Dixie Doodles

I Have ALOT of catching up to do...

2009-05-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

Well, to make up for lost time, I'm going to give y'all a real treat...pictures of my adorable baby brother's 3rd birthday! What? You're not thrilled? :)

Ain't he a darling lil' stinker all decked up in his Daniel Boone outfit? Oh, excuse me, Zandie Boone...not quite as tall as a mountain, but he makes up for it in cuteness (he really does not like to be called cute, you know, for the sake of manhood and all...so say the "Awwwwwws" under your breath! LOL

And this is his coonskin cap cake...he was pretty tickled with it. :)

Blowing out all of his candles...you are getting on up in age, buddy! ;)

And one more picture of the courageous trailblazer...happy birthday, Alexander!

Cheerio for now!

Bunny Washcloth Tutorial

2009-04-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't have my e-book done yet (hopefully spring won't be over by the time it's finished), but I thought I'd post how to make one of crafts here to give you an idea of what the book will contain. It will be on my blog for only a short time, but any feedback would be appreciated! :) So here's how to make the Bunny Washcloth...hope it makes sense! ")

Bunny Washcloth

What You Will Need:

Fluffy washcloth

Fabric glue

Black felt

Thin strand of matching ribbon

Rubber band

Scissors

Step 1: Lay washcloth on a flat surface and fold into a triangle. Beginning at pointed end, tightly roll washcloth into long tube.

Step 2: Fold washcloth tube in half then half again. Slip rubber band over washcloth halfway and secure. You may need to adjust rubber band and fluff the “ears”.

Step 3: Wrap ribbon around rubber band and tie in a bow. Adjust accordingly to hide band.

Step 4: From black felt, cut out two small eyes and nose. Attach pieces to “bunny” with dots of fabric glue. Let dry, then put out for display.

These little bunnies work well as tiny gift “baskets” as well. Place a piece of candy in the hole in the middle of the bunny to make a sweet treat for kids and adults alike!

And the winner is........

2009-03-21T14:41:00.001-07:00

Or should I say, the winners are...*dramatic drumroll*...Sis. Beth and Lizzy!!! Both entries were spectacular and you both deserve a prize! Thank you both so much for entering and your prizes will arrive to you shortly!!! Congratulations, ladies! :)

What have I been doing lately? Well, to arouse your sympathy, I will let you know that Erin and I had shots this week...not just one, or two, or three, but FOUR shots! To make matters worse, needles scare the heebie jeebies out of me, but I bravely pushed aside my fear and sat quietly as the nurse (coincidentally and thankfully my cousin) administered the shots right in the arm. *cough* Okay, so it wasn't exactly like that, but that's as much as I'll say (please don't squeal on me, Mecca, for the sake of keeping these secrets in the family!) lol ;)

Pushing aside the bad (and painful!) news, I have some good news to share...I am writing a craft e-book entitled "Everything Spring!" and will soon have it available for purchasing! :) You can take a peek at it here: http://dixiedoodlepublications.blogspot.com/
Thanks for stopping by!

Cake Decorating Contest....Extended! :)

2009-02-17T11:07:00.000-08:00

Hello all!
Well, I've decided to extend the deadline of my cake decorating contest for one more week. So the new deadline is Feb. 24. :) Also check out the entries from Sis. Beth and Lizzy. Both cake and cupcakes were fantastic! ")
Week before last, we celebrated John's 5th birthday...here's the cake I made for him:

"Lightnin AQueen" as it sounds when John says it! lol

*ahhh* The star tip is one of my best buddies! :)

I know Erin mentioned this on her blog, but I do want to thank everyone for their prayers and messages for our family throughout Mom's recent miscarriages...thank you all so much!!!!

Cake Decorating Contest! :D

2009-01-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

Whew! I really do NOT deserve to have a blog! :) My only excuse is that life is very busy right now and I don't have much time for posting. I would say I'll try to do better but...you know how that goes. Oh, well. :D
A little insight on what I've been doing... this past holiday season, I received an order for 22 cakes! Not just plain old cakes, mind you. 11 three-layered red velvet cakes and 11 fifteen layered chocolate cakes. Know what else? We needed to make them ALL in a 36 hr. period! Well, it took both Erin and I to get er' done, but we did it! :)

Here's only 9 cakes pictured out of 22!

Which brings another subject to mind...I have always wanted to host a contest of some sort but never have done it, sooooooo... You are all invited to enter "Dixie Doodles Cake Decorating Contest"! Here are the rules:

1. It can be any decorated cake (or cupcakes) that you have made any time, any year, any place, just so long as you made it.
2. Just post a picture of your cake on your blog and if you don't have a blog, comment that you wish to enter and we'll go from there.
3. Cakes will be judged by creativity and originality.
4. The deadline is Feb. 15th.
5.. The winner will receive a little surprise prize! :)

So there you go! I would love to see your cakes! Don't know how many of y'all would be interested, but thought I'd try anyway. :)

Just A Quick Post To Say...

2008-12-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends, and a Happy New Year!!!!! :)

One of my very favorite Christmas movies:

And I've never seen The Christmas Shoes movie, but I love this song (I cry every time I hear it):

~Elisabeth

Here Comes The Wagon Train Y'all!

2008-11-13T06:56:00.001-08:00

Well, last week a wonderful thing occured! I jumped into my history book and was able to photograph a wagon train full of people on their way west to discover new horizons!
Click on the pics below to enlarge:

Funny, I didn't know folks wore yellow safety vests and t-shirts back then. :)

Or maybe, an annual wagon train trotted past our house and my twin was kind enough to let me use the pictures she took from our living room window! :) Mmmm, I think I like the first explanation better! ")

My Entry for the Fair!

2008-09-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Well, I've been crazy busy running around this weekend trying to get my entries complete for the Georgia National Fair. :D I guess I should say ENTRY, as I didn't have time to get my other two entries ready (aka procrastinated until it was too late! LOL) This'll have to be a quick post, as Mom and I have to dash to deliver mine and Erin's stuff, but I did want to share my one and only entry into the Youth Art contest:

My scanner wasn't large enough to include all of it, but here's most of my "baby". LOL ;) Now, some of you might be saying..."Um, a hamburger?" *gasp* Not just a hamburger...a Steak n' Shake hamburger! :P
That's all for now...have a great day!

A Tour of Our Room

2008-08-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know...I keep saying I'm going to do better and post on my blog. My excuse? I've been really busy and I just don't get on the computer a lot. :D But I'll try to post more often. I've been wanting to do a post about my room (or should I say my room that I share with my sisters, Erin and Ellie?) We painted it last summer and, let me tell you, that's not a job we plan to repeat anytime soon. Erin and I had green paint all over us for a week! lol *clearing throat* And now without further delay...a tour of our room (hosted by none other than me!):

*BTW, I realize it's kind of choppy, but hope you enjoy anyway!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hmmm...think I'll ever get to host my own show on HGTV? ;)
Have a great day!
~Elisabeth

The Homeschool Family...

2008-07-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it's about that time...time to open up those new text books, sharpen those pencils, and put the thinking caps on. Yep, school will be starting again for us soon. Less than two weeks to be exact. It's always hard to start back after a great summer but also kind of exciting in a way. Erin and I are seniors this year so there will be a lot going on such as Advanced Math, Chemistry, and other good stuff like that. :)
Check out this cute video about another home school family! :OD

Georgia John Rides Again!

2008-07-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Howdy, podners!
Well, good old Georgia John is back and this time riding his trusty steed, Ranger!
If y'all haven't read Erin's post about Ellie Oakley and Georgia John, you won't have a clue about what I'm talking about so you might want to head over to her blog and then come back. :D
You back? Great. Here's a photograph of G.J. riding Ranger:

Cute, huh? Know how Ranger was born? From a cardboard box! A few weeks ago, our good friend, Jarrett, had a costume party to celebrate his third birthday. John put in right off that he wanted to be cowboy. Erin and I had seen something similar to the horse in a Family Fun magazine and decided to make him a bronc to match his attire. We took a good sized cardboard box and cut the hole in the middle to fit John's waist. We then spray-painted the box a nice shade of brown and let it dry for about 30 minutes, then added white spots here and there. After that, we cut out the horse's head and ears from the flaps on the box. I painted on eyes, a nose and we proceeded to hot glue the head to the body and the ears to the head. We also hot glued two strips of cloth to the body to act as suspenders. Then came the really fun part! We took a pair of Alexander's pants, stuffed them with cotton, closed the ends with rubber bands, and attached a small pair of cowboy boots with safety pins. When John climbed into the horse, we tucked his "legs" around his waist. Last but not least, we attached a yarn tail to the body with (you got it!) hot glue! The result? A cute buckaroo riding a gallant steed! ;)
Here are a few more pics from the party (compliments of Mrs. Suzanne!):

Poor old Ranger lost an ear...sigh!

Lol Erin and I dressed exactly alike for the party (something we haven't done for years) and wore different name tags! :D Goodness, you can certainly tell that we just went to the beach! Oh, and those ridiculously large sunglasses? All I can say is that you NEED large sunglasses here in Georgia to protect your eyes from the sun that shines most of the time! :OD

Thanks for stopping by! :)

What I've been working on...

2008-07-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share two of my latest projects...personalized travel bags! Hope that you like them, Chasidy and Lacey!! I really learned a lot making them! :OD

I'm Here! :)

2008-06-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi! Well, it's been awhile since I posted last...I'm going to try to do better...don't give up on me!
One of the reasons I haven't been posting is because I've been extremely busy working on sewing orders. I've been having a BLAST designing and sewing bibs and bags! :OD Here's one of my creations:

It's a personalized "Bumble Bee" bib! Which brings to mind that I was ready to throw my embroidery machine out the window!! It ruined several versions of this bib because it embroidered the "n" over the "o" in Payton! But don't worry, I did not go through with this violent act because the machine redeemed itself by doing a great job on a bag I'm working on. Keep it up, machine! ;)
On another note, we had a great birthday last Thursday! We spent the day shopping with our grandmother, went to Applebee's for lunch, and then ate chicken enchilada for supper! "But where's the cake?" you may ask. Well, here it is...two layers of chocolatey, ice creamy goodness!

Um, okay, part of the chocolately, ice creamy goodness! And believe me, it is GOOD! And who is that last piece for? ME!! And Erin. That sounds a little greedy so I'll be generous...the first person that comments on this post gets this delicious piece via mail. Of course, that's only if that person pays for the shipping and handling...and I apologize if it melts before it gets to your house. You know, that all sounds like a lot of trouble so...I think Erin and I will just polish off this piece tonight. Don't worry, we will savor every bite! LOL
I also want to thank everyone who wished us a happy birthday! Thanks a bunch! :0)
Have a great day!

"Cozy Toter" Casserole Dish Carrier

2008-04-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

“Cozy Toter” Casserole Dish Carrier

This casserole dish carrier is something that we use often in our home. We have lunch after church each Sunday, so the machine quilted ‘cozy toter’ really comes in handy for transporting our food and keeping it warm until time to eat. But who says that something as common and useful as a casserole carrier can’t be made from fun and cute fabric?? Hey, maybe this will be the next big “have-to-have accessory” for the discerning casserole toting fashionista! :o)

Materials Needed:
1 yard of really cute fabric
½ yard lining fabric (white is best)
½ yard cotton batting
1 (3 yd) pkg. of wide, single-fold bias tape 7/8”...color to coordinate with your ‘cute’ fabric!
1/2 yard of stiff interfacing
Shoestring (1/4" wide and at least 28" long)

1. To begin, cut a 17 1/2" diameter circle out of tissue paper. Fold pattern in half, and lay on the fold of your main fabric, and pin. Cut, unfold and press. Repeat with more main fabric to make another circle for bottom layer of cozy toter. Follow the same procedure for the lining fabric and batting. You should have six circles in all.

2. To make the handles: Cut out two strips of main fabric 18” long and 3” wide and then cut out two strips of interfacing with the same dimensions. Iron each strip of interfacing to each fabric strip. Baste or quilt around all four edges of each strip. Turn under 1/2 “ on long sides for both. Fold over and press. Sew down and stitch near edge on both long sides. Your handles are ready!

3. At this point, fold each circle of white lining fabric in half and press. Then fold it over again, and press. You now have four sections on the circle with a ‘cross iron line’. Repeat with second circle of lining. Unfold back into a full circle.

4. Now create a ‘sandwich’ with top layer of main fabric, middle layer of batting, and bottom layer of lining fabric. You will do this with the other three circle pieces as well...main fabric on top, batting in middle, and lining fabric on bottom. Pin the three layers of each circle firmly in place for each circle sandwich.

5. Next step: Machine quilting. Remember, you already have your pressed ‘cross’ lines in your white lining fabric to use as a starting measuring guideline, so the next part is easy. Sew along these ‘cross’ lines, remember to backstitch at the end of each row. Using a pencil and yardstick, measure and lightly draw lines to create 1 ½ in. squares on the white lining fabric and machine quilt. Repeat on second circle. See photo below.

If you already have quilted fabric, you’re one step ahead! :o)

6. On one of your circles, cut out a middle circle that is 6 inches in diameter...in essence creating a ‘doughnut’ looking circle. Then cut a straight slit from middle circle all the way down to the end of the ‘main’ circle.

Zigzag both edges of ‘slit’, turn under ½”, press, and stitch at the edge of the sewing machine foot all the way to end.

Center opening on the right side of bias tape to wrong side of opening. Extend bias tape ¼” beyond edge of opening. Stitch them together in the crease of bias tape. Turn under raw edge of bias at the end of the slit. Turn bias tape to the outside and stitch.

7. Place your circles on top of each other (wrong sides together) and pin in place. Again using the edge of the sewing machine foot, baste completely around circle.

8. It’s now time to add the handles. Place ends of handles to outer edge of circle and baste when you have them where desired.

Clip off any excess fabric.

9. We’re almost finished! Stitch bias tape completely around the outside edge of the circle following the same method that we used to add bias to the middle circle.

Hem end of bias, fold over the opposite end, and stitch.

10. Using the "safety pin" method, thread shoestring gently through the bias "tunnel" of the inner circle. Add decorative beads if desired.

Ta-da! This is my first tutorial, so I hope it's easy for you to understand! :OD And thanks to Sis. Kynnette for answering all my questions! You're the best!

*Note: When ready to use, place round or oblong casserole dish inside the carrier. Pull the ends of shoestring together to cinch the inner circle together to close, then tie.

Friday Show and Tell...The Day I Met "A Queen"!

2008-04-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone!
Today being Friday Show and Tell over at Kelli's, I have decided to share with you an exciting experience I had when I was four years old...the day I met "A Queen"! Okay, so she wasn't exactly a queen, but hey, when you're little, any lady wearing a silver tiara MUST be a queen!
Anyway, at that time, my sister and I were enrolled in the private school where our mom taught at the time (Mom and Dad began homeschooling us after pre-K and kindergarten) when one day, the exciting news came that Miss Georgia was going to visit our classroom!! :) Naturally, we were all thrilled and awaited her arrival with as much patience as a class of four-year olds can muster.
When she finally DID arrive (not in a horse drawn carriage, sadly), she certainly looked like a queen...wearing a sparkling silver tiara and a beautiful white dress! Well, there I was, minding my own business, when I heard Miss Georgia say of my twin sister and I, "Oh, they look so much like me when I was their age." Oh, REALLY?? ;) And then, someone suggested that we have a picture taken of the three of us. Naturally, I was extremely excited but managed to act composed and smile my sweetest smile for the camera...Yup, that calm little girl who looks like she has her picture made with Miss Georgia every day is me...NOT. No, that happens to be my sister, Erin...I'm the one with the hunched shoulders and the cheesy grin! :( A once in a lifetime picture and I managed to look kinda, okay, REALLY goofy! ;) I guess the excitement was a li'l too much for me to handle. "D
Well, I still am glad that we have that picture...it was a special day that I'll never forget! :)
Hope you have a great day and thanks for looking!

Hello!

2008-04-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hi and welcome to my new blog, Dixie Doodles: The Life of a Dixie Doodler! What exactly is a "dixie doodler"? Glad you asked! My dictionary informs me that a "dixie doodler" is (and I quote) "...one who lives in the south and doodles almost constantly (while talking on the phone, on random pieces of paper laying around, etc.) Beware: never take away their pencils and paper or you will have them searching frantically for more!"
Okay, I made that definition up...and actually, I'm not that bad about doodling! It does make for a kinda cute blog title though, don't you think? :OD
Anyway, welcome to my blog! Here I will post my thoughts, my projects, perhaps some artwork and doodles, and anything else that I find "blogworthy". ;)

Here's a caricature that I did of myself...just what you want to see, right? :)
Well, I guess I'll close for now!

Again, welcome!