Maker Mama

A Sprinkle of Stitches

2012-01-28T04:57:00.000-08:00

I'm notoriously bad for not having a protective cover on my phone. My biggest excuse is that I've just never found one that I liked enough to cough up the cash for. Until I came across these awesome cross stitch phone covers. I found mine on Amazon for a mere $8 and am extremely pleased.

And not only did it come with the eco-friendly silicone case, but it included some embroidery thread, a needle, and a little pattern booklet.

But like a total craft nerd I had to find myself a unique pattern to stitch up on my phone case. So I did a little online search for vintage cross stitch patterns, and fell in love with the Art Nouveau patterns on the Antique Pattern Library (and yes, I stayed up way too late looking through them).

And here's what I came up with. A little different, and far from perfect stitching, but definitely me.

How to you sprinkle your stitches throughout your everyday life?

This Time Last Year

2012-01-24T05:30:00.000-08:00

I've been super busy with a project I can't wait to share with you, but it's not quite ready to be revealed yet. So, since my other crafty projects have been put on hold, I thought I'd take the time to look back at what we were up to this time last year. Like I've mentioned before, I like to look back from time to time just to be able to reflect, remember, and appreciate the growth life brings.

Looking back at my photo library, I found this set from a daytime date my husband and I took to our favorite little Mexican restaurant here in town. My husband brought me here when we were first dating, and it's been a favorite ever since.

I'm one of those people who tends to order the same thing over and over. And I always get a Mexican Coke to go with it. Always. I'm making myself hungry (and thirsty) just looking at these pictures.

And to make it even better, you get a free sopapilla with every meal. We got ours to go this time and didn't get to enjoy the sweet honey drizzled on top, but I think we were trying to make it back before the babysitter had to leave.

We couldn't pass up a stop at the nearby Half Price though (another favorite). We keep our dates pretty simple, but it's nice to have your favorite places to go--especially without kids--it becomes a sort of haven to kick back and relax in, to regroup and reconnect together every once in a while.

What are some of your favorite local spots? What are your memories from this time last year? I definitely see some Mexican food in my future!

Upcycled Fingerless Gloves

2012-01-20T05:30:00.000-08:00

We actually had a (kind of) cool day this week and found myself dying to knit up some fingerless gloves from a pattern in the fall issue of Craft Sanity magazine I recently downloaded. Of course it was mid-morning when I got the urge and I was smart enough to realize there was no way I could get away with a new knitting project with the girls up and running. But my hands were still cold, and I remembered an old sweater I had laying around and decided to make my own simpler version. It only took me about thirty minutes (with photo-taking), so if you have an old sweater you could whip some up to warm your hands today!

So, get your sweater. And something to keep your little ones busy for a bit. I put this project together rather hastily so the house was in complete disarray (hence the empty laundry basket).

To keep sewing to a minimum, I decided to use the sleeves, leaving the folded side uncut. Trace around your hand, making sure to leave some room for seam allowance.

Here's how my tracing looked (I used a water-soluble marker).

Carefully cut it out--you can use pins to hold the fabric together if you want.

Before you start sewing, I highly suggest using ball point needles made especially for sewing knits, otherwise your fabric will likely bunch up.

Pin the edges together and sew as close to the edge as possible. And make sure not to close up the finger and thumb holes! You only need to sew the "V" between the thumb and fingers and the outer edge beside the thumb.

You'll get something like this. I snipped off a little extra on the thumb because it was a bit snug.

Before you cut and sew the second one, try the first on for fit and comfort. You may need to trim the seams to keep them from rubbing against your hand.

Now, instead of awkwardly trying to trace your drawing hand, just flip your first glove inside out and trace it on the other sleeve. If you trimmed the seam allowance previously make sure to account for that in tracing the second.

Sew the second one up and there you have it! Some cozy little gloves to keep your hands warm while you go about your day. The pair I made is definitely not high-fashion--you could pretty yours up with a little embellishment or just find a cuter sweater to begin with.

Now go clean up the mess your littles made while you were sewing away!

But, hey, at least your hands are warm! And you still have the rest of your sweater to do some fun things with. Check out these other upcycled sweater ideas:

Upcycled Sweater Cowl Scarf from Ruffles and Stuff

Baby Sweater Blanket from King Soleil

Sweater Pillowcase by Midwestern Sewing Girl

Recycled Sweater Vases by Under the Table and Dreaming

Recycled Legwarmers from A Bit of Sunshine

Any other favorite recycled sweater projects? Hope you're keeping warm (I know I can't really complain down here in spring-like San Antonio).

A Good Day

2012-01-17T05:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life just hands you a good day. Yesterday we all had an extra day home together, the weather was just right, and so was everyone's mood...

...So we took to the outdoors and soaked in the life growing in our garden...

...and discovered the seeds we had planted oh-so-long-ago, had grown in silence during our oh-so-busy days.

When you take the time to plant the seeds, life will always flourish. Whether it's in the food that grows from them or the family that's nourished in the attempt.

What "seeds" have you seen the fruits of lately?

Knit Baby Socks

2012-01-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

I finished the little baby socks I started knitting back in November--hooray, my first pair of socks! I feel like super woman, I can do anything if I can knit a pair of socks!

Granted, they're just tube socks and don't exactly fit my baby, but I made socks!

Never the less, I'm proud of myself for sticking to it and finishing the pair (I talked about all of my unfinished knitting and crochet projects earlier this month). You can find the details for the pattern over on my Ravelry page.

Have you finished up any projects lately? Started any new ones?

Giveaway Winners

2012-01-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

Good morning! I just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. It was fun hearing how everyone enjoys music with their family, whether it's listening, singing along in the car or bathtub, or even teaching yourselves to play the piano! I never would have considered ourselves musical, either, until I read this book. We listen to and sing songs all the time, and it really is a backdrop to our day. The Nield's book has given me confidence that we can consciously use music to better our days, too. Well, enough of my blabbing and on to the winners! The number generator at random.org chose numbers 3 and 16:

#3: silly eagle books said...

What a great book! I'd love to win. We have a collection of songbooks (picture books with songs in them) that I sing to my girls.

#16: Pea said...

Pea, who is also Pansy, is spreading the word on FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=779172852

Congrats to Vanessa and Pansy! I'll be sending you an email to collect your addresses (or you can email me first at makermama[at]gmail[dot]com).

I'll be having some more craft-centered giveaways in the coming weeks, so be sure to stop back by often! Thanks again to everyone who entered, and I hope to see you all around and get to know you a little better. If you haven't already, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Flickr and keep the crafty conversation going! Have a great weekend!

Vintage Sewing Patterns

2012-01-13T05:30:00.000-08:00

One of the good things about friends and family knowing you're a crafter, is that they often think of you when they want to declutter their own stashes. (I'm also a bit of a craft goods hoarder, so I have to be careful with how much I take in.) This week I was fortunate to receive the remnants of one such stash and found a handful of vintage sewing patterns I couldn't resist sharing with you.

Now first, let me tell you, I'm not a big pattern-buyer. I don't have anything against using patterns themselves. I just don't like looking through giant pattern binders and then only being able to buy it in one size. I know, how lazy am I? But when it comes to vintage patterns, I just can't resist their whimsy and cuteness. Here's what I got my lucky hands on this week:

This one is for a girl's Jiffy dress by Simplicity circa 1969. I think what I love most about this one are the color and embellishment choices in the illustration. It's for a girl's size 7, so I can definitely hold onto this one for future use.

There's no copyright date on this one, but with two of the models posed with a pipe and cigarrette, I'm guessing 50s or early 60s, maybe? Plus the price is only at fifty cents (the previous one was sixty-five). Chris says he may actually wear a robe if I sewed one for him.

And this sweet little apron pattern doesn't have a date on it either, but aren't they cute? I like the white polka dot one, I'm not sure if I could go for ruffles.

And this one has to be my favorite, just for the illustration. It's a boy's size 12 pattern from 1959 which I'd likely use as the boys get bigger, but if anything else I think it would look great in a frame!

Have you sewn with vintage patterns before? Any secret stashes out there?

Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway, it ends tonight at midnight!

All Together Singing in the Kitchen Giveaway!

2012-01-11T05:30:00.000-08:00

**GIVEAWAY CLOSED**

Today I am excited to host a giveaway of not only one, but two copies of the wonderfully amazing book, All Together Singing in the Kitchen, by Nerissa and Katryna Nields from Roost Books. Roost also published Made to Play! and The Rhythm of Family, two more favorites of mine that you may already love, too.

As you may have guessed, All Together Singing is all about how to become a musical family. And the Nield Sisters, although musicians themselves, are very down to earth when they say you don't have to have any musical experience at all to appreciate music as a family.

The book begins with a foreword by children's music icon, Dan Zanes, and I was immediately drawn into the transformative power of music. In Zanes' own words:

When we play music with each other and for each other the world begins to look like a different place. Petty cares and fears fall away. Priorities become shaken and realigned, jokes become funnier and there are more of them, food tastes better and more people are willing to help clean up, differences fade away and similarities appear in unexpected ways, and we begin to experience a new sense of life's best possibilities--musically, socially, creatively, and spiritually. Music remains the best deal in town.

Who couldn't use a little more music in their lives?

The Nield Sisters start the book off with simple tips on finding your own singing voice, keeping beat on small percussion instruments, and move all the way through dancing, playing musical games, writing your own family songs, and also include different methods of musical education, learning to play instruments, and creating your own musical family traditions.

One of my favorite chapters is Everyday Songs. In it, Nerissa and Katryna talk about how they grew up with and used music to get through everyday tasks and emotions, from bath time, to clean-up time, to cheering-up songs and how to choose the perfect lullaby for you and your baby (you're the one who'll be singing it ten thousand times, after all!).

Sprinkled throughout the book are songs (both classic folk and originals) and personal stories of their own childhood and experience in creating music with their children. Katryna and Nerissa are musical mothers, and as such, know just how to inspire parents to make music themselves in the midst of diapers and dishes, as well as how to help you bring out the music that's just waiting to bubble up out of your own little ones.

The book has not only inspired us to create our own musical renditions of songs like Do You Know the Muffin Man? and Row, Row, Row Your Boat (Skyler came up with Do You Know the Cyclops Mama? just this afternoon), but it's also encouraged me to pick up the guitar and try a little music-making myself. I briefly attempted to play the guitar during high school, but never felt as motivated as I do now. The kids love hearing me play (no matter how terrible the player or simple the song), and it's been great to practice with my son who's also learning, and even enjoy a late-night "jam session" with my hubby.

This book will be a long-time inspiration in creating our own family music, and to make it even better, it includes a CD in the back with 30 songs all talked about in the book. You can listen to all the songs here, or purchase your own copy of the book and CD at Roost Books or on Amazon. There is also a wonderful interview with Nerissa and Katryna on the Shambhala website (Shambhala is the publishing house that oversees Roost Books).

A big thanks to Roost Books for their generosity and such an inspiring book!

Two lucky Maker Mama readers will each receive a copy of All Together Singing in the Kitchen!

How to Enter:
Leave a comment telling me how you share music with your family.

Extra Entries: (You must complete the first entry before the extras, and leave a separate comment for each entry.)

Preview the book on the Roost website and tell me which chapter you'd most like to read.
Follow Maker Mama publicly through Google Friend Connect (leave a comment if you already follow).
Leave a comment for following Maker Mama on Facebook.
Share this post on your Facebook page and leave the link.
Follow @makermama on Twitter and tweet this giveaway, leaving a link to your tweet in the comments.

The giveaway is open worldwide, and only one winner per household. You must complete the first entry in order to enter ("I want to win comments" will not be considered). And be sure to include your email in the comments if it's not on your profile.

Comments will be open until Friday, January 13 at 11:59pm. The winners will be chosen randomly and announced on Saturday. If I don't hear back from the winners within 72 hours I'll choose another.

Good luck!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review purposes.

All text and book images
"Excerpted from ALL TOGETHER SINGING IN THE KITCHEN by Nerissa Nields and Katryna Nields, (c) 2011. Published by arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston.
www.roostbooks.com."

On Hooks and Needles (Part 2)

2012-01-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

Back now for part two of my yarn addiction confessions! Yesterday I shared my unfinished crochet projects and today we're on to knitting. I only started knitting about a year ago (many thanks to my mother-in-law who helped me learn). I think the only thing I've actually completed in that time was a door stop from Debbie Bliss's The Knitter's Year, oh, and a scarf that was too short.

I really do like knitting. I think it has a cleaner, more classic look than crochet, but I'm still getting used to how much longer it takes--especially when I have to unravel and redo half of my work!

I was fortunate to receive some very generous gift certificates to my favorite local yarn store from my mom and Oma for Christmas, and an awesome new set of knitting needles (I'll share more about them at the end of the post). So it looks like I'll have to get my act together with knitting this year! Here's a closer look at what I've been working on (and neglecting):

First up, legwarmers. For some reason I fell in love with the idea of making myself some legwarmers during the fall. I found this sweet pattern and started right away. Knitting lace was new to me so I made plenty of mistakes along the way. And after I finally got into the gist of things, I realized I probably should have made it bigger seeing how I'm an adult and the pattern was for a child. Yeah. There's definitely a learning curve in being sure to think about all the aspects that go into knitting.

Next up, socks. A logical progression, right? I found a great book on sock knitting at the library, The Big Book of Socks, and along with a ton of patterns, it explained how to knit socks with circular needles. That sounded a lot more appealing that using a confusing handful of double pointed needles. So I started off on a pair of simple baby-sized tube socks. I finished the first one pretty quickly, but then I messed up in starting the second one and lost momentum.

Am I starting to sound like a total yarn flake yet? I should add that I didn't buy any new yarn for the socks or legwarmer, which made it less of a deal not finishing them. I do want to finish the other sock though. I'd really like to get the hang of knitting socks, and I think they would make a nice little baby gift.

And saving the best for last, my latest project is a ribbed lace bolero for me. It's a beautifully simple pattern, a rectangle with the sides seamed together to make the sleeves. I have had to unknit my work a number of times, but this time I did buy new yarn for this one, and it hasn't been too difficult fixing my mistakes. I picked out some of Debbie Bliss's Cashmerino Aran #20, which is a light, almost neutral lavendar, and I can't wait to wear it!

I'm working this one on a pair of circulars, too, and it's something I look forward to everyday. I have high hopes of finishing this one and then making two more smaller ones for the girls in time for Easter. I've found with knitting you really do have to plan months in advance if you want to have something done in time for a certain season or occasion. So, we'll see if my ambitions are too high come Spring!

That's it for my knitting projects. But before I finish, I wanted to share this wonderful set of needles I got for Christmas. They're the Knitter's Pride Dreamz Interchangeable Circular set, and I absolutely adore them! It comes with nine pairs of needles and four different cables that you can attach to all of the needles.

The thing that makes them really great is the key used to tighten them. The yarn slides off smoothly, and you can hardly tell the cables are removable. If you're looking for a set of circulars, I highly recommend this one!

So there you have it, my little knitting adventures. Hopefully I'll be sharing some finished projects before the end of the year! What do you have on your needles?

On Hooks and Needles (Part 1)

2012-01-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

As many of us are still thinking of New Year's resolutions, the thing that keeps coming to my mind is my chronic yarn addiction. I almost always have more than one project going at a time, and am often guilty of not finishing them, or at least taking a very long time to do so. So, as kind of a New Year's confessional, I thought I'd share my collection of barely started, abandoned, and miraculously recently finished (or almost finished) crochet and knitting projects. There's quite a handful, so I'm breaking it up into two posts. Today I'll share my crochet undertakings:

I had all intentions of finishing this project, honest. It was going to be a pillow cover for for Eleanor's birthday back in September. The pattern is from Cute Crochet for Tiny Tots. I even succeeded in crocheting a robe for Eleanor from the same book about this time last year.

But I didn't start it early enough. I ended up on a crazy crochet marathon right before her birthday and in the process ended up with extreme wrist and elbow pain which lasted on and off for almost two months (beware how you hold tiny hooks!). Needless to say, it still isn't done...

And here's a ripple stitch blanket I started in December...2009. Ever since stumbling across the blog Attic 24, I've been head over heels for her neat ripple pattern. The only excuse I have for this one is that I don't work on it regularly enough. I always have something else going, and this one gets pushed aside. I have daydreams of snuggling under it's ripple-y goodness one day...

And in the next exhibit you'll see a very short baby legwarmer from a pattern in Linda Permann's most recent book, Little Crochet. After stitching along for a few inches I realized I was screwing it up in the back, and then I wasn't too sure I loved how the colors were turning out, so, yeah, another orphaned project...(although I'm a huge fan of Linda's and it's a fantastic book!)...

Now what do we have here? A finished hat, por moi? Well, almost finished. I just have to weave in the ends. I've been obsessed with making myself a hat (all I have is an old black one with a giant bobble on top). I had a little bit of yarn leftover from my cowl and thought I'd make one from that. I found this pattern and eagerly started it, only to find I didn't have enough yarn. And when I went back to the yarn store for more, of course they didn't have any. So I picked out a different color and pattern, went back for more yarn again, and finally finished it up the other night! Now if only it actually felt like winter here in spring-like San Antonio...

And the pièce de résistance is this sweet little coin purse I whipped up all by my self! Okay, I did find some tips here, but I pretty much made it up as I went.

It's not perfect, and I would definitely tweak it if I had to make it over, but I think it's cute. I sewed in a little lining and just need to attach the clasp top. I would love to work more on designing my own patterns, and this was a fun little first-step in that direction.

So there you have it, a personal confession of my all-over-the-place crochet habit. Stay tuned for part two on knitting.

How about you? Are you loyal to each project from start to finish, or do you have others hiding in dark corners? What motivates you to finish your own craft projects?

When Mama's Not Looking

2012-01-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

As any of you who have little ones know, kids can get into quite a bit of mischief when you're not looking. This week my four-year-old son, Liam, decided to cut my three-year-old Eleanor's hair. Not a full haircut, but just enough...

...to make chopping of the rest inevitable. I was washing the dishes before dinner when it happened. My oldest son came in saying This is unbe-LIEV-able. Usually I probably would have shouted at him (Liam is the biggest rascal of the bunch), but there really wasn't a point. The hair wasn't going back on.

So, the scissors were taken away and he had a talking-to. It felt good not losing control over something that we'll probably laugh at in years to come. Sometimes it's good to let life just roll off your shoulders. And fortunately Eleanor wasn't the least bit bothered; she was actually excited about cutting her hair short.

So short it became. I left the dishes, started a hands-off meal in the oven, did some online hair cutting research, and busted out with the hair scissors (which were kept safely out of reach).

And we made it (mostly) peacefully through the day. When life hands you a chunk of your kid's hair, just make a cute little bob. She does look pretty cute, though.

How have you survived your own near-disasters in parenting? Any other hair cutting tales out there?

Maker Mama's Best of 2011

2011-12-31T05:30:00.000-08:00

We start the New Year off tomorrow--are you ready? I can't wait to see what this year brings. And thanks to all of you for being such awesome readers! I love reading all your great comments and hearing about the creative things you're up to. I thought I'd recap some of my favorite and most popular posts of 2011:

1. Mason Jar Roundup A collection of different ways to use old Mason jars. For some reason this is my second highest ranking post--I guess you guys have a lot of jars, too, huh?

2. Crocheted Girl's Robe My very first crocheted garment--very proud of this one, and it still fits (Eleanor, not me)!

3. Lazy Hem How-To This one ranks number one on Maker Mama. Part of the Mend Along series.

4. Spring Greening Series A big undertaking, but learned a lot and shared some fun giveaways!

5. Birthday Boy Pajamas Here I shared my first pair of kids' pjs. I probably picked out the craziest pattern to work with, but they turned out (unfortunately they don't still fit).

6. Resale Over Retail A fun look at some of my favorite thrifty finds, and four reasons why you should get thrifty, too.

7. Thrift Store Party Plates Another thrifty find to aid in greener living--no more paper plate parties!

8. Last-Chance Beach Trip A simple, fun family trip.

9. Dressmaking Debut After all my years of sewing, I finally made a dress for myself!

10. Princess Hat Tutorial A fun little tutorial for Halloween.

11. Catherine Stitch Cowl My favorite crochet project of the year.

12. Paper Ball Ornament Tutorial My all-time favorite Christmas ornament, and a reader favorite, too!

It brings me peace to look back and see how fruitful life truly is. I've had a great time sharing with all of you this year and hope to have as much fun in 2012. What are your favorite memories of 2011? Any posts that you enjoyed the most? Enjoy the New Year everyone!

Christmas

2011-12-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

I've settled into a bit of a slow-down mode after preparing for all the merry-making at our house. Hope you all had a blessed Christmas with family and loved ones, and are taking time for peace and reflection as we enter into the gift of another year. Merry Christmas!

A Very Crafty Christmas

2011-12-20T22:13:00.000-08:00

This past week has been filled with crafting with friends, in secret, and into the wee hours of the night. It's been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun putting so much meaning into our family celebrations this year.

The kids are loving making gifts for each other and have even started making their own little gifts for us to open. We found some wonderful kid-friendly gifts they could make in Joel Henriques' Made to Play and Todd Oldham's Kid Made Modern, two must-have craft books. I've also fallen in love with these cinnamon-applesauce ornaments (no, they're not edible!) I found on Pinterest.

And I'm sure I'll be busy as a bee right up to the last minute finishing Christmas pjs, baking cookies, and working on all the other little odds and ends that come along with it all. And I can't wait to show you the hoard of used books I found for the kids (they're already wrapped and under the tree)!

Hopefully we'll be keeping cozy at home the rest of the week (and staying away from the shopping crowds!). What are you up to these last few days before Christmas?

Silent Night

2011-12-15T19:23:00.000-08:00

Trying to remember to breathe today (and go to bed earlier). The dishes are piled up in the sink, there are gifts to be wrapped, mailed, made, and bought, not to mention the two baskets of laundry that need folding (and the Christmas cards that need addressing!).

For the moment, I'm giving my self permission to take a little breather before I fizzle out completely. It may be the whole night, or just thirty minutes, but I'm going to take some time to think about where I am in the life flying by all around me. How do you cope with all the hustle and bustle during the holidays?

Paper Ball Ornament Tutorial

2011-12-12T21:41:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite Christmas tree ornaments are a set of paper balls I learned how to make a few years back. They're free and easy to make with simple supplies, and would be perfect for your own decor or even as a little gift. I got the itch to make some more today, so I thought I'd make up a little tutorial so you can make some, too.

The main supplies you'll need are some paper and a cutting tool. I picked out some 12 x 12 scrapbook paper I already had on hand, and used my Fiskars circle punch to make things easy. You can use any paper you have around, but make sure it's about card stock weight, otherwise it won't keep it's shape well. Likewise, if you don't have a circle cutting tool, you can trace something circular and cut them by hand (double the paper up so it'll go faster).

Start by cutting out 21 circles. I cut out 10 of each color, plus an extra to use as a template.

To create your template and start folding your circles follow these steps:

(1) Lay out your extra circle piece. (2) Fold it in half. (3) Fold it in half again to make an X in your circle. (4) Fold a small section into the middle. (5) Fold an equal-sized section into the middle, overlapping the first section. (6) Fold the third section over the others, creating a triangle (try to keep the sections as equal as possible). (7) Cut away the flaps leaving your equilateral triangle as the template. (8) Place the template on top of a new circle and fold flaps along the lines. (9) Remove the template and you have the basic piece that will make up your ornament.

Now fold the rest until you have twenty folded triangle-circles (the template makes it go by pretty fast).

Next, bust out your craft glue of choice. I went for the hot glue gun for the sake of time. I've used white glue on previous ones and had to paperclip the flaps together to ensure they stay together, and it took much longer to dry.

Take 10 of your pieces and line them up in a row, alternating the direction they're pointing. (You don't have to do this, but it helps to keep track when you glue them together--and yes, this picture only shows 9, oops!)

Here's what they should look like after gluing. This will be the middle section of your ornament.

Next, glue the first and last pieces together.

You should have five flaps facing out on both the top and bottom.

Take your 10 remaining pieces and lay them out for the top and bottom of the ornament. This time you want them all pointing toward the center, creating a circular shape.

After you glue the flaps together, you'll have two domed pieces with five flaps on the bottom of each.

Glue the top and bottom pieces together along the flaps (I glued and pressed the flaps together one at a time).

Here's what the inside looks like without the top.

And here you're all finished! Doesn't it look great?

To hang it on the Christmas tree, just punch a whole in the top and string some yarn through.

You could also use old Christmas cards...

...and make them in different sizes. I've also made them with photos. They look great on display or in a bowl or vase; I'm even thinking of making a garland for the fireplace.

But I'll just hang this one on the tree for now.

Advent Update

2011-12-12T09:18:00.000-08:00

We're halfway through Advent now, and here's a look back at what we did during week two:

We hung the kids' stockings up and put out some cookies and carrots for St. Nicholas day. Traditionally children put out their shoes, but we decided to do the stockings to help separate Santa from Christmas this year. It's definitely been a bit of a challenge with Santa so entwined with Christmas in our culture (I wonder how that came to be, exactly).

Rather than taking Santa out of the picture entirely, we've been focusing on who the real "Santa" was. I found this great book about the real St. Nicholas at my local Catholic bookstore. There are many traditional stories about St. Nick, most focused on his love for children and the poor. This book tells of Nicholas helping three poor girls by putting gold coins in their stockings hanging to dry on the fireplace.

We read the story over hot chocolate before school that morning (and have been enjoying lots of hot chocolate since).

We also went to our local nursery to pick out a tree. To make room for it, we took our t.v. out of the family room for the month. We've been debating whether we should get rid of it altogether, and figured that Advent and Christmas would be a good time to make that sacrifice as a family. As a compromise, we went ahead and let the kids put all the ornaments on the tree, but we're still waiting until Christmas to turn the lights on and add the star.

I used some of the tree clippings and some berries from our garden to make a little something for the front door.

We've also been working away on our Advent ornaments from the Truth in the Tinsel ebook. It's been a fun tradition to do with the kids each day.

And we've been working on our handmade gifts. I found the inspiration for the monogrammed mugs over at Soule Mama, and you can find instructions on how to make your own on Design Mom.

And now we're onto the third week of Advent! How are you observing Advent this year? Anyone starting any new traditions?

Drab to Fab Photo Tutorial

2011-12-05T19:46:00.000-08:00

As I promised in my DIY Family Photo Shoot post, I've created another little tutorial on editing. To show you that you don't have to be a pro with fancy programs, I've made a step-by-step video demonstrating just how quickly you can get great results--check it out before you choose your Christmas card photo!

I do much of my photo editing online through the free website, Picnik, and I think you'll love it just as much as I do. This is my first video-tutorial, and I would love your feedback! Enjoy:

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So, are you ready to go fab up your own photos now? Have fun--I'd love to hear how they turn out!

Advent Update

2011-12-04T18:53:00.000-08:00

Lighting the Advent wreath is one of our favorite traditions. During dinner each night we dim the lights, say some prayers, and sing the refrain to O Come, O Come Emmanuel while lighting the candles.

The kids are mesmerized by the candle flames and there's always a debate over who gets to blow the candle out. Luckily it gets easier as we light more candles each week. Regardless of the quarrels, it's a blessing to see the wonder in their eyes--remember what that was like as a child?

We've been trying something new this Advent, too. Instead of focusing on being good for Santa so they can get presents, we're helping the kids to focus on showing God's love to others. When we catch them showing love, or being good, we let them add a piece of hay (or yarn) to an empty manger in hopes of filling it up for baby Jesus before Christmas. Sometimes it turns into making things up to be caught doing, but overall, I think the kids are getting the message. And they have been earning their hay, this was just taken the first day we started.

We've also been working on our ornaments for the Advent activities from Truth in the Tinsel, the faith-based Advent ebook I told you about. It's a bit of a dash gathering up the supplies each day, but it's been a fun way to teach the kids the story of Christ's birth. The candle stands for Christ as the Light of the world, the crown for Christ as King of kings, the funny man is Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, and the angel is Gabriel who spoke to Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph.

We're adding them to our little tree and the kids look forward to the mini lesson and craft each day. It takes about 15 minutes and has been a lot of fun. There's still time for you to start, too! You can check out a preview page of the ebook, and you can download your own copy here. If your looking for a simple way to teach your kids the true meaning of Christmas, I highly recommend it!

What are your family's favorite Advent traditions? How else do you anticipate Christmas?

DIY Family Photo Shoot

2011-12-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

If you're like me, you haven't had any family portraits taken recently, and now that the holidays are here your favorite photographer is all booked up and you really wanted a great picture to use for your Christmas card, but you're not desperate enough to navigate your way to the mall portrait studio. Sound familiar? Well, if you find yourself in this predicament, don't sweat because I'm here to help!

If you're a DIYer at heart, have a camera, and can round up the family for thirty minutes in the backyard (or a room with natural lighting) then you're all set. Here's what you need to do...

Set up a back drop. We just used a natural colored bed sheet with a thicker blanket behind to block the sun from shining through. You can definitely choose something more exciting. I probably would've used the bright blue blanket if it had been longer. We just hung the sheet from the top of our deck with rocks to hold it down. You could also try duct tape on an outer wall, or hook up a funky shower curtain on some nails.

Next you'll need a tripod. If you don't have one, no worries, just find something tall and sturdy you can set the camera on while you get the shot.

Now pick out some props to liven things up a little. We kept it simple with these bright old school chairs we bought a while back. You can definitely get creative here, and there are tons of portrait ideas online, especially on Pinterest (anyone else addicted?).

Round everyone up and get started! Take some test shots first (like this one) to make sure your camera's where you want it. If not, adjust the zoom, etc. and your tripod/sturdy tall thing before you dash over for the timer.

And you're finally ready for some great family photos! Set the timer, shout at everybody to smile, run and sit in place, and pray that it comes out. Can you believe we actually got this one on the first try? It's pretty hard getting everyone to look at the camera at the same time (especially with six people) so you'll likely have to try a few times.

We took a few more just to have fun. My husband has a great sense of humor, doesn't he?

Be sure to take some horizontal ones too (if you're using your tripod)...

...you can always crop them down.

And here's our awkward family photo of the bunch. Poor Amelia, it looks like we don't like her!

That's better!

After getting photos of everyone together, be sure to get group shots. Here are our little angels, and a little imp named Liam.

Then some girly shots. Amelia was actually saying cheese. Adorable.

And daddy with our monkeys.

And some of mommy and daddy, too!

Stay tuned for how I edit my photos to take them from drab (like this one) to fab (the previous one).

Happy family picture taking everyone! I'd love to see how yours turn out, stop by and share yours in the Maker Mama Flickr group!

Advent Beginnings

2011-12-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

Advent has officially begun--the Church started observing it this past Sunday and many people are starting the countdown today, December 1st. Either way, we're focusing on making our countdown to Christmas more meaningful this year, so yesterday I began by sprinkling just a few Christmas items around the house. The Little People Nativity set is one of our favorites. The kids love playing with it and it's a great reminder of our faith--we also are keeping baby Jesus put away until Christmas in anticipation (and the three kings for the Epiphany). It seems that Mr. Turtle may have taken his place until then.

We were a couple days behind on the Advent wreath after being sick, but the kids were thrilled to eat by candlelight last night. We probably won't eat by candlelight every night, but it's a great example of Christ's light coming into the world, each week adding another candle.

I've also set up our little Willow Tree nativity set (with Mary who's holding Jesus waiting 'til Christmas, too).

And lastly, I found this cute idea for an Advent calendar from my friend Vanessa over at Silly Eagle Books. She gives detailed instructions on making one with contact paper and cutouts from the great little Advent activity ebook, Truth in the Tinsel.

I downloaded Truth in the Tinsel and love it. Amanda White, of Impress Your Kids does an excellent job at helping you teach the true meaning of Christmas to your little ones with a Bible verse reading, Advent clue, and ornament activity each day. Think all that seems a little much to do each day from now to Christmas? She also breaks the days up into smaller chunks like the basics of the Christmas story or Bible characters. So you can go as in-depth or simplify as much as you want.

With a full list of materials and instructions with photo examples, I'm being ambitious and am going to attempt them all (I'm sure to be ripping my hair out at some point). I think it'll be a great activity to do with the kids. And although I'm not quite sure how all the logistics are going to work out, we're going to have a go at it. Today's clue is a candle and we'll make our ornament after school--wish me luck--and buy your copy of Truth in the Tinsel here!

Thankful

2011-11-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving weekend started off much like this, optimistic and energetic. And it was a great weekend, too, Thanksgiving dinner with my family in town (and leftovers to take home), and then out of town to visit much-missed relatives. But what comes up, must come down, of course.

Okay, this is just Eleanor asleep on the drive back home. Things really came crashing down when everyone started getting sick the next day, and stayed sick for three days. Yeah, I'll spare you any pictures of that (there aren't any, anyway). The real giving of thanks came when my grandparents came to the rescue when I was home alone with four kids and was bedridden with fever.

Time and again family and friends have come to our aid during times of need, whether it's sickness, new life, or just lending a shoulder to cry on, our village, as I like to think of it, has been the scaffold holding up our growing family. Thank you, to all of you, no matter how often or little we see one another, you have all been a tremendous support to us.

Here are some of the better moments of our Thanksgiving weekend:

Brotherly bonding over video games.

Lots of yummy food. Especially pie.

Lots of loud little ones (that's Amelia).

Baptizing.

And the gathering of villages.

Who's in your village? Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Anticipating Christmas

2011-11-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is just a day away (are you ready?) and the Christmas season officially begins with Black Friday, right? Wrong. You know that song, The Twelve Days of Christmas? Well, the first day starts with Christmas Day. So the season that retailers call Christmas is more traditionally known as Advent, the anticipation of the birth of Jesus.

Each year I have high hopes of imbuing our holiday celebrations with meaning and helping our kids to better understand our faith (we're Catholic). But it can be extremely hard when you're competing with Santa Claus on every corner and the mainstream idea that it's really about buying stuff. We observe Advent every year, lighting the candle of the week each night on our wreath, but this year I hope to do a little more to help our kids experience the anticipation of Christ rather than opening a bunch of presents. Here are some of the ways I hope to accomplish that:

Decorating slowly. I'm all for Christmas decorations. I love the smell of a real pine tree, the lights, and hanging cute wreaths. But once upon a time, people didn't decorate until Christmas. Nowadays everything's up before Thanksgiving and down before New Year's. Traditionally the Christmas season runs until the Epiphany (about eleven days after Christmas). So we'll buy our tree sometime towards the beginning of December, and decorate it a little each week, but I think we'll save the lights until Christmas day itself, as a visual reminder of what we're really celebrating.

St. Nicholas rather than Santa Claus. Whether you believe in saints or not, the secular Santa Claus was based on an historical person. We've celebrated St. Nicholas day in past years (the kids leave their shoes out with a carrot or apple for his donkey), but have always put out stockings on Christmas Eve as well. This year, I think we'll stick with St. Nicholas day (December 6) and forgo Santa Claus. Not that we've ever been real adamant about telling or not telling the kids that Santa is real, but we've definitely given mixed messages about our values. We can still celebrate the story of St. Nick while focusing less on making our gimme-gimme lists for Santa. The St. Nicholas Center is a great website for more ideas about celebrating St. Nicholas day with your kids.

Making handmade gifts. Most of the time I'll come up with some sort of crafty gift to make with the kids for our extended family, but this year we're planning to make gifts for each other. The kids are already excited about planning what they want to make each other (with a little guidance and help from mom and dad of course). And it will help them focus more on giving while also toning down the commercialism of Christmas.

Limiting Christmas commercials. In line with making gifts, I'm also pitching out the giant pile of toy ads jumping out of our newspaper and mailbox (or even the one hanging on our front door today!). I've noticed that when the older ones were younger, they were happy and content to open only one or two gifts during birthdays and Christmas. But we insist on getting them tons of stuff and asking them to list off the things they want--of course they're going to want more if we tell them to! Save yourself the trouble and protect their eyes and hearts from all the junk the world tells us we have to have!

Bake a birthday cake. We are celebrating one important birthday after all. We haven't done this before, but I couldn't think of a better way to show children who we're really celebrating on the big day. And better yet, maybe even thinking of a gift or two we can give Jesus--nothing store bought, of course.

What about you? How do you make the holidays meaningful in your home?

Movember

2011-11-13T21:42:00.000-08:00

We had our first family art night about a week ago, and I decided to tackle my husband's not-so-newly grown mustache. I picked up some pastels and had at it, faced my fears straight on. I'm dying for that stache to disappear, but I decided to try and embrace it (at least for art night).

It all began so innocently. After shaving his beard for the fire department, my husband always joked about growing out a mustache. Well, he had a two-week vacation back in September, and the stache finally made it's appearance. It started off small...and now, it's a giant caterpillar (this post was husband approved by the way). He insists on growing it out at least through Movember, I doubt it'll be leaving anytime soon...here are some photos of the real thing.

The first is a pre-stache shot for comparison. I'm definitely a no-stache fan (isn't he handsome without one?). The middle reminds me a little of Wesley from The Princess Bride, but the last one is definitely mug-shot worthy. Wouldn't it drive you nuts?? Of course he says he gets lots of compliments but it's mostly from the other guys at the fire station, so it doesn't count!

In addition to my portrait Chris decided to do a little family portrait. I thought it was sweet until I saw him adding the mustaches. Yeah, I think it's probably gonna be around for a while. Anyone else suffering through Movember with me?

The Thrifted Wardrobe

2011-11-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

I very rarely by new clothes for myself. Number one, they're expensive, and number two, it promotes textile waste. And I'm not a super fashion saavy mama, anyway, so I have my own eclectic style. I took a little trip to Goodwill yesterday in search for some fall clothes and found some cute pieces, like the little blue blazer above. I think it might need a little taking in, but I'm up for the challenge, and I couldn't resist the great color or the $5 price tag.

I also grabbed a leather belt by Calvin Klein for $1.50 and a pair of Gap jeans for $9.99 (why don't they just say $10?). I'm thinking of altering the jeans into skinny jeans so I can wear them with my boots; we'll see if that happens.

I also found this little gray knitted dress. Cute and cozy for $6.

And the steal of the day turned out to be this little blue and pink eyelet dress by Trina Turk for $6. I looked up the designer and turns out her dresses usually range from $200 to $300! I have no idea how much this one originally was, but it fits like a glove and I'm in love!

So for about $30 I found some fun new pieces to add to my closet! Any favorite thrift-store finds lately?

By the way, did you know that many thrift stores participate in textile recycling programs? Make sure you donate instead of throwing away!