Half-Homemade Mama

Let's get one thing straight: as much I love pinning recipes for cute cupcakes, yummy cookies and endless varieties of chocolate things, I am a bit of a slacker. Like today, when I really wanted to bake something for the girls but have spent the day scaling a mountain of backed up laundry (okay, totally my fault there) and am short on Baking Fairy Magic. I did, however, have a Funfetti Cake Mix. A boxed cake mix. Every time you mention those words, a Real Baking Mom breaks out in hives. (Sorry)

But, thanks still to Pinterest and the slacker-friendly folks at Pillsbury, I found this awesome recipe for Funfetti Cookies. I had never made cookies from a cake mix before, so I followed the (simple) recipe with a mix of eagerness and apprehension. The last time I tried to make cookies with River we went through two batches of strange tasting half-burned bits of almost cookie before I gave up and bought her an icecream from McDonalds. (Bad Mommy!)

But these cookies were amazing. I'm not taking much credit for said amazement. My job was to stir the mix and watch the edges of the cookies like an OCD hawk so I could snatch them out the second they crisped golden brown. Also, I misread the oven temperature and cooked them most of the way on 350 rather than 375. That could have been the secret to their success. They came out fluffy, chewy, soft, and generally heavenly. Especially when you add icing and sprinkles.

The girls got to decorate the cookies themselves and chowed down on their handiwork while they finished Secret of the Wings.
 
Homemade is great.

Half-homemade, especially on a Saturday when all I've seemed to do is wash and fold and pick up semi-smushed things from the floor, is also pretty darn good.

A Little Old Fashioned (Signature Style)

Since Christmas, I have taken it slow on sewing, and I decided to sit out most of the current cycle of Project Run and Play. There's been some fabulous clothing posted, as always. It's been nice to focus on enjoying everyone's creativity but I did want to try to do something for the last week. My signature style is probably best defined by its lack of definition. I am eclectic, distracted, and a bit random.

But I have another confession: I am old-fashioned. While I admire the utter coolness of many of the sewing mamas I follow, my sewing is completely not cool. Not trendy. If anything, it's inspired (more than I want to admit) by the almost-country Virginia suburbs of my childhood, by nostalgia for poofy peach dresses and gingham folk arty design aesthetic. By sleeveless summer dresses and jumpers and sunhats. I find myself, more and more, creating clothes that remind me of what it felt like to be young and running through pine trees and tall grass. There's just no fighting it.

When a friend gave me a bag of jeans to cut up for refashioning, I knew I wanted to make my baby girl a jumper of her own. I wanted hand-stitched details. And ruffles. And rainbows. Here's what came off the sewing table:

 It is not a fancy dress but it's bright and cheery and can stand up to all the playing and running after big sisters that fills Baby Girl's day.

 Picking flowers for Mommy (okay, picking grass and thinking its a flower)

A back view

 

Stand still for a picture? I think not

The hand stitching (and indulgence in nostalgia) came from the teddy bears I

embroidered on the bodice. The simple shape reminds me of the country bears I saw in craft magazines growing up.

No you can't really see details here but Baby Girl is being cute.

I also wanted ruffles. If there is anything consistent about my style, it's that I love a good ruffle. And I love rainbow color schemes (having long since given up on a single favorite color). The bright colors just pop against the dark denim.

 

I took this project one tiny step at a time, which I found quite a relaxing change from my normal sew-until-midnight frenzy. I don't mind continuing the trend. Fewer projects, more mindfulness in the making. 

It's been another inspiring season of Project Run and Play. I'm happy to sew along.

Simple and True

The open auditions for Project Run and Play are here again and I really, truly, was going to sit this one out. I have Christmas photo dresses to make and Christmas skirts to sew and a banner for the window and random little girl gifts. I have to whip up some hardcore winter pajamas for our upcoming trek to Maine.

But....there was this fabric. Two fabrics, really. Winter blue with big white polka dots and a yummy vintage tone floral print with more polka dots. I had eyed that fabric every since I saw it in the remnant bin a few weeks ago. It called to me. I loved the warm tones of the reds, yellows, and oranges against the softer blue background. I loved the tiny polka dots mixed with the big polka dots. and as luck would have it, I had to return some corduroy. Which meant store credit!  That fabric was mine and, of course, I immediately ditched all Christmas sewing to play with it. I love how the two fabric has winter tones-- the white polka dots and icy blue-- but also warm summer colors. Almost like something you wear in the wet, rainy cold while thinking of the sun.

I wanted to sew a simple but cozy little outfit so my baby could keep up the cuteness in the Frosty Northern Wasteland. And since she's going to be held and cuddled within an inch of her life by all the relatives we haven't seen for way too long, why not put her in fleece? She'll be even more teddy-bear like :)

I frankenpatterned a simple A-line dress and some basic leggings to match. The body of the dress I drafted using an existing jumper as a model, and the sleeves I took from one of the many random patterns cluttering my craft area. While I was sewing, I kept hearing Jewel's "Simple and True" playing in the back of my head, so I finally looked it up on Youtube. Even though it's a song about a woman and her man, part of it very much reminds me of my littlest girl.

How soon spring comes, how soon spring forgets

I want to hold back time, say it will never begin.

Old Man Winter be our friend

The more I live, the more I know

what's simple is true
I love you.

 Because I've procrastinated, my photos are terrible due to it being dark when I took the outside photos. My camera doesn't do too well with inside lighting either, but we muddled through. I am very happy with the outfit because it is exactly what I love to sew. Things that are simple. True. And loved.

 By the Christmas tree....and sitting still for about the only time in the photo shoot.

On the porch, with terrible flash lighting. This shows the whole outfit best but does not do justice to the color. The reds and yellows are much softer.

And my favorite....

 

I wish I had better photos but that's what you get for deciding at noon that you are going to sew an outfit and photograph it by evening. 

There lots of cute designs up on the Project Run and Play audition linky so stop by and get inspired!

A Little Holiday, A Little Handmade

 

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I have almost come to dread the phrase "handmade holiday". It speaks of some other alternate universe in which Ever Single Thing about Christmas in ones household is beautiful, handcrafted, and perfect. The ornaments. The Advent calendar. The nativity scene. Every gift thoughtfully, lovingly, flawlessly created....and all wrapped and under the tree by December 1st. Instead of lawn ornaments. there's a chorus of Victorian-era carolers on hire. They sing perfect four-part acapella and bring their own hot chocolate.

But, when I'm not freaking out over Visions of Unattainable Perfection, I do really love the idea of adding small handmade touches to the Christmas season.  And I love the idea of getting together with friends to share those handmade touches. Which is why, in a moment of rare bravery or not so rare insanity, I'm having a party.

I refuse to call it that, really. "Party" is serious. Throwing a party is something that was probably covered by a college course back in the 1950s. Handmade gift swap get-together" takes up more words but is so much more humble and friendly. So I am hosting a handmade gift swap get-together which should, in theory, be simple. A huge pot of chili, a group of friends, and cute little handmade or semi-hand made gifts. This way each of us can enjoy a bit of handcrafted goodness in our holiday but we each only have to make one gift. Even I, despite my procrastination and general phobia of trying new crafts, can manage to come up with one handmade gift. I think.

I promised everyone (two weeks ago) that I'd put up some easy gift ideas to get our collective creative juices flowing. And here, fashionably late, is that list, culled (where else) from my favorite Pinterest boards. Sorry that I don't have pictures to accompany them but I have dishes to do.

Yarn Wreath

http://mrandmrspear.blogspot.com/2012/03/yarn-wreath-tutorial.html

Tinted Mason Jars

http://pinterest.com/pin/27795722671720980/

Fat Quarter Clutch

http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2012/04/fat-quarter-project-ric-rac-clutch-from-jennifer-ladd/

Scrapbook Paper Envelopes

http://emilysummers-designer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/pretty-handmade-envelopes.html

Banana Bread Jars

http://pinterest.com/pin/27795722671171571/

Tea Towel Wrapped Bread

http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/08/frugal-hostess-gift-homemade-bread-wrapped-in-a-tea-towel.html

Lemon and Thyme Salt Scrub

http://pinterest.com/pin/27795722671062846/

Scrapbook Paper Coasters

http://twogirlsbeingcrafty.blogspot.com/2011/02/ramseys-finally-have-coasters.html

Apron In A Jar

http://www.pleasant-home.com/2011/08/auntie-dots-aprons.html

Custom Candle Covers

http://www.fancylittlethings.com/2012/04/custom-candle-covers-a-simple-diy/

Embellishment Assortment

http://www.niftythriftydrygoods.com/proddetail.asp?prod=CQEA-peach-gray

Jersey Knit Lace Trim Scarf

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http://sealoquesea.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/pinning/

And one more link, to a roundup of fabulous and frugal handmade gifts...

25 Gifts Under $5

http://www.the36thavenue.com/2011/11/25-handmade-gifts-under-5.html

Happy crafting to all and I'll see you at the not-party.

Dear E

Someday I will not longer have to convince you at bedtime that bears will not come out of the bushes in the backyard.

When that day comes, you will have moved on to other fears, perhaps less dramatic, but perhaps not so easily dispelled by your mother.

Until then, sleep safe. I will outbear anything that comes your way until morning.

Night Mothering

To the mother out there exhausted, nursed-out, and semi-dreading what her baby will ask of her tonight: I've been there. We all have. The blessing of loving, nurturing, and nursing a baby is not just snuggle-highs and sweetness. Sometimes you are so tired your bones ache. Sometimes you are so frustrated at the intensity of her need for you that you want to pull your hair out and cry and you might consider doing just that if you thought you could actually have five minutes alone in the bathroom. Sometimes you go to bed with a knot in your stomach wondering when she'll grow out of the night waking and the nursing marathons. With a sense of guilt, that maybe it's your fault. That maybe you should be tougher.

Hang in there. The nursing nights will wane. The intensity of her needs will never go away but it will change....other things will be required of you as she grows older. Things both easier and infinitely harder than lack of sleep. I have found the best way to uncurl that knot in your stomach when you hear her waken and cry for you is to take a deep breath, groan a little, then pull her to you and kiss her. Remember how short these little years will be. Her waking is not your fault. It's just who she is right now.

I have come to think, over my six years of night-mothering three babies, of the many ways our children get their first "practical theology" lessons from their mothers. When we give them ourselves even when we are exhausted, when we meet their cries with love even when it's the fifth time in two hours, they are learning. They learn that if they cry, someone will answer with love and understanding of their needs. They learn-- by instinct-- to depend recklessly. When someday I tell my children about a God who loves them and who will come to their aid no matter what, no matter what cost to Himself, I want that to resonate with their souls. They won't remember these nights I spent mothering them but they are shaped by them anyway.

You are tired. You are soul-weary. You are grace-filled.

Happy Halloween!

I started sewing the girl's Halloween costumes when my oldest was three, and every year since I have insisted I would not be sewing at midnight the day before and definitely not the morning before trick or treating.

Wrong. Again.

Halloween seems to be the busiest sewing holiday for me, especially since I did a costumes for a couple of friends this year. The girls originally wanted to be ballerinas, but our church is having a Reformation Day celebration which includes costumes for the kids. The princess theme wins again.

Baby Girl's dress uses some of the material intended for the ballerina costumes; everything else came from stash or thrift fabrics. I wanted to do a laced overdress and a peasant-style underdress, so I was thrilled to find sheets for $1.50 at the thrift store.

Big Girl's was a shiny, crinkly ivory with a beautiful quilted border at the bottom. Small Girl wanted to be a warrior princess, so I chose a plain cotton quilt that had a lovely embroidered border to give a touch of femininity to her battle-ready dress.

It was rather fun to create princess dresses that, for the most part, didn't involve yards and yards and layers and layers of tulle, chiffon, and all other poofy things. Baby Girl's dress did use tulle, and it did have poof, but it was small-scale compared to what normally goes into a princess dress around here. My favorite part of the dresses to make (and the part that took the longest) was the sleeves.

Big Girl's sleeves are made of the sheet material, some stashed stretch chiffon, and a band that matched the bodice of her overdress. I love the double-gathered poof near the top, especially since the chiffon is super-soft. It's rapidly becoming my choice for non-scratchy poof. :)

Since Small Girl had to fight in her sleeves, I kept it more simple. I did navy blue sleeves with a band of the same embroidery that borders her underdress and some gathered stretch chiffon. I left an opening in the band so that she could have sword-swinging freedom.

Big Girl's dress was the perfect project for an inexplicable amount of orange shiny poly-silk drapery fabric I bought a while back. I intended to make a baby sling but it was too slippery so it just sat in my stash for a while, huge and orange and hopeless. Until this dress.

I love the golds and oranges together. I probably would never have thought to pick these colors for her but I love them. It's so vibrant and a refreshing change from the more traditional princess colors (though we will always love purple in this house).

She loved it. She twirled in it. She wore her brand new Big Girl almost-high heels and thought she was all kinds of grown up. I will let her believe that for now.





Since Small Girl wanted to be a warrior princess-- I am trying to convince her to call herself a shield maiden because Tolkein references are never gratuitous-- we kept the colors muted. In a nod to Reformation Day, I went with the colors of the Christian flag-- navy blue, red, and white-- with a brown faux-leather armor-style bodice. Her favorite part was the sword and shield. No sooner than two minutes after the costume was on she was off to kill bears.

She could barely stand still long enough for me to take pictures. Too many battles and adventures!

Baby Girl's dress was the most traditional princess dress. It had a poofier skirt and a layer of tulle (but only one! I promise!) and lots of ribbon. I loved the textures and shades of purple in her dress-- everything from lavender velour to violet organza to lilac tulle. It was fun to sew. I kept it short enough to keep her from tripping over it, as I didn't want her to spend her first time trick or treating falling down every few feet.

She got the hang of her tiny purple trick or treat basket real fast. Most of the candy will go to her sisters (or her dad and me!) but she is old enough for some of it. Plus it was adorable to watch her work up the courage to go and grab the candy out of the bowl.

We had a blast this year and I think these costumes are my favorite yet.
Next year, though, I'll start sewing in August. Honest!