The Birthday Girl!

My sweet puppers celebrated her 7th birthday yesterday and she partied like a little rock star!  Every year we try to meet up with Emma's doggy family and her breeders at the dog park for a little celebratory reunion and it causes some serious cuteness overload!

Left to Right:  Nikki - littermate, Kerry - biological father, Pearl - littermate, Doug - friend, Lisa- littermate, Emma Jane!

And because a birthday isn't complete without cake and presents we also stopped by PetSmart to pick out a new toy and the doggy bakery to pick up her cake. 

Then it was time to collapse and spend the rest of the day snoozing and snoring because partying like a rock star is some seriously hard work!

And this concludes your Daily Dose of Cute!

Hugs,
Jenny

Oink, Snort, Moo

Happy Day After Halloween (aka Candy Hangover Day)!  We celebrated Halloween by committing random acts of Dog Shaming at casa de la Sew Fab!

Emma was so happy to celebrate Halloween as a pig......

And Sammy was thrilled beyond words to be a holstein cow.......

And I am now trapped.....home alone.......in a house full of chocolate because all of the trick or treaters seemed to skip our street and go to the street where someone had basically set up a haunted house in their front yard.  They even hired "zombies" to roam around their front yard scaring people. It was seriously cool!

Now, I just need to summon all of my strength and will power so I can ignore the candy bowl.  If "Eating Massive Amounts of Chocolate" isn't on the schedule I can't do it, right?!

Hugs,
Jenny
 

Work In Progress Wednesday - What Progress?

What is it about a week long trip that makes it seems like you've lost 3 weeks of your life?  Anyone else feel that way?  I was only gone for a week but if you add in the days before I left where I was getting ready and the travel days and the days after I got back where I was Just. Worn. Out.  And then add in the days where you're trying to catch up on laundry and e-mails and work.....well....a week long trip really does take 3 weeks out of your life.  What's up with that?!  So that's why I haven't had any progress to show for Work In Progress Wednesday during the last few weeks - no time and no energy!  So instead of showing you pictures of quilts that look exactly the same as they did the last time I showed them to you, I'll show you what we did last weekend.

Col. Sew Fab bought a rinky dink little boat full of leaks last summer.  It came with the name "Got Crabs."  Yup.....Col. Sew Fab is the Captain of the Got Crabs.  But we love it because we can hop in with the dogs and putt putt across the small bay we live on and voila.....we're at a small barrier island with the Gulf of Mexico on the other side. And that's exactly what we did last weekend....

Emma frolicked in the waves and rolled in the sand and found a coconut to play with.....

And Sammy laughed at me because I was scared that the coconut might be a human skull.  (Is anyone else always scared that they're going to find body parts on the beach?  Nope?  Just me?  Maybe I should quit watching crime solving t.v. shows).....

And after a day of fun in the sun the two cutest, fuzzy, wuzzy puppers butts led the way back home....

And it should come as no surprise to anyone that we all slept very well that night.

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

All Hail The Birthday Queen!

The most amazing, precious, sweet, adorable puppers in the world turned six years old yesterday! To celebrate we had a little party in the dog park with some of her littermates and her dog daddy.
The cuteness was overwhelming but do you know how hard it is to get just ONE good picture of a bunch of dogs running around and playing? Most of the photos were just blurs of fur or insane action shots....
And of course every birthday girl gets a cake! She started licking her lips the second the smell of the cake hit her adorable, little button nose....
And then came the presents! And again, it's just about impossible to get a clear picture of a wildly excited dog with new toys who's on a sugar high! Go, Emma, go!
Happy Birthday sweet baby Emma Jane! Mommy loves you!
Happy Sewing,
Jenny

A Day In The Life Of Emma Jane

It's a beautiful spring day today! Can we go to the beach and play? Can we? Can we? Huh? Huh?
It's kind of hot out....I'm just gonna dip my feet in to cool off....
Wait a minute....
Sammy.....where are you going??? My feet won't touch the ground if I come out that far....
O.K. I guess I'll try......Here I come.......
I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!
Yay! I did it! But I'm exhausted now. Let's go home.....
C'mon Daddy....We're tired and ready to go home and take a nap....
Life is ruff.

XOXO,
Emma Jane

P.S. I'm a YouTube star! You can see a short video of me doing the Doggy Paddle here.

Bella The Bunny

Big sigh.....my Sweet Bella went to Bunny Heaven last Wednesday, March 30. She was 7 1/2 yrs old (pretty old for a bunny!) but it was still very unexpected. She had been running and playing and eating and happy just the day before. She was my 30th Birthday present from John.
She and Emma were best friends. They made quite the cute odd couple! Emma would happily run out to Bella's cage every morning to greet her. For a few days after we lost Bella, Emma would slowly go to the cage and quietly sniff for a long time. Now, Emma just seems to be in a deep blue funk and won't go near the bunny cage. My poor baby! She misses her friend!
And this is just to show you how dang cute bunnies are when they wash their little faces.

We'll miss our sweet Bella but she lived a good, long bunny life with lots of furry friends, carrots and parsley and a cage with a view of the beach! She truly was our "Beach Bunny."

Jenny

P.S. I've been distracting myself by starting lots of new sewing projects. So, I'll have lots of fun, happy, sewing stuff to show you soon.

Whew....What A Week!

Wow! It has been quite a crazy week around here! It all started last Sunday when I attempted to decorate the Christmas tree. I turned on "Elf", made myself a cup of hot cocoa and happily started pulling out all the ornaments. You'd think that decorating a Christmas tree would be a safe and fun activity wouldn't you??? But nooooo.....not when the Queen of Clumsy is involved! I managed to smack myself right in the eye with a tree branch and scratched my cornea! Ouch! Don't worry - I'm o.k. now! And I didn't let the tree win! I eventually got all those ornaments on it and I won!
Then a few days later little Miss Don't I Look All Sweet And Cute And Innocent decided to jump ACROSS the coffee table and knock over a glass of RED wine. Yup. Red.
The glass shattered and red wine and broken glass ended up all over me, our white sofa, white chair and white ottoman, the carpet, the Christmas cards I was addressing, some paperwork, a silk and linen cross-stitch I was working on and my fluffy white bathrobe. And Emma also got covered in red wine, got scared, ran off and hopped onto our white bedding! And seriously.....the glass was only half full.....but it looked like a full bottle or two had been sprayed over the entire house!

After two days of doing laundry I put the freshly cleaned slipcovers back on the furniture. And Emma immediately jumped onto the ottoman with muddy paws. Shortly after that I locked my keys in the car. First time in my life I've ever done that! Serenity Now!!!

Well, I was trying to look at the bright side. John had been gone all week on a work trip in Oregon and was supposed to get home Saturday morning after catching a Red Eye flight on Friday night. Yay! I'd have my sweetie back home to comfort me! No such luck. Delays and bad weather and flight cancellations have kept him in Oregon ALL weekend. He finally got a flight out on Sunday and sent me this lovely picture of the plane he is taking from Klamath Falls, OR to Portland (the first of 3 flights he has to take to get from Oregon to Florida).....
Ummmmm......seriously dude.....you're gonna get on that plane??? John's a pilot so this didn't bother him in the least. I'm feeling lightheaded just looking at that!

So, after all the insanity of the week I decided to take the weekend OFF! I normally spend the weekends working and doing errands and chores. But instead I had my own little perfect Jenny "Staycation" this weekend. I worked on a quilt that I started a few years......
Yeah....I'm the type of person who starts a project, gets distracted by another project and then finishes the original project a few years later. But, eventually those bits of fabric that were cut into squares two years ago will look like this.....
And I had lots of help with my quilt in the form of Bailey sitting in the window over my sewing table acting as supervisor......
And my sweet puppers, Emma laying at my feet.....
Oh....and did you notice the perfect spot on top of Emma's head??? Yes, Emma is perfect. In every way.

And since my week definitely called for some chocolate and sugar therapy I made these to soothe my wearied soul.....
They're called Candy Bar Brownies and they taste like a fancy Snickers bar! I was gonna post the recipe but it's really long and complicated. If you want the recipe please send me an e-mail and I'm more than happy to send it to you!  So many of you have asked for the recipe that I decided to put it at the bottom of this post.  But be warned.....these aren't easy to make. Four layers.....and each layer involves slowly and carefully melting something.......and you need to let each layer cool/set before adding the next one. Ugh. A lotta work but they are SOOOOO worth it!

I think I'm gonna go have some Candy Bar Brownies for dinner with some red wine.....in a sippy cup! Here's to hoping that this coming week is a little less "eventful."

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

Candy Bar Brownies

Ingredients for Brownies:

¾ cup butter softened

2 Tablespoons water

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

Ingredients for Candy Bar Topping:

1 cup sugar

¼ cup butter

¼ cup milk

1 cup marshmallow crème

½ cup creamy peanut butter

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups dry-roasted peanuts

40 caramels

¼ cup water

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

¼ cup butterscotch chips

1 – Heat over to 350.  Line bottom and sides of 13 x 9 pan with foil.  Spray foil with cooking spray.

2 – Melt ¾ cup butter, 2 Tablespoons water and 2/3 cup sugar over low heat.  Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips until melted.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and the eggs until well mixed.  Stir in flour and baking powder.  Pour batter into pan.

3 – Bake 18 – 23 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely (at least 30 minutes).

4 – In a saucepan heat 1 cup sugar, ¼ butter and the milk to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Boil 5 minutes while stirring CONSTANTLY.  Remove from heat.  Stir in marshmallow crème, ¼ cup of the peanut butter (not all the peanut butter, just ¼ cup of it!) and ½ teaspoon vanilla.  Pour over cooled brownies.  After that layer is firm sprinkle peanuts over top.

5 – In a saucepan heat caramels and ¼ cup water over medium-low heat stirring constantly until caramels are melted.  Pour over peanuts.

6 – In a saucepan melt 1 cup chocolate chips and the butterscotch chips over low heat until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Stir in remaining ¼ cup peanut butter.  Spread over caramel layer.

7 – Refrigerate at least one hour before cutting.  I refrigerate it for one hour and then put it in the freezer for ½ hour before cutting.  Cut bars into 8 rows by 6 rows.  Store in the refrigerator.

Emma's Pick Of The Week - Sew Special

Hey there, it's me Emma Jane! I love applique but sometimes......well.....it's just a little complicated to do all those fancy, turned-under edges. I don't always want to have to work that hard at a project! So, if you feel the same way I do, you'll love these new fusible applique patterns by Sew Special Designs that we have in the shop. They're so much easier and quicker than traditional applique methods. And they're covered in adorable button and ribbon embellishments!

I think my favorite is the Bon Voyage Quilt Pattern. I've had my eye on this one for a long time.....
We also have an adorable Christmas pattern called Chill Out. You can even stick Christmas Cards in the ribbons around the border.....
And since I live in Florida where the Official State Shoe is the Flip Flop I just had to get Surf's Up....
And Back To The Beach is covered in adorable beach scenes and has directions for optional photo holders around the border. Such a cool idea!
I'm gonna get back to my life of laziness and leisure now.....See ya next week!

XOXO,
Emma Jane

Emma's Pick Of The Week - Tickled Pink

Hey there, it's me Emma Jane! You may have heard me mention this one or two or a million times before but I LOVE PINK! It's my favorite color! So I had to show you this Pink-tastic new Fat Quarter Bundle. It's called the Tickled Pink & Aqua Fat Quarter Bundle.....
It includes bright and happy fabrics from lots of different collections like Spring Vintage Cherries from the Farmer's Market Collection......
And Pink Swing Toss from Nicey Jane.....
And Turquoise Wallpaper Roses from Pop Garden.....
I hope you like pink as much as I do because I have plans for a few more Pink-alicious and Pink-tabulous Fat Quarter Bundles. See ya next week!

XOXO,
Emma Jane

Emma's Pick Of The Week - Fruitcake

Hey there, it's me Emma Jane! It's time for a little more Christmas in July. Have you seen the new Fruitcake Collection yet? It's by Basic Grey for Moda - they also made the ridiculously popular Figgy Pudding Collection that came out last year (we still have a little bit left)!
This collection is full of adorable snowmen, holly berries, snowflakes and ornaments in shades of Spearmint, Sugar, Cherry and Hot Cocoa. The colors are rich and modern but still "holiday-ish" at the same time. I love these twining, vining Sugar Holly Berries.......
And look at the adorable striped scarves and little birds sitting on the Spearmint Frosty Snowmen.....
And I think that Sugar Deck The Halls is my favorite fabric from this collection. I love all of the detail and color in this one.....
I'm gonna go start working on my Christmas list now. Yup, we're the type of people who start our Christmas shopping in July!

XOXO,
Emma Jane

Emma's Pick Of The Week - Still Hot, Hot, Hot

Hey there, it's me Emma Jane! Yup.....it's still hot, hot, hot around here. And rumor has it that we have a few more months of this. So, I'm just gonna embrace the heat since we can't escape it and show you some sizzling hot fabrics. First up is the Sunset Garden Trellis from the Flights of Fancy Collection......
Another hot summertime fabric is Blush Chain Flower from the Meadowsweet Collection....
And if you spend too much time out in the hot, hot, hot sun without your sunscreen you may end up the same color as Persimmon Henna Garden from Meadowsweet....
I'm gonna head on down to the beach now and catch some rays. See ya next week!

XOXO,
Emma Jane