Southern Heirlooms

Product Review! Cool Gadget!

2011-12-27T15:45:00.001-05:00

In the interest of full disclosure, this item was a gift. I receive absolutely NO compensation from anyone for this review, although I'd happily accept it. My teenagers eat a lot. Groceries are expensive. And so, I digress..... Anyway...

We have numerous food allergies in our house, and allergy-friendly pre-made foods can be expensive, so I like to make as many things as I can from scratch. Jack can't do dairy, and the other kids are mostly dairy free. I wanted this to make special ice creams for them (using almond milk). Just made a vanilla ice cream using just vanilla almond milk and sugar. (And I love that I can control how much sugar is, or is not in the ice cream!). It is delicious! Here's the product link, if anyone's interested! I LOOOOVE mine!

Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker...

How about a couple more?

2011-08-20T19:04:00.002-04:00

I made this as a gift for my husband. On canvas board...11 3/4" x 23 3/4" . I can make one for you, too!

This one is 12 x 12 canvas. As always, they are hand painted, and hand lettered. Custom orders are always welcome!

A new obsession-turned-venture!

2011-08-19T12:58:00.000-04:00

I have always loved quotes. I even keep the "fortunes" from fortune cookies. Recently I painted a canvas for my husband as a gift....then I painted another. Then someone made the mistake of telling me, "You could sell those..." . Those are dangerous words to a stay-at-home mom! So, I AM making them to sell! I will do custom canvases of your favorite quote, saying or scripture, in whatever colors you choose. These are hand painted, and hand lettered quality canvases. Check out my Facebook page, Southern Heirlooms and "like" me, please, and see all the new things I come out with! Here are a few:

Interested in ordering? Just leave me a comment and I will contact you! Thanks for looking!

Gluten-free, Dairy-free Mississippi Muddy Buddy Brownies!

2011-06-29T22:06:00.003-04:00

Another gluten-free, dairy-free dessert for you! I entered this in a Betty Crocker GF contest recently. One of the requirements is that you had to use one of their GF mixes. No word yet on how I did. Oh...and the frostings' proportions are enough for 2 batches. This one actually has too much, but it and the second batch disappeared so quickly, this is the only photo I have.

Mississippi Muddy-Buddy Brownies

2 boxes Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix

1 c. oil

4 eggs

1.5 c. toasted pecans

Mix together brownie mix, oil and eggs. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle evenly with miniature marshmallows. Return to oven until marshmallows are lightly browned. Remove and allow to cool, almost completely. Mix frostings. When brownies are cool, and frostings are still warm, sprinkle with toasted pecans, then drizzle the chocolate frosting heavily over the brownies, ending with a lighter drizzle of the peanut butter frosting.

Chocolate Frosting:

½ c. Butter (We use Earth's Balance Dairy-free, Soy-free spread)

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

1/3 c. milk (we use Almond milk...Silk Almond, to be specific.)

1 (16 oz) pkg powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in saucepan, add remaining ingredients. Stir with wire whip until smooth.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

¼ c. butter (or Earth's Balance spread)

¼ c. peanut butter

1/8 c. milk (Again, we use Almond milk)

2 c. powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

Melt butter and peanut butter, add milk and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.

Gluten-Free, Dairy Free Reese Cups!

2011-03-26T18:25:00.003-04:00

My youngest child decided to give up cookies for Lent. Around our house, between being gluten-free, dairy-free, and having given up cookies, that SEVERELY limits any options for treats. So today I decided to attempt making GF/DF "Reese" cups.

SOOOO Easy! I got the recipe from The Hungry Mouse. To make these GF/DF, I used allergy-friendly chocolate chips (Ok, scoffers....you can NOT tell the difference between these and conventional semi-sweet chocolate chips. Except for the price. Unless you're some chocolate-tasting, epicurean savant. My kids aren't, so it'll be fine.) We used organic, creamy peanut butter (peanuts aren't an allergy issue for us.) for the filling.

They were FABULOUS! Thank you, Hungry Mouse. I may try the S'more variety next.

We love ORANGE around here!

2011-02-22T23:18:00.004-05:00

Our blood runs orange, in this family! This is a little romper made from Children's Corner's Paulie pattern with the shirt from the Jeffrey (I think!) pattern. The buttons are footballs (Go VOLS!) and there are shadow embroidered footballs on the collar.
a close up view...

and without the shirt....

A little more inspiration...

2011-02-22T10:58:00.006-05:00

A couple of dresses made from the Carol pattern by Children's Corner.... a few incarnations of this pattern...

A blue floral pima cotton...can't remember where it was purchased...smocked with a plate from PB&J Kids.

Another set in a khaki pima cotton gingham smocked with a poodle plate by Frances Messina Jones. The gingham really looks wonky in this photograph! It wasn't in reality!

...and a close up of the poodle....

and another in a pima cotton dot, smocked with Hot Air Balloons by Laura Jenkins Thompson...

...and another close up! We seamstresses do enjoy a good close up of details....I just noticed the balloon looks crooked....I was running out the door to deliver these dresses. Should have paid a little more attention to my photography. It really just needed straightening.

SO.....what do you have planned for Spring & Easter sewing this year?

A little inspiration from days gone by

2011-02-22T10:28:00.008-05:00

This is sundress inspired by a dress in an ancient Sew Beautiful magazine by Adele Westbrook. Ulster linen with a ton of silk ribbon embroidery. This is my daughter at her 10th birthday party, which was a fancy tea party....I pulled out all the china, crystal and silver. SO FUN! And she is such a beautiful girl inside, and if I do say so myself, gorgeous on the outside.

a close up of the embroidery....

...and a shot of the back....excuse the tan lines, please....

A little eye-candy for you....

2010-06-02T11:18:00.005-04:00

My friend Martha at Southern Matriarch posted these photos she found ...nope, she didn't smock it, either...

...and another view...originally posted by kristabenhome31

Now, I HAVE smocked a bassinet skirt and bonnet...but not sure I would even attempt crib bedding! Sorry for the crummy photo....this was the early day of digital photography.

Getting my smocking groove back...

2010-06-01T10:14:00.006-04:00

I've been absent from this blog for so long!!!! I have been sewing, but not much. Now I'm determined to get my "groove" back. I'm working on a bishop for my niece. This fabric:

Smocked with this plate...except instead of roses, I plan to do bullion pansies. The plate is Linda's Rosebud Collar by Lou Anne Lamar.

Photos of progress coming soon!

Coming Home Outfit for Twins....

2008-06-22T06:17:00.007-04:00

Today I am working on coming home outfits for the babies of my sister's friend. Boy and Girl twins...can you imagine the fun?!? I am using Creations by Michie's Baby Apron Dress in the Preemie size and will do their monogram below the collar. I'm thinking I'll make these into sacques. The new mommy will not have much time to iron, and Rae says she's hates to iron, so I'm going with Imperial Broadcloth, with ecru accents. I hope that will look good in the pictures! Here are the collars for Baby Boy outfit.....I faggoted the collars...white with ecru bias tubing.

and a close up shot of the work in progress!

and both collars together....

I'll post photos of Baby Girl's collars later today!

It's not Heirloom, but it IS sewing!

2008-05-28T23:09:00.008-04:00

I have been covered up with commissioned work sewing this spring, so I haven't been very diligent about posting. Sorry! But I did *this* bit of sewing today, for #1 son, Nick. He built (yes...HE built ) this ship. He wanted to make a replica of The Black Pearl from the Pirates of the Caribbean. (ok...before anyone loses it that a 9 year old watches these movies, I can assure you that he gets the censored version. He fences and loves sword fights.) So...this boy comes to me with his big blue eyes and says, "Mommy....will you sew me some sails?". Of course, I did....then he promptly began cutting holes in them. Because the ship's been in battle, you know. Here's the finished product:

Notice the Lego men (he didn't have anyone else to crew this ship!) manning the crow's nest:

And the sniper peeping through one of the holes in the sail. That disturbs Mommy....

So...it had no lace and no smocking, but it did make one of my main men happy. Go figure. And as a parting shot, I have a snap of Nick at his fencing lesson....

Until next time.....

Well, It's About Time!

2008-04-09T11:02:00.002-04:00

In an attempt to *not* be one of those people who takes a blog name and never does anything with it, I have decided to get off my duff and finally work on this blog! For my first official post, I would love to show off photos of my sweet niece, Ella, in her Easter Dress! The pattern is Ellen McCarn's The Bishop Dress pattern, the smocking plate is a variation of Angelica from the Beautiful Bishops book by Country Bumpkin (Australian Smocking and Embroidery) the fabric is white Old Fashioned Dotted Swiss with French laces. The baby is a work of art....courtesy of the Great Artist and her Mommy and Daddy!

2008-01-03T02:41:00.001-05:00

Wow....this is kind of cool.....welcome , welcome! Southern Heirlooms is my business. I create custom sewn heirlooms. Either French style garments, hand smocked, or embroidered children's custom clothing, or heirloom T-Shirt Memory Quilts; Heirlooms, however you look at it! Check back soon and see photos of my work!