Experts share sewing secrets

Information on making handbags, fabric yo-yo’s, and staining furniture will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” at noon on Tuesday and at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Designer, author and sewing expert Stephanie Kimura will show over 30 stylish handbags made from leather, linen, silk, chiffon and tapestry fabrics. Each is embellished in its own way to create designer bags with style. Her company is Kimura Patterns in Jensen Beach, Fla.

Pat de Santis is a sewing expert with Wrights in West Warren, Mass., and she will show how to make fabric yo-yos with a circle cutting tool.

Lynn Hack-Gerhart will show how to apply stains on furniture. She’ll also talk about opaque versus translucent stains and explain how to choose a color. She represents QRB Industries in Houston.

Information on sewing as a home business, birthday party planning, and preparing recipes ahead of time will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” on at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday and at noon on Thursday.

Mary Roehr, sewing instructor and author, will discuss how to make sewing a profitable home business. She'll talk about alterations, home decor, custom sewing, embroidery and other areas of sewing. Her company is Mary Roehr Books and Video in Sedona, Ariz.

Lisa Reid will talk about making low-cost birthday party favors and decorations that won't break the pocketbook. She publishes a newsletter called PurseStrings and lives in Santa Fe.

Cookbook author Sue Vaughn will demonstrate quick sandwiches that are also nutritious and can be prepared ahead of time. Her company is Jan-Su Publications, and she lives in Lamesa, Texas.

B. J.’s bean,corn casserole

1-16 oz. can French-style green beans

1-16 oz. can shoe-peg corn

1-16 oz. can cream of celery soup

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 stick butter or margarine, melted

1 roll Ritz Crackers, crushed

Almonds, slivered

Mix green beans and corn and place in a buttered casserole dish. Mix together soup, sour cream, cheddar cheese and onion and spread over vegetables. Drizzle melted butter over mixture and top with Ritz Crackers. Sprinkle with almonds and bake at 350° F. for 45 minutes. Serves 4 to 6 people.

Stuffed chicken breasts

2 whole chicken breasts

1/4 cup margarine

Chopped chives

Dash of oregano

Slices of Monterey Jack or Swiss cheese

2/3 cup white wine

Pound chicken breasts between waxed paper sheets until thin. Combine margarine, chives and oregano. Spread mixture on chicken. Then place a slice of cheese on top of each chicken breast. Roll and secure with a toothpick. Roll chicken in flour, then dip in beaten egg. Roll in bread crumbs. (At this point you can refrigerate up to a day in advance.) Bake in 375° F oven for 15 minutes. Pour 2/3 cup white wine over chicken and bake 25 minutes longer.

“Creative Living" is produced and hosted by Sheryl Borden. The show is carried by more than 118 PBS stations in the United States, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico and is distributed by Westlink of Albuquerque.