger:

I've been stitching on some Baby Pillows.  Here is my Pink Baby Door Hanger:

All are available in my Shabby Chic Boutique at Etsy.

I have more Baby Pillows that I'll share tomorrow.  The camera battery needs to be charged!

I spent my morning working on some Valentine's Day Decorations.  I'll have photos of those soon! 

In other news, as per my Dr.'s consent, I started to decrease my dosage of Zoloft again.  I'm alternating 50 milligrams one day and then 37 1/2 milligrams the next day.  I have to go back & forth on that to help keep the withdrawals down to a tolerable level.

The side effects of the Zoloft have gotten bad again.  Screwy weirdo dreams all night long, horrible sweating and back pain that is indescribable!  I'm hoping to notice some improvements in the next few weeks.

Well, I'll be back tomorrow with more of my Embroidered Cottage Style Baby Pillows!

Needle Felted Polar Bear

I've been wanting to share this gorgeous Hand Needle-felted Polar Bear with you for awhile now.  This beautiful Felt Polar Bear was made by Kathi for a Custom Order:

The limbs are not sewn on.  The entire bear is felted as one piece!  Kathi is very good with 3 dimensional needle felting.  He measures 10 1/2 inches long by 5 1/2 inches high.  Kathi made 2 crocheted scarfs for him as well.  This Polar Bear is a gorgeous piece!

Kathi also made the Needle Felted Snowman in photo #3.  They too are absolutely adorable!  There are several available for purchase in my Shabby Chic Boutique on Etsy.

Shabby Lane Shops Magazine - New Year, Romance Issue

You might enjoy picking up a copy of the latest Shabby Lane Shops Magazine - New Year, Romance Issue.

This Valentine magazine is loaded with wonderful Recipes, Do It Yourself Projects, Short Stories and Featured Articles by Shabby Lane Shops members.  I have an article in this issue along with a fun tutorial!

This magazine is available in over 300 newsstands including select Barnes & Noble Stores.  You can also order directly from Shabby Lane Shops website.  Lovely ideas for the Shabby Chic and Cottage Style Home.

Please visit my Shabby Chic Boutique at Etsy

It Ain't All About The Cookin' by Paula Deen - BOOK REVIEW

I always gravitate towards non-fiction. I prefer biographies, auto biographies and how-to books to drama and fantasy.  I have ADD!  There's plenty of drama and fantasy in my life!


Paula Deen is one of the most charming television personalities on Food Network. Her down home southern charm compliments her old-fashioned, southern cooking quite nicely.

I recently read this wonderful book and I thought my readers would enjoy hearing about it and perhaps reading it themselves.

Paula, did not always live the charmed life that she does now. Although she started out with wonderful, loving, parents and family, her strong family roots didn't keep her from making mistakes along the way. We're all human, right?

Paula struggled with Depression, Panic Attacks and Agoraphobia. Unless someone has experienced these debilitating Disorders, they have no clue what it does to the physical, mental and emotional being and the spiritual being. Yet, without this experience, Paula may never have risen to the "Queen Of Butter" that she is now. After reading this wonderful, well written memoir, I truly believe that what doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger!

It Ain't All About The Cookin' by Paula Deen is one of the best auto biographies I've read in years! Paula has a wonderful sense of humor and her writing is quite the reflection of her speaking!  Meaning, she writes just like she talks!  Fun!

I have loved Paula Deen since I first saw her on Food Network years ago!  She's down to earth, kind, giving and thoughtful.  If you suffer from depression, you might find it helpful to know that many celebrities suffer with it as well.  If you love to cook and bake or if you're thinking about starting your own restaurant business, you'll definitely want to read this book!  Paula also includes some of her best loved recipes!

If you do suffer from depression, anxiety or panic disorder, you might like to read my articles on Coping With Depression.

Vintage Hats Vintage Millinery Flowers

I'm back and I must say, I'm so looking forward to having my routine back to normal!  It's been a busy week and I'm worn out.  But now things can settle down and I can get back to stitching, sewing and glue-guning!  LOL!!!

We've done some shopping this week and I found 4 Vintage Hats with Vintage Millinery Flowers in the antique mall.  I buy these old hats and then take them apart and use the Vintage Flowers on my projects:

And here are the Vintage Millinery Flowers that I end up with:

I save everything from these old hats that I can.  If there's trim or usable fabric, I save it.  Waste not, want not! Would you like to see how to take these old hats apart?  See my Taking Apart Vintage Hats Tutorial.

I use these Vintage Flowers on my Crazy Quilts, Fabric Cuff Bracelets and other projects.

In other news, my sweet friend Cathy Scalise of Treasured Heirlooms included one of my Crazy Quilt pieces in a beautiful Etsy Treasury.  If you have a free moment, please see that Etsy Treasury and please leave a comment.  If it gets enough views and comments, it may make it to Etsy's front page!