Scrappy Heart Candle Mat

It always feels good to complete a project, especially when it has been around for a long time!

This little candle mat took a lot of twists and turns while I was working on it. At one point I bought all new fabric for the quilt top and then decided it needed new Yo Yo hearts to match and with each change or new idea the progress was delayed. Finally, about a month ago, it all began to come together. I had the top pieced, the hearts were almost finished and it was time to decide on the style of machine quilting. I had originally planned on free motion quilting because I liked the look and it was the perfect size to practice on, however, I discovered that my sewing machine was too old and did not have the tools or needed adjustment capabilities. That was very disappointing and forced me to consider alternative quilting options but there weren't many. The truth was, my heart was set on the look of stippling so I came up with a solution. My idea was to sew the top to look like free motion quilting or "faux free motion" as I like to call it. I wasn't sure if it would work or not but decided I was willing to rip out the stitching if it looked terrible. I started in the middle and worked out, twisting and turning, starting and stopping frequently to lift the presser foot, and low and behold it worked {sort of}. It is not perfect and not quite what I imagined however it is close enough for me and the best part is ~ it is finished!

Now onto the next project... 

Have a happy day!!

sweet hearts for my SWEETHEARTS

Have a lovely day!

Peanut Butter Treats

Not one but two peanut butter treats were on the baking list this week. I can't explain why. It just happened that way.

First up ~ peanut butter, butterscotch, marshmallow bars...

aka: Fancy Bars. 

I remember my mother making these when my sisters and I were little. In fact, I still use her recipe and every time I make them it brings back warm, sweet, yummy memories, 

however...

...I couldn't stop there.

I was also in the mood to bake peanut butter cookies topped with solid chocolate hearts in lieu of Hershey Kisses®. Hearts are my go~to peanut butter cookie topper in February when  chocolate hearts are plentiful and come in every size, shape and color.

Most of the Fancy Bars and Peanut Butter Cookies were packaged up and shared with friends this week, which means,

 I will be baking again over the weekend. 

Yippee!

Have a beautiful Saturday!

SUPER BOWL 51 ~ party snacks

This year our oldest son and his wife had the family over to their house to watch the Super Bowl which was so much fun. They provided lots of delicious snacks however I didn't want to go empty handed so I made a few things to share. To start, I made a simple little goal post table decoration using an empty can and some craft supplies I had on hand and 

a cute dollar store beer stein full of butterscotch candy and marshmallows.

As for snacks, I made football Apple Hand Pies,

and football sandwiches. 

Since I do not have a football shaped cookie cutter yet I had to make my own again and the new version turned out to be much better. 

I used the open end of an empty can that I squeezed into a football shape. This was much sturdier than my older version....

...which was the bottom of a paper cup. The can was a great improvement!

Mr. Wonderful also made a bunch of smoked chicken wings so we had a good variety of snacks to choose from during the game. 

Happy Monday!