How to embroider on really thick fuzzy Christmas Stockings
| November 24, 2011 | Posted by alaine under crafts, custom, embroidery, General, how-to, stabilizer |
This is a little easier than you think it would be. The problem is the fabric is so thick that the embroidery foot on the machine doesn’t jump high enough to move to the next spot without snagging. What you need to do is make the fuzzy part temporarily thinner.
Start by putting a tear-away sticky-back stabilizer on the back of the part to be embroidered. On the front use a thick/heavy wash away stabilizer. Using a regular sewing machine run a basting stitch (1/4″ stitch length) up and down the area that will be embroidered. This will tie the two stabilizers together, sandwiching the whole thing into something that will be thin enough to work in the embroidery machine.
Next, hoop up the stocking, pick a design, and start the machine to stitch it out. After the machine finishes all you need to do is remove the base stitches and pull the tear-away stabilizer off. The fabric that was sandwiched together will fluff back up, leaving a very nice design.
Stocking with basting stitches and stabilizer still in place. The machine embroidery has already been finished.
The stabilizer and basting stitches are gone. As you can see, the fuzzy part of the stocking is all fluffed up again.
No Mess Toilet Paper Pumpkins
| October 31, 2011 | Posted by alaine under General |
Toilet Paper Pumpkins
This is a quick and easy craft for even very small kids. All you need is orange fabric, bating, a stick and a roll of toilet paper.
Cut the bating and fabric to about 20 by 20 inch square. Put your paper roll in the center.
Now just start tucking in the fabric in to the top hole.
Finish it off with a 3 inch stick from your yard.
NO GLUE, NO GLITTER, NO MESS, AND IT’S DONE.
My new 3-tiered water fountain
| September 18, 2011 | Posted by alaine under General |
About 2 weeks ago my 10yr old son found a 3 tiered water fountain. It was on the side of the road with a “free” sign. Wow it looked awful, almost all of the paint was gone and so was the pump. So Me, Dad and all 5 kids headed to The Home Depot. We don’t paint much but knew it was going to have to be water proof. We chose basement sealer and the guy at the paint counter also tinted it a light blue. From there we went to find a small pump. Yup they have bunch of them too, They start at $10 and go as high as $100. Time to check out. $30 and 2 hours later this fountain looks awesome.
New store available!
| May 25, 2011 | Posted by alaine under General |
Over time, Ebay has continually increased their commission fees. Also, whereas we used to sell via auctions with a specific time limit, we’ve gradually moved to Buy it Now postings.
We’re happy to announce that you can now purchase directly from our Store here at Alaine’s Crafts! No more sifting through Ebay listings to try and find what you need. Just go to our Store, add items to your shopping cart, and finish by paying through Paypal. If you need to make other payment arrangements, email us at alaine@alainescrafts.com.
More Boo Boo Buddies
| February 26, 2011 | Posted by alaine under crafts, embroidery |
I have added a new Boo Boo Buddy this week. One of the local dentists wanted some shaped like a tooth to use as cold packs for the younger patients. He liked the sample and ordered a bunch! So the rest of weekend I’ll be making Boo Boo’s.
Fast and easy way to hem your pants
| February 5, 2011 | Posted by alaine under alterations, General, hem, how-to |
I ‘m 5 feet tall so finding pants that are short enough is really hard. For starters they’re not labeled right. If only the tag said what they meant. But there is no short and lumpy section of the store! So its time to learn how to fix this yourself. Put the pants on and put a pin in where you want the hem to be. Now you need to decide how wide you want your hem and double it. Today we’ll be doing a 1/2″ hem, so you need an extra inch of fabric past the pin. Now cut the extra fabric off. One of the most important tools I have in my sewing room is wonder tape, it can be found at JoAnn’s. This is a wash-away double-sided sticky tape and needs to be placed along the bottom edge of the topside of the cuff.
Now you need to turn your hem under twice and stick the tape down so you have a 1/2″ seam.
Now you’ll need thread to match not the fabric but the top stitching of the pants. One of the biggest problems people have now is sewing over top of the bulky seam without breaking a needle. Well go get your hammer – that’s right get your hammer – and smack the two side seems a few times.
This will flatten the seam and also make it a lot easier for the needle to stitch right over the top of it.
You want to stitch as close to the top side of this seam as possible and you’re done. With no broken needles and no pinning. Plus, I always feel better after I’ve used my hammer on something.
Boy Scout Patches
| January 17, 2011 | Posted by alaine under General |
Made some patches for Boy Scout Troop 25. They pick up all the used Christmas trees and place them in ponds for the fish. Let me know if you need a special patch made up for your troop, group or team.
Low-carb Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
| January 10, 2011 | Posted by alaine under Low-Carb, recipe |
I had to alter several recipes to get this. The hard part was to get a low carb casserole. Without flour to thicken things up, most casseroles end up runny. I ended up using a cream cheese and parmesan cheese sauce to thicken things up and it worked great. For the hard-core low-carb people out there, you can leave off the fried onions and add an extra layer of shredded cheese for a topper instead.
Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
Low-Carb
By Alaine Baugher
INGREDIENTS
10 oz. frozen broccoli
3 large chicken breasts (about 2 ½ lbs)
8 oz. cream cheese (onion and chive flavor)
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
10 oz. shredded colby and cheddar cheese
½ cup milk
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning
salt & pepper
3 oz. fried onions (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Sauté in soy sauce, Mrs. Dash, and salt and pepper to taste until fully cooked.
2. Thaw broccoli.
3. Mix milk, cream cheese, and parmesan cheese in a saucepan and heat until creamy.
4. Combine chicken, broccoli and shredded cheese in casserole dish, mixing thoroughly.
5. Pour creamy cheese mixture from step 3 into the casserole.
6. Spread the fried onions over the top.
7. Bake in an oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Summer Pond Pictures
| November 25, 2010 | Posted by alaine under fish pond, how-to, lawn and garden |
Over the summer I got a new bigger pond. Jason did most of the work. But I got some neat plants and brick to put in and around it. I got some really cool floating hyacinths. The roots look like a feather duster and it helps keep the pond clean. NO more green pond for me. They also have pretty purple flowers most of the summer.
Floating Hyacinths
I also added some Hornwort. This is a fern-like plant that sinks to the bottom. It serves the same purpose and keeps your pond clean but also gives the fish a place to lay eggs. In the winter months the hornwort will keep oxygen in the water and not only help feed your fish but keep them warmer. Of course if you have a plant that needs help floating I made a floating pond basket. It lets you float any plant or even artificial flowers in the pond. It’s also great if you don’t have a pond shelf to sit shallow pond plants on. I also added a few snails. My goal was to cut down on the algae. My pond was clean and clear all summer.
Candy Scarecrows
| October 30, 2010 | Posted by alaine under candy, crafts, General, halloween |
Every year for Halloween I make candy scarecrows for all of my kids to hand out at school.
They turn out super cute and are very easy to make.
Things you’ll need are:
2 Tootsie Rolls, 2 Smarties, 1 mini KitKat, 1″ Wooden Ball, 2″ Straw Hat, 5″by 5″ piece of fabric, and 1 mini pumpkin.
You need to use ether glue dot “3D Zots” by therm-o-web or a hot glue gun will also work. Start with the KitKat and glue the Smarties vertically to the bottom of the KitKat. Glue the Tootsie Rolls horizontally to the top of the KitKat. Next take the fabric and fold 2 of the corners in as shown below.
Place his body on the bottom middle and fold over the top for the jacket. You will need to place a little glue in the arm pits to hold the jacket on. Now for his head, place some glue on the wooden ball and add the hat. Glue this to the top of the jacket and make his face with a marker. As a finishing touch I’ve glued a pumpkin to his hands. Oh yeah – Super Cute!
I picked up all of the candy at our local HyVee, and the rest I got at Hobby Lobby.
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