Mpress Workshop

BzzAgent - Loving my new campaign - Comforts

2012-01-31T19:02:00.001-06:00

A couple of years ago I signed up to become a BzzAgent at bzzagent.com. I am given free products to try in return for my opinions. During my campaigns I am encouraged to talk to others regarding my thoughts and experiences with the “products”.

This campaign was much welcomed as it is for the Comfort line of baby items through my local Kroger. Having Irish twins has hit our pocketbook hard in the diaper and butt care department. I was not aware that Kroger carried their own brand of baby care items, so when I was given the chance to join this campaign I literally flew through the air to my computer to sign up ;-)

BzzAgent sent me a box of diaper of wipes and two sippy cups along with a coupon for a box of free diapers. I decided to go with pull ups for my 3 year old who is in the process of potty training. The pull ups are as easy for him to maneuver as his big boy underwear. The only complaint I have with the wipes is not even with the wipes (which are very thick and soft), but the actual container. One of my kids dropped the plastic container and now the lid will not stay shut.

I will definitely continue to purchase Comforts products for as long as my kids are in diapers.

Hello!

2012-01-28T22:21:00.000-06:00

Well - I am not posting any projects today! I just wanted to put a little note in here that I didn't realize our blog was still active since we closed down our website. OOOPS!!! So I've been making things and trying new recipes without taking photos - boo!! :-(

I will just tell you that we closed down our website because we are opened up a store on Ebay. The store is actually open now, but the only items we have for sale are on Ebay at the moment as auctions. So if you have a chance and want to see what we are up to these days, just look for our MPress Workshop store on Ebay.

I will get back to blogging my "experiments" soon - if only so I can look back in one year to track how far I've come.

Angie :-)

My Happy Breakfast

2011-12-18T17:30:00.000-06:00

This is going to be a short post - and I wasn't given this product to test and give my opinion. I just LOVE Fage, pronounced fah yeh - but I always call it fah shay with a z sound at the beginning ;-) and I wanted to put my opinion on my blog! Fage is a Greek yogurt and it is thick and creamy. Because of the texture I was always afraid to eat it; because of that fear I missed out on years of pure bliss. This yogurt with a cup of coffee is my usual weekday breakfast and actually makes me look forward to my day.

The texture is thick and very creamy for both the 2% and the 0% fat yogurts, but my vote goes to the 2% because it feels like soft serve ice cream in my mouth. Plain Greek yogurt has a "tang" to it and it took me awhile to get used to the taste, but luckily Fage comes in a few flavors. My two favorites are Honey and Cherry, but they also have Strawberry and Peach. The flavorings come on the side of the yogurt cup so you can mix in as much or as little as you like. I started out using all of it because of the tangy taste, but now I start out with 1/4 of the filling and then add more as I go along if needed. The "tang" has won over my taste-buds.

So - if you haven't tried Greek yogurt and you force yourself to eat regular yogurt only for the nutrition, then next time you are in the grocery store grab one of the Fage Greek yogurts and give it a chance.

Enjoy --

Angie :-)

Old Christmas Ornaments get a Make-Over

2011-12-18T17:29:00.000-06:00

Recently a neighbor gave me a huge box of old glass ornaments. All of the ornaments had wear and tear and looked very sad, so off I went to research things I could do to make them look pretty again. The first site I came across was http://www.bhg.com/christmas/ornaments/christmas-ornament-makeover-ideas/. I didn't really follow any of their suggestions, but it gave me some ideas on what I could do with supplies already on hand. The other website was http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2009/12/chrismas-paper-mache-ornaments.html. Even though I had Modge Podge on hand, I assumed the ornaments from this website were made using paper mache, so off I went to http://video.about.com/familycrafts/How-to-Paper-Mache.htm to jolt my memory on how to make paper mache glue since the last time I had the pleasure of playing with this medium was grade school.

Below are photos of the ornaments I made, the old ornaments they started out as, and some of the supplies. The best part of a project like this is the possibilities are endless because the ideas come from your imagination.

The blue ornaments in the picture with the red rhinestones are just that - plain ornaments covered with rhinestones put on with my BeJeweler.

I found this on the Kohl's website and with my 30% coupon it was around $1.50. I couldn't pass that up - it is the same plastic as trash bags, but has elastic corners like a fitted bed sheet ;-)


A box of the old ornaments, rhinestone glue, rhinestones, and paints.


The ingredients to make the paper mache glue, recipe I used found on http://video.about.com/familycrafts/How-to-Paper-Mache.htm. Plus I added about a Tablespoon of cinnamon to combat the glue smell - I remember this tip from 6th grade ;-)

The old ornaments with the tops removed.

Now, if I had actually read through the instructions on the very awesome website http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2009/12/chrismas-paper-mache-ornaments.html, I would have read this tip rather than having to figure it out myself! If you tear the paper from top to bottom, the strips come out nice and neat. If you try doing side to side, not so neat. With my not so vast knowledge of all things science like - I am assuming the fibers run up and down, which makes the tearing flawless.

I made long strips, then cut some of them in half to make shorter strips.

After watching the video on http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2009/12/chrismas-paper-mache-ornaments.html, I began the process of applying the glue covered paper strips to the ornaments. Learned that dipping the paper strips in the glue and trying to remove the excess glue was not as simple as it looked on the video. I ended up being able to wet the strips using the excess glue on my hands!! I loved this project. I felt like a kid again getting my hands all covered in muck. Since the ornament is round there is no way I could get all of the strips to lay flat, so I just did the best I could and hoped the imperfections would not ruin the end result.

Ornament completely covered in paper mache. I set them on another newspaper to dry, turning them periodically to let all the sides dry.

My finished paper mache ornaments. The bumps do show up and at first it bothered me, but I then decided they look like ornaments from the "Grinch that Stole Christmas" and that made me smile.

My oldest child came home from school and wanted to help me - these are his creations.

The pink ornaments I received from my neighbor. The color is beautiful but lots of scratches and blemishes.

I didn't have much on hand to help hide the imperfections, so I decided to try white paint and make little simple flowers.

At first I thought I was going to have to go back and paint the flowers again because the pink was showing through, but once the ornament was covered and the paint was dry I loved that the pink was showing through. Once the paint was dry I added fuchsia rhinestones. I used the bead glue in the beginning, but by the middle of the first project I switched to the bejewler.


Finished ornaments

Close up of the pink flower ornaments. These are my favorites!

The blue ornaments that had the least marks covered with red rhinestones.

Chocolate Mint Crinkles with Hershey Mint Truffle Kisses

2011-11-28T21:10:00.000-06:00

Ok - these are without doubt the most beautiful cookies I have ever seen and my photos do not give them justice. The credit for these cookies goes to Recipe Girl at http://www.recipegirl.com/2009/12/15/chocolate-mint-crinkles-w-mint-truffle-kisses/ and she has gorgeous photos of these cookies, so go check them out!

I have to tell the story behind this experience. I fell in love with the Hershey Mint Truffle Kisses - to the point that I almost ate an entire bag by myself in one day ;-) I knew immediately I wanted to find a chocolate cookie to push these little drops of deliciousness deep into and was thinking possibly a brownie like cookie. As I was searching for a recipe online I came across Recipe Girl's website and her recipe for the Chocolate Mint Crinkles with Mint Truffle Kisses. However, at this point I must have skipped over the word "mint" in the first part of the recipe name and just thought they were Chocolate Crinkle cookies.

I figured this out once I gathered the ingredients and I had to have a discussion with myself on whether to add the peppermint extract or to just leave it out. The side of me that wanted to follow the recipe exactly won out and I added the peppermint extract. Now I know you are not supposed to taste raw cookie dough with eggs in it, but I can't help it - I take the chance because I want to know what I'm dealing with before I spend all my time baking up a lot of cookies only to find out they needed a little extra "ooomph". To be honest the second the dough hit my taste buds my heart dropped to my stomach because the peppermint flavor was BIG and I couldn't imagine adding the mint truffle kiss to the mix. I had my husband taste the dough ( I know - I know! ) and he thought the flavor was going to be too big for the kisses also, but he loved the dough and was looking forward to just the plain crinkle cookies :-) I was actually to the point of throwing away all the dough and starting over - but I had run out of eggs, so I went ahead and put the dough in the fridge for a couple of hours.

When I took the dough out it still looked and smelled great, but my disappointment overpowered any excitement about the cookie because I wouldn't be able to use the mint truffle kisses. The disappointment was soon to change to OH MY GOODNESS. When I took the pan of baked cookies out of the oven I was in awe. The crinkle cookies simply took my breath away and I just had to put a kiss in one of them. This is where I learned an important lesson -- NEVER NEVER NEVER judge a cookie until it is baked. The cookie with the mint truffle kiss was amazing. I quickly added kisses to the rest of the cookies. They were devoured by my family and friends and I have requests for more to be made before Christmas. I honestly do not have words for how amazing this cookie is - Recipe Girl http://www.recipegirl.com/2009/12/15/chocolate-mint-crinkles-w-mint-truffle-kisses/ came up with a prize winning recipe in this cookie. If you like mint, then you will love this cookie.

Again my photos do the cookie absolutely no justice, so go to http://www.recipegirl.com/2009/12/15/chocolate-mint-crinkles-w-mint-truffle-kisses/ to check out better photos and the recipe for the cookies. Below are just a few pics of me making the cookies.

Enjoy -

Angie :-)

The wet and dry ingredients.

The cookie ball rolled in powdered sugar.

The first pan of cookies. Gorgeous!!!

Oatmeal Kiss Cookies and Macaroon Kiss Cookies

2011-11-28T19:36:00.001-06:00

Out of these two cookies the only one that has my approval is the Oatmeal Kiss cookie. The Macaroon cookie was not soft enough for the kisses, but since there may be those interested in a crispier macaroon cookie I'm including the link for the recipe.

The oatmeal recipe I used is from the Quaker website and can be found here http://www.quakeroats.com/cooking-and-recipes/content/recipes/recipe-detail.aspx?recipeId=454, and I also have it below. My kids were climbing over each other to get to these cookies - and I thought they were really good. For my next batch I'm going to use my great-grandmother's recipe, it calls for lard so I didn't use it this time in case just the word lard scared some off!

The Macaroon recipe I used can be found here http://southernfood.about.com/od/coconutcookies/r/bl40323a.htm. Don't get me wrong, these cookies were good and I had a BLAST making them, but they just aren't the coconut macaroons for a Hershey kiss - at least in my opinion :-)

Quakers Best Oatmeal Cookies

Don't forget to add a bag of Hershey Kisses to the ingredients list! And to immediately add the kiss to the cookies when you remove them from the oven.

1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) margarine or butter,
softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned,
uncooked)

Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat margarine and sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla;
beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg; mix well. Add oats; mix
well.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 9 minutes for a chewy cookie or 10 to 11 minutes for a crisp cookie. Cool 1 minute on
cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

The ingredients for the cookies. Don't forget the bag of Hershey Kisses-I actually didn't forget them-just forgot to put them in the photo.

Mix the butter and the sugars.

Add the egg and vanilla.

Flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.

Adding the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.

Ready for the oatmeal. At this point some people prefer to add the oatmeal using a spoon. I like to use my mixer because it seems to break the oatmeal up into smaller pieces. Possibly that is only my imagination!

Adding the oatmeal half a cup at a time.


Using the cookie scooper. Once the cookies are done immediately place a kiss in the center of each cookie.

Now for the Macaroon cookie pics - I absolutely loved mixing up this recipe.


The ingredients plus the greased and floured pan.


The egg whites. salt and sugar. I loved this process. Beating the egg whites and salt until soft peaks formed, then adding the sugar 2 Tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition.


After the vanilla, coconut and flour have been added.

The prepared cookie sheet - ready for the oven. 300 degrees for 20 minutes.

Oatmeal Kiss Cookies and Coconut Macaroon Kiss Cookies.

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

2011-11-28T17:01:00.002-06:00

I realized as I was making these cookies this year that they are not actually called Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies, but are called Peanut Butter Blossom Treats. I found the recipe in an Eagle Brand cook book that my grandmother gave to me, so I'm wondering if it has something to do with the different companies. No matter - I use Hershey Kisses and I have always referred to these as Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies.

I've added my tips to the photos below - I know there are many different recipes for peanut butter kiss cookies, but this one is so simple and just super soft. Especially right out of the oven - I have a rule that if a cookie falls over and the super soft kiss gets smooshed I must eat it immediately :-)

I love that this recipe is now on line so I do not have to scan in my battered copy. You can find it here http://www.eaglebrand.com/recipes/details/default.aspx?recipeID=4005 but I am also including it below.

Peanut Butter Blossom Treats

Servings: dozen cookies
Serving Size: 5 1/2
Nutrition: See Below
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 8 Minutes

Ingredients

1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
3/4 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter
2 cups packaged biscuit mix
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
65 solid milk chocolate candy pieces, unwrapped

Instructions

HEAT oven to 375°F. Beat sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in large bowl until smooth. Add biscuit mix and vanilla; mix well.
SHAPE into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
BAKE 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned around edges (do not over bake). Immediately press a chocolate candy piece in center of each cookie. Cool.

As you can see from the recipe it specifically calls for Eagle Condensed Milk and Jif Peanut Butter. As you can see from my photo I did not use Eagle Brand, but used Great Value brand instead. To be honest the Eagle Brand makes the very best cookie, but I also need to be price conscious due to the amount of these cookies I make each year. For the biscuit mix I have also used Bisquick - again price wise I have found the Jiffy brand to be less expensive. As for the peanut butter - you can do generic, but to me the peanut butter is the most important in this recipe!

The peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until blended.

Add the biscuit mix to the peanut butter/sweetened condensed milk mixture.

Add vanilla. I love the taste and smell of pure vanilla!

Sugar. I put down wax paper, then pour a nice size pile of sugar.

This photo wasn't really necessary, but it looks almost perfectly round, so I wanted to throw it in for good measure. I also roll out all of the cookies before I move onto covering them in sugar. Just a time saver for me, it is not necessary.

Roll the cookie in sugar until completely covered.

The cookies ready to be baked. IMPORTANT NOTE: Before you place a sheet of cookies in your oven make sure you have unwrapped all of your Hershey Kisses. Otherwise you will be trying to unwrap kisses in order to place them in the baked cookie before it starts to harden up.

Now this is where some of us may differ. I love a chewy cookie, so my times may not produce the crunchier cookie you are looking for. I start out with 6 minutes, then add 1 minute at a time until my cookies look like those above. Remember the cookies are covered in sugar, and they will continue to bake on the cookies sheet once removed from the oven. With the oven I am using now the baking time has been between 7 and 8 minutes. Immediately place the kisses in the center of the cookies once they are done. Move cookies to a cooling rack.

This is how I like the bottoms of my cookies to look right out of the oven. They darken up as they cool down. If you want them to be darker, then leave them in the oven a little longer, or on the cookie sheet a little longer.

The Kiss Cookie Experiments

2011-11-28T16:11:00.001-06:00

For the past 15 years I have made peanut butter kiss cookies using a recipe I had found in an Eagle Brand recipe book. It is the cookie request I most often receive from my pallies this time of year :-) This year I wanted to try the Hershey Kisses with an oatmeal cookie and a coconut macaroon cookie. Off I went to get the Hershey Kisses and what do I see? Mint Truffle Hershey Kisses - immediately a bag went into my cart. When I got home I started to search the internet for a cookie recipe to use with the mint truffle Kisses and I found one, oh yes I did! Instead of putting all the photos and recipes in one blog, I'm going to split them up over 3 blog entries - Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies, Oatmeal and Macaroon Kiss Cookies and finally Chocolate Mint Crinkles with Mint Truffle Kisses. All I'm going to say is if you like mint - you will absolutely be in love with the Chocolate Mint Crinkle Cookies.

Enjoy,

Angie :-)

Food Memory - Remember to Relax and an Old Baked Beans Recipe

2011-11-17T12:28:00.000-06:00

I was sitting at my computer scanning in important papers, which included some recipes. As I was feeding the cards into the scanner many wonderful memories were flashing through my mind. The recipe that brought back my first memory of being in the kitchen is a recipe for baked beans that was from my mom's recipe box. The reason I know it is from her is because the card is not only discolored from smoke, but also from water - I can still "see" the fire trucks in front of our apartment and us standing across the street - somehow a fire had started in the kitchen (no it wasn't due to me ;-) Anyway, I do not remember my age, guessing I was around 3 years old, but in that same apartment I can picture myself standing on a chair in the kitchen and my mom was showing me how to crack an egg. Well I cracked that egg - right over the kitchen floor! I have no idea if my mom laughed about it, but I know she wasn't angry or upset.

The reason I am mentioning this is because I'm fairly anal in the kitchen when it comes to baking. I want the ingredients to be measured out perfectly and I want all of the ingredients to make it into the bowl. This memory has just reminded me to be more patient with my kids in the kitchen because I need to remember that cooking is an experience to be enjoyed. I want them to love cooking and baking as much as I do and that is only going to happen if I make the experience fun. Time to put these recipes to good use and start making lasting memories with my kiddos!

Apple Pies in Jars - YUM!

2011-11-16T10:01:00.001-06:00

Last week threw me for a loop - my two youngest were sick, sick and sick, which meant I was also out of commission. Hoping to make up for all my slacking last week by posting even more this week.

I found the idea to make and bake mini pies in jars while I was "stumbling" on www.stumbleupon.com. I added this site, Our Best Bites, http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/09/single-serving-pie-in-a-jar/ , to my favorites awhile ago with the intention of making these pies. Well yesterday that intention was finally realized - and today the results were tested. One word from both my husband and myself - YUM!

For my pies in a jar I used the apple pie mixture on the Our Best Bites website. For the crust I used a family recipe which is shown below. I'm not sure if it is my Grandmother's, my mom's or one of my aunt's handwriting - no matter the credit goes to my mom's side of the family. For the crumble topping I used, it is definitely my Grandmother's handwriting - yeah Gramma!

Speaking of my family and my Grandmothers - I have to give a lot of my family, especially my Grandmothers, the credit for teaching me how to cook. I have to give my dad credit for teaching me how to bake. Without them I would have no idea how a recipe works and what to do with a recipe that has zero instructions (see pastry recipe below.) Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to show me how food all comes together in the end.

These pies really were fun to make and they are super cute. The things I need to do differently next time are 1) double the pie crust recipe and 2) use less pie dough on the bottom of my jars. When I was adding the crust to the jars I didn't know how thin to go on the bottom, so I decided to be on the safe side and add a little more. With that in mind I would have had enough dough to make all 12 crusts. As it stands I was only able to make 9 pies. The reason I would double the recipe is so I could make the cute little crusts they show on Our Best Bites.

Below are photographs of the process along with the directions, which are also found on the Our Best Bites website.The Our Best Bites website also has a lot more ideas on how to jazz these pies up so go take a look, you won't be disappointed.

The basic directions for how I made my mini pies in a jar are this:

1-Make dough. Make streusel. Make apple pie filling.

2-Line the bottom and sides of the jar with the dough. You do not need to roll the dough out, just use pieces of dough and press against the jar to make a continuous crust. Try to get as close to the edge of the jar as possible.

3-Add pie filling. Dot with butter. Add streusel topping.

4-Add metal lid and screw on metal ring. Make sure the lid is on tight. Place in freezer.

5-If baking frozen, bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. If baking unfrozen pies, bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

I honestly cannot wait to make more of these little pies so I can try different fillings and different crusts.

Happy Baking,

Angie :-)

Pastry recipe - Mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Using a pastry blender or 2 forks cut in shortening. When mixture is crumbly, add cold water 1 Tbsp at a time until pastry comes together. I usually use my hands at this point. If mixture is still dry, continue to add small amounts of cold water until dough comes together. Try not to overwork dough otherwise the crust will not be flaky.

Streusel topping.

The ingredients, the recipes and Our Best Bites on the iPad.

Ingredients for the pie crust.

Ingredients for the streusel topping.

Streusel topping and pie crust.

Apple pie filling.

Half pint short canning jars.

Close up of the jar needed for this recipe. I made the mistake of just picking up pint jars which turned out to be the wrong size as they are too tall. I finally found the right size at Ace Hardware.

I apparently did not find it necessary to photograph the jars with only the pie crust in them, but I did photograph them with the filling! Also, those large yellow things on top that look like more apples? They are not apples, those are my "small" pats of butter - oops ;-)

The pies with the streusel topping.

The finished product with the metal lids and rings tightly screwed on. It was at this point that I put them into the freezer.

These are the frozen pies ready to go into the preheated 375 degree oven. On the Our Best Bites website they give more details on how you can bake these pies if you are worried that the frozen glass will break. I obviously was not worried, but others may be so check out their site if you have questions. Also, I always put a cookie sheet under my pies in case of OOOZING pie filling.

The pies in the oven.

The finished product along with coffee made a fantastic afternoon snack.

Blinging Up a Felt Stocking

2011-11-04T12:30:00.000-05:00

This is just a simple little post showing an easy way to embellish a felt stocking - that I happened to make myself. Please don't critique me on the stocking - I know I really need to sit down with my sewing book and brush up on my skills! So, this post will not show you the steps I used to make the still cute little stocking and I know that my experienced sewing friends will notice lots and lots of "errors" - like not putting a seam in the stocking so I could smooth out the corners ;-) I will keep practicing on the felt stockings and one day show the process I use - just not today!

The photos below show me using our mini heat press again and I'm adding the word JOY to the stocking. I used clear rhinestones in size 16SS and 10SS. Here is the link to our video on YouTube that will show you how to set rhinestones http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMPressWorkshop?blend=1&ob=5#p/a/u/1/RESpRCicQ-s and this link is our video on how to get ready to rhinestone http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMPressWorkshop?blend=1&ob=5#p/a/u/2/tCGdSL0qNXc.

In our videos I am using a dot template. For this project I used a mirror image print out of the letters J O Y, and then placed the stones along the letters. We will be adding free templates to our site periodically - maybe J O Y will show up??

Angie :-)

My poor little stocking!

Sticky rhinestone paper, J O Y printed in mirror image, rhinestone tray, and rhinestone wheel.

Stocking ready to be pressed.

Finished product.


Close up of finished product. The stones really do sparkle, I just do not have the proper lighting upstairs :-)

Jean Inspiration

2011-11-02T13:54:00.001-05:00

Yesterday as I was folding clothes I came across a pair of my daughter's jeans. The front and back pockets have a mix of cross stitching and rhinestuds. It is absolutely adorable and I decided I wanted to do something similar with a pair of my jeans. Sketched out a couple of flowers and from there I added a few other things. Next step was transferring the design to the jeans, but I couldn't figure out how to get my design onto the jeans so I could begin sewing. First, I tried to sew through the paper - total failure. Next I tried to use some craft carbon paper to transfer the pattern onto the jean material - received a grade of F- for that attempt ;-) I know there are products out there that would work in this situation, but nothing that I could get today, so I invaded my kid's rooms for ideas. Finally a washable hot pink Crayola thin marker caught my attention. Knowing that it may or may not completely come out of the jeans I moved ahead with my plan to redraw my design directly onto the jeans. The jeans were now prepped and ready for the next step.

Now I have to admit the last time I attempted any sort of cross stitching was in 7th grade home economics class - almost 30 years ago! But since the point of this project was to show others how cool it is to use mixed media on clothes, I went ahead and stitched away. Not the best handiwork in the world, but also not the worst. Also, I do not have any rhinestuds in stock, so I used rhinestones and applied using our small heat press. The stones could also be applied using a hand tool, rhinestone glue, or a household iron. Click this link http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMPressWorkshop?blend=1&ob=5 to view our video on how to use an household iron to apply stones. Check out our store for a wide variety and sizes of rhinestones and other rhinestone supplies.

Angie :-)

Inspiration

I know, not a Monet, but it isn't too shabby for me!

You will notice the jeans change later down the line - the pink marker wouldn't show up on dark jeans.

Some of the embroidery thread, a large, sturdy needle, AND a seam ripper for the mess ups.

The design transferred onto the jeans.

Yes, I had to trace a few pieces.

Who knew I had an embroidery hoop in my possession?

Once the embroidery was complete I hand set rhinestones onto the design, then covered with a sheet of rhinestone transfer paper (available in our store).

A close up of placements of the stones.

A full view of the placement of the stones.

The mini heat press, rhinestone transfer paper, rhinestone wheel, and design to be pressed. Set heat press to 350 degrees. Once the heat press is ready place item onto heat press. Press for 10 seconds, then use a heat eraser or oven mitt to press over the rhinestone transfer paper to remove the heat from the stones. This also helps the stones adhere to the product better. Remove the rhinestone transfer paper and press again for another 10 seconds.

Finished product.

Finished product in use!

Party Favor Magnets

2011-10-27T21:48:00.001-05:00

We had a joint birthday party for my boys last weekend - lots of moms were coming so I wanted to do something different and give them party favors instead ;-) I looked through my big bin of craft supplies and decided to try making magnets using leftover scrapbook paper, magnets, and glue. The moms were super excited and loved them - but I see the flaws through the cuteness. This will definitely be a future project for me to perfect since they make fantastic gifts. Below are photos of the supplies, steps, and flaws.

Enjoy!
Angie


Flat clear stones that were used for wedding decorations, scrap paper, clear glue, X-acto knife, and magnets.

If you look closely in the first photo you will see I already have some of the flat stones on the scrapbook paper. I forgot to take a photo of this step, but I wanted to add this one for a reason. I put too much glue on the stones - so for this step only do a very thin layer.

Since the stone is rounded on the top it will magnify the print placed underneath. This also means it will magnify all the little glue bubbles I did not see until finished ;-)

The hearts barely fit- but they still look very cute. Next time I attempt this project and only use a thin layer of glue, I will not have my cutting mat underneath the paper. I will have the paper on a very hard surface and will make sure to press down very hard to remove as many air bubbles as possible.

This awesome little Fiskars cutting knife - which I refer to as an X-acto knife even though X-acto is a name brand - was a little gem I found in my husbands tool box.

I'm sure there is something out there that will cut perfect little circles to fit on these flat stones, but since I did not have something like that on hand, I cut out by hand. I did figure out using this method I needed to go around the stone several times to remove excess paper.

Not perfect, but for my first time not too bad.

The glue again! Yes, I added too much glue and it smooshed out the sides, but that was easily wiped off. Next time I will also use less glue for this step.

Wow! I actually have a photo of my glue overload. Place the magnet in the middle of the covered stone.

At first I thought the thickness of the magnet would take away from the charm of this little craft. Now I'm glad I used big magnets because these babies have some nice holding power. Sorry for the blurriness of this photo - I'm still learning.

Here is the finished product, air bubbles and all. No matter as my guests went nuts over them :-) Below are a few more photos of the magnets. Again, not the best photos in the world - I need to work on when to use and when not to use my flash!

Simple Dollar Store Halloween Spider Craft

2011-10-26T17:16:00.000-05:00

I was walking through our local dollar store recently checking out the Halloween decorations when I saw some spiders. Rather than purchasing the spiders I thought it would be more fun to make them using dollar store items and craft supplies I already had at home. No they are not anything extraordinary, but I absolutely love them. My oldest child and my nephew helped me create some of the cutest spiders I have ever laid my eyes on! Below are the items and steps used.

I used water color paints because that was what was available at the dollar store, but you could use any type of paint. Pipe cleaners, half globe floral foam inserts, googly eyes, felt and clear glue (below)

Place the half globe on the felt. I used felt to cover the bottom because I knew the water color paint would not be very dark. I cut around the globe and then trimmed to fit.

I spread the glue on the bottom of the half globe, then placed the felt over the glue.

Not perfect, but here is how the bottom turned out.

I then painted the top part of the half globe. I did four in black, one red, one green, one brown, and one purple. Then I let them dry for about two hours.

I obviously forgot to photograph the steps of adding the googly eyes and the legs. Glue was used to attach the eyes. Since the pipe cleaner I used wasn't very strong, I used the tip of my scissors to make small holes in the foam to make the pipe cleaner insertion easier. The photos below show five of the adorable spiders. You will see the many different ways the eyes were used.

My first spider - crawling down our kitchen wall.

My children were very concerned about the spider in the flowers.

Cyclops??

My son's idea to add a million zillion eyes.

My nephew's spider depicting a race car driver. He used construction paper and pop can tabs to embellish his spider.

Sparkly Lounge Wear

2011-10-25T17:38:00.001-05:00

These beautiful tanzanite stones have been sitting in our shop for a while begging to be used on a project. Last week while shopping at Wal-Mart, yes Wal-Mart, I found these cute flannel pants. They were calling out for me to add some sparkle and I knew immediately the stones I would use. A simple project but a little time consuming. I used my BeJeweler to attach the stones, however you could also use a glue made for rhinestones or even your iron set on high heat without steam. The photos show step by step how to do this project using a BeJeweler. Check out our rhinestone stock to see all of the colors we have available. I love having the ability to add my own design to store bought items.
From experience I have found when using my BeJeweler it is best to use a hot pad or similar item to press down on the stone after it is placed on the garment. The extra pressure will help the glue adhere even more by releasing heat from the stone, and also by pressing the glue a little further into the fibers of the garment.
The laundering directions I follow when washing any of my clothing with embellishments is to wash inside out in cold water and hang to dry. Remember rhinestones are adornments and can not be guaranteed to never fall off, so my best advice is to always have some extra rhinestones on hand just in case.
Angie

The flannel jammie pants and the SS16 Tanzanite rhinestones.

I'll be aiming for the hearts!

Since the BeJeweler gets very hot, I use a glass plate rather than one of my plastic rhinestone trays. When using a BeJeweler or similar tool the rhinestones need to be stone side up. No need to waste time trying to get every stone in the correct position. Use the stones that are ready to go, then shake the plate to get more of them to flip over.

Going for a stone side up rhinestone.

Place the BeJeweler over the stone quickly and pick up immediately. If this is the first time using a BeJeweler or similar tool, it will take a little practice, but you will be a pro in no time.

Here you can see the rhinestone in the BeJeweler. The bottom of the rhinestone has the glue. You will actually see the glue start to melt, but do not keep it in the tool for too long or else the glue will start to peel away from the stone.

A close up of a heart I'm getting ready to bling!

Place the tool on top of the heart and press down quickly, then immediately pull the tool away from the rhinestone.

This next step is not necessary, but in my experience using a hand tool to embellish clothing articles requires a little extra help to remain on the clothing. Using a hot pad I press down on the stone. This will help release heat from the stone and will also help the glue adhere tighter to the fabric.

A close up of a portion of the flannel pants.

The finished product!

Scooby Doo! You Sparkle Too?

2010-09-04T17:29:00.001-05:00

We were watching some old Saturday Morning Cartoons from the 80's this afternoon and thought it would make a rhinestone image of our favorite 80's dog! This template is all in 3mm/ss10 stones. As always, you can purchase stones, transfer paper and the works at our MPress Workshop.

Instructions: Just click on the image and download the PDF template.

Thanks for visiting.

Horse templates in 3mm Rhinestones

2010-08-18T16:06:00.001-05:00

By special request from one of our customers, we created two horse templates. One of a head and one of the full body. These were both made using the 3mm/ss10 rhinestones. From the template you can get creative and change the color, add a mane and use a different color for the tail, eyes, nostril and hoofs.

Check our our website for our rhinestone choices of colors, sizes, transfer paper and more. We will be upgrading the website within a few days to offer templates, ready to press and other great designs along with our rhinestone supplies. Just click on the image to download a pdf version of these templates.

Palm Tree

2010-05-29T21:31:00.001-05:00

What a perfect design for a swimsuit cover up or a beach bag! As always the color choices are up to you, below colors are only a suggestion.

Sand and trunk internal lines= Light Topaz 3mm, 10SS
Birds = Light Aqua 3mm, 10SS
Tree trunk = Dark Topaz 3mm, 10SS
Palm leaves = Peridot 3mm, 10SS

Just click on the image to download the full size sheet to print out and follow the template. Need rhinestones or transfer paper? We have it at our online store : http://www.mpressworkshop.com Use coupon code blog16 for 16% off your next order. Only good for one use per customer.

Softball

2010-05-29T21:27:00.001-05:00

Perfect transfer for your team! You choose the rhinestone colors. Contrasting colors, all one color, or each letter and the softball a different color! Uses a 3mm, 10SS rhinestone.

Just click on the image to download the full size sheet to print out and follow the template. Need rhinestones or transfer paper? We have it at our online store : http://www.mpressworkshop.com Use coupon code blog16 for 16% off your next order. Only good for one use per customer.

Instructions on making Rhinestone Designs

2010-05-29T21:25:00.001-05:00

Here are the instructions we provide to our customers. The other side shows you how to apply the transfer using an iron. The photos show me going through each process -that way you know it actually will work!

Dolphin

2010-05-29T21:15:00.001-05:00

The color choices are wide open for this adorable dolphin! We have had clients use bold colors for both the waves and the dolphin, or a mixture of bold and subtle colors. The colors below are just a suggestion, so let your imagination run wild!

Dolphin = 3mm, 10SS Dark Aqua

Waves and Eye = 3mm, 10SS Light Aqua

TRAIN

2010-05-29T13:59:00.004-05:00

Just love Train so thought I would bling up a cute tee for myself to show just how much. Any color rhinestone would look fab!

Train = Clear 3mm, 10SS
Crown = Clear 2mm, 6SS

Just click on the image to download the full size sheet to print out and follow the template. Need rhinestones or transfer paper? We have it at our online store : http://www.mpressworkshop.com Use coupon code blog16 for 16% off your next order. Only good for one use per customer.

Great Teacher Rhinestone Design Idea

2010-05-29T12:26:00.002-05:00

We used this cute transfer on black short sleeve fitted tee shirts to give to our son's teachers for end of the year thank you gifts! They loved the shirts and were even more amazed that it was a homemade gift. There are multiple colors you could use for this design. Below are the colors and sizes we used!

apple = Light Siam-3mm/10SS
apple stem = Peridot 2mm/6SS
worm body = Clear 3mm/10SS
worm eyes = Peridot 2mm/6SS
worm smile = Light Siam 2mm/6SS

Just click on the image to download the full size sheet to print out and follow the template. Need rhinestones or transfer paper? We have it at our online store : http://www.mpressworkshop.com Use coupon code blog16 for 16% off your next order. Only good for one use per customer.

Facebook, Etsy, Twitter and More

2010-05-13T01:38:00.000-05:00

We are taking the business to a new level with all these great social media tools. Become a Facebook friend or catch one of our twits. We will soon begin to post new, free rhinestone templates here in the upcoming week. Thanks for stopping by.