This Week at the Maker Mama House

We celebrated Earth Day with a picnic at the park...

I've been working on a vintage crewel embroidery pattern (it's very relaxing)...

I put together a last-minute zippered art bag for my middle son's 5th birthday...

The kids eagerly awaited the arrival of Gran and Papa (my husband's wonderful parents)...

We kicked off Mr. Liam's birthday celebration at the King William Fair parade...

And enjoyed lots of goodies and beads while we were watching...

I baked the birthday boy a homemade cake complete with a very important number five candle on top...

We kept the party easy with a bouncy castle (I joined in too!)...

And Liam made out one happy little boy (and loved the art bag I made him, too!).

How was your week?? Any milestones at your house?

Estate Sale Finds

 

I happened to be browsing through Craigslist last week and came across an ad for an estate sale that made me drool. It had a link to a photo gallery with rooms full of fabric and crafting supplies and I knew I had to go.

Listen to Maker Mama on Etsy Conversations Podcast

I came across Angela Holden's podcast, Etsy Conversations Podcast, by chance through iTunes on the day it was released. Listening to crafty podcasts is one of my favorite things to do while I'm crafting (or doing the dishes) and am always on the look out for new episodes to listen to. So of course I was thrilled to come across an entirely new podcast.

I left a comment on Angela's website, and was surprised again when she asked to interview me for the show.  So we scheduled the interview and now it's live! I had a great time talking to Angela, and share some tips that I think anyone looking to blog or sell on Etsy would find helpful. You can listen to it through iTunes or the Etsy Conversations website. And if you do listen, be sure to share your feedback and comments with Angela on iTunes, and I'd love to hear what you think, too!

This Week at the Maker Mama House

...I took Liam to his five-year check up (a week early) and suddenly realized how big he's getting!

We were surrounded by butterflies in the garden (they love the lavender).

Eleanor was the one crawling in bed (and sleeping there nearly all night while daddy was working).

The first strawberry of the season began ripening.

Amelia enjoyed some trampoline jumping with grandma while I prowled the grounds at an estate sale (thanks for coming along, mom!).

The strawberry ripened--and I ate it! (It was yummy.)

I led Skyler's 4H group in tying the quilt we'll be donating to the Ronald McDonald house...

...and was reminded again during 4H (where there happens to be a piano in the meeting room) that we really need to get a piano for home (and lessons to go along).

And last, but certainly not least, I enjoyed the company of great friends--one of whom brought me this awesome vintage suitcase set she found at a thrift store for $3 (yes you read that right). And to make it even more amazing, the luggage tag had the exact same name and address as the mustard yellow suitcase I found last month. I guess it was just meant to be!

What were the highlights of your week?

Top Ten Eco-Friendly Fiesta Crafts at Spare Parts

Fiesta kicks off tonight in San Antonio and Earth Day is this weekend! So with an effort to help y'all make your Fiesta celebrations a little greener, I'm guest posting over at Spare Parts again and sharing my top ten eco-friendly Fiesta crafts. Stop on by for awesome ideas (like this recycled egg carton wreath by Homemade Serenity).

Are you celebrating Fiesta? Doing anything special for Earth Day? I'd love to hear what you're up to!

How to Make an Eco-Friendly Faux Papel Picado | Video Tutorial

Fiesta kicks off this week in San Antonio and papel picado banners are popping up all over town. I love the bright colors fluttering in the breeze, but I'm not a fan of disposable decor. So I decided to make my own reusable faux papel picado banner with fabric scraps and paint. Raid your stash or find some colorful textiles at the thrift store and get ready for Fiesta with my video tutorial:

To finish my banner, I made channels to run the ribbon through by folding over the top edge and sewing it down. I also zig-zag stitched along the end of each picado to keep it in place on the ribbon.

String yours up--inside or out--and your done! These reusable faux papel picados are great for Cinco de Mayo, Dia de los Muertos, or any other Mexican-themed party. And when you're done, just fold them up for next time! I hope you enjoyed this project and would love to hear your thoughts and feedback. And if you enjoyed the video, be sure to like it on YouTube (I'd really appreciate it!). And if you make your own, I'd love to see your photos in the Maker Mama Flickr group. ¡Viva Fiesta!

Last Week at the Maker Mama House

Last week at the Maker Mama house...

I braved taking the kids on a day trip to visit family in Austin (hook 'em horns!).

We got nice and fancy for Easter Sunday...

...and I finished Eleanor's knitted bolero the night before (to match Amelia's baby blue bolero).

We picked loquats at Grandma's...

...and continued our Easter celebration with cascerones (of course).

I put my upcycled drawstring bags up in the Maker Mama shop.

The strawberries began to appear in our garden.

The kids enjoyed a new stash of used books I scored at a gigantic sale.

And Chris and I enjoyed trash can shopping during date night (we also drooled over magazines at the book store, and stopped for drinks and Mexican food).

What was the highlight of your week? Keep it in your mind as you start your Monday!

Mend It Better Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to enter the Mend It Better giveaway this week! I love being able to bring fun giveaways like this to you guys and hope to continue sharing them with y'all.

Without further ado, our lucky winner is...

Whitney! Here's what she said:


I hope the book helps you with patching your clothes up a bit!

For those of you who didn't win, check out my Mend Along series from last year for some of my own mending tips.

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Upcycled Drawstring Bags in the Maker Mama Shop

My upcycled drawstring bags are in my Etsy shop.  If you follow Maker Mama on Facebook or Twitter, you heard the news yesterday, and thank you so much for liking and sharing the news!

The bags are all made from a single tablecloth I've had in my stash for a while, along with prints from various linens, and recycled clothes as well. In fact I've made several things from some of them before, like the pinwheel dress, baby booties, itty bitty baby dress, cradle sheets, and the picnic blanket in this post. Searching for fun prints at thrift stores and garage sales is one of my favorite things to do!

I made a couple of these drawstring bags for myself a couple months ago and fell in love with them--they were the perfect size for toting around my knitting and crochet projects on-the-go. I still had plenty of tablecloth and thrifted scraps left, so I decided to share the love and whip some up to share with y'all.

So, if you haven't already, stop on by the Maker Mama shop and check out the new upcycled bags. And if you're not looking to buy right now, I'd love if you'd share them with your friends (or become my friend) on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

Oh, and just a reminder, the giveaway for a free copy of Mend It Better ends tonight!

Mend It Better Review and Giveaway (CLOSED)

Today I am excited to share Kristin Roach's new book, Mend It Better, from Storey Publishing. I received a review copy from Storey when I returned from Craftcation, and fell in love with it as soon as I held it in my hands.

The cover of the book itself is different than any other craft book on my shelf (and I have quite a number). It's a hardback with an almost soft, puffy, children's book quality to it--not to demean it in any way--I actually love it, it's a book that's meant to be used and will stand up to life in our busy household. But enough of my bibliophile obsessions, how about what's on the inside?

The book's design is eye-candy enough to attract any crafter, with touches of whimsy, color, and nostalgia for the days when mending was a must. And that nostalgia is the driving theme behind Kristin's collection of how-tos and project ideas throughout the book. But it's not just a boring collection of mending instructions, it's an exploration of "mending as devotion" as contributor Sherri Lynn Wood aptly describes in her unique take on clothing repair.

Kristin's hope, in her own words, "is that through your mending successes, you will feel emboldened to express your creativity through your clothing." And she has given us just the tools and inspiration to do so. She empowers readers of all experience levels (even if that experience is zero) through a glimpse into the history behind sewing traditions, a refresher on basic sewing skills, projects from a host of well-known craft mavens like Cal Patch and Diane Gilleland, and 10 additional chapters covering every mending need imagineable. 

And for those of us who may feel overwhelmed by the task of mending piles of clothing (I do have four kids who tear through their clothing rather quickly), Kristin is all about keeping things simple and fun at the same time.

One of my favorite projects featured in the book is Francesca Mueller's cardigan alteration. After having a baby, her favorite cardigan needed a makeover. She tuned up the now-too-large cardi by simply adding some decorative clasps and floral trim to give it a more feminine look and shape. I love that this book focuses on finding the good in our clothing until the very last thread!

Some other fun ideas included in the book are colorful patches to cover up stains on children's clothes, taking pockets from an old item to add onto another, unique and colorful patches, and an entire section on darning, including this cute crochet darning project for holey socks.

Overall this book gets an A+ from me--I love that Kristin has reinvigorated the task of mending while sharing the importance of not living in a throw-away world.

***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***

So, are you ready to win yourself a copy, courtesy of Storey Publishing? Here's how to enter:

1. Post a comment below stating your experience with mending and why you'd like a copy of this book. (You must complete this step to enter.)

2. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter and include the tags @makermama AND @storeypub, and be sure to tell me you tweeted in the comments below (1 extra entry). 

3. Follow Maker Mama via Google Friend Connect and leave a comment (1 extra entry). 

And some official rules to go along:

• All contestants must be at least 18 years old or older and residents of the United States. 

• Contest ends at 9 p.m. CST on Friday, April 13. The winner will be selected randomly and will have 48 hours after email notification to send me their address (or else I might have to find a new winner!).

• The value of the prize (1 copy of Mend It Better) is approximately $18.95. Odds of winning are determined by the number of eligible entries. No purchase necessary to enter. 

• And lastly, I cannot be held responsible for prizes not received. I will, of course, follow up with the publisher on your prize, and do not anticipate any problems (they're a wonderful company!).

And just to disclose again,  I did receive a courtesy copy from Storey for the purpose of reviewing the book, but did not receive any monetary compensation for either the review or hosting the giveaway.

Good luck to everyone, and I hope you're inspired to pick up your mending baskets!

Lenten Update

Today marks the first day of the Triduum (that's Catholic talk for the three days before Easter Sunday), and I thought I'd share an update on my Lenten sacrifice this year (which was giving myself an earlier bedtime).

I was really great about sticking to my early(ish) bedtime...until I went on my little Craftcation...and there was a two-hour time difference...and bedtime went out the window...and then I came back and have had trouble sticking to it since!

Not that I've been staying up that much later, but I've definitely slipped up. And I've noticed when that happens. Even if I turn the light off only 30 minutes later, I'm still a little groggier in the morning. But it's still been hard getting back on the train.

Going to bed early has done wonders for improving my mood in the mornings over all. But since getting back from my trip, I've found myself slipping into cram-it-all-in-mode rather than relaxing and letting the day go.

As a mama of four attempting to carve out a space for myself in the online crafting and blogging world, it's easy to make myself feel like I have to be doing it all: networking through social media, keeping up-to-date on reading other blogs, researching ways to improve my blog/etsy shop/overall online presence. It's easy to get sucked in and not actually get anything done. Like crafting. Or reflecting on my faith.

So, through my experience this Lent, I've not only learned the importance of taking better care of myself (and as a result, my family), but I've also learned that I need to spend a lot less time worrying about all the things I "should" be doing online (duh, Amy!) Of course I love blogging here and will continue to do so, but I'm going to give myself permission to not check in online every 30 minutes, and to be more productive off the screen.

Maybe none of you reading this can relate, but it's good for me to be getting this out here. What unnecessary pressure do you put yourself under? Quick, leave a comment (very important first step), get off the computer, and go DO something! (And enjoy your Easter weekend, everyone!)

My Craftcation Conference Experience

I got back from my trip to Craftcation a week ago, and I'm finally starting to get back into the groove of things. I felt like my head was spinning for a few days afterwards, there were so many great people, good food, fun times, and TONS of information (and business cards) to take home with me. I have nearly fifty photos I could share (that's the edited version), but I'll try to make it short and sweet.

First off, a HUGE thanks to Nicole Stevenson and Delilah Snell who dreamed up and made the conference happen. This was the first year for the Craftcation conference (with many more to come, I hope), and they did an amazing job with the location, workshops, guest speakers, sponsors and happy vibes over all.

This was my first trip out to California since I was five or six years old, so I was very excited (and nervous) to make the trip. It was hard saying goodbye to Chris and the kids (I told you about Liam crying at the airport), but by the time the plane took off (and I found myself sitting with some friendly mamas) my nerves were settled. I flew out to L.A. the night before the conference and stayed with my wonderful cousin Amira whom I haven't seen since I was a wee little one.

She had the sweetest (and cleanest) apartment and she made me feel very much at home (as her note in the bathroom vanity instructed me to). It was fun catching up even for just a little bit, and she generously took the time to drive me the hour out to Ventura and my crafty-weekend adventure began!

Craftcation was held at the Crowne Plaza right next to the beach in Ventura--apparantly the same hotel where the pageant in Little Miss Sunshine takes place.  I managed to find a roommate ahead of time in the Craftcation forum (I'll introduce you in a minute). It took place from Thursday through Sunday, with workshops scheduled each day.

The first thing I did when I arrived was pick up my fun little swag bag (on the left). It was packed with samples, magazines, and other assorted goodies, but my favorites were the Tacky Glue samples and the little MailChimp monkeys (I managed to get one for each of my three older kids). There was also a little pop-up shop for stocking up on crafty supplies and books; I grabbed one of Jenny Hart's Craftopia embroidery patterns from Sublime Stitching.

Photo by The Coco Gallery

The workshops started in the afternoon on Thursday, so after I checked in and grabbed some lunch in town, I headed off to my first one. There were several workshops going on during each hour, so it was pretty hard to pick and choose sometimes, but the first one I went to was a free apron-decorating workshop. I enjoyed starting the conference off with making something, easing into it all and meeting a few people.

Some other workshops I attended that day were Etsy 2.0 with Danielle Maveal, and learning more about SEO (search engine optimization) with Sé Reed.

In the evening, the Craftcation crew hosted a yummy barbeque (with food, drinks, and cupcakes included). I finally met my roommate, Marianne from Bird and Feather, (that's me and her on the top left) just before dinner. We had fun making flower pins and new friends. Ana and Wendy (the girls on the bottom left) were just the cutest and a blast to hang out with all weekend (check out Ana's Etsy shop, AnaApple). I also got to meet Sarah from Instructables (that's me and her on the bottom right).

There was a fun little photo booth set up during the barbeque, and here I am (in the middle) with some more of the fun ladies I hung out with over the weekend: Kaci (hiding in the back left), Christina of Little Wellies (front left), Jenelle of Rellas Bellas (front middle), and April of Marine Parents (front right). We crafty ladies are a crazy bunch!

On Friday, my day was filled to the brim with classes on social marketing, e-newsletters, DIY PR, and more SEO. But before the day started, I slipped off into town to check out the thrift stores. Ventura is a little thrift store heaven, with at least five stores just on Main St. I popped into a few and brought back a vintage folk song guitar book and a strawberry crewel embroidery kit. I would've bought a lot more if I had an extra day and room to take it all home on the plane (oh and the extra mula, too, of course).



I made sure to take a walk along the beach Friday evening. I combed for some shells and rocks to bring back to the kids and enjoyed watching the sunset before heading back into the hotel for the happy hour mixer.



Saturday was jam-packed too. My favorite workshop was making a lightbox with Rad Megan (she's very rad--and tall). Saturday was also 80s night, and Marianne and I dressed in matching neon-pink tights and side ponytails (sorry--no embarassing pictures here!) and got our dance on all night.

We woke up to rain on the last day, Sunday. It was bittersweet when it all came to an end, but I did get to meet Jenny Hart in person (she's THE embroidery queen in case you didn't know) and picked up some fun embroidery tips (and one of her dishtowel kits).

Another awesome lady I met over the weekend was Gena from Bake All The Things. I connected with her through the conference forum beforehand and she was my lifesaver, I mean ride back to the airport! Everyone at the conference was just so warm and friendly, and Gena was the shining example of them all (how many of us would over a ride to a stranger?). She also took me by the famous California fast-food chain In-N-Out to experience it's yummy goodness (it was both yummy and good--although not very good for me).

So thanks to Gena I made my flight back to SA on time, and as any good mommy would do, I made sure to ask for some flight wings to bring home for my kids (the flight attendant gave me activity packs which the kids loved even more).

I made it back late Sunday night to find that one of my bags didn't make it through the flight transfer (not my sunny yellow suitcase, though). I was so tired and glad to be back home that I didn't let it bother me, and was able to get it first thing in the morning. Everyone was fast asleep when I made it back to the house and--get this--the house was spotless. I'm one lucky gal.

So, if you haven't guessed it already, I had a wonderful life-changing event at Craftcation and can't wait to go back next year (I'll tell my husband about that little detail later). 

So, if you missed Craftcation next year, don't miss it next year--I'm sure it'll be even better!

Quick Craft: Easy Easter Basket

So, there's only a week to go before Easter and I realized I haven't done any planning! I love creative Easter baskets, but needed to come up with something quick and cheap. With a little brainstorming, I came up with a fun idea using embroidery hoops and scrap fabric. And to make it even more fun, I put together a little video to show you just how simple this easy Easter basket is!

I hope you enjoy making your own easy Easter baskets and I would love to see how they turn out! Show us how creative you are and post a picture of your easy Easter basket on the Maker Mama Flickr group.