14 DIY Valentine treats for your someone special..

It's that time of year again when love is in the air and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. I love this time of year because all hearts are out. This is the only time I can indulge in my love of everything heart shaped.. Everywhere you turn, everything has a heart on it. Love it..

Lots of people are scrambling to find the perfect gift to show their someone special how much they love them. It's not always about how much money you spend but it's the thought that counts; your labor of love will show how much you care.

So to keep with my love for everything hearts, hope this list of DIY heart shaped treats will inspire you to make a special something for the Valentine in your life.. Whether its your mom, dad, grandma, wife, husband, sister, best friend, aunt or child, give them lots of love during this Valentine's Day. Enjoy!!

14 DIY Valentine Treats

Heart Brownie Treasure Box for dessert	Add a Sugar Cube to your coffee
Heart Ice Cream Sandwich	Heart Marshmallow with a nice hot chocolate
Heart Eggs to add something special for breakfast	Heart Healthy Sushi Roll
Heart Cherry Tomatoes to add to your salad	Cupid's Fruit Arrows
Hot Dog Hearts	Mini Heart Pizza for lunch. Great for the kids
Heart Apple Chips and Dip	Cinnamon rolls full with Love <3
Heart Milk Ice cubes for your precious ones	Pound Cake with hidden surprise inside

~~Words of Encouragement~~
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-13 (NIV)

On the 11th Day of Christmas, My True Love gave to me…. Eleven iPad Covers

On the 11th Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....Eleven iPad Covers

Ten Photo Plates,

Nine Water Bottles,

Eight Travel Lattes,

Seven Stocking Stuffers,

Six iPhone Cases,

Five Mirror Frames,

Four Picture Mugs,

Three Coasters,

Two Baby Cups,

and a Mouse Pad on my work desk.

Hope your Thanksgiving was full of Memories, Love and Laughter.
How was your Black Friday? Did you get a good start to your holiday shopping list? Did you catch all the great doorbuster deals? Or are you waiting for Cyber Monday instead?
If you're like me, I got more accomplished on the stuff I wanted verses the items I really need to find for the people on my gift list. :-)

The Apple store was packed as usual with loads of people checking out the new mini iPad. It's very nice looking and the size fits better in the hand if you're used to the eReaders. But I still prefer the iPad for the size of the screen. The iPad is a nice screen size when browsing the internet and playing games ;-)

If you purchased an iPad for yourself or for someone on your gift list, wouldn't be great to personalize a case or sleeve to make it as unique as you? Protect your new investment from scratches and bumps with either a neoprene sleeve or a full case with landscape viewing angles.

1. Neoprene iPad Sleeve

The iPad Sleeve is a stylish way to protect & personalize your iPad 1, iPad 2, iPad 3 or small tablets. Made of a soft neoprene material it won't harm or scratch your device. Top loading zippered enclosure offers easy access to your device whenever needed.

* Lightweight and durable
* Protects from dust, scratches, bumps
* Water resistant
* Top zipper
* Black backside backing that doesn’t show dirt


2. iPad Case

The iPad Case is a great way to protect and personalize your iPad 2, or iPad 3 are perfect for someone on go. The iPad Case is created out of a soft leatherette material, with a woven polyester panel to show off your favorite picture or design.

The iPad Case has an opening in the back for the camera so there is no need to remove the iPad to snap photos, the iPad cases also have a spot built for the speaker so the sound will not be blocked! The buttons and charging ports are all accessible without removing the case.

The iPad Case is designed to convert from a portfolio protective cover into a stand with multiple viewing angles in landscape position. Simply insert your iPad into this case and you’re good to go!

Happy Shopping!

~~Words of Encouragement~~
By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
The wise prevail through great power, and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
Proverbs 24:3-5 (NIV)

On the 5th Day of Christmas, My True Love gave to me.... 5 Mirror Frames

On the 5th Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....Five Mirror Frames

Four Picture Mugs,

Three Coasters,

Two Baby Cups,

and a Mouse Pad on my work desk.

Holidays are always a great time of celebration, full of special moments. You know those moments: the Thanksgiving dinner that turned into a marriage proposal, the first visit to Santa, the first time you took the kids trick-or-treating. Whether your favorite holiday is Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, create the perfect frame to celebrate and capture those special holiday memories.

Create your very own one-of-a-kind personalized picture frame that will become a truly unique and personal way of saying “Happy Holidays, I love you or Congratulations".

1. Mirror Glass Frame
This 7" x 9" glass frame can be displayed horizontally or vertically and features crystal stone accent (stand), mirrored inner frame and mirrored edge. Stand is included. Can be personalize with a short message in between the mirrored spaces.

2. Glass Frame
This 5" x 7" glass horizontal frame features a gold stud stand. This frame allows sunlight to seep through giving it a glowing appearance. The photo comes to life when light hits from the back of the frame.

Happy Shopping!!

~~Words of Encouragement~~
Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything.
Tell God what you need and thank Him for all he has done.
Then you will experience God's peace,
which exceeds anything we can understand.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

Current Passion.. Machine Embroidery

About 7 years ago, I was at the stage in my life where I was getting married and so were all my friends.  For a period of 3-4 years, I had average of 10 friends getting married per year.  This meant gifts for the wedding, bridal shower and baby showers came right after for those who had kids right away... So what is a girl to do??  Buy an embroidery machine :-)

I decided to buy a sewing and embroidery combo machine so I can personalize their gifts myself. It took me a bit to figure out what to buy.  Originally I was going to go with a computerized sewing machine that had more stitches to embellish my gifts but when I went to a Sew & Vac store, I discovered about embroidery machines. 
(^-^) and (♥~♥)

If you never gone to a Sew and Vac store, you're in for a treat.   There were two I visited and each had similar offers but the second one allowed me to bring it home with no cost to try for a week free.  No commitment to buy.. How great is that!! I couldn't resist.. so I tried a computerized sewing machine for a week and went right back to try something else.  I would have been bored quickly with just the computerized one since it's mainly for regular sewing with fancier stitch options.. the guy at the store showed me a combo with embroidery.  The combo is a computerized sewing machine and embroidery machine in one.  It was the best of both worlds.  So I took home a Janome Memory Craft 9500 for a week and fell in love with it..


For those who never tried machine embroidery, go to your local Sew and Vac store and give it a try.  It's so much fun being able to embroidery already made items or sew your own things and add a personal touch.

To start doing machine embroidery there was a slight learning curve.  It's slightly different than regular sewing.  Sewing you just have to worry about the needle and the thread tension.  With machine embroidery, you have to learn about stabilizers and which one to use for the various types of fabrics.  Stabilizers will make or break the outcome of your embroidery because it's primary purpose is to support the fabric and create a well formed stitch.

There are various types of stabilizers to be used to support embroidery design on your fabric.   Most common stabilizers are used as a backing to your fabric to prevent puckering or slipping.   The stabilizers used on top (called topper) of your fabric is used to prevent stitch from sinking into the fabric (like fleece or towels).   Stabilizers come in many different weights and properties.  The most common ones are tearaways, cutaways, washaway, peel and stick.  As you can see the names represent the properties of the stabilizers.  They each have different uses depending on your project.  I prefer the tearaway and the washaway since they come out easily; no trimming needed.
There is so much information out there about stabilizers, I won't go into the same details. Check out the links I've included within this post.

So are you curious on what gifts I started to make with my new embroidery sewing machine???
Well, the weddings was definitely first priority...
I decided to make a wedding frames with the bride and groom's names and wedding date.
 

	1st Frame Thisturned out pretty good for my first attempt. Lots of puckering but not too bad.
	2nd Frame This turned one was too complicated. It looked better in my mind. I was trying to make a Winnie the Pooh wedding party. Way too much puckering.
	3rd Frame I fell in love with the heart frame style. This is one of many using the heart frame. Still haven't learned how to deal with the puckering. :-(
	4th Frame I wanted to try sliver metallic thread but it wasn't a good contrast with the light blue fabric. Puckering is better since i switched to heavier fabric.
	5th Frame I'm getting the hang of this. What do you think? I tried to make each frame slightly different. Look, minimal puckering.. FINALLY.
	6th Frame Last one in the series that I took picture of. No Puckering (^_^)

So hope you'll get inspired to try machine embroidery.. I had lots of fun creating these wedding frames for my friends.

Question of the Day: What wedding gifts have you created?

~~Words of Encouragement~~

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)