Development of Flower Girl Hankies

In working on creation of the flower girl hankies, I encountered one of the difficult challenges of embroidery - very small lettering on thin delicate fabric. It requires good lettering, careful support of the item with stabilizer, slowing down the machine to a crawl, and a little bit of hope. I am still tweaking the details, but the poem is sure cute.


buy on website here

Top Baby Names

I embroider baby blankets, so I have an interest in the popular baby names.  The Social Security Administration issued the top 10 for 2011.

And here they are:


BOYS
1. Jacob
2. Mason
3. William
4. Jayden
5. Noah
6. Michael
7. Ethan
8. Alexander
9. Aiden
10. Daniel

GIRLS
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Madison
9. Mia
10. Chloe

Gorgeous New Bridal Hankie - Personalized of Course

For years I have offered a beautiful bridal hankie.  When it became no longer available, I searched for a suitable replacement.  Finally found it.  This one was worth the wait.

We add personalization of course.

When we use blue thread, it becomes the "something blue"

buy on the website here

A fun wedding related blog

I have had fun reading this wedding blog http://www.forherandforhim.com/blog/ and hope to get new ideas for embroidery that I can bring to you.

600th Sale on Etsy!

Excited to report my 600th sale on my etsy site at www.etsy.com/shop/initialimpressions

Gotta love etsy!

Initial Impressions on etsy

Vintage Pickup Embroidery

New embroidery design as of this morning.  My husband likes this one.  Can you guess the year?

One of our embroidery designs here

Another from the Archives

This is a patchwork teen security blanket I made for my daughter in her pre-teen years many years ago.  It is made using a technique of allowing the seams to show and get all raveled with each washing (rag quilt).  I took each square and embroidered something from her life interests and experiences.  The idea was to have a pre-emptive strike here by making  her something as a pre-teen for her to hold onto during those inevitable moments of teenage angst.

My Peppers!

6 AM on Saturday morning and I am running out to the garden at sun up to see whether our notorious Boulder wind has stripped all the leaves off my cute little pepper plants in the garden.  Although the boxes I used to cover and protect them from the dipping temperatures had blown off, they were okay.

 These towels were for a customer, but I too love peppers, especially in fajitas in the summer.

buy on the website here

From the Custom, Clever and Curious Collection

It is fun to take these aprons and make a statement.

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30 Towels

It takes some serious time to embroider 30 towels.  Done now.

Autograph Pillowcases

These autograph pillowcases are a fun birthday gift and a great keepsake from a slumber birthday party.  The fabric pens are used by the guests to autograph and make comments.  How fun for the birthday child to have for years to come.

buy on website here

Wedding Gown Label Applied

This kind of photo is why our wedding gown labels are so hugely popular.  The wedding photographer makes a point of getting detail shots of the gown in a dramatic way.

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Future Tech Meets Baby Blanket

I am almost at the point where I have seen every kind of baby blanket, but this one is a new one for me.  A baby blanket with sensors in it.  Wild!  The blanket "watches" baby sleep and forwards the data to you. It is a pretty cool concept, but something in me has reservations.  I am curious about feedback on this.  What do you think?  Just another form of baby monitor I guess. 

http://www.futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/technology/futureoftech/high-tech-blanket-can-watch-you-sleep-730850#

A tease for today

As soon as I get a free moment, I will be embroidering this up as the newest of the wedding gown labels.  Nothing is more symbolic of a wedding or sweeter to smell than a lily of the valley flower.  These will be sweet with the first initials of the bride and groom and their wedding date tucked inside the shape of the lily of the valley heart.  Love it!

From the Custom Clever and Curious Collection

This cleverly worded blanket was a gift for a couple who met through their love of Harleys.  I love helping customers take a clever concept and bring it to fruition.

buy on the website here

One of the First

This sweet flower girl basket was one of my first embroidery projects many years ago.  I remember watching the machine in amazement as it worked through the letters.  It seems like so long and so much experience ago.

I embroidered the top of the fabric for the basket and then assembled it using italian lace.  I use the same lace (in black) on an apron I currently offer on the website.

Happy Earth Day

Our suggestion for Earth Day - use cotton towels in the kitchen instead of paper.  And why not do it in style with these flour sack towels in earthy colors.  A simple statement here, but we can personalize too.

buy on the website here

What to Do?

The quandry - do I work in this great sewing room - filling existing orders or work on new product ideas or do I spend the time in my garden on this bright and sunny Colorado day?  I need two of me.  Or maybe that is a bad idea.

Personalized Portable Pyrex

Arrive in style and never go to a potluck and lose your casserole again -- announcing the Personalized Portable Pyrex.  This is a casserole, cover, carrier and hot/cold pack set.  It makes a great wedding and shower gift and is just plain handy when you take your culinary creations out of the house.  Even if you have the hostess wash the dish, you are sure to get it back later when it has your name on it.  We personalize both the Pyrex dish and the insulated carrier.

Mixed Media - Coming Soon

This is a new item coming to the website tomorrow with any luck....  It is embroidered and engraved and makes leaving behind what you brought to a potluck almost impossible.  No more hints.. Stay tuned...

New Flour Sack Towels

It may be dorky, but I am excited that I found a really high end, super quality flour sack towel to offer on the website. These flour sack towels are soft and densely woven - a real improvement. People will say I need a life, but I can't help it - I am excited! They are in the kitchen towel section of the website.

My favorite photo from Kristen's Second Birthday

For her second birthday, Kristen had a Very Hungry Caterpiller birthday party. You can't see it in the photo, but her dress had a design of the very hungry caterpiller along the bottom hem in addition to a combination monogram/name along the top of the dress. We used the same design on a pretty white hemstitched tablecloth topper. We are starting a tradition of adding the motif for each themed birthday party over the years. The first birthday was a butterfly motif, so I added that too of course.

Eric's First Birthday

Eric has a thing for his Mr. Lion, so for his birthday, I took one of the regular Taggies (in this case the clouds pattern) and appliqued a lion face, complete with a plethora of lion mane tags. We think it is pretty neat and word has it that Eric had fun investigating all those tags.

500th Sale on Etsy

Today marks the day of my 500th sale on etsy.com

It's those wedding gown and tuxedo labels!

Pinterest Set Up On Website

Now the website is set up to choose to follow all the pinterest boards or any item on the site can be added to your board individually. It took 22 hours to get the job done!

Pinterest Photo Sharing

I am hoping you will follow my boards on pinterest.com. I have Initial Impressions projects shown there as well as some of my personal picks as a mother and grandmother Pinterest boards for Initial Impressions and personal ones too

Bright Vibrant Colors in Baby Blankets

Tired of the same old pink, blue and white in a baby blanket? We have found these yummy bright and vibrant colors for you. And don't worry, if you prefer the softer colors, we have those too. Bright and Colorful Ribbed Microfiber Baby Blankets

Pinterest Photo Sharing

I have expanded the Pinterest Photosharing Boards to include additional categories. Pinterest is a great way to collect ideas of things you like and share them with your friends. My site there is just one of thousands there and collecting photos is fun. Pinterest Site

New Item - Gingham Trimmed Kitchen Towels

These wonderful kitchen towels can be embroidered with the whimsical Christmas designs, but they are just right for spring and Easter designs too. Brand new on the site today,

buy on the website here

New Wedding Gown Labels

Today I am working on a new concept for the popular wedding gown labels and just generally trying to stay out of trouble on Friday the 13th - (grin)

Pinterest Photo Sharing

Today I have added Pinterest - a photosharing site which allows people to "repin" photos that interest them onto their own Pinterest site. It is a very interesting way to share ideas.

My first album contains my items for a bride and groom's wedding day. You can see it here:

Pinterest Photo Sharing Site

Gingerbread Christmas Pop In

Sometimes I put together collections for a big impact. This collection includes a set of holiday themed aprons and the accessories all themed to gingerbread - from this holiday's collection.

We have even included a copper cookie cutter to complete the ensemble.


buy on the website here

Retirement Gifts

An example of a retirement gift. We took the company logo and prepared it to embroider onto our most popular Irish cable knit couch throw. This throw was made last year and I need to make another one for another employee today. It makes a great keepsake from many years of company service.

buy on the website here

Matchy Matchy or No?

Sometimes it is more effective not to be so matchy matchy. If you take a theme and work with it so that it has common ground for unity but something unique too, the effect can be even more satisfying than an exact match. Here we have mother/daughter aprons that are just enough the same and just enough different. Very fun.

Autograph Pillowcases

These pillowcases are an alternative to an autograph book. The pillowcase is embroidered and personalized for a particular sport and then it gets to go along to a show, competition or exhibition. The performers or fellow competitors sign it with the fabric pens and then it becomes a opportunity for sweet dreams of athletic success. I can make them for any sport and they are not necessarily just for girls either!

buy on the website here

Rag Quilt Creation Tutorial

In case you were wondering, I thought it might be handy to include instructions on the construction of a rag quilt. It is really so very easy. This tutorial has you sewing through all the layers with an X to hold the layers together. In my case, I embroidered my squares which served the same purpose.

But this tutorial is the best I have found to explain in simple terms how to put a beautiful rag quilt together. It is not difficult - trust me!

Rag Quilt Tutorial

Shabby Rag Blanket

This is the shabby rag blanket mentioned in the previous post. With this blanket, each square represents something important from Sarah's life. It is constructed from several layers of flannel, with the seams exposed and naturally frayed each time the blanket is washed. This blanket is a trememdous amount of work, but the pre-teen age group loves these things. Sarah was a bit embarrassed at the notion of taking it to college with her, but I know she cherishes it.

Unusual Baby Blanket

This baby blanket was an unusual project designed for an older child whose original baby blanket had disappeared. The mom wanted to incorporate various designs reflecting the daughter's interests and we left space to add additional designs as time goes by. I did a similar blanket many years ago for my youngest. For that one, I made the blanket myself in the rag quilt technique.

Here we started with the child's name and date of birth in the center of the blanket and sprinkled designs relating to gymnastics, soccer, red wagon, airplane, and an angel.

New Year - Invigorated Blog

I am planning to start the year with a renewed energy toward blogging about embroidery. As some may know, we had a very difficult end of the year with the sudden appearance of a deadly disease in our beloved baby granddaughter, Veronica. We lost her on November 20 after a two week illness and hospitalization. We are sad of course and will always love and miss her. But we are trying to keep going and embroidery is something that helps me do that.

So look for more embroidery projects and interesting ideas as we forge forward in 2012. Happy New Year!