~Pamela Susan~

Yummy Homemade Oreos and the Talented Heather Bailey

Since Avery's birthday is in the summer her preschool class celebrated her half birthday today.  The girls decided homemade oreos would be a yummy celebratory dessert.

But why make plain round cookies when you can have flowery ones?!  And of course the filling needed to be pink, not white.  The girls helped make them and did a fantastic job at it.

I made a few open-faced ones.  Wouldn't these be great for a girl themed baby shower?

 

And look what I just came across...the perfect gift I want to make for the girls' birthdays.  I'M IN LOVE, and I know they will be too.

Look at those cute eyelashes!  And "hair accessories"!

 

I'm dying here.  darling. Darling. DARLING.

(images can be found here)

I mean, seriously, have you ever seen anything cuter than these??  I haven't.    And speaking of Heather Bailey and hair accessories, my Trash Ties just arrived in the mail!

 

I tell ya, Heather Bailey is amazing.  AMAZING.  I just found out about her last month (where in the world have I been?  I swear I'm the last person to find out about everything).  I think she is my new hero.  Her creations speak to me.  

xo,

Pamela
 

  

To Make a Fairy Village...

(Post Edit:  To learn how to make wood critters from a pro, go to Amber Dusick's Website to watch this video.  She's the lovely gal that inspired me to create the Fairy Village.  She is fabulous!!)

 

I recently received an email from a reader telling me she wanted to make a Fairy Village for her children for Easter!  She loved the thought of filling their Easter baskets with handmade gifts...I think it is a lovely idea.  She hoped I would be able to send her a few pictures of the little village I made for my girls, so I thought I'd put them on here just in case more of you are interested in doing the same.  Take a gander:

Here's the gang enjoying a cupcake party...

 

I used wood-glue to adhere the separate table pieces (cupcakes are one piece)...

 

A fine wood-burner tip was used to outline the silverware (pic of tip below)...

The tree is made of one piece...

 

whereas this little mushroom house is made of two separate pieces...

 

Don't forget to add a snail on the back of the house!

This is where the fairies baked the cupcakes...

And most importantly, do not forget to sign and date the pieces...this is a must!

 

Yes, a fun time was had by all!  Oh, to be a fairy...

 

Here's a picture of the wood-burner I purchased at Michael's.

These are the two tips I used--the fine tip was used for the silverware.

  
In the interest of time, I've copied and pasted a portion of my response to my reader, Katie, just in case you are interested in learning how to make the village.

********

 

As for tips, I believe we used a scroll saw to cut out the little pieces.  The majority of the pieces were cut from a plank of pine wood, which was relatively cheap!  :)  I used a pencil to draw the outlines of the items and then cut them out with the saw, then sanded the edges.  I then used a pencil to draw the details, woodburned over the pencil marks, then used cheap craft paint from Michael's to color them.  They were SOOO much fun to make!  And how cool would it be to make little bunnies for easter to add to their collection?  I think I'm going to attempt making some for the girls instead of buying plush bunnies for the baskets...they don't need ANYMORE stuffed animals!  lol

Oh!  One more tip--I used a Q-tip and blunted toothpick to help clean the paint out of the woodburnt lines--I'm interested in experimenting with painting BEFORE using the woodburner to eliminate the need of using a Q-tip/toothpick.  

********    

  Alright, that is it!  I hope this will be helpful to those of you who are interested in making these.  

Let me know if you have any questions!

xo,

Pamela

p.s.  If you don't own a wood-burner CLICK HERE for a 40% coupon to Michael's to buy one!

 

Easter Time

Easter is just a few days away...

you better get those needles busy!

Felted Easter egg tutorial found HERE!  

xo,

Pamela, a gal who's about to get her hands in some wool 

A Cheerful Find...

Look what I found hiding in a box in the garage...

 

A very happy snail.

 

I made him years ago...

and now I'm itching to get my hands back in the clay to make more.  But that'll have to wait a few months while I get my house in order and my shop up and running again...and I'm okay with that.  That's just one more thing to look forward to in the upcoming months...spending time in my Mom's studio playing with clay.  Ellen and Heidi--hurry up and get your hineys over here so we can have fun getting our hands dirty!

xo,

Pamela
 
 

What's Your Guess?

Okay, I lucked out...

Recently I attended an estate sale and scored this bookshelf/cabinet:

 

It is solid, I mean SOLID wood...it required a total of 4 strong men, including my buff hubby, to move it.  ;)

 I was told it originally retailed for about $2,500.  So, here's my question...how much do you think I payed for it? 

The FIRST reader to guess the closest amount wins this sweet little birdie designer magnet, handstamped by me (I'll give you until Monday the 22nd to guess and you must leave your guess on this blog post).  And it's not any old magnet...it's an earth magnet, which means it can hold up to  10 pieces of paper!!! (It measures about 3/4", is solid nickel, and retails for $9)

Pretty nifty, huh?!

Alright, so what's your guess??

xo,

Pamela, a gal who loves a good deal 
 

Hens and Chicks (& eggs, too!)

Yesterday, I just had to get out of the house.  Though I was a bit worried about taking all three girls out by myself for the first time I did it anyway, and Canby, Oregon was our destination.  We drove the 1 1/2 hour drive to my hometown so we could visit my Dad and younger sister, Holly, who is flying back to New York tomorrow.  I'm happy to report the girls did great!  Jane slept the entire way and Avery and Clara watched a video on our portable DVD player.  I used to be against doing that sorta thing but now I'm a fan.

Before heading back home I visited my parents' backyard to gather a few Hens and Chicks to bring back home.  No, not those kinds of hens and chicks but these kind...

  

Succulents!  I would have never thought to care for these plants inside the house until I saw the idea at Anthropologie a couple months ago.  Thank you, Anthropologie...that's just one more reason to love you.

 

And of course while we were there Avery and Clara helped Papa gather the  eggs from real hens. I think they collected five but Dad sent two dozen home with us!

I LOVE fresh eggs.  Store-bought eggs don't even come close to comparing to them.  We used six of them this morning to make a big batch of pancake mix to use for the rest of the week.  Thanks, Dad! 

 

I love the color and size variation.

 
 
Well, that's it for today!  I hope you are all happy and well.  Until next time...

xo,

Pamela 

 
 

Busy

Yes, life has been busy around here!  

I've been busy filling Christmas orders...

 

Spending time with Dad and the girls while Aaron was gone on business...

(for some reason it's always been quite the task to get my Dad to smile for pictures...can you tell?!)

Cleaning "lipstick" (a.k.a. blue marker) off Clara's face...

 

and getting things ready for Christmas.  

Ahhhh....Christmas.  It is right around the corner!  And so is the arrival of our little one.  I closed my shop up over the weekend for this very reason.  As a mother of young children,it is very important for me to keep my life balanced, especially at this time.  I mean, I'M HAVING A BABY IN LESS THAN 4 WEEKS!  Wow.  I cannot believe it.  I cannot wait.  I'm so looking forward to meeting her.  A new little daughter to add to our growing family.  I feel blessed.

So, now you know why I haven't blogged for a while.  

But I'm very excited about some things I've been working on lately...I'm making most of the girls' presents for Christmas this year.  I'll have to share a few of them with you later this week.  Let's just say I've been keeping my sewing machine busy, and the wood-burner nice and hot.  Oh, I love this time of the year!

I hope you are all well!

xo,

Pamela

p.s.  check out this pic of Clara and Avery while scouting out our Christmas tree.  Is that the peace sign I see??  Where did she learn that??  (Actually, I think she learned it from Naomi--gotta love that one, right, Yumiko??)  

 

Life is good.

Pumpkins, Butternut Squash, and Apple Cider Doughnuts!

Ahhh, Autumn is officially here!

I can finally say that since we now have pumpkins piled on our porch and we've experienced a hayride. The pumpkins were picked at the pumpkin patch on Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon.  What a beautiful place!  I've heard about it for years but have never visited there until last week.

 

I couldn't help myself...in celebration of the day I made pumpkin hair clips for the girls.

(Remember the Autumn-themed fabric brads I bought?  I finally put them to use!)

 

 

A hair clip tutorial will be coming soon!  And take a looky at what we made last night for dinner...homemade Butternut Squash Ravioli topped with YUMMY cream sauce and freshly grated parmesan cheese.  But I can't take credit for the sauce--Aaron made it all by himself!  It was fun to finally use the pasta-maker that has been sitting in my cupboard for quite some time.

 

And can I mention just one more delicious thing we've recently consumed?  Apple Cider Doughnuts!!  We made them with Yumiko and her family while they were here over the weekend .  (Oh, how I loved having them here!!)

The guys were in charge of frying the dough, and I must say, they did a pretty good job!

 

 

 

Thanks for the recipe, Ellen!!

I hope everyone is doing well and that each and every one of you is 

enjoying this magical time of the year.

xoxo,

Pamela

The Ultimate Yoga Bag

While in New York, Ellen and I decided to gift our younger sister, Holly, with a yoga mat and yoga dvd.  And I must say, if two sisters are going to do such a thing, that mat should be presented to their sister in a very cool yoga bag, right??  Right.

Well, I supplied the mat and dvd, and Ellen utilized her amazing sewing skills and whipped this baby out.

(Holly LOVES owls, so we thought this fabric was PERFECT for her)  

 

 

And it was.  Yes, I think Holly loved it.  

If you're wanting to make your own yoga bag, you're in luck.  

Click here to access this FREE Amy Butler Yoga Bag Pattern!

Enjoy...

xoxo,

Pamela, a gal who is going to now get off her derriere to practice some yoga herself

Spiders and Acorns

Whew!  What a day.  I don't think I've mentioned this earlier, but on Wednesday I'm flying to New York to visit my two sisters for a week, and boy (or should I say girl?), am I excited!  But today was filled with much busyness, trying to get as many things accomplished before Tuesday arrives...I hate waiting until the very last minute to do things...especially packing for a trip!

A few of the things on today's looong "to do" list was to list a couple new items in my shop.  

Ladies and gents, I present to you the 'eek! Earrings':

and the Lil' Acorn Necklace:

They were so much fun to create!  Actually, they have both been done for quite some time and have been sitting in my studio just waiting for me to add them to the shop.  And lucky me--I already sold a pair of the 'eek! Earrings'--within 20 minutes of listing them!  Thank you, Beatrice (one of my favorite clients!).

And speaking of acorns...I LOVE acorns!  I love them so much I just had to buy these cute little fabric brads...they were on sale at Michael's and I just couldn't help myself:

Just think of the crafting possibilities!  

I think I'll bring them along on my trip so we can make some fun things...oh yes, you guessed it...We DO have a long list of projects that we're planning on doing. 

I.  Can't.  Wait.

Okay, I am now off to bed.  I hope everyone is enjoying their Monday evening...

Tadalooo...

xo,

Pamela