It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to write here – I’ve found myself very much in a place of purposeful seclusion lately. After living publicly online for so many years, all I want is privacy these days.

I sure got it last week – we spent 7 days up in heaven Michigan in a rented home in Twin Lake. It’s the second time we’ve been up there. And it was the first time I faced the end of a vacation and truly wanted to stay another week. I’m usually ready for my own bed, but not this time.

This was the dock in our backyard. The kids pulled fish out of the water left and right. Every night was a gorgeous sunset. Like I said – heaven!

A few weeks ago I put up a rather popular post on pincushion patterns – I guess that the title of “10 Kick Ass Pincushion Patterns” really threw people off. Whoddathunk that you could get away with putting “Kick Ass” and “Pincushion” into the same sentence?!

Well, get ready for even more pincushion kickassness, because my friends Kim and Kris (who used to write for me on CraftBoom! when I owned Sparkplugging) have just launched a fantastic new web show called The DIY Dish. Check out their very first episode with a super-adorable double layer cake pincushion project – easy enough to complete in less than an hour!

They are also giving away a Janome embroidery sewing machine if you enter before the end of March – go, go GO!!

A group of friends and I started a blog carnival recently to support each other and additional creative bloggers out there. This week the theme was supposed to be cooking with kids – but instead the submissions were all over the board.

I think spring fever does that to folks.

So here’s a good roundup of family living links – enjoy!
(And feel free to submit your own links the next time around – nothing’s better than link love!)

Creative Cooking and Crafting

Jen presents Yummy Banana Bread posted at Projects for Preschoolers, saying, “a quick and tasty treat the kids will love to help prepare and munch on all day long”

Heather presents Gluten-Free Easter Candy List posted at Celiac Family.

Heather Mann presents Make Photo Pencils posted at Dollar Store Crafts, saying, “Such a great idea for a handmade birthday gift: personalize pencils with a child’s photo.”

Heather presents Make Your Own Snack Mix posted at Celiac Family, saying, “Kids celebrate 100th day of school by making their own snack mix: 10 pieces of 10 different food items.”

Heather Mann presents 9 Photography Tips for Crafters posted at Croq Zine – The Blog, saying, “Improve your blog photos with a few simple photography tips.”

Linette G. presents Sweet Pea Cupcake Toppers and Scrapbook Pages posted at The Kid’s Birthday Fun Review, saying, “A wonderful cupcake topper and scrapbook page idea if you have a little sweet pea in your life.”

Family Humor

Ann Goebel presents Mr. Clean posted at The Chronicles of a Wife.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Musical Accord (Spoof Contract) posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Heather Mann presents Lady Liberty Likes a Good Laugh posted at CraftFail, saying, “What happens when a Statue of Liberty Chia Pet grows horribly, horribly wrong?”

Pamela Jorrick presents Evil Chickens posted at Blah, Blah, Blog.

Banquet Manager presents Firefighters Dig Out Snowed-in Bride on Wedding Day posted at So You Want To Be a Banquet Manager….

Family Freebies

Randa Clay presents Free Audio Stories posted at Free Stuff 4 Kids, saying, “The kids can either listen to this growing collection of free audio stories on the computer, or they can be downloaded to add to an mp3 player.”

Debra Jacobson presents How To Be Frugal: Saving Money on Eating Out posted at All Things Frugal, saying, “In lean economic times, eating at restaurants is generally avoided. However, there are ways to eat out without breaking the bank.”

Family Living Tips

TaraG presents Why We Chose Cloth Diapers, Part 1 posted at Go Green Street.

Heather Mann presents Reducing Instead of Reusing & Recycling posted at Croq Zine – The Blog, saying, “Recycling has become second nature to us, but are we forgetting about Reducing?”

Fred Lee presents Parenting: Tips for Surviving the Day posted at Parenting Squad.

Dan presents Adventure Guides is Just Right for This Dad posted at My Dad Blog, saying, “Ever hear of Adventure Guides? Neither did I until a neighbor introduced me to it. It’s a great program run through our YMCA for Dads and their sons or daughters to explore and spend time together on a monthly basis in a group setting. My son loves it so far.”

OurBlogs presents First Boyfriend or First Girlfriend posted at A Guide to Raising Great Kids.

Amy Porter presents Women Who Inspire: Erma Bombeck posted at Equinaut.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of all things family using our carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

I’d like to start this post by saying I luv Anthropologie. And then I’d feel a little stupid. Of course I do. Who doesn’t?! DUH.

But what I love even more about Anthropologie is the design behind their products. They either have the most talented design staff on the planet, or they have buyers with the most impeccable taste on the planet. Probably a combo of the two.

Over the last year or so, I’ve come across some truly resourceful and amazing bloggers who have successfully knocked off the “Anthro Look”. These are true DIY Anthropologie inspired project ideas – here are 10 of my faves!

Anthropologie Plastic Bottle Flowers on Oh So Happy Together

(And more from Anthropologies’s own Flickr Group!)

Vintage Inspired Mirrors on Mitzi’s Collectibles

Tuxedo Scarf on Crafty Habit

Easy Fabric Watch on Christina Close

DIY Custom Sized Ruffle Skirt Pattern on Communing with Fabric

Embellished T-Shirts on Fine Craft Guild

Knit Scarf Pattern from Knitlit

Ribbon Bracelet on Craftig

No Sew Patchwork Pillow on Crafter Hours

Beaded Necklace on Croqzine

Fabric Roses Headband on Rae Gun Ramblings

What? That was 11 things, not 10? Forgive me. I get carried away. (Either that or I can’t count.)

I didn’t even know who Bjorn Wiinblad was until about a week or two ago. In my never ending hunt for vintage-tastic stuff, I came across some of his work. And then I went and found more. And then I fell in love.

And then I was sad. Bjorn Wiinblad died in 2006. He was one of Denmark’s most famous and beloved artists of all time, working from the ’50’s through his death on paintings, sculpture, pottery, posters, illustrations, glassware – he’s even immortalized on a Danish postage stamp. His work was incredibly whimsical, yet contemporary and classic. It was flowery without being obnoxious. And he was so ahead of his time. His work looks just as stunning today as it did 60 years ago. You might see some similarity with Kaj Franck’s work, the two were both prominent designers during the same era.

The worst part about his work is that most of it isn’t cheap. I’ve seen hard to find sculptures on Ebay for $20K. Even his mass-produced vases and decorative plates can go for $75-$300. I’m saving my pennies to start a collection of Bjorn Wiinblad pieces. I found some of his pottery on Etsy for only $30, because the seller didn’t know they were Wiinblad-made. Lucky me.

Anyway, the most surprising thing to me about his work is that it made me want to draw again. I’ve always been into art, but I haven’t actually done original artwork in over 10 years. But I wanted more Bjorn Wiinblad art so much that I decided to draw something myself. And if he were alive today, I wondered what he would do, faced with a blank canvas and an extra hour of time.

Totally weird.

So yeah, my photoblog just turned into an art and photoblog, I guess. I don’t know if I will continue to do more illustrations, but I must say this was insanely satisfying. Even if it was a complete knock-off of someone else’s style.

Thank you, Mr. Wiinblad.

We interrupt our current programming for a gushing mom moment.

My husband and I are horribly right brained. We’re always late. Can’t remember much. House eternally messy. But with these curses comes amazing creativity. And as if we didn’t already know – this picture makes it obvious that our daughter inherited it from both sides.

All of our kids are very creative – but what makes this especially awesome is that it was drawn with no input or help at all from anyone – by my daughter who is 7. SEVEN! If I drew like this at that age my work would be hanging in the Art Institute by now.

I made very simple new years resolutions this year. 1 – be better at bookkeeping – check. 2 – get more family time – double check. That’s it.

Just a few years ago, these goals would not have seemed ‘big’ enough for me. But I’ve found that I totally underestimated just how amazing life can be when I make things less complicated. You know – the changes that seem so little that they can’t possibly make a big difference – until you actually do them. And then you feel a little silly and foolish, wondering why you didn’t do this thing long ago.

My resolution to get more family time started to form last December. I was sitting at the kitchen table and an old episode of the iconic ’70’s sitcom All in the Family came on. I’m hearing that opening song and I’m physically still in my kitchen, but in my mind, suddenly I was 7 years old again. I felt like I was sitting in my grandparent’s family room, smelling pipe tobacco and Downy and pot roast cooking in the kitchen. I could hear my grandpa laughing at Archie Bunker, sometimes for all the wrong reasons. I imagined my grandma worrying about not having enough food for us (a trait my mother and I have unfortunately inherited from her). Every Tuesday we went to my grandparent’s house for dinner – and we always watched All in the Family together.

Suddenly I was in tears. Missing my grandparents all over again, even though they have been gone for a very long time. Missing the time my brother and I got with just our mom, because Tuesday was Kiawanis night for my dad. And definitely missing my grandmother’s pot roast recipe, which I have always imitated but never duplicated. I decided right then and there that I wanted to see my own parents more often. I wanted to make more memories like this one. This memory that swept me 30+ years back in time and made me feel loved, happy, and very full of pot roast.

Enter the 2010 monthly Piersall family dinners.

It’s perfect, because my husband loves to cook and is always looking for an excuse to buy overpriced prime rib. It’s perfect, because my sister in law and I adore each other but never find a way to make time to see each other as much as we want to. And it’s perfect, because it’s only once a month and the two most important rules are:

Houses need not be clean and food must be easy to make

It’s perfect because now we get to celebrate the month’s birthdays on our family dinner nights. It’s perfect because I really love hanging out with my parents. It’s perfect, because my kids are always bugging me to see their cousins. And it’s perfect because last time we were all laughing together watching TV while waiting for dinner to be ready – just like we did when I was 7.

And most of all, it’s perfect because when my kids and niece and nephew are all grown up, they will have so many family dinner memories that their heads and hearts will still be stuffed full of love and happiness.

I’m not sure that Archie Bunker intended it this way, but even that hard old jackass might have liked to know he’s done some good.

I’m finding that the more time I spend on Ebay finding incredible vintage stuff, the more questions I have. Who made it? What’s the company history? Is this really collectible? How much is this thing really worth? Two companies that I am starting to get to know are Arabia Finland and Berggren Originals. I don’t know that their stuff is really all that valuable – more that their stuff is freaking beautiful and I want to surround myself with these pieces.

This bowl is from the 1960’s, produced by Arabia Finel and designed by Kaj Franck, a famous mid-century modern Finnish designer. This particular enamelware mushroom bowl is fairly easily found on Ebay or Etsy – but finding some of his more obscure works is proving a lot more difficult – and costly. I’ve seen a very simple enamel teapot designed by him priced at over $300 – one that I’m not even that impressed with. But this bowl? I’m in luv. And it was less than $25.

I’ll feature more of Kaj Franck’s designs as I am able to acquire them – and I’m totally on the hunt. Maybe I’ll have some luck at the Kane Country Flea Market this weekend.

I have always been a thrift store junkie. Not because I’m cheap (well, I am, actually) but because I have always been enamored with beautiful vintage stuff. I have some gorgeous pieces from my grandparents, but lately I’ve found myself on an enamelware kick. And mid century modern Scandinavian design. And turquoise and red. I saw this European country kitchen and was instantly infatuated. More like obsessed. I want that kitchen. Bad.

I will be vicariously living my European country kitchen life through Ebay for now, though. I found this rosemaled kettle along with a few other pieces – they make me smile a lot.

Ugh. Please bear with me on this. I haven’t written an intensely personal blog post in a really long time – I’m finding I’m awfully rusty. Indeed it’s taken me a week three weeks to get this so that I am ready to publish it.

I’m not one to do public suffering. I admire blogging women who can reach out to their communities in a time of need. Me? I go into cocoon mode. So last year, I fell off the face of the earth. I’ve been rather tight lipped about what I went through, because it’s really not my style to talk about stuff unless I can put a positive spin on things. It’s taken me almost a full year to be able to do so. So finally – here’s what happened to eMom in 2009.

A Disintegration of Life as I Had Known It

During an incredibly horrible and stressful time in March/April of last year (we won’t go into that part), I started having health issues. I’ve never really been sick beyond the flu, and I knew this was different. I couldn’t get out of bed most days. I was starving all the time. My blood sugar was whacked. My usual forgetfulness started getting almost scary. I had insomnia and heart palpitations. It all came on gradually, so it took me a while to go to the doctor.  But I really didn’t think it was that big of a deal. After all, I’d been healthy all my life, you know?

Within only a few days, I was getting a very-unexpected cancer biopsy. And suddenly life as I had known it disintegrated before my eyes. I questioned my purpose in life and God. I dropped everything. I saw images in my head of my children, husband and parents mourning me, which was far more traumatic than thinking about dying.

I crumbled to pieces.

Before I go further, NO, I don’t have cancer. It’s a thyroid problem. But for one week in April of last year, the possibility of death loomed before me like nothing I could ever possibly describe.

2009 was my year in Hell. Even though up until that point I had lived a life of “no regrets”, suddenly I had plenty to go around. There were the not-so-surprising regrets of working too much, letting assholes rent headspace, and yelling too much at my kids. I regretted not taking care of myself as well as I did everyone else. And I regretted giving so much that there was nothing left for me.

2009 also showed me that when faced with one’s own mortality, no matter how briefly, one can never go back to living life the same way again.

The Silver Lining of 2009

My 2010 resolutions lie in stark contrast to my past, which used to focus on PR, PR, and a little more PR. I really thought that “fame” would bring me the success I craved. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

This year I have vowed more family time, friend time and more me time. And getting more organized so that I can have even more family time, friend time and me time. Life is now about treasuring the time I have on this planet and being grateful for every second of it. So far, 2010 has been the happiest, most successful and most satisfying year of my entire life. Every day I wake up grateful – I seriously never had that before.

Which brings me full circle to the point of this post.

2010 is also about finding a way back out of my cocoon to share what I love with the people I love – and that includes the real life friends and online community of people I truly, deeply appreciate. I’ve never been good at coming out of cocoon mode, so this will probably be a messy work in progress (kind of like the rest of my life). I need to get back to doing what I have always done best – sharing my knowledge, helping other entrepreneurs, and hopefully inspiring a little bit of greatness along the way. I may not be running full steam again, but I am indeed back on my feet.

There are a handful of people who have gently nudged me along (or hit me in the head with a brick) who deserve a shout out right now. Some I have known for many years. Some I met only recently and they provoked me to think bigger. Some don’t even know who the hell I am. These people (probably without realizing it) have played a big role with helping me to get back on my feet again.

They were there even though I blew them off.

They reminded me that blogging is about community and giving.

They inspired me by showing up in life and being truly, deeply awesome.

They took care of things I couldn’t take care of.

And they offered help when I was too stubborn to ask for it.

And they reminded me that while we are on this earth, it is our obligation to shine, even when we feel surrounded in darkness.

Char Polanosky, Liz Strauss, Danielle Smith, Steve Johnson, Lucretia Pruitt, Ted Murphy, Aliza Sherman, Patrick O’Keefe, Beth Rosen, Susan Payton, Martin Neumann, Brandi Kajino, Michelle Lamar, Kelly McCausey, Heather Mann, Rachel, Dorothy Stahlnecker, Randa Clay, Jen Goode, Shannon Weidemann, Marie LeBaron, Allison Czarnecki, Lindsay Maines, Katja Presnal, Megan Jordan, Erika Jurney, Lisa Lam, Derek Semmler, Sommer Poquette, Duong Sheahan, Sugar Jones, Jessica Smith, Jenn Fowler, Scott Stratten, Amber Tardiff, Lorna Brewer, Steve Sipress, Barbara Jones, Kevin Carroll, Alli Worthington, Amy Locurto, Kim Janocko, Lisa Marie Mary, Aruni Gunasegaram, Marla Tabaka, Renee Ross, Karen Putz, Janice Croze, Susan Carraretto, Jill Koenig, Jyl Pattee, Kenny Tomlin, Kristin King, Deb Ng, Lori Falcon, Missy Ward, Rick Calvert, Samir Balwani, Aimee Giese, Scott Monty, Alicia Paulson, Ree Drummond, JenJen, Laurie Turk, Deb Puchalla, Margaret Roach, George Manty, Kelvin Kao and of course my dearest husband, kids and the best parents in the world.

You are the real silver lining of my year in hell – strangers and friends who made an indelible mark on my life when I needed you the most. You beamed your light into my life, and now I shine brighter because of you.

Thank you.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

(PS – if you think I forgot to include you on this list, then I surely did. Please don’t take it personally, I’m probably one of the most forgetful people you know. And please hit me on the head with another brick and remind me, will you?!)

(PPS – yes, Momsational is my new ‘blogging home’ now that Sparkplugging is in new hands. Yes, I’m BACK to blogging, too!! I’ll talk more about that another time!)

Last summer I bought myself a Singer Futura sewing and embroidery machine – a splurge I had been waiting years to make. My old knitting needles haven’t seen the light of day since I got it – but it’s been so long since I’ve done any real sewing that I’m kinda out of practice. So I’ve been finding easy and fast projects to get myself back in the habit.

In the fall I made the prettiest aqua and red pincushion – and then ran out of regular fiberfill as I was stuffing it. So I made up the difference with cotton balls and kleenex – a huge mistake. Did you know that pins won’t go through cotton balls and kleenex? Neither did I.

Anyway, since it’s been too long since I’ve done a 10 Kick Ass Things post, here are 10 kick ass pincushions to make. Just don’t stuff them with cotton balls!

Cute Crochet Tomato Pincushion Pattern

Artsy Cut Flower Pincushion Pattern

Pretty Square Pincushion Pattern

Flower Pincushion Pattern

Martha's Garden Tomato Pincushion Pattern

Vintage Toy Truck Pincushion Pattern

Felted Petals Pincushion Pattern

Gorgeous Fruit Pincushion Pattern ($4)

Simple Wrist Pincushion Pattern

Mouse Pincushion Pattern

Be sure to also check me out at my kids crafts blog on CraftJr.com!

Back when I was very little, my grandmother had some shelves in her kitchen with some very kitschy figurines. They were cheap, kinda tacky, and I absolutely loved them. After she passed away, the figurines were so worthless that they were destined as 25¢ garage sale items. But I saved them!!

I only have a few things from my grandparents – but these little figurines are my very favorite thing from her home. Every time I look at them I feel like I am 5 years old, gazing up at them on her wall, and smelling pipe tobacco, fabric softener, and pot roast in the oven. I had two favorites – one I shattered many years ago (and I hunt for a replacement daily on Ebay!). The other one was this charming little zebra.

Lately I’ve been getting a little more obsessed with collecting vintage kitsch. Trying to find the broken figurine has not only become a daily fix, but it means I’m finding a lot more cute, cheap stuff that I can’t resist. Wait till you see the stuff I found at Goodwill over the weekend!

But at least it means I have plenty to blog about for a really long time! Either that or I might end up on Hoarders in a few years.

To process this photo, I used parts of the Pioneer Woman’s Old West Photoshop action, increasing the darkening of the edges, and lightening the warming effects.

I recently started a new Momsational group on Flickr as a place to celebrate the extraordinary in the ordinary. What kinds of photos are in the group? Anything beautiful, artistic, or aesthetic – but the subject has to be things from our everyday lives as parents.

I was thrilled that the photographically brilliant Amiee Giese joined up – you may know her as Greeblemonkey. I just had to feature this incredible portrait she added to the group that was “Explored” last summer. LOVELY! I love the blurry bokeh effect on the grass in the foreground, the short blue fingernails, the soft lighting, and the tiny smiles on the children’s faces that make me want to go “awwwww!!!”

I’d love to feature more photos from more people – please feel free to email me or add them on Flickr to our Momsational group!

It wasn’t until I purchased these from Anthropologie that I realized for the very first time that measuring cups can bring a woman to tears.

Seriously – even this gorgeous photo doesn’t do these things the justice they deserve. I realize $35 is a bit steep for measuring cups. But it is a teensy-tiny price to pay for the decadent feeling I get when I use them every morning. It is a drop in the bucket compared to the sheer joy I feel when I look at the delicate hand painted details. These measuring cups make me want to cook all day long. They make me want to completely remodel my kitchen so that I can feature them prominently to family and friends (ok, I admit I wanted a kitchen remodel before I got these). But they do make me feel like my existing kitchen is nicer than it really is (as long as I am looking at them and not my 30 year old cabinets!).

But for real – this is my absolute favorite indulgent purchase I have made in many, many months. And for $35, it only barely makes it into the ‘indulgent’ category.

Find the Izmir Measuring Cups on Anthropologie

I once wrote about how I used to get SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder. I’m kind of puzzled now as to why I wrote “used to” in that post, because there are some ok winters and some bad winters – but it happens every winter. I guess this year it isn’t so bad – but this is the worst time of year for it. So I decided to go through my summer photos today to add a shot to The Photoblog in the hopes of it taking my mind off of this.

This photo was a little tricky to play with, because I found the overexposed white area on my son’s neck to be a little distracting. But any attempts at toning it down looked like I colored on the photo with a crayon. So I ended up playing with the levels a tiny bit and brightening up the rest of the shot to deemphasize it. I lowered the white point in the levels so that it became at least less white than my screen. I also put a soft focus on the image, but removed it in that area because the glow was only intensifying the problem. It’s not perfect, but at least you can now see the three absolute best parts of the shot:

The drip of water on his nose

The laughing girl licking up the sprinkler water from her fingers – this was purely accidental bokeh that I swooned over when I discovered it hours later!

The sprinkler spray in front of the hair and shirt – I had to dodge those out a bit more to really make them show through

One of my goals this year is to get more photographs of my kids doing their thing – candid shots when they don’t know I am looking. While I love their goofy grins and prima donna poses – it’s photos like this that really let me hold onto the moments in time that will be gone too soon.