Baby Mementos From My Past

It seems that everywhere I go, I see pregnant women. I have 3 friends and one niece, all of which are having boys. Two are due very soon and 2 during the summer. How nice to know what you're having, so you can plan your nursury, colors, etc. But,there is that element of surprise missing like when I was pregnant and my mother and hers and on and on. That leads me to this post...or sort of.

One of my most cherished items in the whole world is my baby quilt. The reason being...my mother pieced it and my grandmother, her mother, quilted it. It's priceless to me to have something in which both their talented hands played a part. My grandmother was a beautiful quilter and my mother a beautiful seamstress. How lucky am I to have been blessed with that talent in my life?



So, here it is. Full of farm animals, all painstakingly done by my mom. Look at all the detailed hand embroidery. My favorite is the little lamb with her ruffled lace skirt. The pig is cute, too. The little farmer boy and girl and that turquoise polka dot with the rick rack trim..Ahh! I have this hanging in my studio/office along with my daughter's ballet toe shoes she wore when she was 13. She is now 27. You can still see the wool stuffing down in the toes, not that it helped the pain any.

The baby doll is an old Madame Alexander from the 60's. She's in excellent condition, but she's not the one I had as a child. I have yet to find her, but I love this one, still. She is wearing a baby dress I found in an antique shop. That embroidery took my breath away! Her bonnet looks like someone made it out of a hankie...cute! The dress laying on the quilt is an old baby dress that I wore. The fabric has little tiny pink rosebuds. The sweater set was hand crocheted by my grandmother, as was the blue hat. I'm sure it was a matching set, but I have know idea what happened to it..

The old shoes hanging with the vintage tag(see above photo) are something I picked up in an antique store and tied onto a pale yellow bucket that I filled with baby goodies and gave as a shower gift to the most delightful Holly, a sweet friend, who is on bedrest due to a baby that's about to pop at any minute.



There you have it. Babies in Spring. What could be better?

Paper Apron

I wasn't sure what this was going to be when I first started this project. I had a paper apron in mind, but I don't sketch anything out. I just fly by the seat of my pants! I started with the purple floral paper that's in the middle and added the side panels in green and purple. I had some brown craft sheets that I ruffled and attached with hot glue. The pinkish flowers are cupcake liners...now here's the funny part...I bought a jug of diet cran-grape juice and it tastes like...NOT GOOD! I didn't want to waste it, so I dunked the white cup liners in it just to see what would happen...VIOLA...a pretty pink shade! I scrunched them up in a square of tulle and attached along the ruffle.





I didn't like the plain purple and green paper, so I stamped used white tissue paper with CATHERINE MOORE paperdoll art stamp, an apron and patisserie stamp. I used distressed ink from TIM HOLTZ and just stamped it randomly. I added lace trim here and there. The pocket is a post card from CAVALINNI which I adhered with eyelets and glue. The spoon and key hanging from the pocket are also from TIM HOLTZ.

I have it tied around a rattan plant stand in my dining room. I think it adds a festive touch. Hope you like it!

Orange Buttermilk Pancakes

Let me just start off by saying this delectable morning delight came about as an accident. One morning while preparing pancakes on the griddle, I accidently poured orange juice all over the griddle. Much to my dismay...the rest is history. They have become my family's favorite morning request. Kira's boyfriend, who doesn't even like pancakes, ate about a dozen of these one morning. I even like to eat them cold as a dessert snack!





I have been asked for the recipe so much, I decided to just plop it on here for all to enjoy. It was adapted from a Southern Living recipe. I have experimented and changed it up over the years. Without further ado....

ORANGE BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

2c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
2 lg eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4c vegetable oil
fresh orange zest

Combine the first 5 ingredients, stirring well. Combine the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and zest in a separate bowl. I use whatever type of organges I have on hand. Today, it was Clementine Cuties. They gave the pancakes a stronger orange flavor and it was REALLY good! If you don't have oranges, you can always add about 1/2 cup orange juice. I usually zest one orange (2 clementines) and then sqeeze some of the juice into the batter. Add this liquid to the flour mixture and stir just until all ingredients are moistened. I pour about 1/4 cup onto a hot griddle and I like to grease it with REAL butter. You can use a spray or oil, whichever you prefer. This makes about a dozen average size pancakes. I've been known to quadruple this for a family gathering.

ENJOY!!!