Cayden is 5!

As we approached Cayden's 4th birthday, he was into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I couldn't find any good "inspired" designs to buy so I created my own, remember that? (you can see it here) Well when I posted a pic of it in an applique group, Lyndsie of Lynnie Pinnie asked if she could digitize a set of Ninja numbers based on my idea, remember that? (I blogged about it here, and again here).
Well the boy that inspired it all is now FIVE and still likes TMNT! :)

This year instead of cobbling together my own ninja 5, I used the one in LP's set. I added his name with 8CP's Chinese Take Away.

Maclain is two!

My little friend Maclain turned 2 and had her party a Chic-fil-A, so as any good chicken-eating girl would do, she wore a cow themed outfit! :) Her mommy made her adorable ruffle pants out of cow print fabric, and I supplied the shirt:

This sweet design is from DBJJ's Cupcake Critters set. Using a pale gray to outline the cow really helped make a white cow on a white shirt visible. :) I added her name with I2S's Jack and Jill.

And here's the birthday girl herself. Don't you just love the scrunchy-faced grins of new two year olds?!

Super Seven!

It's birthday time for Sean again! This year he had a Superman themed party, and his mommy gave me freedom to play with design ideas. This is something I did completely all on my own! (Pats self on back)

I do own a set of applique designs that is the alphabet done in the Superman shield style, but it doesn't include numbers. I wasn't finding anything good from trusted sources online, so I made my own! I drew the seven in the shield myself in Embird Studio and created this bean stitch design. I used knits so it wouldn't fray. This style is a nice way to do applique for boys that are getting older.

Oh, I guess I didn't do it COMPLETELY by myself, I did use 8CP's Gadzooks to add his name. Love that font! Perfect for superhero stuff.
Isn't he adorable?! Happy Birthday, Sean!

Gobble Gobble!

Here are a few more turkey shirts I made this year.
I thought this turkey was so cute when I bought it from Applique Cafe TWO years ago. Last fall I bought the same chevron she used in her sample image with every intention of using the design... but didn't. So when Rachel asked me to make a shirt for her daughter, I jumped at the opportunity to finally use this design/fabric combo. Yes, I know there are hundreds of listings on Etsy just like it.... and I don't care :) That's because this fabric is *perfect* for this design!

I did however do a something a bit more unique with the name. :) I don't often use multiple colors within the same name, but I really wanted to tie in all the different colors in the chevron. I used I2S's As the Deer font and thought it turned out cute!

For one of my niece's I used LP's Girly Turkey. The jewelry and shoes on this thing are so funny!

For my other niece and nephew I used I2S's Turkey for Monogram applique.

I stitched Z's first using the 4x4 size. I decided to go with single initials and used Cutsie Joe.

My intention was to use the 5x7 size for G's, but it was just too big on this little 18 month tee. So I nicely asked my boss :) if she could create an intermediate size and I'd test it for her. It turned out perfect, and you fellow embroiderers can benefit from my suggestion -- if you have bought this design go download again to get the additional size!

 

And lastly, a little turkey face onesie. I plucked the face off of the 5x7 size of I2S's Turkey LOVE design and put it on this khaki colored onesie that has been sitting in my stash for years :)

Eat Ham!

A while back my friend Laura asked if I could make her boys matching turkey shirts. I updated my Pinterest Turkey board and sent here there to pick a design from all the cute ones I own. She picked I2S's Eat Ham design.  Now that I work for I2S I know some insider info... Cristy is gradually going back and updating older designs. So before starting I asked if this was on the list to be updated because I could kill two birds with one stone by testing and completing Laura's order. The good news--he was on the list and he got a total makeover! Aren't these cute?!

The new design comes in 4 sizes. I requested a smaller 5x7 size. When a design fills the whole height of a 5x7 hoop it's sometimes too big for a toddler shirt (well, in my opinion; I'm not a "go big or go home!" kind of girl). Squarish designs are fine, they go up in increments of 1". But there's a huge difference between a 4" tall and a 7" tall design! So be on the look out for more 5.5" sized designs :) This allowed me to add his name without having to resize myself or rehoop. Yay!

This is the 4x4 size (has a filled collar). I added their name with Behind These Hazel Eyes.

Christmas Placemats

Even though I adore our monogrammed placemats, my son (4 years old) complains often because his doesn't look like a D. Ha! So when I saw these new scribble designs from Embroidery Boutique, I decided to grab some red placemats and make a new set for our family to use during December.

I picked four different designs (all that use greenery) but selected the same fabric to keep them matching. The scribble designs are so fast and a cool look! I used HNBL for a crisper finish, but it's not required, a raggy finish would be neat, too. (And my friend Katie used the designs without fabric for some very elegant napkins, check it out here)
Annaliese and I might fight over this one... I think my favorite is the Scribble Whimsy Tree

Here's the Scribble Wreath

And Scribble Simple Tree

And finally Scribble Holly. Don't judge, this was my first one. Didn't use HNBL. Didn't trim quite as neatly as I should have, and DUH red berries are NOT going to show up on a red placemat. After testing this one Rachel did do a new version with applique berries that is really cute. I've bought a new placemat to try again with that design. :) I think using a redish fabric will provide enough contrast so they show up better. We'll see if I actually get to it before we decorate for Christmas...

Here they are all laid out on our little table, I like them!

So go check out EB's new scribble designs. On sale now! The product pictures show them beautifully stitched on shirts, but as you can see, they are very versatile designs!

Christmas towels

Recent testing for four of my favorite digitizers has generated a nice stash of Christmas towels here!

First up, Santa Hat alphabet from 8CP:

 I LOVE this paisley!

 Next, a couple versions of the Merry design from Embroidery Boutique. The larger sizes are appliqué, but this 4x4 size is filled:

 I did one version with two colors:

And another with five colors:

Flourish designs from Lynnie Pinnie. These are perfect for putting a monogram in, but I opted to use fabrics with a pretty motif:

This is the Christmas Ornament Flourish design

And the Christmas Tree Flourish design

 And finally (for now) a sweet Reindeer with Candy Cane from The Itch 2 Stitch

The shape of this little guy lent itself to a stay put towel! My daughter fell in love with it, so it will be staying at our house. :)

Edited to add:
I did two more in December (which was perfect because it rounded out my gifts to the preschool staff)

An I2S customer wanted the "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" in 4x4 size, so I tested that for Cristy before sending it on to the customer:

And I tested this pretty Snowflake Monogram on a towel for 8CP:

My First Christmas

A friend of mine just had a little girl, after already having three boys.  Don't you know she will be the princess of the family?! So when Lynnie Pinnie needed her holiday princess cuties tested, I knew my Disney-loving friend needed one. Isn't this cute?!

I used the 4x4 size of the Belle-like cutie and added the text with 8CP's Walt font.

I told LP that this should be a sign of how much faith I have in her fabulous designs... I "tested" this on a 0-3 month onesie on my single needle using a glitter sheet and metallic thread! If that's not a recipe for disaster, I don't know what is! ;) but of course it turned out perfecto!