What does your home feel like when you walk into it? Does it create feelings of warmth, peace, happiness and cause you to feel ‘at home?’ Does it feel like a haven, like the place where you can create memories?

When you walk in your front door do you groan because everything is such a wreck? Does your house smell like last night’s dinner because there are still dishes mounding in the sink? Do you physically tense up when you get home, realizing everything that needs to be done?

Most of us are somewhere between those two extremes. Today I want to talk about the Almost Lost Art of home-making. When I say home-maker, do you picture a housewife wearing a dress, apron and high heels? While some days I long to wear my heels around the house I generally personify the home-maker in jeans and slippers (in the winter, summertime is barefoot). To clarify, I’d like to clear up what I think a home-maker is:

Home-maker: a person that’s responsible for making a dwelling into a home their family loves and keeping it that way.

I know, brilliant definition. I think that sums it up though. A home-maker makes a home. What makes a house a home though? How can the place you sleep differ from the place that feels like home? Here are my key ‘home’ elements:

1. Looks inviting – What would be the one word people would use to describe your home? Chaos? Confusing? Overwhelming? When someone comes to visit are they going to feel comfortable or embarrassed? Clean up your entryway and make the first impression say what you want it to.
2. Feels restful/peaceful – No, not boring. Does your home feel like a place where you can relax, unwind and be comfortable?
3. Reflective of family’s style/values - If you are ultra modern I wouldn’t expect your home to be country-looking. If you are a devout Christian your home should reflect that. Got a bunch of kids? I wouldn’t be surprised to see some toys. Insanely obsessed with Star Wars? I wouldn’t be shocked to see a Yoda door-knocker. The point is that your home is personal.
4. Sense pleasing – How does your home smell? What does it sound like? What does it feel like? What does it look like? Taste … how’s your food?

There you sit, lost in the pile of mismatched socks or chipping away at the dried food that’s plastered to the high chair and you’re thinking, why try? There’s NO WAY my home is going to look like a picture in Better Homes And Gardens. Well, that may be true but that’s not what you’re going for either. You’re making your home. Here are some things I left out of my ‘key home elements’:

1. Everything put away – at no point in the history of our family has everything in our home been put away all at once. I wipe down the bathroom and socks are on the floor. I pick up 4 Barbies and farm animals take their place. It just doesn’t happen.
2. Everything clean – nope. There’s always something that’s dirty. Are you grossed out? The somethings I choose to leave unattended the longest include dusty ceiling fans and mini blinds and the grossness behind my stove and refrigerator. Something has to give. It isn’t going to be something I consider important: bathrooms, kitchen, floors, bedrooms, so I choose the lesser of the evils.
3. Everything decorated - Some of you might have this checked off, I’m really not even close. While I do think my home mildly reflects our family’s style it is by no means ‘decorated.’ That’s ok with me for now. My home does not have to be decorated to be my home. Being a home-maker does NOT equal being an interior designer (thank goodness!).
4. Everything done – When I sit down and put my feet up at night it isn’t because everything is ‘done.’ It’s because I’m finished for the day and I feel like I’m home.

Is home-making tough for you? Do you feel like you just aren’t up to it? Maybe your standards have been too high. This week, try to make one small ‘key element’ change in your home. One thing I plan to do this summer is paint my front door. It’s scuffed up and yucky looking. A fresh coat of paint will make a world of difference. It doesn’t take much to turn the place you live into the place you like the most.

What can you do to make your house feel a little more like home?

This was the last segment of the Almost Lost Domestic Arts series. I’d love for you to check out the rest of the series. Thanks!

January 7 - Sewing

January 14 - Knitting & Crocheting

January 21 - Cooking From Scratch

January 28 - Growing and Preserving Produce

February 4 - Purposeful Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping

February 11 - Being Your Children’s First Teacher

February 18 - Home-making

Why I do what I do ~ Tonight I was marveling at how my 2-1/2-year-old daughter already knows all of my buttons. She called me into her rom after we put her to bed and asked in the most pitiful voice she could muster, if I would lay with her. I gave her a hug and forced myself to say no (I give in to this sometimes), after which she asked if I would please sing to her (which I did), then asked if I would cuddle her. She would have kept at this for an hour except that I had inched my way to the door and was closing it … because I just can’t resist that sweet little voice. It appears I’m not too tough to figure out.

photo credit: timlewisnm

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If you have children you are their first teacher, whether you mean to be or not. Today I want to explore some ways to be their teacher on purpose. I’m not talking specifically about homeschooling, although that certainly fits in, I’m talking about taking responsibility for what your children are learning and creating an environment in your home where it is encouraged.

This is probably my favorite installment of this series. I love being a parent and I’ve enjoyed creating an environment that encourages learning and creativity for my daughter and nieces. It’s a work in progress for me but also something I’m committed to.  Regardless of what type of schooling your children receive or you plan to enroll them in, your place as a parent cannot be matched.

The following story was recently recounted to me by a friend who had been talking with someone else about the daycare their children attend. The moms were talking about how much they liked the daycare because they incorporate learning activities in their program as opposed to just babysitting. The other mom sighed and said to my friend, “I know, it really helps because now I don’t feel like I have to read to my kids.” That mom has really misunderstood the idea of parenting … in my humble opinion.

Parenting is loving and caring for a child in such a way that he/she will be best equipped to enter adulthood. Of course parenting continues once your kids leave your house but the relationship changes. Keeping this view of parenthood in mind, I’d like to share several traits and values that I believe parents should model and begin teaching as early as possible.

• Honesty. How many times did your parents say, “You’re in trouble because you lied, not because of what you did.”
• Kindness. Being nice to someone without being asked.
• Manners. Beyond please and thank you. Hats off, hand over heart, open doors, etc.
• Humility. Putting others first.
• Sincerity. Mean what you say.

The chances of these values being strongly instilled in your child outside of your home are slim. The best way to teach them is to model these characteristics yourself and encourage great behavior.

I’m sure you’ve met plenty of super nice adults that were as smart as sawdust. So, there’s a balance to what we emphasize. Parenting involves nurturing strong character traits and brain power. Before your young learner heads off to kindergarten here are some things worth introducing.

• Reading. Don’t freak out. I’m not telling you that your 2-year-old needs to learn to read but I am telling you that it should be a normal and important part of his life. Again, in my humble opinion … reading is the single most important thing your child should learn to do well. Everything depends on it. Read to your child.
• Letters and Sounds. Teach her to sing the “ABCs” and that A is for Apple, etc. Being familiar with letters and their sounds is great for reading readiness.
• Numbers and Counting. Count things constantly and they’ll catch right on.
• Shapes and Colors. Once they get them try asking, which circle is bigger?
• Fine Motor Skills. Teach things like holding a crayon, then a pencil (be sure to let them choose which hand). Learning to “write” and cut things also fit here. Lacing, zippers and puzzles are great too.
• Coordination and Self Help. Take the lid off the sippy cup if you’re brave. Let them pour things, dress themselves, help with chores.

I’ve done a few things to incorporate purposeful learning into our day. I made shapes on the computer then printed, colored, cut them out and laminated each one. I use those to teach colors and shapes and I don’t have to worry about them being destroyed. They can also count and arrange them. Right now I’m working on making a felt board to work on letters and numbers a little more. We just did lacing for the first time the other day and that went really well.

Are you overwhelmed? You shouldn’t be. These are just some ideas to work on. The point is that you do what works best for your family. You don’t have to take on a full preschool program at home for your child to be ready for kindergarten. You just need to be mindful of what they’re learning.

Do you agree with my definition of parenting? What can you add/subtract from my lists?

Check out the entire series.

January 7 – Sewing

January 14 – Knitting & Crocheting

January 21 – Cooking From Scratch

January 28 - Growing and Preserving Produce

February 4 - Purposeful Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping

February 11 - Being Your Children’s First Teacher

February 18 – Home-making

Why I do what I do ~ Today while I was buckling Chloe into her car seat she scooped some dirty snow off the bottom of her shoe and put it in her mouth, proudly declaring, “Look Mom! I’m eating snow!” Gross, but I had to smile.

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Welcome to the next part of the Almost Lost Domestic Arts Series. In an earlier segment of this series I shared my experience learning to cook from scratch. Let’s just say it wasn’t an automatic thing for me. Learning to cook was great but planning to cook is another thing entirely.

Intending to cook from scratch is all well and good but if you don’t plan what you’re going to make and have the ingredients in your house then you are going to end up frustrated every night and throwing another frozen pizza in the oven. The same conversation will inevitably plague you:

“What should I make for supper?”

“I don’t care.”

“How about ______ ?”

“No, not that.”

- enter frozen pizza in oven -

That’s pretty much how it would play out here. Frustrating. I’ve only been a stay-at-home mom for a little over a year. For the first 5 years of our marriage we both worked outside our home full time. We’d get home at 5:30 or so and have the conversation above. It got old. I got annoyed. I needed a new plan.

Menu Planning

I don’t particularly care for choosing which meals my family eats. I don’t mind making the meal at all. I enjoy cooking. I just don’t feel very creative when it comes to choosing meals. My mind goes blank. Hoping to be inspired, I’d wander around the grocery store waiting for something to say, “I’ll be cheap, easy and nutritious!” Yeah, it didn’t work. I needed an easier way to choose meals.

My solution: Meal cards. When I try a new meal that we end up liking I make a meal card for it. Meal cards are similar to recipe cards but they are easier. It’s an index card with the recipe name at the top, the ingredients listed below and an easy description of where to find the recipe (if needed). So when I sit down to make my weekly menu and I’m feeling uninspired I pull out my meal cards.

I plan 7 days of meals at a time and I grocery shop every Monday night. Monday afternoon I open the sale flyer for my one and only grocery store and compare that with my coupons and meal cards. My menu comes from that. My weekly menu goes something like this:

Tuesday: Something easy to clean up
Wednesday: Something more involved
Thursday: Something quick
Friday: Something fun
Saturday: Something easy
Sunday: Spaghetti for lunch, leftovers for supper
Monday: Something more involved

This probably seems pretty vague to you but it works for me. I plan our meals around our lifestyle. The nights we are busy I make less complicated meals. My crock pot helps with this a lot.

Grocery Shopping

Once I’ve made my menu and my shopping list I’m ready to go shopping. I love that I have a planned time to go every week. On Monday nights David cleans up after supper and gives Chloe her bath while I shop. There are a few great things about having a planned day/time.

• I don’t feel rushed
  
• I had a chance to plan, so I don’t waste time
  
• I can go alone – YAY!
  
• The store is quieter and I can think

I have a grocery shopping budget that both David and I agree on. It’s a tight budget so I don’t just toss things in the cart. Here are the things I do to ensure the most successful shopping trip.

• Carry a calculator. I keep a running total so I know how close I am to my spending limit. This helps me prioritize. Snacks don’t enter the cart until all meal items are purchased.
• Have a full stomach. I’ll be less inclined to buy snack foods if I’m not hungry. It also helps me to chew gum.
• Go alone. Nothing will blow my budget like a nagging child. It makes me feel rushed and flustered.
• Stick to the list. I don’t buy extra things until the list is purchased.
• Buy meat/dry goods in bulk. I only buy meat when it is on sale, which is a huge money-saver. Non-perishables that we use frequently are the same.

Having a plan helps take a lot of the stress out of our evening meals. I already know what I’m going to make each night and I plan accordingly. It doesn’t always go perfectly but it has brought a much smoother rhythm to my week.

How about you? How does meal planning and grocery shopping work in your home? I’d love to add some tips to the conversation!

Check out the whole series!

January 7 – Sewing

January 14 – Knitting & Crocheting

January 21 – Cooking From Scratch

January 28 - Growing and Preserving Produce

February 4 - Purposeful Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping

February 11 - Being Your Children’s First Teacher

February 18 – Home-making

Why I do what I do ~ At the library today Chloe told me she didn’t want to go up the stairs, she wanted the eldervator.

photo credit: ellievanhoutte

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Welcome to the 4th part of the Almost Lost Domestic Arts Series. Today we’re taking a look at Growing and Preserving Produce.

I’m a beginner at both gardening and canning. I’ve had a vegetable garden for two years and I’ve only ever canned two different things; tomatoes and strawberry jam. My yard is small and only gets about a half day of sun in the summer so it isn’t an ideal garden spot. That’s ok with me though. I see these as my practice years for when I get a good “garden yard.” The things I’ve grown include: tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, banana peppers, cucumbers, squash, zucchini and beans. I’ve had varying degrees of success with each item but will readily admit that every minute of my time and energy spent gardening was worth it.

Why is Gardening Worth Your Time and Energy?

• It’s a valuable skill. Learning to cultivate and grow your own food is a sensible thing to learn and not at all a waste of your time. Don’t get many habanero peppers where you live? Grow some.
• Gets you out of the house. There’s something about being outside and working in my garden that makes me relax and think clearer. Does this happen to anyone else?
• Peace of mind. That green pepper in your fridge; where’d it come from? How long ago was it picked? How many disgusting places did it go before your house? What was it sprayed with?
• Money saver. Although this isn’t the top reason for me I do have to toss it in here. The cost of produce where I live has really shot up in the last year or two.

Ok, so you’re at the end of the season and your garden is producing more than you can consume (awww shucks, you poor thing ).

What’s to be Done With Your Excess Produce?

• Can it. Canning has nothing to do with cans. It’s all about jars and lids and rings. Canning preserves your food without preservatives by sealing it in an air-tight container. For more information check out this site.
• Freeze it. I don’t have a stand-alone freezer so I can’t do too much of this, but if you do then you should definitely try it. I froze some garden beans which I later steamed. Wow. I wish I had more.
• Give it. Friends, family and coworkers would all love to have some fresh tomatoes. Get creative and make up a cute little hostess basket of fresh produce from your garden. Try a local soup kitchen or food pantry too.

A great place to start … try growing a tomato plant in a pot on your porch or on your front steps. I’m actually considering doing this with my tomatoes this year to get them a little more sun. Also, I can’t write this post without sending you over to Get Rich Slowly. J.D. has some great posts on gardening. Start with this one.

Where are you on this one? Do you believe you have a black thumb? Are you an experienced gardener? Throw some tips to the beginners!

Check out the whole series here!

January 7 – Sewing

January 14 – Knitting & Crocheting

January 21 – Cooking From Scratch

January 28 – Growing and Preserving Produce

February 4 – Purposeful Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping

February 11 – Being Your Children’s First Teacher

February 18 - Home-making

Why I do what I do ~ My daughter just went to bed with her new library book. Her room is too dark to read it but she loved it so much she had to take it along.

photo credit: twinxamot

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Welcome to the third part of the Almost Lost Domestic Arts Series. Today’s art is Cooking From Scratch.

Some of you know I’ve been married for 6 years. Previous to that it never occurred to me that I didn’t cook very well. I’d helped my mother in the kitchen many times and thought I had absorbed plenty. When I got married I was completely caught off guard when I realized I couldn’t think  of any meals to eat, and even if I thought of one I had no idea how to make it. I ate so much take-out and cafeteria food in college that I didn’t even realize I never actually MADE anything.

Every night it would go something like this: I would say, “What do you want for supper?” He would say, “I don’t care.” I would say, “How about ______ ?” He would say, “No, not that.” I would sarcastically reply, “You pick something then.” He would resign, “Fine, make ______. I don’t care.” With that encouraging conversation behind me, I would head to the grocery store and wander around, hoping for something to jump out at me. I’m sure you can all guess how well that went. I came home with a frozen pizza.

I’m not sure when it happened (maybe after gaining 20 frozen-pizza-pounds), but one day it dawned on me; I bet there’s a better way to do this. So, over the last few years I’ve learned to cook, bake and meal plan. What I want to share with you today is how I learned to cook and bake. For those of you that have always been natural at this, you may roll your eyes now, but only if you will please share a useful bit of information in my comments below!

• I learned to stock my kitchen. Many times I would have a great idea and find the recipe online, only to feel discouraged when I didn’t have (or never heard of) several ingredients. If you don’t keep basic cooking staples in your home then you are going to have a hard time branching out. Whipping up a batch of cookies at the spur of the moment is no problem now because I always have all of the basic ingredients on hand. Here are some staples I would recommend for someone looking to stock their pantry: flour, white sugar, brown sugar, shortening, vegetable oil, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, salt, vinegar, vanilla extract, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and spices. Sorry for not being specific on the spices, but it really depends on what you like. I have a lot of spices for Italian foods, grilling and baking. I keep a lot more than this list in my pantry, but this is a good starting point.
• I actually used my cookbooks. Want to know how long to roast a chicken? It’s in there. Want to know how to prepare a pork shoulder roast? It’s in there. Bottom line, there’s a lot more than recipes in a basic cookbook. When I finally became fed up with not knowing how to cook anything I sat down with my cookbooks and read them. Yup, just like a book. Now they are beginning to be filled with notes and stains on the pages, just as they should be. Sounds obvious, but I wouldn’t have had any idea what was in them if I hadn’t taken the time to look.
• I found some online resources. Once I started trying things I wanted to branch out more. I am a very frequent user of All Recipes. I have a full recipe box there. I love that I can see what other people tried and failed at before attempting something myself. Some other good sites: Cheap Healthy Good, The Kitchn, and My Baking Addiction.
• I tried things. If something worked I wrote it down. If something didn’t I wrote it down. Armed with my hubby’s support (he never made fun of me or discouraged my experimental cooking) I tried different things until I developed an idea of what we liked as a couple. We were each raised with a different style of cooking, so it took time to figure out the things we both liked. There were a few recipes that came out terrible, but mostly they were edible. Either way, I still kept a frozen pizza on standby.
• I wasn’t afraid to ask questions. The first year or two of my marriage I called my mother constantly to ask cooking questions. I actually still call her now, but not as frequently. I called David’s mom to ask about some recipes that he liked growing up. An amazing thing happened; I learned things.

There isn’t anything revolutionary or truly eye-opening here, but that’s the great thing.  If you find that your family eats out of a box or from take-out a little too often it really isn’t difficult to change that. You just have to start. You can begin by making one meal per week from scratch and then increase from there. Here are a few great reasons to try it.

• Homemade food is comforting.
• Homemade food is less expensive (once you’ve stocked the pantry and you plan well).
• You know exactly what you are eating, no harmful additives.
• Homemade food can be healthier. You can have control over your family’s health if you are mindful of what you make.
• Once you get the hang of it, homemade food just tastes better.

So, where are you in this? Did you roll your eyes in the beginning? You better leave a comment. Are you just learning? What has worked for you?

Check out the entire series here.

Why I do what I do ~ I just caught my niece carrying the toilet plunger out of the bathroom. Ewwww.

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Thanks for joining me for the second part of the Almost Lost Domestic Arts series. The purpose of this series is to bring you information about some fantastic domestic arts that have almost gotten lost in our technology- and consumer-driven culture. The first segment was on sewing. Today I’m talking about knitting and crocheting.

I am a true beginner at both knitting and crocheting. My grandma taught me how to crochet when I was young and I made several blankets. I really enjoyed it, but then I didn’t do it again for a LONG time. Now I’m having trouble remembering and I don’t know anyone personally that can sit with me and remind me of the basics.

Knitting is something I’ve only picked up over the past few winters. I learned the basic ‘knit stitch‘ and I was off making one scarf after another. I got brave this winter and made this hat. Learning to knit and remembering how to crochet have been soothing to me. Although I’m just a beginner I’m learning there is a whole world of knitting and crocheting out there that is bigger than the blankets and scarves that I’ve created.

Why Knit Or Crochet? There are several reasons that I can already rattle off for you, even though I’m just a beginner.

• Money Saver. Of course I bring this up first. My friend Amanda, who gave me a lot of tips for this post, introduced me to the idea of ‘frogging.’ Basically, you unravel an old, knitted piece that you no longer care for and re-use the yarn. Here’s a great site to check out for more info on that. I also have to bring up gift-giving. You can create some beautiful, thoughtful gifts with knitting and crocheting that will be personal and meaningful while also remaining inexpensive. Baby items are a good place to start and of course, scarves! You gotta love knitting one, long straight rectangle.
• Sanity Saver. Once you get the hang of knitting or crocheting it doesn’t take too much thought. Of course, if you are working on a more complicated pattern you will be more involved, but basically you can sit and knit something simple while watching your favorite show or talking with a friend. Some people need to relax but have a hard time sitting still – this is for you.
• Heat Saver. Ok, I just like the “Saver” thing I had going. Knitted and crocheted things are very warm and they last. I crocheted a queen-size blanket for my husband about 7 years ago or so.  We are blanket snugglers, so we have quite a few throw blankets. We were just marveling the other day at how strange it is that the knitted/crocheted blankets are the warmest. It doesn’t seem like they would be very warm because of all the holes in them, but they are the warmest ones we have.

Considering that I’m a beginner, I can’t personally give you a ton of advice on this topic, but I know several people that can. I enlisted them.

First, Kate from Curiositys wrote a post as part of this series. She gives some fantastic resources for beginning knitters. She suggests a couple books to check out along with some websites with tutorials and free patterns.  She also does another great thing – she explains what some of the abbreviations mean. I know one frustrating thing for me has been not understanding some of the patterns that I’ve found. Kate includes a pattern in her post for an adorable knit cuff. Her pattern is easy to follow and the pictures are very helpful. Also in her post is one of my favorite things that she has made, this lap blanket. It isn’t for a beginner, but I am DYING to try it.

SouleMama posted recently on knitting listing some resources for beginning knitters. She also had readers comment how they began knitting. The things she creates are beautiful. If you’re at all interested in knitting you’ll be inspired by browsing her site.

My friend Amanda, who really should have a blog, also told me about the site Ravelry. The site says, “Ravelry is a place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools, and pattern information, and look to others for ideas and inspiration.” Amanda said it’s great because you can see pictures of the same pattern made by different people from all over the world. If you’re looking to join a community to get some inspiration this would be something great to check out.

Hopefully you find some helpful resources here. What’s your level of experience with knitting or crocheting? Do you have any tips to add? Please leave them in the comments! 

Be sure to check back next Wednesday for the third part of this series on Cooking From Scratch. If you’d like to participate I’d be happy to include you, simply go here and see what to do.

Why I do what I do ~ I just found a raisin stuck to the bottom of my foot. That can only happen to a mom. How lucky am I?

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Welcome to the Almost Lost Domestic Arts Series. Today begins the first installment with a look at sewing.

There are some of you reading this that would like to stop reading right now because you don’t think sewing is for you, in fact, you know it isn’t for you. Don’t stop reading. Sewing is not an out-dated art reserved for quilting old ladies or talented tailors; it can be a fantastic (and frugal) expression of your own unique taste.

My history with sewing begins with necessity. I should tell those of you that have not met me in person that I’m pretty short, 5’1″ to be exact. There is not one pair of pants made that is meant to fit a person of my measurements. I love to wear blue jeans, but they are usually about 4-6 inches too long, really not passable unless you’re 15; so I learned to hem my pants. It’s really not that big of a deal, but it does need to be sewn (no double-stick tape … I actually did that in college) to look nice. So I would borrow my mom’s sewing machine here and there to hem pants when I needed to. Next thing I knew I was grabbing old sheets and wondering what I could make them into. Thus began my sewing addiction. Now, I’m not saying you need to be an addict, but sewing is SO useful that it would be a shame to ignore it altogether. Here are few reasons to consider sewing:

• It’s frugal. That’s a big one for me. This past spring it started to get warm (not until almost June here) and I realized I didn’t have any summer dresses for my daughter. So, I bought an easy pattern and sewed about 5 dresses that all looked different and cute for about $1-2 each. I got familiar enough with the pattern that I could sew a dress in one naptime. 
• It’s less wasteful. I am constantly repourposing things by sewing them. Things I have repurposed by sewing: old sheets, the cut-off part of blue jeans, old t-shirts and more.
• It’s personal. I’m not an expert at sewing, but I do it a lot so I’m getting better quickly. The great thing about that is that I can actually make things to give to people. Not only can I make a personal, unduplicated gift, but it generally costs much less money than what I would have purchased.
• It’s easy to start. If you know of someone with a sewing machine that will allow you to borrow it, all you have to do is press the pedal with your foot. There are plenty of tips that will make your effort more successful, but you’ll learn them once you get going. People that like to sew generally like to show others how to do it. So if you have a mom or grandma that can sew you would probably make their year if you asked them to give you some pointers.

Here are a few easy things I’ve created lately.

Time Out Mat

With my daughter and nieces running around my small home all week, we really needed this. I needed an exact spot for them to sit on, and I needed the spot to be able to move to different rooms with me. So was born the Time Out Mat. I used 2 fat quarters (18×22″) of fabric and a scrap piece of quilt batting the same size. I layered them like this: Then sewed them together, leaving about a 2-inch gap open. I snipped the extra fabric at the corners then I turned the whole thing right-side out, so the batting was inside, and poked the corners out nice and pointy with a knitting needle (you could also use a pencil). I ironed it then top-stitched the whole thing (being sure I closed the open gap) with a zig-zag stitch. Done.

Initial Skirt

If you want to make this skirt you’ll have to go here and check out Andrea’s tutorial. The only extra thing I did was add a pocket with a little fleece initial “C” for Chloe, of course. Speaking of Andrea …

Andrea over at The Train To Crazy has joined me for today’s installment with Sewing: The Useful Stuff. I first discovered her website through her skirt tutorials, which show how to easily (seriously, not difficult) sew little girl dresses. I sewed some for my daughter and nieces for Christmas (see above). She has some great pointers on sewing and also resources for beginners. You’d be missing out if you didn’t head over there to check out some of her great ideas.

Kate from Curiositys has also contributed to the first part of the series with a really classy dress pattern. If you have a good handle on the basics of sewing you really should head over to see the dress she created. She’s got the pattern and the instructions all listed on her site for FREE! You usually have to pay for patterns so this is a great find. Even if you’re a beginner at sewing it would be worth your while to take a peak at this dress. Kate, what do you think it would cost to buy this dress versus make it? I’d guess at least a $30 difference.

Are you an expert seamstress or maybe you’ve never come within a yard of a sewing machine, why not start now?  If you have a great link to share feel free to leave it in the comments.

If you’re interested in participating in next week’s installment on knitting head over here to see what to do.

Why I do what I do ~ There’s another winter storm headed our way, but I don’t mind. I’m cozied up in the house baking rye bread, roasting a chicken and cuddling with my little girl. It doesn’t get much better than this.

YNAB-You need a budget. Yeah you do.

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This series was published January/February 2009. Submissions are closed but you may follow the links to view each installment. Thanks!

Introduding a new series at Domestic Cents!

Beginning next Wednesday, January 7, I’ll be starting a series on Domestic Arts that have been somewhat cast aside. I’ve been noticing a few of them making a comeback and I’d like to talk about the importance of each of them and how they are both frugal and beneficial to you and your family.

Each Wednesday I’ll write on the Domestic Art listed on the schedule below. Take a look at the schedule. If there’s a topic that you’re knowledgeable about or if you have something to share I’d love to link to you in that post. The more information that is available the better! I am not an expert at any of these arts, but I am actively learning each of them, so officianados are welcome! If you’re not a blogger but still have something to add to the topic then be sure to check in each Wednesday and post a comment.

Series Schedule

January 7 ~ Sewing

January 14 ~ Knitting & Crocheting

January 21 ~ Cooking From Scratch

January 28 ~ Growing & Preserving Produce

February 4 ~ Purposeful Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping

February 11 ~ Being Your Children’s First Teacher

February 18 ~ Home-making

If you’d like to be a part of this series simply write a post as you normally would. Feel free to use my button (right-click to save on your computer and insert like you would use any other picture in a post) and then send me the permalink for that post no later than the Tuesday before the scheduled topic. I’m looking forward to it!

Why I do what I do ~ for the little girl decked out in a princess costume watching Monster Trucks on Christmas Day.

YNAB-You need a budget. Yeah you do.

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I just got home from visiting family over in Portland, ME. We had a great time. I relaxed, caught up with family that have waited much too long for a visit and I had a much-needed break. Now I’m home and I’m sitting here typing with a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of me (as my supper) and luggage piled all around me. I have unpacking, laundry and grocery shopping to do.

Seeing how I’m a little short on time and not in my usual relaxed writing mode (during my daughter’s mid-day nap) I thought I’d give you a few things to look forward to here at Domestic Cents.

On January 5 (next Monday) I’ll be hosting the Carnival of Family Life. If you would like one of your posts to be included in the carnival you may submit it here. This will be the first Carnival that I’ve hosted and it will be full of useful tips and links for family life.

The New Year will also bring a new series here at Domestic Cents. I’ll be starting a series on Almost-Lost Domestic Arts and why we need them. I’ll give you a list of the themes for each week in a few days, and if you have a post you think would fit just send it to me and I’ll be happy to include it.

I’m looking forward to growing this little blog in 2009 and I’m so glad that each of you are a part of it. Blessings to you and your family in the coming year.

 photo credit: henribergius

YNAB-You need a budget. Yeah you do.

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