Embroidered Basket Tutorial Part #1

I recently asked my Joyful Embellishment Facebook group if they would like to embroider a basket of flowers together and there was a lot of interest!  To start the project, simply right click on the image of the basket of flowers and save it to your computer.

I printed mine out to see what size it was and I decided to reduce the image by 75%.

Now you can decide between two different ways of transferring your image.  I usually transfer my image to Golden Threads quilting paper.  You can lay the paper on top of the image and trace it or….

You can cut a piece of freezer paper into an 81/2’’ x 11’’ size and iron the same size piece of Golden Threads paper to the shiny side.  You can then run it through your printer and make a copy of the basket on to the Golden Threads paper.  

Remove the printed pattern from the freezer paper and baste it to the fabric you using to embroider your basket of flowers!

See you on Wednesday with an update on my progress!

Happy Stitching,

 

Santa Fe Trail Adventures!

Good Afternoon!

For many years now, I have been a proud member of the DAR, Daughter’s of the American Revolution.  To become a member of DAR you must be able to trace your lineage back to a patriot who fought in the Revolutionary war.  For some, the process is easy and for other’s it can be a little more challenging to find the documents you need to join.  My application was fairly simple because I had a great aunt who was a member.

When you join DAR, you suddenly have a lot of sisters which is so awesome!  I have made so many friends through this organization and it has been a huge blessing in my life.

Several of my DAR sisters have a passion for the Santa Fe Trail and because this is the 200th anniversary of the trail, a group of us decided to go on a road trip to found Santa Fe trail markers.  In 1906, the DAR placed 96 trail markers across Kansas that follow the trail.  Can you image trying to find out exactly where the trail went in 1906 without GPS?  It must have been a full time job/passion to get these markers placed across Kansas!

One bright, beautiful day in April, 4 of us loaded up in a pick up truck and made our way to Kingsley, Kansas.  We picked that town because we knew they were several in the area and we wouldn’t have to drive as far to find them.

The first stop was actually in the town of Kingsley outside of the Edwards County Historical Museum.  In this picture are two of my DAR sisters, Deb Miller and Deniese Fawcett.  Not pictured is our wonderful National Chair for the Santa Fe trail, Dee Saddler.  

This marker was a little harder to find!  I should have known it would be when the driving instructions included longitude and latitude with it.  With some patience we found it in the middle of Peace Lutheran Cemetery.  We didn’t stay there very long as there were a lot of snake holes!

Next stop was Fort Larned and the Santa Fe Trail museum.  We toured the museum and I couldn’t resist taking pictures of these beautiful quilts!

I thought this baby buggy was just darling with the crazy quilt!

Next stop was Pawnee Rock which was know as the half way point between Independence, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Originally the rock was about 150 feet tall and you could look out over the prairie and see the Arkansas river.  A lot of it was cut down when they built the railroad, so it is now 50 to 60 feet tall.

Another marker is found!

All in all, it was a beautiful, fun day spent with my dear DAR sisters!  I can also tell you that is was very addictive to rise to the challenge of looking for the trail markers and I am ready to go again!

Talk to you soon,

Val

It’s Been Awhile!

Hi there!

It’s been quite awhile since I checked in here.  I have been busy with a project or two that has kept me busy!  All my deadlines have been met and I have some time to spend doing other things.  I love to take short drives places and see the sights in our great state of Kansas.  You may think, what is there to do in Kansas?  Well, there is more to see than you think!

This weekend, I wanted to go somewhere and take a hike, so I decided we should go to Osawatomie, Kansas.  I had checked it out and decided to give it a try.  It was a short 2 1/2 hour drive for us and the weather was beautiful!  

Osawatomie is home to the John Brown Museum which houses the 

Adair cabin.  Florella Adair was a half sister to John Brown, and for a brief period of time, he made his home in the Adair cabin.  Of course we all know that John Brown was a staunch abolitionist and participated in a period of time called Bleeding Kansas.  Kansas was a scary place to live during that time as both sides of the slavery issue were fighting to claim Kansas.

Here’s a peek inside the cabin.

Florella’s husband, Samuel Adair was a minister and the church that he started is still standing.  I just love old buildings like this!

We then headed to the Flint Hills trail.

The Flint Hills trail runs 117 miles across Kansas and mile zero is in Osawatomie.  We thought it would be more of a hiking trail, but it really seems more like a biking trial.  The weather was lovely and we hiked it for about 3 miles.

Such a beautiful day!

All in all we had a great day!

Talk to you soon,

Val

Two Old Navy Tops

The other day I had to take my son to Old Navy for some sweat pants and I decided to take a look around to see what I could find for spring.  I found the cutest top that has little flutter sleeves and smocking on the top.  I really love the floral print too!

Here is the top by itself.  It looks so cute with jeans and my grey Converse tennis shoes!
I also love these Nickle and Suede earrings that I bought last month!  You can find the top here.

I kept the whole outfit the same and just added a dark denim jean jacket for cooler days and I loved the look!  The earrings can be purchased here and I am wearing the medium size.

I tried changing the jacket out for a light denim jacket and it was cute also, just gives it a different look.  The Converse I am wearing can be found here.

 Because there is olive green leaves in the top, I tried it with a military style jacket and it looked good also.  I just love it when I find a top that I can wear more than one way!

I also found the polka dot tunic length top and it is so cute and would also look great with a pair of white jeans.

I have a fun project that I am working on right now, but it has deadlines, so that is why today's post is short.  Have a great day and I'll be back next week!

Recent Finds!

Ulta recently emailed me a coupon and so I decided to check it out and see if they was anything I couldn't live without.  I had a few things that I had been thinking about and then I looked at a few new things.  With all the cold weather and snow we have had, it was just good to get out of the house!

I have been reading some reviews on this brush, so I decided to try it.  I love it!  It is flexible as you use it and the open areas in the brush make blow drying your hair so much faster!  You can find the brush here.

I never used to wear nail polish on my hands, but in the last six months, I have really enjoyed it.  I have learned that I can't use a polish that is really thin because it is really hard to apply.  I have tried other white colors and they are so thin, maybe because there is not a lot of pigment in them! (that is the chemist in me coming out!) I saw this new color and opened it to see if it was thick enough for me to handle.  It appeared to be, so last night I tried it and I love it!  I love the Essie Gel Couture because they usually last a week for me.  I am hard on my hands because I work with fabric and thread all day and that is very drying to the hands.  It is also hard on the nails and this polish passes the test!

 

I have wanted to try these phone cord hair ties for awhile and I decided I like the colors of this set.  I tried one yesterday at the gym and it was great.  I thought it wouldn't leave a crease in my hair when I took it out, but it did.  My hair creases so easily from a pony tail holder!  I still will use them as they were comfortable and easy to use.  You can find them here. 

 Last week I got my haircut and I saw these new products on the shelf, so I asked my hairdresser to use them to see what I thought.  I loved the way they made my hair feel and they are made specifically for blonde hair.  As a bonus, they are gluten free!  I had a hair product I had purchased from her that I didn't like, so she let me trade it for this.  It is really light weight and makes my hair feel soft.  As an added bonus, there is just a very small amount of sparkle in it!  I may eventually buy the shampoo too.  You can find the shampoo here.

That's all for today!  It is spring break around here, so the kiddo's are here just relaxing and having fun.  Have a good week and I'll be back next Tuesday!

Make Up Routine

I love to wear makeup, but I am gluten free, so it can be tricky to find things that I can use.  I read the labels carefully before I buy it and I also make sure that I can return it if it doesn't work.  It took me a few years to realize that not only do I have to cut gluten from my diet, but also from my makeup/skincare!  I also had to learn, that just because a product is gluten free the first time you buy it, it may not be the next.  That is why I check the label and products everytime I buy them.

 

Because it is winter, this is the soap I am using to wash my face right now.  When summer comes, I will change it because my skin won't be quite as dry.  It is mild and I don't get any breakouts from it. Always a good thing!

 After I wash my face in the morning, I use this moisturizer.  I found out about this, when I received it as a sample and just loved it!  It is a good moisturizer, smells good and gives my skin a little extra color.  I use the color nude glow.

 

After I have moisturized, I use this foundation and apply it with a beauty blender.  For my blush, I use Nars that you can find here.

At night, after I wash my face, I use this moisturizer and it works really well!  It is expensive, but a little goes a long way and a jar may last over a year!

It is so hard to find things that work and are also gluten free!  I often ask the salesperson that I am buying from if the product is gluten free and many times they don't really understand what I am talking about, or they act like I am from another planet...it is so funny!  Gluten goes by many names in products and if the label says "plumping" don't buy it if you are gluten free!  Most of the time a wheat product is used to plump up skin and if you are gluten free, be prepared to have an allergic reaction!

I hope this post helps my gluten free friends as well as those who are just looking for some good skin care products.

Have a great day and I'll be back next week!

A New Spring Tee

Good Morning!  It is so cold here today that I had to take all my pictures inside.  I prefer to take them outside, but I am not a cold weather girl!  Today I want to share a new spring tee that I found that you can start wearing now.  It has cute flowery vines all over it and because of the colors in it, you can wear it with lots of things.  Best of all it if 40% off today!  You can find the tee here.  In all of the outfits today, all I did was change to a different sweater or jacket.

The first outfit I used my beloved sweater that I featured a few weeks ago.  You can find that post here.  It is a little pricey, but it is so versatile! You can find it here.  The earrings are on sale through the end of the month,  so you still have a few days to get them for $18.00!  You can find them here.

 I kept the base outfit the same and paired it with a darker colored denim jacket and it is so cute together!  You can find a similar necklace here, and the jeans here (the jeans are on sale for $39.50!).

Here is the tee paired with a light wash denim jacket and it looks great too!  You can find a similar pair of the converse tennis shoes here and the light wash jacket here.

I paired the tee with a burgundy sweater and it looks great because of the colors of flowers in it.  You can find a similar long cardigan here.

That's if for today, so have a great day and I'll be back next week!