January 12th, 2011- 365 Photo Project

My love for homemade goes beyond just love....it could be considered an obsession.  I want to make everything....EVERTHING!!!  With this includes learning a lot of different skills.  One would be crocheting and knitting.  I hear knitting is hard...so we are starting with crochet.  My aunt who is amazing with crochet is teaching me.   So far I am a pro at the first chain!  Which isn't hard at all!  With time I am hoping to be making lots of different things and of course will be sharing it on here.

Sewing and Menus

One of my goals this year was to get more comfortable with my sewing machine.  Doin' it and lovin' it!  I haven't gotten too fancy with the machine but I feel pretty comfortable with the few projects that I have done.  It feels pretty darn awesome to be able to create my own things even if they aren't perfect.  But I actually love the imperfections in my creations.  In my eyes they are perfect and in my dreams my grandchildren will think they are perfect too.

My latest creation was my Christmas tree skirt.  I found one I loved online but it didn't have any kind of tutorial.  So I asked my aunt if it was doable and she said it would be pretty simple.  I went to her house two days in a row and got it done (with her amazing help of course and two kids in tow)!  My husband was out of town with our camera, so unfortunately I didn't take any pictures except for afterwards!

Since I don't have any fun pictures to go along with this.....I will share a short version of how I made my tree skirt.  It was pretty simple!

-Using two yards of burlap, I cut out a 50 inch circle with a slit and circle in the middle.
-I then cut out some muslin to match the burlap in size.  I then pinned the burlap and the muslin together.
-I wanted a ruffle, so I took some soft scrim style fabric and tea-stained it.  Then I took the fabric and pinned it between the burlap and muslin.
-With all those pins in place, I sewed the edge of the circle, slit, and middle circle together leaving about a 6 inch gap.
-I then turned the fabric inside out through the gap and GASP......a tree skirt.  It was exactly how I wanted it.
-I then added some strips of satin ribbon to the slit for ties and sewed up the gap.

It isn't perfect but it is definitely perfect for me and I love it!  I can't wait to start sewing more things and especially my own children's clothes.  A HUGE goal of mine!  What a better way to be sustainable then to make my own children's clothes!  There is just something about putting your own time and sweat into something you use and wear!  The sewing machine can be a bit intimidating but I will share more of my creations (and difficulties) as I get braver with the machine.

Here are some pictures I took of the skirt after it was all done.

I am posting my menu SUPER late this week.  It is a busy time of year but I still wanted to share some dinner ideas for you all!  My Christmas week menu will be up on Monday!  Even with all the temptations this time of year we are doing our best to eat organically and as healthy as possible.  But we are still enjoying some pretty delicious food!

MENU:

MON:  Whole wheat spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce and a green salad

TUES:  Garlic Tilapia Pasta (used less butter and less spice)

WED:  Veggie stir fry over brown rice and Egg Drop Soup (We used veggie broth instead)

THURS:  My husband's work Christmas party

FRI:  Snowman Pizza and green salad

SAT:  Baked salmon, baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli

SUN:  Leftovers and a big green salad

Peacefully,
Alyson


Memories are stitched with love.  ~Author Unknown

Reusable Produce & Bulk Bags and the Beauty of Upcycling

Time is slipping away from me.  Things are happening fast and I am finding it harder to sit and blog.  That means it is time to re-adjust my daily rhythm.  Which makes life fun!

I am finally finding some time to blog about the reusable produce & bulk bags I made last month with my mama.  I was so intimidated by my sewing machine but found it a lot easier than I anticipated and it gave me some much needed practice on my machine.  I am ready to start making some more fun things!

Needed materials:

• Organic Muslin fabric (We used some that my mom already had and we bought a couple yards at a fabric store.  I strongly believe since it will be used for food, that I shouldn't use any dyed fabric.  I don't want any color dyes to get onto my food that I will be consuming.)
• Cording or thick string (We upcycled gift bag handles.  We took off all the handles of any gifts bags that were no longer reusable at my mom's house)
• Sewing Machine
• Hooking tool
• Wood Kebab Skewer

Steps:

I cut the fabric using a cutter and a cutting mat.  I first wanted to make a smaller bag, to make sure I knew what I was doing.  So I fabric measurements that I cut were 26 inches long and 9 inches wide.  The smaller bags are perfect bulk bags for flour, sugar, oats, almonds, any grain, etc.

 

I then took the cut piece of fabric and folded it in half.  I then sewed the sides at an 1/2 inch.  On one of my sides I left about 3/4 inch unsewn at the top.  This is provide an opening for the cording/string to fit in. 

Then I took the top of the fabric and folded about 3/4 inch.

Next was to sew the top fold.  Make sure to leave an 1/2 opening for the cording/string.

 Turn the fabric inside out.  

Take cording/string and push it into the top opening with a wooden skewer.  Once you get the string/cording half way in, put the hooking tool in the other side and pull the cording/string out.

 Tie and enjoy your finished project!

You can of course, change the measurements for the size of bag you want or personalize it however you want.  You can also upcycle in fabric or cording from you house to make these bag.  What better way to make an green impact on this earth but to upcycle for a reusable bag.  Get away from those nasty plastic bags!  Put your creative hat on and have fun with it!

I really enjoyed this project and plan to keep making bags, all different sizes and for all different uses!  It has motivated me to keep on creating, especially items that promote an ecofriendly environment.  My sister gave me a book called "Rubbish!  Reuse Your Refuse!"  by Kate Shoup.  This book shows you how to give everyday household items a new life.  With more than 30 creative projects upcycling and reducing trash, I will be one happy "green" mama!  Keep a look out for some fun eco-friendly upcycling projects posted on here.

Happy Creating,
Alyson

"Every day is Earth Day." ~Author Unknown

Menus and Love

Happy Love Day everyone!  In our house, we celebrate our love for each other everyday, so today is just like yesterday!  BUT we do have a little fun with different projects, treats, and card making when celebrating Valentines Day.  Today I am just going to share with you a couple pictures of how we prepared for our "love" day.

Last week, we did some watercolor painting on recycled watercolor paper.  We then cut hearts out of the painted paper and made homemade cards with them.  All of our card making was from materials I already had at home.  The only thing I bought was the recycled watercolor paper, recycled card stock, and a cute owl stamp.  We had a lot of fun creating our own cards. 

This morning I made chocolate chip pancakes for my boys.  They were delicious!   My son and I then continued our morning with decorating organic chocolate cup cakes that I made last night.  At Whole Foods I found organic red licorice hearts and red sprinkles that were naturally dyed from beet juice.

 

On to our menu for the week.  Last week was unusual for us, our menu got a little messed up at the end of the week. We are usually pretty good at sticking to our menu but life happens and we just go with it.  At the last minute my husband got an out of state photo job and had to leave for the weekend.  So the menu for the weekend, got a little rearranged.  SO you will see a couple repeats this week because I didn't get to them last week.  Recipes and pictures will be coming soon for the cookbook recipes.  With the seasons slowly changing, I am getting excited for the growing season to start and fresh produce to start arriving.   Eat smart everyone!

MENU:

MON:  Cod with Fennel Butter, Steamed Artichokes, and Roasted Rosemary Potatoes (*Recipe will be posted next week)

TUES:  Huevos Rancheros with Kale

WED:  Homemade Veggie Pizza with a fresh garden salad

THURS:  Salmon Croquettes and a fresh green salad (*Recipe will be posted next week)

FRI:  Farm meeting and dinner at our good friends house. 

SAT:  Falafel Pita Sandwiches with homemade Hummus and Tabbouleh 

SUN:  Out to dinner to celebrate my amazing Mother's Birthday!

EXTRA COOKING:
Kale and fruit morning smoothies

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

I hope everyone has a great Valentines Day and a beautiful start to your week.

Happy loving,
Alyson


"Where there is love there is life."  -Mohandas Gandhi

Valentines Heart Felt Wreath

My goal to be more crafty and start making my own decorations, clothes, curtains, blankets, etc is all becoming real for me.  I am enjoying the process of learning new crafts and projects and excited to get them going.

For St. Valentine's Day I found this very cute wreath at a blog I have loved reading for a couple years now, The Idea Room.  It looked pretty easy so I decided to try it.  I loved it!  It was a fun experience, from going to JoAnn's to get the materials, preparing the felt (with my little helper), to finishing, and taking pictures.  The Idea Room suggests buying 3/4 yard of felt and that was a perfect amount.  I had a few scraps but I will be using them to work on my sons felt board that I am making.  No waste!!!!  I finished yesterday and I am enjoying it hanging up in my living room. 

You can find the directions to this wreath at The Idea Room or at Design Sponge. 

Here are my pictures of the process.

My materials.

My lil helper bringing me more felt circles!

Half way done!

All done

What a cute model!

He is my heart!

What are you making this week?

Happy crafting,

Alyson

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  ~Elizabeth Stone

Valentines Sneak Peak

It is way past my bed time, but I wanted to share a little sneak peak on what I am creating this week.  I got all my materials last week and when my little man is asleep, I am able to work on it.  I will post my finished project this weekend.  This project will also turn into a photo challenge I am going to enter.  Two in one!  YES!  I got the idea from an awesome craft blog, which has inspired me since 2009.   I will post the link with my final project!

Before pictures:

Happy crafting,

Alyson

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.”  — Henry David Thoreau

She's Crafty.....

A month or so ago I had made the decision that I would stop buying greeting cards of any kinds.  No more Birthday, Christmas, holiday cards, invitations, thank-you's, and any kind of cards.  I have two exceptions to my new rule.  The first one is to keep and send the cards I already own.  I am STILL working on my Thank-yous from our wedding.  I know...I know....WOW it is taking me forever.  Well in my defense it's very hard to keep up on stuff like that when I have a 2 year old, work, school, a husband, a house to keep clean, and a small business to help run.  BUT I am working on them slowly and send one or two at a time.  So after those are done I will have no more in the house.  The other exception are cards I would buy that were made locally in support of a local business or artist (Saturday Market, etc.).

I decided that from now on I will make my own cards.  It is cheaper, a lot of fun, more personal, brings out your creative imaginative self, my son can join the fun, and if you use the right materials is better for the environment.  I am slowly going to start building on my collection of craft materials and hopefully soon I will be able to bust out a card for any occasion in minutes!  I am also going to start looking for environmentally friendly papers and craft materials that I will be able to use.  I might start looking for things to reuse around the house that would look cute on cards or other craft projects.  Things like buttons, old magazines, any kind of paper, ribbon, photos, old greeting cards, etc.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!  I'm excited to start being more crafty and watch my son use his creative little mind.  Keep an eye out for more blogs on my crafty projects!

Of course since Valentine's Day is coming up, I had to start making some Valentine cards.  A couple of weeks ago I had some girlfriends come over and we made our own Valentines.  Everyone brought a little bit of their own craft materials and we all shared.  We didn't have templates, models, cheat sheets, or instructions.  We just used our creative minds!  Ayden even made a Valentine before he went to bed. It was such a fun night filled with delicious food, yummy drinks, great company, and fun crafts!  I think I might host more crafts nights like that!

Since that craft night Ayden and I have been working on doing some more Valentines.  Every few days we make more.  It is so fun and Ayden is really enjoying the crafts.  It is so amazing to watch him be artistic and use his creative mind.  I can't wait to see what his creative outlet will be when he gets older.

Here are some pictures from my girls/craft night.

 

Here are a few pictures from my point and shoot camera of Ayden making Valentines with me this morning.

 
Happy Card Making everyone!
-Alyson

"The only things in my life that compatibly exists with this grand universe are the creative works of the human spirit." -Ansel Adams