Purse Pattern -"My Perfect Purse"

Pattern for "My Perfect Purse"...

I'm always looking for the perfect purse.  I've spent hours agonizing over purses in stores.  I finally decided to attempt making what I thought was the perfect purse. I knew I wanted lots of pockets and organization so that I could just reach in my purse and find exactly what I was looking for.  

I thought long and hard and came up with this design.  I absolutely love it! I store my cell phone in one of the two pockets on the back and I usually carry a bottle of water which fits perfectly in the other pocket on the back.  The front pocket is long so that you can put your receipts in it.  I don't know about you, but I've always got a lot of paper receipts and other notes that get lost in my purse.  This pocket solves that problem. I also keep my coin purse in this pocket for easy access.

The inside has 8 separate pockets for your wallet, checkbook, if you carry one, charge cards and gift cards for another pocket, your glasses in another pocket and a few pockets left over for whatever you want to carry. The center of the purse is wide open for your makeup bag or any extras.

This pattern is very easy to make and can be made with just about any

fabric.  My birdhouse purse was made from 2 placemats that

I didn't use anymore, but didn't want to get rid of them because

they were so cute....so, voila...I made them into a purse. LOL!

I hope you find this purse to be as great as I do.  

FINALLY, "My Perfect Purse"!

Pattern is available at my etsy store (here)... if you want more information....

"My Perfect Purse"

Back view with (2) pockets for cell phone and possibly a bottle of water

Back view

Front view with long pocket in front for receipts, paper, long objects and coin purse

Inside view with (8) pockets for organization and a center for all other items that you carry.

Inside view

Slightly curved top for easy access.

Please stop by my etsy store (here) for details.... I love "My Perfect Purse"... finally a purse made for total organization.  Love all the pockets!!!!!

As always....

Baby Headband...Oh So Cute

It's been a long time, but I'm finally back at the Blog.... Since my last writing, I have retired and am looking forward to new adventures in my life.  My husband retired two years ago and we are both enjoying the wonderful freedom that retirement brings.

I've decided to try using social media to show off some of my creations.  I decided to start slow because I'm still not too sure about selling items online.  But, what the heck....I'm going to give it a try...

Here are some of my creations.  It's just a small item, but I think very cute.  What little girl wouldn't look adorable with one of these headbands.  If you're interested in purchasing them, please visit my etsy store.  The link is here

Here are a few pictures of my little headbands....

They come in a variety of colors, as you can see.  Here are individual pictures of each.

Pink band with with flower

White band with pink flower

Yellow band with white flower

White band with Yellow flower

White band with purple flower

Purple band with white flower

Denim band with white flower

White band with denim flower

Although this looks orange, it's really a very pretty peach (peach band with white flower)

White band with peach flower

And my favorite.... the "Minnesota Vikings" head band in purple band with gold flower or white band with purple flower...

The price for each headband is $6.00+$2.50 shipping.  I love making these little headbands.  They are made out of very soft yarn and have an elasticized back.  They come in 0-3 months, 3 months-6 months, and 6 months to 12 months...If interested, please visit my etsy store here.

As always, 

Is it summer yet????......

Watermelon Slice Cookies

Boy it's been a long, long, long winter.  Here in Minnesota it had to be one of the worst we've had in a long time.  It started way back in October and just never let up. But, I'm sitting here today and the sun is shinning and people are sitting on their decks trying to soak up a little vitamin D. So summer can't be to far down the road.  Heck, I would be happy with 65 degrees! 

Anyways, so much for the weather report.  I thought it might be a fun idea to post something that reminds us all of summer days to come.  Something fun, appealing to the eye and tummy and sweet just like summer.  Watermelons always make me feel that summer is here to stay for a little while anyway.  Right now the watermelons are expensive and just don't quite have that wonderful sweet, juicy summer taste.  So what would be the next best thing?  How about cookies that look like watermelon slices.  Your family would certainly enjoy these sweet little slices of summer.

I used a circle cookie cutter and then cut them in half.  Then baked them according to the recipe, let them cool and then frosted them.  I used a star tip to frost them and added mini chocolate chips as the watermelon seeds.  Everyone had a smile on their face when I brought them to work.  Sometimes its just the little things that take the winter blues away....NOW come on summer!!!!

I've posted this sugar recipe before, but it's well worth posting again.  It's one of the best sugar cookie recipes I've used.

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe

Submitted by Jill Saunders

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-rolled-sugar-cookies/

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened                         5 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar                                     2 tsps. baking powder  

4 eggs                                                           1 tsp. salt 
1 tsp. vanilla extract                                                                  

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

I use butter cream icing for the frosting.  I had a small cake decorating business many years ago and have always used this recipe for my frosting.  It's pretty basic, but tastes wonderful.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. shortening

1/2 c. margarine or butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla (I use clear vanilla to keep the frosting as white

               as it can be)

1/2 tsp. almond extract

milk

1. Directions:
2. Beat shortening and margarine until the color is almost white.  This takes a few minutes.
3. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, almond extract and beat until blended.  If too stiff, add a small amount of milk to thin.  

Use a star tip to pipe on pink, green and white and top with mini chocolate chips.

That's it!  Instant summer...well, maybe not instant summer, but a preview of wonderful warm days to come...