Bride and Groom Collection

I was just at my Mom and Dads for a sewing weekend with my Mom.  I was looking at her Anri wood carved set and thought it would make a good start to this blog.  This set is very special because it was the cake topper on my brother Brad's wedding cake.  We lost him to brain cancer when he was a young husband and father.  This set will go to his only child Kate someday.

This set was also in my Mom's miniature box.  It was on my Great-Grandmother Mary and Great-Grandfather Ben Harbaugh's wedding cake.

Then above is the start of my collection of Bride and Grooms.  This is the newest addition.  My Mom and I laughed because it looks like the same doll dressed two ways!

This is a salt and pepper set.  This is the "Before" side.

This is the "After" side.

This is a little matchbox bride and groom set.

This is a set all dressed up in crepe paper which I noticed they used a lot for decorating these little cake toppers.

This is a plastic set in crepe paper outfits.

Kewpie bride and groom set in crepe paper.

Another set.

This one is a really small set.

These I call my "army men set" because they are that size.

My Mom gave me this set.

These say Princess Elizabeth and Lieut. Phillip Mountbatten on their bases.

I then decided to google today's cake toppers and found some funny ones to share.

New technology has come to cake toppers!

Bridezilla cake topper.

This one is a feat in cake construction!

I loved this one!

Can you imagine what the future mother-in-law would say if you had this on your cake.

Same sex cake toppers.

Expecting Bride and Groom

The Simpsons

The tee time golfer.

If all these cake toppers could only talk!


I think this is one of my longest blogs ever! I hope you enjoyed it.  I just love weddings.  I get teased that I go just for the wedding cake and the buttercream mints but I love it all.  It is a new beginning!

The Two Days Blues

I was so sad when the 2012 Olympics were over.  I was in total withdrawal.  I sewed and listened to them all day every day while they were on.  I caught my heart racing several times when I was worried about the outcome of a event.  I got so caught up in their excitement.  What an emotional roller coaster and I was just a spectator living in Kansas.  I can't even imagine trying to perform a skill that you have been working on for four straight years in front of thousands there and millions on TV.  I would get queasy before my small town track meets!!!!  I was so proud of everyone of our athletes!  Go USA!

I was sad for two days ..... and then someone came to stay with me to lift my spirits.

I get my granddaughter Rowan for five days!!!

I get my granddogs Kiley and Holly for five days!!

We have tea parties every day!  Sometimes we have miniature hamburgers....M & M's between two squished miniature marshmallows.  I love being a Grandma!  It is the best excuse to take time to play with dolls, fly a kite and have tea parties.    We all need time to play.  I can always sew next week!

Dazzling Dogs Give-a-way Winner

The winner of our Dazzling Dogs Give-a-way is mommarock.  Thanks everyone for your posts, it was fun reading about all the different collections!

Give-away and Miscellaneous

When my granddaughter Rowan comes over to stay all night at Grandma Amy's house we always have to get these doll toilets down off the guest bathroom shelf for her to play with before her bath.  She names everyone...the daddy toilet...the mommy toilet....the sister toilet....

The one above one is her favorite.   She call this the baby.

This is my favorite. I don't see little doll toilets very often in antique stores and I know better than to visit Ebay.  That could be too addictive.  The hunt is the fun part of finding a new thing for a collection and Ebay is way too easy anyway!  I love looking through aisles of antiques and shelves full of junk and then.....there it is .....score... a win.....a toilet!!!!!     That sounds so funny when I type it!  I like that I just have to dust these every so often.  No messy toilet bowl cleaner and scrub brushes involved!

I don't know how I got these little hotel soaps above.  I did have a lot more but threw most of them out and kept the neat ones.  I remember taking a 2 week trip with my Grandma and Grandpa when I was in high school.  We either stayed at Holiday Inn or Best Western.  Those were the two most popular hotels back then.  Grandpa was happy if he could get a room for $25.00 - $30.00 a night.  Can you even imagine what kind of hotel that would buy you today.....yikes I hate to think about it!

I bought this little sewing chest and apparently I need to dust this little sewing chest!  I am definitely not up on my dusting!  The top has a seashell screwed to the top for the bowl.  There is a cork for pins and needles.  I don't know why there is holes in the little wooden shoes/boots?  If anyone wants to guess and tell me what you think they are for I would love to hear what you think.

This is my community workout group "Dog Days" .  We meet at 6:00 p.m.  They also have one that meets at 6:00 a.m. but that is too early for my blood.  I stay up too late.  I like to go out in the evening when it is over 100 degrees and do 30 of three different squats and other brutal exercises for 20 minutes followed by a 2 mile run. ( Ha! Ha!)  Why do I do this?...it is all of us doing it together that keeps me coming back.  We have all ages and all sizes and all skills. It is so hard to do a intense workout by myself.  Also sometime after I turned 45 if I even look at food I gain weight! So sad..... so off to work I go.....hi ho....hi ho.......


In honor of my "Dog Days" workout we are giving away a set of my "Dazzling Dog" patterns to one random winner who posts to this blog entry about one of your collections.

Keep Cool!  Amy

Snugly Bugly Giveaway Winner

The winner of our Snugly Bugly pattern giveaway is Gill.
Thanks for all the posts )

Twelve Year Absence

It has been twelve years since I picked up this UFO!  It was before Amy Bradley Designs.  I remember those days...feet up in the recliner...movie on....and me working on my little 1 1/4" hexagons....sigh.    I decided I needed to get these little shapes back into my life again.  You get one done and you feel like you got something accomplished!  This last weekend we went to the Bradley family reunion at Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma.  My husband drove and I sewed.  There is nothing better then that.  I got a whole baggie full done!  It will take a lot of these.  Twelve of these to be exact around each red print flower.

I was thrilled that I even knew where to find the project in my sewing room.   It's not exactly organized....

I think after I put the little red and white check hexagons around each red flower I will put a row of white on.  I love how clean white looks.  I want to try not using any of the little red prints twice.  I may have to beg or borrow from friends after I buy red prints from shops around my community.  I had a lot from my stash too.  This was all from my red phase.  I now am in a bright phase but I still love red.  I don't know how big it will be.  It now is past the doll quilt size going on table cloth size.  I hope to make a twin quilt size not to use but to hang on a wall.

I use my husbands old x-ray film to make the little hexagons and a hole punch to punch the center out.  The hole is so you can pop them out.   I use a manicure stick in the hole to pop them out once I have sewn a row to all their sides.

My grandmother made this quilt and my Mom passed it on to me a few years ago.  I will always cherish it because she made it.  As a quilter I can appreciate how long it took to put this quilt together.

Here are some other sites you may enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihEac0jRvsU
Simple method to make these hexagon blocks using a sewing machine.

http://pinterest.com/raeannnilson/grandma-s-flower-garden-quilts/
Rae Nilson's Pinterest site of Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilts

http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/colonial_revival/flower_garden.htm

Mary Smith just sent me this photo.  She has made seven quilts from my designs and she has only been quilting three years and she appliques them by hand!!!!  She wants to do my Planetary Party next.  Mary thank you for sending me photos!  I just love photos of your quilts!

In honor of Mary we will have a drawing of a Snugly Bug Quilt Pattern on July 31st.  Comment on what UFO you are working on or a UFO you know you should pick up again. We all have a bazillion!

Have a wonderful week and keep cool!  Amy

Old things turn into new things for me!

Above is a quilt that was finished just in time for this Fourth of July. One of the things that I used to look for in antique stores was old quilt blocks in good condition.  That's why I have a new "old quilt!  I bought the old blocks and added the sashing, cornerstones, border and binding.  I had help from two friends.  My friend Rosie quilted it and my friend Kathie put the binding on it for me.  They do this teamwork on almost all my quilts.  Thank Heavens!   Do you like the shadow of my hand holding the camera in the bottom corner?  I am such a professional!

This quilt when I found it in a antique store had a lot of damage around the edges.  I cut out the middle and made a smaller quilt.  I found an old looking red print and bound this one myself.

When I bought these old quilt blocks they had old newspaper attached to the backs of each block.  Early foundation piecing!  I added the sashing, cornerstones and borders to this one too.  I haven't bought any old blocks for a few years now.  I still have plenty and I never seem to have the time to work on personal projects anymore.  This sure is a great way to have a new "old" quilt quickly.  I just love looking at all the old prints that are used in each block.   It is also fun to imagine who did this labor of love on each block and why did it end up as a UFO for that quilter.  All quilters know that it is so exciting to start a project .....but it is so hard to finish them!!!!

I made this recipe and I thought they were so delicious.   If you like butter cookies you will love these!

Raspberry Delights
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup coarsely ground pecans
1 cup raspberry jam

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg yolks.  Gradually and flour and mix well.  Stir in the
pecans.

Spread half into a lightly greased 9” x 13” baking pan.  Top
with jam.  Drop remaining dough by teaspoonfuls over the jam.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden
brown.  Cool on a wire rack.  Cut into bars.


Have a great week!  Amy