Confessions of a Domestic Goddess

Last night, as I thought about the beginning of my week approaching, I was overcome with a feeling of angst.  I realized another week had gone by and another was approaching and I feel like a pinball.  Richoting around my life, without purpose, without goals.  And this has been going on for five years.  Before I had my daughter, I was a VERY driven, goal orientated person.  When I put my mind to something-whether it was career goal, or just exercising more, I got the job done.  I may have sat on the couch on a Sunday night and felt unhappy about going to work, but at least I knew where I was going and what was working towards.  Now I'm floating.  Some weeks I think I want to be the next Martha Stewart.  Some weeks, I feel like chucking it all and just focusing on being a mom.  And I feel like I bounce all over the place and don't do anything well because I can't focus.  But I don't do anything to change it.  And nothing is going to change if I don't change the way I do things.  Didn't Einstein once say it's insanity to do the same things over and over and expect different results?  Well, "Hello Insanity!"

My ever genius mom often shares pearls of her wisdom with me (much of it based on her being able to look back at her young, mothering days and see what worked & what didn't) and has recommended that maybe setting goals or trying to be one thing (a successful career woman) or another (a perfect mother) isn't the way to go.  That I could (she never says should) accept the fact that some days, my career will be on fire and some days I'll be the best mom out there.  That I could just go along for the ride, love what's working at that moment and forget about what's not.  It's advice I'm thinking a lot about today.

Apron Merit Badges

I'm so excited to be published in the latest issue of Apronology Magazine.  A magazine about aprons?  Who could ask for more? My great-grandmother, who sewed all her own dresses with aprons to match, would be so proud!
I wrote an article about my Apron Merit Badges.  To celebrate, I'm offering merit badges, along with a signed copy of the magazine, in my Etsy shop.  My first batch of pins sold-out completely.  (I guess there are a lot of cooks out there who deserve a merit badge!)  I'm busy embroidering more, but I do have a couple of listings up if you are interested.  If you are interested in one and don't see any left, email me and I'll whip-up a custom one for you.  I think an Apron Merit Badge and a copy of the gorgeous magazine, Apronology, would make a lovely Mother's Day gift, don't you? (And, at only $20 it's a super bargain.  I mean the magazine alone costs $14.99!) To order, visit my Etsy Shop
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Sight Words Memory Game

Kindergarten isn't what it used to be.  My daughter is well on her way to starting reading, and the one of our school's reading program's requirements is that our children memorize certain "sight words".  A few weeks ago, my daughter's teachers recommended that we create index cards with the sight words and play "Memory" as an educational and fun way to help our children learn their words.  Of course, being the crafty mom I am, I had to take it up a notch and make the game a bit prettier.  Plus, I think my daughter is more interested in playing the game if it looks pretty.  Heck, she's my child..what did you expect?

We call the game Flip Flop around here.  I think it's what the British call it.  My daughter picked up the terminology after countless hours of watching the Charlie and Lola, Vol. 1 DVD.  (We also call fish sticks "fish fingers" thanks to the show!)  If you have to memorize words, why not whip-up a set of Flip Flop cards for your house?  Here's the easy tutorial.

Sight Words Flip Flop Game

Tools and Supplies

• List of sight words
• 8.5" x 11" card stock, plain on one side, decorative on the other.  (I cut some pretty 12x12 scrapbook paper to size)
• Laminating machine, laminating paper. (If you don't have a laminating machine, you can buy laminating sheets of paper and do it without the machine.)
• Scissors
• Drawstring bag

Instructions

• Use word processing software to type your child's sight words into a 8.5" x 11" document.  I used a label template in Word to make sure the words were evenly spaced.  This enables you to easily make your game cards the same size and shape.
• Load your decorative card stock into your printer and print out the document.  Don't forget to the load the paper so that your document will print on the blank side of your paper!
• Cut your words apart.  Make sure the cards you cut are all the same size and shape. 
• Lay your cards onto laminating paper and run them through the machine per manufacturer's instructions.  If you are using paper without a machine, follow the instructions on the package
• Gather the cards together and keep them in small drawstring bag.
• Play regularly and smile to yourself.  Your children think they are playing...you know they are learning.

Feed a Cold

I'm always trying to feed people to make them feel better.  Bad day at work?  Brownies coming right up!  Feel sick?  Chips and sweets delivered to your door.  But I know that all this comfort eating is teaching a lesson to my daughter.  A lesson that has caused me to struggle with my weight for most of my adult life.  When you eat to comfort yourself, you start to think you need a lot of comfort.  I'd really like to stop the vicious cycle of emotional eating by teaching my daughter to use for food for fuel and health.  Not to mention, I don't think feeding an ill person chocolate chip cookies, loaded with empty calories is contributing to actually getting them back to a healthy state.   (I know!  I don't want to believe it either!)

So, this weekend, when faced with a sick husband and daughter, I decided there must be a happy medium.  I wanted to comfort and pamper them, and I wanted to help their poor bodies heal.  So we had a weekend of super healthy eating.  Yes, the food is still comforting and some of it has a decent amount of calories, but it was mainly chosen because the calories that were being consumed were contributing to strengthening their bodies, while still giving them a bit of emotional comfort.  I thought I would share some of the menu with you.

Saturday Lunch:  Creamy Tomato Soup.  Full of vitamin C.  We didn't have any sore throats, so the acid didn't bother anyone.  And does it get anymore comforting than tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches?  I don't think so.  I got the recipe on Angela's blog a few months ago and it's now a family favorite.

Saturday Dinner:  Roast Chicken and Horseradish Mashed Potatoes.  Roasting chicken gives the whole house a wonderful, cozy smell, and I knew there was Chicken Soup in our future, so the leftovers would be used up.  Mashed potatoes with a little sour cream and a dash of horseradish (not too much!) are not only delicious, but the horseradish shrinks nasal tissues and helps decongest stuffy noses.

Sunday Lunch:  Homemade Chicken Soup.  (I got my recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family) You've read the studies and there is something to the Old Wives Tale about the healing properties of chicken soup.  Since it was Valentine's weekend, I used a small heart-shaped cookie cutter and cut the carrot slices to look like little hearts.  Even if it isn't Valentine's Day, it's a nice little touch that is sure to make even the most miserable patient smile.

I now have a recovered family.  A few sniffles left, but everyone woke up on Monday feeling loved and on the road to recovery.  Now I think I'm coming down with it.  Who's coming over to cook for me?

P.S.  Don't forget to add my travel tissue cozies to your sick weekend!  Not only do they slip nicely into your purse, you can take into your bed.  The bright patterned material makes them easy to find in the tangled sheets and you won't bump your sore head on the corner of a box of tissues when you fall asleep.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I baked you some cookies for Valentine's Day.  I hope your day is SWEET.

Tea Cup Valentines

I wanted to make a special valentine for my daughter's Kindergarten teachers, so I pulled out my darling ScoreBoards XL Dies: 3-D Tea Cup and got to work.  I used my Sizzix 655268 Big Shot Cutting-and-Embossing Roller-Style Machine  to cut the tea cups from white chipboard, then added hearts punched from some valentine paper to make the tea cups festive and I was pretty much done.  A chocolate biscotti and tea bag finished the sweet gift.  I wrapped the whole thing in a clear, polka dot bag and finished it with a paper doily and some red & white twine.  It's like a mini-gift basket.  A single serving gift basket if you will.  Oh!  And the valentine message?  "You're my cup of tea." Of course!

Kisses Cafe

Remember my daughter's play kitchen and how we decorated it for Christmas?  Well, she calls it Kisses Cafe and it's THE place to eat if you are in the dolly set.  Now that it's February, the management decided it was time to decorate the cafe for Valentine's Day. 

So we re-set the table, replaced the snowflakes with heart-shaped doilies and even added a display case for all the baked goods.  It took just a little time, but when my daughter stood back and looked at it, and then said, "Somebody pinch me, because I must dreaming.", I knew it was time well-spent.

Sweetheart Pillow

The infamous pillow.  The one I told you I struggled with over the weekend.  I gave it another go yesterday and got closer to getting what I wanted.  But not quite.  It still needs a little research and development before I can share the tutorial.  Seeing it though, close to the way I want it, is giving me the incentive to work on it. 

Up until now, coming up with ideas and writing tutorials has been easy for me.  But this one has forced me to work.  To stretch outside my comfort zone.  As difficult as that can be, it's really the only way I'll improve my skills.  So I'll keep working away on this.  One day I'll proudly share my wonderful tutorial.  Just you wait and see.

This is coming at a time when I'm struggling through some other projects and opportunities that are terrifying to me.  Pushing myself.  Hoping that good things are on the horizon and that "putting myself out there" is going to lead me to new places I never dreamed of.  Will you hold my hand as I go? 

Valentine Glitter Lace Votives

While I was at the CHA show, I was lucky enough to film an episode of When Creativity Knocks.  In it, I teach you how to make some really pretty Glitter Lace Votive candle holders.  Of course, I used my favorite glitter, Art Glitter!

The project is really, really easy and the effect is amazing.  Really, I can't describe how great the glitter looks in candlelight.  You can view the episode here. 

I had a pretty relaxing weekend and feel recovered from being exhausted after the tradeshow.  I worked on another Valentine-themed tutorial for you and let's just say it didn't go well.  I'm hoping I can recover it and share it with you later this week.  Don't you hate it when what's in your head, isn't what comes out?  Engineering + Me=Cursing and Swearing. 

Chocolate Milk and Donuts

When I was a little girl, growing-up in Mentor, Ohio, my maternal grandfather worked as a plumber for a bank.  My grandparents lived about an hour away from us, so we usually only saw them on weekends but, every so often, my grandfather would have a plumbing job at the branch near us and would stop by for a quick visit.  He always brought chocolate milk and "chop suey" donuts.  (For some reason, he always called apple fritters "chop suey" donuts.)  If we weren't home, he would leave a bag of donuts and milk in the mudroom of our house.  It's one of my strongest and fondest memories.  Finding a surprise like that never failed to delight us.  A simple sign that Grandpa had been there and was thinking of us. 

Now, when my brother stops by my house during his work travels, he usually has chocolate milk and donuts with him.  It's a touching tradition that my brother and I carry-on to remember our grandfather.  Yesterday, as we sat at the table together, eating our donuts, my brother and I shared the story of our grandfather's deliveries with my daughter.  I could almost feel my grandfather there with us, smiling.  I can only hope that someday, my daughter will sit down with her children and eat donuts and drink chocolate milk and tell them about Uncle James' visits.  A never ending tradition that will ensure that our family history will live on through the small moments and gestures of life.

Chinese New Year! The Year of the Rabbit!

Happy New Year!  Around here, we look for any excuse for a party, so we are definitely celebrating Chinese New Year today.  I'm personally having a relaxing morning, drinking green tea and nibbling on almond cookies while I embroider a darling little pattern of a rabbit on the moon from Bustle and Sew.  I never knew that the Chinese see a rabbit on the moon instead of the "man on the moon" that we see.  The story behind the rabbit is incredibly touching too.  To read the full story and to get the free pattern, visit Bustle and Sew.

After an exhausting afternoon of eating cookies and stitching, I'm planning to whip up the only dish I cook that remotely counts as "Chinese food".  I am intimidated by anything beyond a stir fry and usually order take-out when we are in mood for Chinese, but this recipe is easy.  It's got a salty/vinegar flavor to it that I adore.  But I'm a savory kind of girl.  I could pass up chocolate cake, but salt and vinegar chips would have to be eaten.  I'll tempt you with photos here, and invite you to go here to download the PDF recipe.  Enjoy!  And may you have a prosperous new year!

I'm back!

The Craft & Hobby Association's Winter Trade Show was a blast.  I made some great connections and I'm hoping I'll be able to share lots of exciting news about my business in the very near future.  I am completely exhausted though. Four, full days of teaching make & takes, filming an episode of Where Creativity Knocks (airing this Friday!) and networking has completely wiped me out.  I'm feeling every one of my 41 years today.

Today's photo is of my Designer Showcase Table. I know I mentioned working on it quite a bit, so I thought I would share the final product with you. It received a lot of interest and I'm hoping all the hardwork will pay-off.


I was really bad about taking photos at the show, but my new friend and fellow designer Theresa Cifali took a ton of photos and has written-up some awesome blog posts about the show, so hop over to her blog to get the low-down.  We worked together in the Elmer's and Craftwell booths during the show and had a blast together.  We even had Vanna White make a card during one of our make & takes in the Elmer's booth!  It was our little brush with celebrity that day.  I also got to meet Anna Griffin!  I love her papers and have read a lot about the way she runs her business, so I was very excited to meet her in person.  Another highlight was meeting some of my all-time favorite bloggers like Cathe Holden of Just Something I Made fame and Amy Anderson of Modge Podge Rocks!  It's funny when you meet your favorite bloggers because you feel like you already know them from reading their blogs.
 
I'm going to take a little break today, but will be back with some Chinese New Year celebration tips tomorrow.  It's Ground Hog Day today!  Before school, my daughter and I watched this video together and talked a bit about the tradition.  Yay!  Spring is coming!