A Holiday Gift to my Readers:

My kids are 6 and 8 now.  They are very smart and creative and beautiful.  They are goofy and silly and funny.   They constantly remind me to be patient and kind and consistent.  I recorded this video when they were 3 and 5.  Danika had just begun talking like a big girl and I so enjoyed hearing her philosophical perspective on the world.  Riley was (and still is!) all boy.  He was (and still is!) a noisy little imp who loved to entertain a crowd with his goofy antics.  

I wanted to share this video with you because I believe it epitomizes life in our home.  We talk and listen.  We laugh and play.  We foster creativity and encourage fantastic storytelling.  We are often ridiculous and sometimes witty.  I can't give you all a physical Christmas gift this year, so I decided to give you something personal and share a slice of my life.

It's a long video, but I encourage you watch it all the way through because there are lots of funny and sweet moments throughout.  I dare you to watch it and not smile.  

I hope you enjoyed this!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Hanukkah!

Happy New Year!

Big Hugs from Montana,

300,000 PAGEVIEWS!!!!

Bountiful Baskets Food Co-Op

Before I get started with this post, I just wanted to state that I'm not getting compensated in any way for writing this little blurb about Bountiful Baskets.  I am just a huge fan and wanted to pass on some useful info to you, my lovely readers.  :-)

What is Bountiful Baskets?  The website describes it as this:

About Bountiful Baskets Co-op

Bountiful Baskets is not a business. It is a group of people who work together for mutual benefit.

Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op is constantly growing to reach new areas as people want to have a site close to their home. They train with an existing Volunteer Site Coordinator and then go open the new site. We run at least every two weeks at each site.  Some sites run weekly.  We are completely volunteer-run and make no profit.  Please see our locations page for a complete listing of current sites as well as which week they run.

This is a Co-op

This is a grass roots, all volunteer, no contracts, no catch co-operative. Without volunteers this co-op wouldn’t happen, so you will need to help as you are able. There are many opportunities to help!

So basically what happens is that I log into my Bountiful Baskets account at 10AM on Monday morning and put $15 towards a basket of fruit and veggies.  I look for things that I may add on to my basket as well.  This time around I opted for the "Harvest Pack add-on" for an additional $16.

The following Saturday morning at 7AM, I am standing in line with an empty laundry basket with around 50 other people.  One at a time we show our contribution numbers, initial a box, and are led to our produce by volunteers.  I load up my laundry basket and haul it back to my car.  That's it!

Sometimes on Saturday mornings, I show up at 5AM and volunteer to unload the truck and distribute the produce.  It's fun to meet new people, exchange recipes, and get a little exercise.  I'm pooped by the end of the day, but it's always worth it. 

 You never really know what you're going get in your basket.  And that's part of the fun for me.  I ended up with a ton of grapes and was fearful that they would go bad before we could eat them.  But having two grape-loving kids with grape-loving friends really helped, and there was no waste.  The fruit not eaten is usually dehydrated to use as snacks or added to oatmeal at breakfast.  Sometimes I make a batch of jelly.  The grapes would have made a nice jelly if the kids hadn't devoured them.  

The Seckel pears were new to me.  Those tiny little things were so sweet and juicy though--perfect for snacks and lunchboxes.  In previous baskets I've ended up with 9 onions, or 2 stalks of celery--way more than we could ever eat.  I simply freeze or dehydrate what I can't use right away and it all works out.  the only thing that doesn't work well with is lettuce.  I prefer spinach and romaine for my salads and the leaf lettuce I get from Bountiful Baskets is hard to use up.  But you can't get everything you want, right?

From this basket, I made a huge batch of potato soup that we enjoyed for a few days.  Then, I divided up the leftovers into meal-sized portions and froze them for future dinners.  I love to cook, but not every night.  Some nights, it's nice to simply thaw out dinner in the microwave and serve it with toast.

   I love the Harvest Pack add-on I received!  Though for once I didn't have a recipe already planned for it.  I made a nice little fall-themed display in my living room.  The larger pie pumpkins will be Thanksgiving pies, but that's not for another month.  In the meantime, they can look pretty on my table.

I know I have a number of readers from outside the US, so I'm sure you don't have a Bountiful Baskets near you.  Perhaps you have something else though?  Have any of you any experience with food co-op?

If you are in the US and want to find out if there is Bountiful Baskets pick-up near you go HERE.  If you don't have one near you, you could always start your own by looking at the info HERE.

Happy Harvest and bug hugs from Montana,

Free Stuff From Plaid and some introspection

When I started out blogging a year ago, I wasn't really sure of my purpose.  Why blog?  I already had a crafty facebook page to show off my creations, but I also wanted to teach and inspire.  I wanted to share and connect with other artsy-fartsy folks like myself.  Was that all I wanted?  I'm sure deep down I wanted to be recognized as a crafter/artist.  I'm sure I fantasized about how Martha Stewart was going to knock on my door offering to co-author a craft book with me.  But after having one year of blogging under my belt, I've learned some hard truths and faced some tough realities.  Well, maybe not so hard and tough, but truths and realities all the same.  :)

I grew up in tiny town where I always stood out as artistic.  I was asked to paint signs for local businesses, I won ribbons for my artwork, and it was no surprise when I said I was going to art school.  I stood out a bit as an artist in college, which only spurred me to believe that I was pretty hot shit in the art department.  While I never was able to make a career out of making fine art, I contented myself with creative jobs in catering and youth art programs.  I got married, had my kids, bought my house, and then what?  I started sewing/selling purses via a facebook page which eventually took me to blogging.

What are the hard truths I was writing about earlier?  The truth is I'm not really THAT cool.  The truth is there are TONS of cooler folks out there than me.  I'm not going to rock the craft world and be the next Martha.  I'm not going to get tons of money and renown for writing about zippered pouches and hosting online sewing challenges.  I could try, but effort I'd have to put forth to market myself and my creations would have to be monumental.  An effort of that magnitude would make me and my family miserable.

Because at the end of the day, I'm not an artist.  

I'm a wife.  

I'm a mom.  

Unless you're married to a famous actor, political figure or a felon, or given birth to one, you'll never get famous for being a great wife and mom.  I'm OK with that.

For me, blogging has presented some unexpected obstacles as well as rewards.

The obstacles being:

1. HTML.  Thank goodness it's mostly cut and paste.  
2. Fragile ego.  I geek out on my stats daily.  My head inflates when the traffic increases.  But not all my posts become as popular as I thought they would.  I really worked hard on all my Tudor rose posts, but they never really caught on.  On the other hand, my No Dye Tie Dye post, took off like wild fire.  Go figure.
3. Time.  Here I am sitting at the computer for 1.5 hours.  I originally just wanted to share what Plaid sent me in the mail and now I've completely changed directions and am off on a totally new tangent.  I've rewritten the first three paragraphs several times and feel like I'm wasting my afternoon sitting at the computer when I could be sewing.  Time.  There is never enough to say all I want to say.
4. Ideas.  Every time I come up with what I feel is a radical and useful and wonderful new idea, I google it.  Chances are someone else has already blogged about it.  It's very difficult to come up with something original and new.

The rewards being:

1. Meeting people like me.  Not everyone is into making yarn out of t-shirts or Mod Podging old purses.  I treasure my blogging friends.  You rock!  You make me feel like I'm not alone, and you've taught me so much!!!
2. Having an outlet.  My husband and friends, bless their hearts, do not always want to hear about the inner workings of my sewing machine nor can they relate to the supreme frustration felt when I cut my fabric wrong.  
3. To inspire others and be inspired in return.  Sometimes you just need a jump-start to get your creative juices flowing.  Crafty blogs are great for finding inspiration.
4. A tiny trickle of money.  For my entire first year of blogging I made just under $200 for my ads and some paid posts.  That's after 140ish posts and a bazillion hours on the 'puter. Nothing to write home about, but better than a stick in the eye.  
5. Free stuff!!!  As you can see from the photo in this post, Plaid sends me free stuff from time to time.  I've amassed quite a collection of Mod Podge and such.  I've been approached by numerous companies and corporations to get free swag or articles in magazines, but Plaid is the only one who has really pulled through for me.  I love the products and the people are great. 

So what was my point?  I've written about identifying myself as a wife and mom, rather than an artist.  That is a hard truth that I have faced and accepted and embraced and am proud of.  I've written about the obstacles and rewards of me blogging.  Did I have a point?  LOL, not really.  But I do hope to learn some things from all of you.

What do you identify yourself as?  Has it changed over the years?

What are your biggest rewards and obstacles when it comes to blogging?

Thanks so much for your comments.

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

a.k.a. My Love or Mama

Back from the wilderness!

Mr. Ricochet and I honeymooned in Yellowstone National Park.  10 years and 2 kids later, we returned.  It was a whirlwind trip packed with tons of fun and bursting with excitement.  

The kidlets were such awesome traveling companions.  Their boundless energy was put to good use climbing mountains and walking nature trails.

Yellowstone is beyond bazaar.  With all the geo-thermal activity shaping and coloring the landscape, many places feel like alien planets.

Mr. Ricochet and I don't think we'll wait another 10 years to return.

I'm working on the voting page for the 2-in-1 Challenge today.  Stay tuned!

Happy hiking and enjoy your local wilderness,

Motherhood Rocks!

Yesterday was Mother's Day in the US.  I got my b'fast in bed, wonderful handmade cards and gifts, and a lovely BBQ dinner.  While I was reading cards from my 5 & 7 year olds, I remembered a time when they were little enough to rock to sleep.  That time is long gone, but they will always be my sweet babies.

Hugs to all you moms out there!

Garment Sewing Challenge

[psst...this banner is button linked to the challenge homepage..click on it]

I'm a bit apprehensive about the month of May.  Not the entire month.  Mother's Day is a nice event to look forward to.  However, the sewing challenge I got myself into.  Now that's another matter.  I have challenged myself (and others) to make a garment that I would be proud to wear in public.  I have a short history of sewing myself tops that rarely leave my closet and almost never leave the house.  Curious?  Kindred spirit?  Keep reading and I'll explain my dilemma.

First, I found this lovely top on the BurdaStyle website:  

[source]

Isn't it cute?  Casual, but stylish, right?  A pleasant step away from my usual uniform of t-shirts.  Plus, it was a free pattern and it looked quite simple to make.  What could go wrong?  Silly question.  First of all, I chose to work with knits for the first time.  I found a crazy good deal on all sorts of knits at a garage sale.  The seller used to make clothes for her whole family.  She had these striped knits that she used for making polo style shirts for her husband.  (Here's an example of I'm talking about.)  The price was right so I bought them all up.  When I found the BurdaStyle batwing top pattern, I thought I'd be so creative and use some of this polo shirt fabric.  Then I thought I'd blow the mind of the sewing world and turn the stripes vertical.  Yes, I thought I was so clever.  I was so wrong.  Take a look at my end product:

  

You might be thinking that it's not so bad.  I admit, it's not terrible looking.  However, it did not turn out anywhere near as cool as I had hoped.  I look like a rugby player or maybe a referee.  Structurally, I didn't take into account that the knit I chose only stretches in one direction.  So when I turned the stripes vertical, I ended up with a shirt that has no give "around" the torso.  Instead, I can stretch it down to my thighs.  But really, what good does that do me?  The biggest element of design that suffered was the bottom hem.  It has absolutely no give so it's tighter than I'd like it to be across my hips and more difficult than it should be to take on and off.  I'm not sure what happened to the neckline either.  The photo of the original shows a much deeper v-neck with thinner trim.  

I decided I had learned from mistakes and I'd try the pattern again.  This time I figured screw the neckline, it was too hard.  I went with a boat-neck style instead.  I used some velour knit from the same garage sale.  Here's how it turned out:

Halfway through cutting out my pattern pieces, I realize I don't have enough fabric.  I solved the problem.  You might notice that the front panel is divided in half.  When I was done, the top top was really big and bulky on me.  I ended up adding elastic to the bottom hem.  Conclusion:  this top is doing me no favors figure-wise, but it's OK for keeping warm while sewing in my basement craft room.  I think this style would look OK on me if I could get the fit and fabric right.  But I can't bring myself to try it again.

I researched my body type:  I'm a busty pear.  Not something I like to brag about, but I do enjoy joking about it!  What that means is that if you were to measure under my bust (my rib cage) I would be a size 8, my bust is a size 10, my hips a size 12.  Basically, I'm a small, medium and large sizes all at the same time.  According to my research, I should look good in tops and dresses with empire waists, deep v-necks, and no flaring out at the hips.  So I found and bought this pattern: McCall's M6120.  Here's an image of the top:

[source]

And here's how it turned out:

Once again, I used garage sale fabric.  This time it was a slinky, stretchy, metallic, synthetic fabric.  I feel like technically, I sewed a decent garment.  However, I failed in the fit and the fabric.  My bust was too big for the size I chose making the nice thick empire waist band curl up under my bosoms, and look sloppy.  The pretty little pleats are stretched to the limit, and my bra shows.  The fit across my shoulders and middle are is great though, so that's a plus.  The fabric, well you can see it's not very cool.  Literally, it's not very cool.  I sweat like a pig in it and it's so slinky, it just creeps up my body settling under my chest.  Not good.  Discouraging, in fact.  I haven't tried to sew a top for myself since.

So now you see why I NEED this sewing challenge.  I can sew handbags and am beginning to quilt with ease, so why can't I sew a stinkin' shirt?!!  This time, it will be different.  I have looked back on my past efforts and decided I need to step up my game and fork out some dough for better equipment (e.g., fabric).  

Look what I found:

Pippa is our cockapoo.  We rescued her from the pound a few months ago.  I love her!

I found a really cool piece of fabric at an actual fabric store, not someone's backyard (not that quality items can't be found at garage sales...that would be blasphemous to my thrifty principles), although it was on clearance at JoAnn's.  What can I say?  I'm cheap.  Anyway, I know some of you are thinking that fabric would be perfect for a skirt, right?  Well, I don't really do skirts, sorry to disappoint.  To back on subject, the fabric is a polyester knit.  It is a little silky, with a little bit of stretch.  I think it might work for this circle top pattern at a cool blog called Sweet Lemonyde.  I think this flowy top just might work with my fabric.  Thoughts?  Please, I need feedback so I don't hate myself.  Maybe that was too much pressure I just put on you?  How about you all just be friendly and keep me from making a wrong turn?  Please.  :-)

[source]

I'd like to make the neckline and edges finished very professionally, so I pinned this great tutorial by ikat bag.

[source]

One stipulation of this challenge is that you MUST try something new.  Making a top I actually liked is something NEW for me, but somehow I don't think that conforms to the spirit of the rule.  Instead, I'm going to learn how to bind edges with knits, AND how to tailor a pattern to fit my busty pear dimensions.  

Hopefully, I can pull this off and make a top worthy of public viewing.  Unless of course, you think I'm not on the right track.  Geesh, can you tell I have no confidence in this area?  Help.  Please.

While you're hear, please vote for your favorite Typography Challenge entry (during April 2012) and then check out the garment sewing challenge homepage.  You should join us.

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

I can't seem to get these photos to rotate.....they are turned the right way in every other program I open them in.....perplexing!!!!  I'm just going to go with it, so bear with me!

These are the Valentines we made for the kid's classmates.  The actual cards had a real sucker/lolly.

They're cute aren't they?  And getting so big!  It was just starting to snow as I took these photos yesterday.  It's February and promises of spring of still a couple months away up here in Montana.

Wishing you all lots of extra lovin' and huggin' and kissin' and romancin' on this day!

picnik, puppy, and purse...

Have you heard of the free online photo editing program called picnik?  I started using it when I switched over to google Chrome from Windows Explorer.

Why I think picnik is so cool:

My rather expensive photo editing program either doesn't have these features or if it does, the ones on picnik are just easier to use.

Picnik has always offered "premium" features for a small monthly fee.  Now, because picnik is closing soon, it is handing out refunds and allowing EVERYONE to use all the premium features for FREE!

Picnik closes for good on April 19th, so get over there and check it out!  I urge all of you, my sweet blogging friends, to please take advantage of this opportunity.  I know that I am eager to make some wicked cool collages for future posts.  I am also going to make some neato-torpedo graphics for the final Naughty Notions voting page.

We just got a new dog so that's been eating up my blogging time.  She's a 8 month old cockapoo that we rescued from the local animal shelter.  Our whole family is totally in love with her!  We named her Pippa.  Just look how cute she is:

  

Here's a sneak peak of my nearly finished Naughty Notions clutch.  I made the collage using the premium feature on picnik.

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,

And we're back!

Our vacation in Texas was very nice.  We were fortunate to be able to avoid some serious snow storms and ran into no car troubles.  The kids weathered the long days of driving with surprising fortitude and enthusiasm.  The adults, while less enthusiastic, were pretty good travelers as well.
We had a great time with family and ate way too much.  There was absolutely no drama, not that we were expecting it, but we considered it a blessing, none the less.

Some highlights included lighting fireworks, stunning sunsets, seeing all our family healthy and happy, eating BBQed turkey, and enjoying the mild weather.  If you were to ask the kids what they liked best, they'd tell you it was the hotel swimming pools!

Thank you all for the warm holiday wishes! Stay tuned for some posts on sewing and crafting, starting next week.

Cheers and big hugs from Montana,

Happy New Year!

Sunset on the family farm in Texas.

Happy New Year from your Montana girl in Texas,

Mistletoe

Mistletoe against the winter sky in Texas.

Merry Christmas, happy crafting, and big hugs from your Montana girl in Texas,

Where the deer and the antelope play. . .

Another great photo shot by Mr. Ricochet made on December 5th, 2011.  This one was taken with his phone.  The mountains are near Glacier National Park.  Beyond the mountains is Canada.  Currently, I am 1500 miles south in central Texas, spending time with family.  I'll see you all again in the New Year.

Warm hugs and best holiday wishes,

Montana made national news!

It's nice to see Montana in the news for something besides a natural disaster or extreme weather or the Uni-bomber.

Please enjoy this little news clip about a small Montanan town not too far from where I live.

(I'm sorry to say there will most likely be 15 seconds of advertising before the clip begins.  Please don't let that discourage you from watching the entire video.)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Warm wishes,

Maintaining your sewing machine . . .

For many years, my sewing machine was something I pulled out once a year to sew some curtains or make minor clothing repairs.  I never thought to clean it.  I mean how dirty could it get spending most of it's time resting in its original box under my scrapbooking table?

About this time last year I set aside my scrapbooking things and took up sewing in earnest.  I purchased a new machine (Singer 4422 Heavy Duty) for Christmas, I sewed what feels like a million handbags and never thought to clean it once.

A couple days ago I was sewing through some particularly thick layers of fabric.  The material was so thick that I hadn't noticed I forgot to lower the foot on my machine.  For those of you who haven't experienced this particular dilemma, let me explain.  When one sews without lowering the foot, the stitches appear to be coming out perfectly.  It's very deceptive.  However, when one flips over the fabric to reveal the backside of the stitches, one finds a mess of loose and tangled thread.  I my particular situation, I was sewing along for several inches until my fabric stopped moving.  It was then I realized my mistake.

The bobbin (which I repeatedly type out boobin for some reason) thread was all tangled up and wrapped around the feed dogs.  I had to cut it all out and cuss for about 2.5 minutes until I realized I had thread embedded deeply within the internal workings of my machine.  Then I figured it was about time I removed the metal plate in order to see what I was dealing with.  So after another bout of cussing because I couldn't find the tiny screwdriver that came with my machine I eventually did and this is what I found:

Oh.  My.  Goodness.  My sewing machine was definitely in need of some serious cleaning!  I used some tweezers to pull out all the bits of thread I had lost down under the feed dogs.  One more round of cussing and I found my little lint cleaning brush and went to work.

Shown above is just a portion of the lint I cleaned out of there.  Gross, right?  The lint in the grooves of the feed dogs was so compacted it was like felt!  I will never let it get this dirty again.  Never.

I finally got it all cleaned out.  I checked my manual and found out that my particular machine wouldn't require me to apply oil to any of the moving parts.  I changed the needle as well and was amazed that I could actually feel a difference in sewing performance.  The machine was smoother and quieter.  Amazing!

Because I like to share as well as entertain, here are some good links about sewing machine maintenance:

• This is a very comprehensive site full of tips and so-so photos:  http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_c/c-102.html
• Sew 4 Home is a favorite site of mine:  http://sew4home.com/tips-resources/sewing-tips-tricks/941-you-asked-4-it-care-a-feeding-of-your-sewing-machine
• Sew, Mama, Sew! has provided a great 6 minute video tutorial:  http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2009/04/spring-clean-your-sewing-machine/
• This is a great YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTKXU09gwkg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

After browsing these links and videos, I realized I would have had a much easier and safer cleaning experience if I had removed the needle!!!!  Next time I'll remember that!  No more Miss Lazy Pants for me when it comes to keeping my machine clean and serviced.  I am curious if any of you have ever been so lax in your sewing machine maintenance.  Please let me know I'm not the only one!

Happy crafting and big hugs from Montana,