Mama's Makings

I started my first knitting project ever just after Christmas and posted about it back in January. Well, it feels like it took me absolutely forever, but I finally finished it earlier this week! I did take about a week off to knit up a little doorstep for Chris from Debbie Bliss's The Knitter's Year; so this isn't officially my first completed project. But it was my beginnings with this scarf that made it even plausible to whip up anything else. 

Of course the weather down here has already taken a turn towards spring and I no longer have the need for a winter scarf, but I was determined to finish it. Don't go looking too closely at my stitches, now, it's not very pretty.

I feel kind of empty without needles and yarn in hand, but decided to start a project I've been meaning to do (and already have the materials for). I've always wanted to try my hand at making pillow covers, so I thought I'd make some to go with the men's shirt quilt I made back in the fall. All I've done at this point is cut out the squares for three pillow tops. I'm not sure how I'll design the back yet, but I'll just figure that out when I get there! What have you been making this week?

Changes to Friday Favorites

After thinking long and hard about it, I've decided to change up Friday Favorites. I love searching the web high and low for my favorite ideas and projects to share with you, but I've decided to take the pressure off by not making it an official weekly post any more. I'm working on a new weekly segment and can't wait to share it with you.

I'll still be sharing my favorite finds, but I'll be linking up through Facebook rather than through my blog (or at least that's the plan for now). That way I can share the moment I find something and I'm not limited to just a few cool ideas once a week. And now we can talk more over on the Maker Mama Facebook page--I look forward to seeing you all there!

Back to Basics with the Mending Basket

I bought my sewing machine just under two years ago and have been crafting up a storm ever since. My secret? I started off small. I mean miniscule. My first project was sewing the binding back onto my bathmat. Nothing glamorous or creative at all.

At the time I had just resigned from my job as a program director at a local nonprofit to become a stay at home mom, my husband had gone from being a teacher to training at the fire academy and we were living on pennies with three little kids. We were renters and our weekly grocery budget was about $70 a week (including cleaning and bath supplies). It was a really hard time in ways, not knowing how we were going to make ends meet at the end of every month. But with the blessings of some wonderful friends and family we made it through. And made it through joyfully.

It was during that time that I really learned how to start being resourceful, pinching every penny, and as a result, creating out of necessity. We began curbside "treasure-hunting" and I devoted a found dresser into craft storage for recyclables. If we wanted something we made it--handmade birthday gifts were the norm. I began saving old clothes for future crafting (that's when I began cutting up Liam's old baby clothes for this quilt).

Today, we're in a much better situation financially. We're not swimming in gold or anything, but I do have a monthly spending allowance for crafting supplies, and I can run to the craft supply store (with my coupon in hand) to pick up materials for my next project. I do still save a lot of old materials--clothes, sheets, scraps--for future crafting, but it's gotten easier to be a less frugally-inclined crafter.

So, in attempt to get back to the basics, and hopefully inspire some of you to take your own baby steps towards craftiness, I'll be hosting a mend-along in March. I am completely terrible at keeping up with the mending; I'd so much rather be creating something new and exciting! But, to make such a droll task more enjoyable, I thought I'd invite you to mend along with me.

What do you have hiding away that's been begging to be fixed? Whether it's a busted zipper, a missing button, or even a broken plate in need of some glue, I want to hear all about it. Fixing things instead of throwing them away is such a great way to fuel creativity (and it's good for your wallet and the environment, too!). Small creative tasks are often the most satisfying because of the little time and effort they require--so give yourself a little boost and get crafty!

Each week I'll post a mending project I've been working on as well as links for inspiration. I'll start by sharing my own mending list next week. So what do you say, will you join me? Grab a button below (copy and paste the code under the image) and tell me what you'll be working on!

<a href="http://www.makermama.com/"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5466490249_9ff0175edf_o.jpg" width="200" height="200" alt="mend along" border="0" />a>

Other Mend Along Posts:

• The Mending List

Un-Romantic Valentine's Day

So after reading this article about celebrating an unromantic Valentine's day, I thought it would be a great idea to plan a surprise for my hubby and focus less on making the day all filled with hearts and roses (although he did surprise me with flowers on Sunday), and more about what my hubby would actually like to do. Chris has been really great about planning sweet romantic things for me, but I haven't always taken the reigns in planning surprises for him.

At first I was a little stumped. I was looking for something budget-friendly, and that could be done within a 2 1/2 hour time frame during the day (babies and schedules keep us busy!). But I quickly remembered how much he used to love going to the batting cages. I found one of those all-in-one game centers that was open during the day and picked out a local hot dog place for lunch and we were set to go.

I swung a bat for the first time since I was a kid (my shoulder and side were sore the next day--isn't that lame?) and we even played a round of mini golf. It wasn't necessarily our dream date but Chris appreciated the thoughtfulness, and most importantly we had fun. We haven't had the chance for kid-free fun in a looong time. And it was much better than sitting in a movie theater not talking to each other for two hours or paying way too much for an okay dinner.

Unfortunately the hot dog place was closed due to technical difficulties (what does that even mean?). So with about thirty-five minutes left before we had to be home, we pulled up to Burger Boy. With their straight-forward menu and mini diner-style seating (and awesome burgers, of course) this was a perfect ending to our unromantic Valentine's date. Beat that boring old fancy schmancy dinner reservations! 

(Ok, so fancy dinners where you don't have to cook or clean up after yourself aren't all that bad, I'm just sayin' it was fun to do something different). How did you celebrate Valentine's day?

Friday Favorites: Let Me Count the Ways

1. the long thread  2. manmade diy  3. aesthetic burst  4. prudent baby

1. Handmade Paper Valentines I love Ellen's photo tutorial of how to make cookie-cutter handmade paper hearts. I've always wanted to try my hand at making paper but it always seemed too complicated. Here she breaks it down into 9 simple steps. 

2. Custom Fingerprint Art I have fallen in love with Man Made DIY--it's an awesome blog geared more towards "manly" crafts. This fingerprint art is a little involved but definitely an original gift idea.

3. Valentine Rocks Not only are these painted rocks super-easy to make (find rocks, scribble with paint pens--voila!--instant valentine), but Abbey from Aesthetic Burst is also sharing 20 valentines in 20 days--and gave away each of the unique valentines she created!

4. Color-In Valentines And the simplest and cheapest of valentines--free printables on Prudent Baby! Honestly, this is the project I did with my toddler and preschooler this week. It's all about keeping it simple (and you wouldn't believe how complicated this project ended up being with a 2 and 3-year-old!).

I'm looking forward to celebrating V-day and hope to share some pics with you next week--how will you be celebrating the loved ones in your life?

Making Meaning

 photo by Thin Glass

 

With the arrival of the new year last month, I played around with the idea of creating a to-do/goals list for the year to share with you all. I figured something like that would help keep me accountable for the myriad of things I've been wanting and meaning to do (like putting the girls' photo albums together, finishing the rag rugs I'm still working on, and organizing the house more to name a few).

But I think I felt a little overwhelmed just trying to come up with enough things for the entire year (and that I thought I'd actually do). As a stay-at-home mom there are always tons of things that need doing (believe it or not), and even more so as a crafting, blogging, stahm. I'm really protective of my time and hesitate to add to the must-do list.

I have a real urge to reduce things in all areas of my life lately, mainly because I start to feel paralyzed when it all gets to be too much and have no idea where to start. So, with that in mind, I think what I really want to do is work on making all aspects of my life more meaningful this year.

 

photo by kristenaderrick

 

At home that will mean focusing more on my kids and the house during the day rather than giving only half of my attention while trying to do less important things (like catching up on blog reading or knitting a few more rows on my scarf).

It will also mean reducing the amount of stuff we have. We're slaves to our stuff around here--always having to pick it up, clean it, find places to put it. I'm really going to work on thinking about why we have the things we do and whether they're worth the space and effort they take up in our home. This may not be a new idea for some of you, but I know I've definitely been guilty of not always thinking about where something's gonna go and where it's gonna end up (in the trash??) before I bring it home (especially if it's a good deal--those are so hard to pass!).

photo by Marta Florentino

With my crafting it will mean taking a look at what I choose to spend my time making and why. Is it to enrich my kids, improve our home, or save money? Or is it just to try out the next cool craft I saw online? It's going to be more about quality rather than quantity, working on what I've already started with what I already have rather than always buying more to make more (hence filling up my already overflowing stash).

I also hope to work more on making my crafting a source of income. I love the idea of being able to make a living doing what I love. I know I'm a long way from making a significant amount, but I would like to work my way there. Figuring out the business aspect of it all is definitely daunting, but I'm just going to keep my head on and take it one step at a time.

photo by Thin Glass

Making my blogging more meaningful will require digging a little deeper in what I write here. I don't mean getting all intellectual and philosophical, but I do mean being more real. I want to give you all something to take away with you--whether it's a crafty how-to, an insight into mamahood, or something fun to make your day brighter--but also not completely deprive myself of sleep trying to do it all--and remembering to keep it simple, too.

All of this reflecting is really an effort to create a touchstone to measure my success in refocusing my life. Life--marriage, motherhood--is about growing up and improving yourself, and I want to do that this year. Our time is limited, but we have the opportunity to make it so full and rich--let's not squander it away!

So, a little behind the traditional time of making resolutions, but here's to making life more meaningful this year!

Hey, Baby, Que Paso?--Snow in San Antonio!

It never snows in San Antonio. But this morning we woke up to a blanket of snow all around (and no school for the day). 

 

 

 

So of course we had to bundle up and play as soon as there was daylight!

 

 

And what snow day would be complete without a little hot chocolate to warm those chilly fingers?

Here's to spring (and the honeybees) coming soon!

Paper Helicopters

We've been stuck inside with below freezing temperatures for the past couple of days, and although I know many of you are probably far worse off than we are here in San Antonio, the kids were still getting a little stir crazy being cooped up. So we made a few of these...which kept them occupied for about twenty minutes tops, but we did enjoy some good old-fashioned fun! Here's a little photo tutorial of how you can make your own whirly-bird helicopters:

You might want to add a little staple or paper clip to the folded end to hold it together. And feel free to experiment with the length of your strip and propeller span. It'll take a little trial and error to figure out the proportions that work best with your paper. 

Come on, you know you want to make one!

Crocheted Girl's Robe

I bought the yarn (more budget-friendly than eco-friendly) for this robe during the after-Thanksgiving-madness and have been working on it ever since. This was my first crocheted garment ever. And it feels like it took forever. I had dreams of Eleanor all bundled up opening presents under the Christmas tree, but after redoing the pieces a gajillion times that sooo didn't happen! But, it's done now. And it's still useful on these oh-so-chilly nights.

I got the pattern from Cute Crochet for Tiny Tots (one of the few crochet pattern books I love). I made a teeny adjustment by adding some little belt loops, otherwise there was no way it would stay on. She has yet to figure out how to tie it herself. She asked if there were going to be any buttons while trying it on before it was finished. The girl loves her some buttons (I have to make sure mine are buttoned up or she'll stop me to do them herself!).

And since it didn't have any buttons I had to practically beg her to try it on so I could take some quick photos. But she enjoyed it once it was on and even wore it again later this evening. 

The main body of the robe is made up of three rectangles (two for the front sides and one for the back) and triangle-ish pieces for the sleeves. I could definitely whip up another one of these a little quicker (at least I'd like to think so!).  And there is a little man with a birthday coming up who's been asking when I'm going to make his robe now...but I haven't quite decided if I have the patience to make another one out of yarn. 

It would make for another great picture, though, wouldn't it? Hope you're all staying toasty warm out there this very cold week!