Hoop Love... New Pattern for My Next Hoop Up Embroidery!

Been so inspired by this sweet Paris/French theme! I kind of went overboard on my first design (Marie Antoinette) & then decided to scale back a bit & focus mainly on the inspiration material that Nicole had given us fellow Jackrabbits.
She had referenced some Mary Blair art...which I adore...and she likes cats, thus this sketch was born from my imagination.
I'd originally planned for the girl to be carrying a little poodle...because I have a soft spot for poodles, but this swap isn't about me is it?
:o)

I hope Nicole (followthewhitebunny) loves it!

A New Home for My Clover Creations!

Real 4 leaf clover resin pendant necklace made by me
Originally uploaded by isewcute

Super cool new etsy update!!!
I have made a new home for all my clover jewelry here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/AsLuckWouldHaveIt
I couldn't believe my first choice on a shop name wasn't already chosen!
I'm slowly changing my focus for http://www.etsy.com/shop/isewcute to become more about my hand embroidery patterns & less about the resin jewelry. There are so many folks making it now...and although I don't plan on dropping the resin jewelry completely, I'm scaling back so I can make more time for getting stitchy!

I'll also be offering ATC's of my original cutesy artworks!

Cheers!

A Slice of Heaven... The Awesome Craveable Italian Sandwich Recipe

I'm sure you've been on the edge of your seat waiting for this one from me... right? Right! Well, here is the incredibly messy, incredibly amazing Italian sandwich that I craved constantly during both my pregnancies & even when I wasn't expecting! This recipe is my interpretation of the original Di Pietro's Italian sandwich.

More than just a sandwich...this is a warm fuzzy memory for me. The original sandwich comes from a little hole in the wall place along the Northeastern coast...in the little big city of Portland, Maine.
My Nana used to buy them back in the 1940's for a quarter apiece.
My family would get them on summer vacations to Old Orchard beach. To sit on the beach in the warm sun, the smell of the salty air, and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore with a Di Pietro's Italian in your hands is one of life's most wonderful things. In all seriousness...put that on your bucket list!
If you are ever in the Greater Portland area...you must look them up & try their original Italian sandwich!

Di Pietro's Italian Sandwiches
171 Cumberland Ave
Portland, ME 04101
Or give them a call: (207) 772-4084 & see if they'll ship you some!

This is what I came up with that tastes *almost* as good...and the quality of your sandwich is going to depend on the quality of your ingredients.... as they say about pizza...better ingredients... better pizza!

The RECIPE

Mini Sub Buns (white bread...not that other healthy whole grain stuff)
white American cheese slices
deli ham sliced thin to medium
tomatoes ...ripe & red
vidalia or sweet onion chopped fine
green pepper chopped
oil cured black olives...pitted
polish dill pickles
salt & pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil (cold pressed if you can find it)

Slice the Mini sub buns down the middle & lay flat.
For the first layer...add the American cheese & then the sliced ham on top of that.
Slice your tomatoes thin & line up the slices for the next layer.
On top of the tomatoes, sprinkle on the green pepper & onion....then add as many black olives as you like. My husband skips them altogether ...but I eat enough to make up for it! I love my olives!
At this point, pour on a little "EVOO" ...as Rachel Ray would call the olive oil.
Then add salt & pepper to taste.
Finally I add one long polish dill pickle spear on each half of the sandwich then sprinkle that with pepper too.

This is so messy & yummy. You'll find that if you try the original DiPetro's sandwich...it's much more neatly made & comes wrapped in white paper & tied with a rubber band & you can get the oil on the side... anyhow, it's all good!

To make it a little easier to handle...I cut the sandwich halves into halves.
Grab a 'Moxie' and plenty of napkins & enjoy!

pink ribbon heart shaped resin and glitter pendant necklace hand made by isewcute

pink ribbon heart shaped resin and glitter pendant necklace hand made by isewcute
Originally uploaded by isewcute

Available now... just listed this this afternoon & I'm offering free shipping on it too!

:o)

Not your typical wildlife...in Southwest Ohio!

We heard a strange sound coming from the woods....
it sounded like the woman in dispair on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery.
Hoping to find something as fabulous as one of Edward Gorey's illustrations we went on a hunt...carefully & warily. I figured it wasn't a coyote...which is pretty much the only thing that really scares me around here.

There was a rustling in the bushes & a big flash of blue feathers!

And then there it was!!! In all it's glory!


A ...peacock?!!!




I'm puzzled why there was a peacock in our woods, but figure that somebody must keep it as a pet.

It was very vocal... "Awwwk~!" ...it hollered at us as I rapidly snapped a few quick photos!

:o)

one of my little explorers

one of my little explorers
Originally uploaded by isewcute

Just spending some time uploading photos I took over the weekend. This is my little guy exploring the creek & having great fun playing outside in the yard. Isn't that tree incredible? It's so big I think it would take 6 grown men holding hands to hug it. The weekend was chilly, but thankfully the sun was out & the kids could enjoy it. Hubby planted over 30 new trees to help build up the woods even more. We're done mowing the bigger hills...saving time, energy, & gasoline & just letting nature take it back. The kiddos really love exploring in the woods....and it makes me remember how much I love it too.

Overwhelmed with the Arrival of Spring!

Now is the best time of the year to look for 4 leaf clovers... before mowing the lawn for the first time when little things begin to sprout & turn green. My kids are enjoying the freedom of playing in the yard again...especially without the burden of dressing in layers & heavy coats!



I admit, I'm enjoying it too! Even if allergies want to get the best of me!

Scentsy ~ Makes Perfect Scents! A Review by isewcute

You may remember my review of a sweet little etsy shop called 'Tea and Sweets' awhile back. Well, it looks like Carrie has spread her wings & now has been doing direct sales online through a business called Scentsy!

She now sells flameless candles designed to fit anybody's decor & offers a variety of over 80 scents for the home.
Carrie says, "I was first introduced to Scentsy in 2009 and immediately started out as a customer and soon afterwards knew that I wanted to join up and work in this wonderful environment. I am a wife and busy mother of two. I worked as a nurse for five years, and recently returned to University to further my education. I'm passionate about Scentsy because I love the products and, as an Independent Consultant, I am able to share Scentsy with friends and family in the US and Canada."

You may wonder, "what is a wickless candle?" Well, this little illustration shows it pretty well! Carrie says they are a safer alternative to a scented candle.

They come in 40+ wonderful designs to fit everyone's taste in home decor.






Scentsy's candles are wickless & don't have an open flame...so no worries about leaving a candle burning to make your home smell great with yummy goodness!
There are also room sprays available ...so nice to freshen up a hotel room, closet, or bed linens.
Scentsy has hanging fresheners & travel tins that would be perfect for freshening up your car or locker... those smaller spaces.
A fabulous feature about their flameless candle scents come in bar form that you can break into smaller pieces that can mix with each other to create your own custom scents...or you can buy your favorite scents in brick form, because you can never have too much of a good thing! How neat is that?

Here are a sampling of their scent collections...and there are over 80 scents available within these collections:
Spa
Romance
Cafe
Scentsy Man
Spring & Summer
Bakery
Tropical
Scentsy Favorites

Carrie's favorite scents are: Blueberry Cheesecake, Vanilla Walnut, Cinnamon Bear, Camu Camu, Perfectly Pomegranate, Sugar, Pumpkin Roll, Havana Cabana.

I would recommend Scentsy to anyone looking to freshen their world! You will get a good reliable product & the direct sales experience is a more personal shopping experience for me which I always enjoy.

Carrie says, "I love the simplicity; they are easy to use, fun and safe. I can fill my home and car with amazing long-lasting scent and it's so great when people pop over and always comment on how fabulous my house smells!"

You can follow Carrie on Twitter!
Scentsy on Twitter
Scentsy on Facebook

Working on Something New... Cupcake Cowgirls for Embroidery Patterns!

What could be more fun than wrangling a cupcake? Well... eating a cupcake I suppose. Oh, and drawing this was wicked fun! I'll be adding new patterns such as this to my Etsy shop soon!

:o)

Happy Easter to All!

April Fools on Craftster Crack Me Up!

Cruising craftster today didn't let me down with their annual April fooling shenannigans going on.

From silly crafty tips such as:
"If you put snow in the microwave, it turns to soap. Have fun by adding food coloring or embedding small toys."
" Dish sponges double as glue! Sit them in direct sunlight until they melt. Apply liberally to surfaces."
"Ketchup makes great hair dye! Just lather it in and wait for the magic to happen."

To the hilarious avatars like these:




Not to mention the latest craft challenge... the biggest one yet!!! Craft your fav. mode of transportation in peanut butter!

This is why I adore craftster so!