1.) I discovered the world of crafty mom blogs and love to see other's ideas, so I thought I'd post some of my own. I first found blogs through Michael Miller Fabrics , my favorite fabric manufacturer. One of the owners of that line has a blog with a link to this adorable baby shoe pattern using their fabrics (they are actually sponsoring a contest right now for the shoes; I entered these little cuties below I made for my new niece Betsy Hart). Anyway, from there, I went from one blog to the next and made a discovery---I'm not the only craft dork out there!! This was really reassuring! I couldn't believe that there are other women out there that obsess over vintage children's sewing patterns from the late 60's to early 70's and vintage children's books. Hurray! I was at a girls' Christmas party this past year for my sunday school class, and we went around telling the worst Christmas gift we had ever received. One girl said her great aunt had made something for her (I don't remember what), but she said with her eyes rolling, "You know, she's one of those types that goes to craft fairs and thinks she can make everything she sees." Everyone chuckled, like, yeah I know that type. But I felt like I'd been socked in the stomach. That was ME. I'm one of those people. And I have to tell you, I felt like I wanted to crawl under a rock. But, upon discovering there are other people out there that actually embrace this attitude, I felt like I was no longer such a crafty loser. And there are so many people that share their ideas and I'm always inspired, so although I am quite the craft novice, I'm putting some of my creations out there, and if they inspire anyone else, great!
2.) For family and friends to see pics of my best creations---my kiddos. We have lots of family that live out of town, so I thought this would be a great way for them to keep up with Eliza and Davis. I always love to show them off!
3.) Reflection. I've been playing around with the idea of doing this for a while, but was plagued by that nagging thought of "Why would anyone care what I have to say?" But then I came across a blog of a friend I used to go to church with, and she said she had the same thoughts. But then came to the conclusion that she wasn't doing it for anyone else, she was doing it for herself, as a form of journaling. I've never been a journaler, but when I was teaching school, we had to be evaluated a few times a year. The process involved making a detailed lesson plan, teaching the lesson, and then doing a "Reflection" sheet after the lesson, where we had to think back over the class, reflect on what worked and what went well, what didn't, etc. Although it took a lot of time, I learned so much more about my teaching than on days when I just taught a lesson and moved on. I learned what worked, how to make improvements, what I would do differently. There is a lot of emphasis these days on being "intentional" in our lives; I know I'm guilty of just going through the motions of my days without being intentional about them. What did I do today to make meaningful memories with my kids? Was I intentional today about letting my husband know how much I appreciate him? What did I do today to serve those around me? Did I put other's needs before my own, which I'm so bad at doing? So, I'm hoping that through this blog, I will be more intentional and reflective about my everyday life. Although the prospect of being transparent in a forum where people may read my thoughts is quite frightening, I'm hoping I will learn about myself and grow as a result.
So there it is. And here are a few pics of some of my favorite crafty endeavors!
Baby Shoes (here's the pattern)
A couple of my fave scrapbooking pages. I do digital scrapbooking now, which has changed my life. Oh how I love not having the mess anymore.
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