I HAVE MADE FIRE!

Ok, not really, fire, just felt cupcakes, though I'm sure my feelings of elation at creating the perfect cupcake would mirror the elation one would feel if they created fire whilst stranded on a deserted island.

It was a very long and arduous process for me to make these little cuppies. I have for awhile now, not been very fond of my tea party cupcakes, not just as far as making them goes, but also the fact that they looked more like a little fondant covered mini cake, rather than an actual cupcake. So one evening a month or so ago I got out my rusty, trusty muffin tin and began trying to figure out how to get the right size and shape.

It was a long battle, going from tyring to make an actual cupcake liner with a separate cupcake to go inside, or a liner with a sewn-in cupcake, or just the actual cupcake. The only thing I succeeded in doing was finally getting a chance to use my new pinking shears. I dropped the project out of frustration - nothing I did looked good/right.

Then, last week, I picked up one of the failed patterns I'd made - I traced, I cut, I stitched, and then like magic, or a spark of fire, I had created the perfect cupcake. Yes! A skill I'm sure would help me if I were ever to get stranded on an island.

Sweet Girlie Purse

A new purse for my shop. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I can name my little girl's purses I would love to hear them. I really like the pattern I came up with for my purse and want to stick with it (as I'm not really in the business of making purses) so I feel the need to name it.

For awhile I called them Prairie point purses, but then went back to Sweet Girlie Purse (which I'm not a fan of really) because I didn't think most people would realize that the little fabric triangles are called Prairie Points and then therefore not understand the correlation between the item and the title. I want them to have a cute name, but also one that says that these are little girls purses. Any suggestions would be welcome!

The Art of Crochet

Ever since my friend Ash came to visit in January and showed me how to crochet flowers, I've become obsessed with learning how to knit and crochet. My grandma helped my cousin Jennifer and I crochet potholders. She showed us this awesome method. I called her to tell her how I wished she could teach me again and she explained it over the phone. She said, "You won't believe what will happen, it's the coolest thing!" And she was right. Man, I never thought I'd get so excited about things like knitting and crocheting when I was younger. BUT I DO! I love them.

So here's what I did: I chained like 60 stitches. (I wanted it to be an over-sized potholder.) Then I single crocheted along that first row. Then I turned on the other side, chained off the stitch and then I skipped the first two stitches on the other side, and single-crocheted along that row. Let me say, I am so unqualified to give these instructions it's not even funny. So try it and see what happens. Don't be afraid to come back and tell me these instructions are useless. I promise, I can take it.

As for the flowers, I followed this pattern which also includes a video which I found very helpful. I'm finding this website to be a great resource.

When I called my Grandma she said that she'd love to teach me but that I should just learn the way she did, from one of those pamphlets you can buy in the craft section at Walmart. But you know what I've found even more helpful? Youtube videos. Here's the one that finally helped me figure out how to knit: The Knit Stitch.

Cream Pie Cookies

So I'm pretty much in love with this new creation of mine. I am desperately craving cream pie cookies now. I actually discovered how to make these while trying to make something else. I think they turned out fabulous - they're soft, and squishy (as I used 3 layers of batting instead of fiberfill) and I really want to eat one.

Orange Slices

Sometimes I drive myself crazy trying to create something new. Luckily these only took me one day to figure out. I made them to go with a set of bacon and eggs for my shop.

Stay tuned for my cream pie cookies I've got in the works - chocolate chip cream pie cookies, oatmeal cream pie cookies, chocolate cream pie cookies...