My Blog Has Moved!

I've decided to change my blog address, to accommodate my new craft business Early Bird Special. Please update your links/rss and keep up to date with me at my new address!

Weekend Stitching

Over the weekend, Laura and I went to Tulsa for a mini getaway. It was my first time to be away from Darcy, since she's been born. I got a reminder of what it was like to just be me, not Mom, and have a girl's night. It was a lot of fun, and yes, of course I missed my little beast. But I would do it again, and I'm looking forward to another girl's weekend. Pool & libations? Mmm, twist my arm!

On the drive up to Tulsa, I worked on some embroidery, of course. I chose to work on the Lady of Guadalupe design from the Dia de los Muertos patterns. Even though I started some of the design the night before we left, I managed to finish it by the time we got home the next afternoon. I decided to put it on a pillow, and I absolutely love the way it turned out.






All in all, I'd say it took between 5 - 6 hours. Not too bad. I have it listed in my Etsy shop now, and hopefully I'll be shipping it off to someone special soon!

Interview with Yours Truly!

Last week I was asked to be interviewed for the fantastic new embroidery blog, Feeling Stitchy. This is a blog for the Flickr embroidery group, and it's very inspirational.

I had a lot of fun with this, and was very flattered to be asked for an interview. So check out the interview, and leave me a comment either here or there, letting me know you read it! I hope you enjoy learning a little bit more about me and my stitching style.

-x-x-x-x-x-
Amy

P.S. Special thanks to Floresita for designing my new blog banner!

For the Love of Flynn!

Earlier this week, my friend Erin hosted a Stitch 'n Bitch at her place. Since she recently had a baby boy, this was the most convenient arrangement for her. Which was fine with me, because it doubled as a happy hour, and I finally got to meet her tiny love!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to her baby shower a few months ago, so I wanted to take something. Of course the best baby gifts are hand made gifts, and this is a preference for me. So I whipped up a super cute gift set. I embroidered a rocket ship felt patch and sewed that to a onesie & made burp cloths out of some adorable robot print fabric I scored on eBay a couple of years ago. Finally, I found a project for it!


(Click for a larger picture!)



Erin loved the gift, and I'm looking forward to seeing how adorable Flynn looks. I'm pretty sure it's cute enough for a Baby Wardrobe Remix session.

Space Cadet Onesie

I know my last few posts have been food related, but don't worry, I am still crafting! I've been quite busy lately, just lazy about blogging. I just post pictures of my projects on Flickr, and forget about my blog. So in an attempt to be a better blogger, I'll post a finished project for you.

I bought this cute onesie for Darcy at Target a couple of days ago. I decided to cute it up even more by adding an embroidered patch. I busted out the ol' faithful "Atomique" patterns by Sublime Stitching. I decided it would be easiest on felt, and it turned out perfect!





I'm pretty sure Darcy is going to make the onesie even cuter.

-x-x-x-x-
Amy

Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcakes

I saw this recipe on the Martha Stewart website about a month ago. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to make these for Father's Day. My Stepdad's favorite cookie is a peanut butter cookie, and well, to see it in a cupcake form, look out! His second favorite flavor is cream cheese and that's literally the icing on the cake.

Peanut Butter Cookie Cupcake recipe.

I packaged it all up using a cupcake box kit from the new line of Martha Stewart crafts, sold at Michael's. Kimmy and I were couldn't stop squealing with delight from all the pretty paper goods this line has to offer. We really had to control ourselves. We love you, Martha.

The box only holds six cupcakes, but I think that's a perfect gift amount. The kit came with 6 boxes, so I'll have plenty of other opportunities to share sweets. This particular recipe made 18 cupcakes, so John will be taking the rest to work tomorrow. They are so delicious!

Almond Joyful Cupcakes

Yesterday was Dan's birthday at John's work, and I decided to make him some Almond Joyful cupcakes. I had made these a time before, and Dan loved them. So I thought they would be great for his birthday. John said they were a hit, and he didn't share them with anyone in the tech department. Instead he shared them with some of the higher-ups, and had several left over to take home. I just love it when my baked goods are a success!

These are really delicious, and so creamy, topped with a coconut almond frosting, I think they are the perfect almond joy cupcake. Give them a try and fall in love for yourself.


Almond Joyful Cupcakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup coconut cream (or coconut milk)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, & line your muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder & salt.
3. In a larger bowl, mix together the coconut cream, sugar, & the extracts.
4. Add the flour mixture to your coconut mixture in batches, mixing well after each incorporation. Mix until smooth & then fold in the shredded coconut.
5. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 24-26 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack & cool completely.

Coconut Almond Frosting
1/4 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons coconut cream
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Directions
1. Beat the shortening until it's light and fluffy. Add the sugar and the coconut cream, mixing until smooth, about 3 minutes. Then stir in the shredded coconut by hand.

After I frosted these cupcakes, I put them in the fridge for about 15 minutes to let the frosting set. You could also top each cupcake with a chocolate covered almond if you have them on hand. Perfect!