Happy Weekend!!!

Good Morning and Happy Weekend!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Family Day on Monday, got their fill of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and are still going strong with their thing to give up for the 40 days of Lent which started on Wednesday.
Yes, I have missed a very eventful week for good reason though.  We have all been sick and lucky me I was the last in  line to get it. :-(  Tis the season I suppose.
Anyhoo, this is what I woke up to this morning a good blanket of snow.  I'm not terribly sad about it as we have had a none existent winter this year.  The snow man above was the only snow man made this winter and he melted the next day.
I did manage to get a few things done product wise and am dying to share with you.  I did manage to pull in some new designs for soother clips.  I am always getting requests for more boy prints and let me tell you these are very hard to find. Here you go. :-)

I love this one. Oh so cute owls. I'm sure a girl could use this one too as there is a lot of brown and green in there too.  This would be a great match with one of the owl Neckerchief bibs I have in 2 different owl prints.

All around the barn yard with this cute farm animal theme on a royal blue. I could not resist this one.

I love stripes and found this one with a combo of blues, lime green and white. Yes, I know white but tested and true these wash fantastic with dish soap and hung to dry. I have even thrown all my soother clips in the wash in a washer bag.

Groovy man!!! Got to love the symbols of the 60s. Peace, Love and Happiness is written all over this soother clip.

Purple is another hard one to find for some reason.  I had to get this one when I saw it.  A beautiful orchid purple with dots.
I do have a few more prints on the way and am eagerly waiting to make them and show you.  Also, don't forget I can make all these prints into soother clips used for ALL soothers types.

Enjoy!

Sab.

Happy Fat Thursday ( Tłusty czwartek) (Schmutziger Donnerstag)

Good afternoon and Happy Fat Thursday!!!
I love this day, why you ask? because its Fat Thursday.  Coming from and German family and my husband being Polish we celebrate this day the only way we know how. By eating a lot of Paczki ( procnounced Ponch kee)  I did not have time to drive into town to go buy these oh so wonderful fatty goodness so I said why not try and make them myself.  I make everything else so why not right?  Well, I can tell you this it is a all day thing but actually was very easy.
Thanks to: www.food.com for the easy recipe.  First I made the dough. Its a yeast dough so you will have to let it rise a few times which is what takes all the time but I will tell you this it is so worth the wait. Dough is mixing. :-)

The finished dough before letting it rise.



In the oven where its warm and dark for the rising process.

After letting the dough rise 2 times its time to cut these babies out.

The traditional filling for Paczki is Plum Butter or Rose Marmalade.  I chose Plum Butter but you can fill them with what ever your heart desires. Cover the filled side with a blank side and pinch to close.

Guess what? Let them rise again. :-)

Now its time to cook these.  They are a doughnut of sorts after all so deep fry it is.  I can tell you this they cook super quick.

This recipe make 18 Paczki and I was quite surprised how big they are.  The cut outs were only 3" in diameter.

I topped mine with sprinkled icing sugar but you could drizzle with honey or even glaze them.

It was a lot of fun making these and I will for sure make them again.  The official taste tester (my husband) said I should have been Polish. ;-)
For more information and history on Fat Thursday visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Thursday

Enjoy as I know I will!

Sab.

Photo Share Wednesday!!

Good afternoon and Happy Wednesday!! Show season has begun as I receive many contracts to confirm where I will be with all of the Unique by Sab Handmade Children's Accessories product line for 2012.  Some products have been around for a while but with new designs but I have added new products as well within the last few months.

More No Slip Hair Clips.

Headbands which are reversible. So two headband for the one price. got to love that!!!

NEW 2012 Mitten Clips and Soother Clip fabric. Orchid with White Dots.

Neckercheif Bib NEW print Puppies.

Have a great day!!

Sab.



Its all about RED, PINK and WHITE!!

Good afternoon and Happy Valentine's Day 2012!!
Hope you all have a chance to give hugs and kisses to the ones you love today.  How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?  Our family celebrates it a little differently starting 5 years ago.  Today is my son's Birthday Day and he was the best Valentine's Gift a mama ever could ask for.  The cake on the yellow plate (photo above) is my son's birthday cake.  I make one for him every year.  I figure why not while he is still little and won't complain about being a heart. :-)

I got wondering how did Valentine's Day come about.  Why is it a day for lovers? According to www.wikipedia.org :

The Early Medieval acta of either Saint Valentine were expounded briefly in Legenda Aurea.  According to that version, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer.
Since Legenda Aurea still provided no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers. The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men. When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail.

Another really interesting fact I found on www.epilepsyfoundation.com :
Did you know St. Valentine is considered to be the patron saint of epilepsy? True story.
Medicine and religion have long been intertwined, however medical practitioners were sometimes regarded skeptically in medieval times causing people to seek spiritual intervention for their illnesses.
In addition, brain disorders in the 14th and 15th centuries were widely regarded as supernatural phenomena incited by evil spirits or the devil.
Because many people believed their symptoms were the work of dark spiritual forces, it made sense for them to combat their perceived tormentors with an antidote to evil in the form of saints—in particular patron saints—who were believed to have restorative abilities for specific ailments.
Information on the origins of St. Valentine’s connection to epilepsy varies. Some accounts suggest he is connected to epilepsy because the name Valentine is similar to the German word for “fallen.” Epilepsy was once known as the “falling sickness” because some seizures cause a person to lose consciousness and fall. Still other legends propose that a 3rd century bishop named Valentine von Terni freed the son of a Roman orator from an epileptic seizure.
The good news is, medical research and an increasing variety of scientifically proven therapies have improved the lives of the nearly 3 million people living with epilepsy in the United States, significantly diminishing the need to turn to supernatural forces for respite!
So, in the wake of this Valentine’s Day, when all the sugar-coated, floral-scented hype has passed, remember that Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers, it’s for people with epilepsy, too.

Why not a cute craft for today.  Thank you DLTK for this wonderful and easy craft.  Instructions: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/mcandy-butterfly.htm

So a little history, a craft and my baking are part of today's Valentine's Day here in the UNIQUE household.

Enjoy!

Sab.

Its a SWEET Day!!!

Good afternoon and Happy Monday!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Looks like Winter is back in Ontario with the snow we all got and the very cold temperatures. Bundle up!
Today I took a break from my usual creations and decided to make sweets.  Well, truth be told I kind of had too with Valentines being tomorrow. :-) My daughter came home with a note that girls are to bring treats for the class and a cake for a Cake Walk to raise funds for the year end trip.  I also had to make a cake for tomorrow anyway as a certain family member has a Birthday Tomorrow. :-)
I love anything hand made and that includes food so this was right up my alley.
First I started to prep my 2 cakes.

The heart cake pan I found at the dollar store and is actually pretty good but lesson learnt make sure you grease and flour the pan VERY well.

Th fun part icing and decorating.  Bulk barn has some really cute sprinkles made into to tiny hearts in pink, red and white.

Now I was on a  roll and went on to making sweets for my daughters class.  I hit up Bulk Barn for coloured wafer chocolate in pink, cool sprinkles that are tiny hearts (yes, I used these in the cakes too), sucker sticks, marshmallows, clear bags and ribbon.

Simply stick a sucker stick in each marshmallow.  Dip the end in the melted chocolate and sprinkle with sprinkles right after so they stick. 







The time consuming part was wrapping these things.  I made 42 of them today.

Finished product.  Thank you to www.pinterest.com for the wonderful idea.  Very easy and very cute.

Enjoy!

Sab.

Requests anyone??

Good evening and happy Thursday.
Its been a long day and I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and relax with a hot cup of tea.  One thing I do get a lot of are custom orders and requests.  I love getting these as its something special I am making just for that person.  It may be their favourite colour or its a wanted accessory to match a outfit or outer wear.  Flapper Caps are one of the most custom orders I receive.  The colours are endless. Then you can have solid or stripes. Then choose a crochet flower or silk flower. 

Custom orders are fun and I love seeing the finished product but nothing challenges me more than a request.

A few of my current products were customer requests.  Someone looking for a accessory that will function for them but so far have not been able to find.  I love the challenge of designing the item and making someone happy that they were listened too and taken seriously.  Here are a few of those customer requests.

Pixie Cap requested by a photographer for a prop. (http://site.mamarazziphotography.ca/Home.html

Toy Clip for a mom who has lost "Sophie" too many times.

Soother Clips for all soother types.

Crochet Headbands

Flapper Caps with silk flowers ( original design crochet flower only)

Quite a few of Unique by Sab products are request from customers. :-)  That is what Unique is about, creating trendy products for YOU!!  I will always welcome custom orders and product requests. Give me a challenge, a idea and I will create it to the best I can.  All handmade of course.

Enjoy,

Sab. 

Whats New ??

Good Evening and Happy Wednesday!! We are half way through the work week.  Yee Haw!!  I have been working hard on my Spring 2012 collection.  Everyone likes something new and fresh.  That also goes for me as well.  I love to get new designs and create new products.  I am very excited to share with you some of the 2012 Spring UNIQUE collection.
Hair Petty's are one thing I change a lot but for Spring I have more flowers but in sets.  The Sun Flowers (photo above) are a new release along with 15 other designs.

Neckerchief Bibs are another I have made with new fabric for 2012.  Owls are always a favourite but I also have cats, fish and puppies.

What else do I have up my sleeve..... Oh how about my new option with the Flapper Cap.  Why not have a cap and a hair accessory all in one.  The flower can be attached to the cap using a no slip hair clip.



How about a NEW product? The Unique Headband.  These are fantastic and whats even better is they come in kids sizes and adults.  These are reversible so you get 2 headbands all in one.  I have quite a few designs in these but here are a few.

Kids above Retro Flower and Solid Brown on reverse.

Adult headband Zebra and Solid Black on the reverse side.

Exciting things going on and more to come.  I have been working on one thing for a bit and hope to have it released this year.  I will give you a hint, ECO!!!

Enjoy!

Sab.



Photo Share Tuesday :-)

Good evening and what a sunny Tuesday this was!!
 With Spring just around the corner I can't help but share some photos of Unique Spring products being worn.  The photo above is my 10 year old daughter passed out cold wearing one of  my Spring/ Summer Flapper Caps.  I did not even have time to put a flower on it before she snatched it and had it on her head before bed time.  Well, when I came across her sleeping and still wearing it I could not resist. :-)
Flapper Headbands are another Spring time product.  This little one is such a doll and has 8 of my headbands in her wardrobe.

It was photo shoot time for this little one and mama was quite pleased when she was able to get a Flapper Cap in the colour and size she wanted.  One great thing about handmade products, custom orders are always welcome.

This time of year is one of my favourites as I start to make my Spring collection and it lets me forget the dull days outside.  The time where we are all are so done with Winter and want the warm sun on our face.  We hope for Spring flowers to pop out of the ground or to see that 1st Robin which is a sure sign of Spring on its way.  Well Willie,  you told us only 4 weeks to Spring last week so 3 more weeks to go. :-)

Enjoy,

Sab.