Because being creative is essential to my well being

I've been in a funk lately with crafting. I have so many things I want to do that I feel like I don't know where to start so I don't. I buy the supplies for the projects, but then they sit there. In their bags. Staring at me. Begging me to do something with them. I just stuff them under the desk so they can't torture me.

Crafting is a release for me though. Do you know what it feels like when your creativity gets bottled up? Whatever your form of creativity is. Crafting, sewing, cooking, photography, writing....... So many different ways for it to bloom and come out. When my creativity is stifled, I feel like it messes with my life in general. Being creative and crafting makes me happy. It's relaxing. Allowing what's bottled up to come out affects how I see things. The other night I was in such a crappy mood. My husband called on his way home from work and wanted to know if I wanted to get the kids ready to go and meet him at the lake for a walk. My initial response (in my mind) was, "Heck, no! I don't want to do anything!" Getting the kids ready seemed way overwhelming. But I thought that it might help to get out of the house so I said ok. My awesome husband knew I wasn't doing so well and decided to come home first to help me get the kids together. On the way out, I grabbed the camera. I'm really, really glad I did. Being out and walking with my family, taking photos, finding fun perspectives and all that changed my attitude.

My husband and our 3 older kids

Sunset

Having fun with editing

Being able to get out and about and be creative with something as simple as taking a walk with my family and bringing my camera along was so good.  So very good.

Makin presents!!

So, my husband had a couple of friends come out for a visit. He hadn't seen these friends for over 15 years. They had all worked at an independent coffee house together when they were younger and recently reconnected via Facebook. (Gotta love the Facebook reconnections!!) 

My husband and I decided it would be fun if we made them something for their kids. One friend has a 3 year old son and the other friend has his first child due in January, also a boy. We decided to do freezer paper stenciled shirts with the logo of their old coffeehouse. But of course I couldn't stop there. I really love giving presents. Like, really, a lot. So, I added a super hero cape and cuffs for the three year old and a plush ribbon tabbed toy for the baby. 

not pictured:gray long sleeved tshirt

not pictured:superhero power cuffs

1. I bought a 5 pack of onesies and dyed them. The 2 that I freezer paper stenciled I twisted and then tied into knots before putting them into the dye bath. This was almost a gift/crafty fail. I realized as I was gathering all the supplies, the night before they were leaving (I know, I shouldn't have waited until the last minute), that I didn't have any freezer paper. Kinda panicking, I was looking all over the place and I saw a roll of paper that I thought was freezer paper. Turns out it was a roll of laminating paper. Turns out laminating paper works instead of freezer paper. And no need for an iron!  My favorite freezer paper tutorial is this one from Dana over at Made. She also has a great post on dyeing fabric.

2. I found this awesome little plush toy tutorial via pinterest. Isn't is so cute!! I love it!! I added an old wipes wrapper to the inside so it makes that crinkly noise when the baby plays with it. My 9 month old loved it. I want to make one for her Christmas stocking. And there are so many other cute ideas and tutorials on Chez Beeper Bebe!

3. What 3 year old doesn't love a super hero cape?! Jenny's tutorial is awesome. I love using a hooded sweatshirt. And I don't use the vecro, I just cut around the neckline so the child can slip it on over their head. I designed a little super hero logo for the back and used my laminating paper for that.  And the gray tshirt was another laminating paper stencil. 

My husband came home at 2 in the morning after hanging out with the guys and found me happily crafting away. The cuffs aren't in the picture because I didn't finish them in time. I was tired!! One little boy is going to get a fun little package in the mail!

I had so much fun making these gifts and the dads loved them. Yay!

Five MInute Friday:Voice

"No extreme editing; no worrying about perfect grammar, font, or punctuation.

Unscripted. Unedited. Real."  ~ The Gypsy Mama

Voice

Go

She has a voice, but she's refusing to use it. Something is going on. It's a big deal. It's not good. But she won't tell me what it is. I can't help her because I don't know. I ask leading questions. She gives vague answers. And changes the subject. It's so frustrating. 

I have to wait. While I wait, I'll pray. I'll pray for the Lord's peace. His comfort and that she'll be able to hear His voice through all the clutter. I'll pray for me so that when she finds the courage to use her voice, I'll have the wisdom that comes from listening to His. 

Stop

easter skirts

i've had this material forever. i knew i wanted to pair the floral with the stripe, but wasn't quite sure what for.  then i saw this layered skirt tutorial over at made (love, love, love her tutorials!!) and i knew what to use the material for! and, i had just enough to make one for my big girl and one for my baby girl! so fun.

i love the way they turned out. perfect for easter. these were the first skirts i've ever made. it wasn't really hard, but it wasn't a piece of cake either. there is definite room for improvement, but i'm happy and so is my big girl. she loves it and loved being able to match the baby.

five minute friday:gift

5 minutes. no backtracking, no editing. just writing.

gift

go

i am one. a gift, i mean. my mom says so. my husband says so. but that's so hard to think about myself and sounds so vain.

i have gifts to give. i don't know what all of them are, but i know they're there. i need to be asking what they are. nurture them so they come out at the right times, so that they are fully formed and mature. no one wants a half finished gift, right? or do they have to be fully formed?

gifts have been given to me. 4 little ones. my husband. my family. i treasure them.

i treasure my gifts. i am a gift. i am treasured.

stop

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lucy jane and a book review

i had my fourth baby 10 weeks ago yesterday. lucy jane. she's awesome.

she's the second baby i've had completely naturally in the hospital. my first was a natural birth in the hospital. my second was a home birth, yes, on purpose. :) my third was in the hospital. he was induced with pitocin and i had a shot of nubain, but no epidural. and then lucy, a natural birth at the hospital 3 weeks sooner than expected.

there are several reasons i chose to go natural. number one was that i could not handle the huge needle in the back thing. i also learned that when you start with one intervention it can and a lot of times leads to other interventions ultimately a c-section. i know that not every woman who gets an epidural ends up with a c-section. i have lots of friends that have had one and have given birth without any complications, but having the epidural increases the chances of having a c-section. i did not want that. there are also risks and complications that can arise for both mom and baby when using pain medication. i didn't want to deal with any of those no matter how small. the last thing was that i wanted to see what my body could do. pregnancy, labor and birth are so often looked at like a sickness or a medical procedure or an emergency waiting to happen when, in fact,  a woman's body was created to do these things. the woman's body is an amazing miraculous thing!

don't get me wrong, i am so very very thankful for obs and the knowledge they have. my sister would have been one of those women that would have died in childbirth way back when. between having a blood clotting issues, placenta previa, and the baby being transverse (lying horizontal in the womb as opposed to head down) she would never survive this labor and delivery if it weren't for her ob and specialist. i also am not one who will judge another woman for having an epidural. if a woman came and asked me, i would definitely encourage her to go natural and give her all the information i know and recommend books to her for more in depth information.

books like this one:

this is unbound birth:how to have a natural birth in the hospital, by jennifer yarborough. if you're a first time mom or just wanting to have a natural birth or thinking about your options, this is a great book for you. jenny has a great conversationalist style of writing. it's like chatting with a friend about what you can do to help you have the natural birth you want.

jenny does a wonderful job of weaving together her own personal birth stories with helpful information and quotes from other women who have had natural births. topics include pain management, why the baby's position is important, why you may want to have a doula, and diet and exercise. a customizable birth plan is also included! jenny gives you links to other resources if you want to study further the topics that she covers.

the book is very encouraging and would be very helpful to those of you who are new to the pregnancy and birth thing or if you are just finding out that a natural birth in the hospital really is a possibility should you want it.

at just under 60 pages, this ebook can easily be read in one sitting.  unbound birth is a wonderful wonderful resource and very very much worth the short amount of time to read and low cost to buy!

you can purchase unbound birth:how to have a natural birth in the hospital here and here. you can check out unbound birth the website where jenny has more information and right now has a breastfeeding 101 series going on. unbound birth is also on facebook here.

if you want to have a natural birth, you can do it and this ebook can help!!!

going cloth

My mom had suggested using cloth diapers since my first pregnancy for both financial and eco reasons, but I always refused thinking I wouldn't be able to handle it. Over the years, I heard more and more about them. I looked into them a tiny bit when I was pregnant with my third, but wasn't convinced. During my fourth pregnancy, I finally decided to go for it. I researched and decided to go with Best Bottoms. (I love them)

Since this was my fourth child, I didn't really need anything. I let my parents and inlaws know that I wanted to go cloth and asked that if they were planning getting something for this baby, would they please consider a gift certificate to the online store where I was buying my diapers from. They did and I was able to get all the diapers I'll need from birth to potty training. I won't have to spend any money on diapers!!! Awesome!

Then I started to think about wipes. If I was going to use cloth diapers, why not go ahead and use cloth wipes? I'd already be doing the laundry. Adding cloth wipes to the load wouldn't be a big deal. I went online to look and found that most cloth wipes are just flannel squares. I decided it would be cheaper to make them myself. Armed with a coupon and a gift card I had received for Christmas, off I went to my local Joanns.

I found their snuggle flannel and bought 2 yards. With my 40% off coupon, it came to a little over $8. Since I used my gift card, I didn't have to pay for wipes either! Now, I know that I'll probably have to replace some of the wipes throughout the next couple of years, but I'd rather do that then spend money on disposable wipes that just end up in the trash.

Out of the 2 yards of flannel I purchased, I was able to get 40 8x8 wipes. That lasts me about 3 days (same as the diapers) before I need to wash without running out.

Making these wipes is easy. Here's a quick little explanation of how I did it:

What you need:

    *fabric, I used 2 yrds of white snuggle flannel from joanns. You could also use old kitchen towels or
       if you have an old flannel sheet or find a flannel sheet set on clearance somewhere, that would
       make you a ton of wipes!

    *a rotary cutter, cutting mat and ruler, You could also just use scissors if you don't have a rotary
       cutter.

    *sewing machine or serger

    *thread

Directions:

   *Decide how big you want your wipes to be. Mine are 8x8. 8x8 will fit in an old wipes box and/or
      a wipes warmer if you use one.

   *Use your rotary cutter, cutting mat and ruler to make your squares. I cut strips one direction and
      then went back and cut the strips into squares.

   *If you have a serger, serge around the edges. If you are like me and don't have a serger, use a zig
      zag stitch on your sewing machine around the edges so your edges won't fray.

Easy peasy! You can obviously make these any color or pattern depending on what flannel you pick out. I used white, but brightened them up by using a few different thread colors around the edges.

I've been using mine for about 2 months now and they're holding up great!! I keep mine in an old wipes box and wet them with water as needed. I'm going to try a homemade wipes solution of coconut oil, tea tree oil and water. There are wipes solutions you can buy, but there are lots that you can make. Here's link to one website I found. http://www.zany-zebra.com/cloth-wipe-solution.shtml Or you can google homemade wipes solution. FYI, coconut oil is a great diaper rash 'cream' and you can use it as a lotion!!

If you've been thinking about cloth diapering, I would really encourage you to go for it! My reasons are mostly financial with the saving the earth part being a nice bonus. You may be the other way around. Either way, cloth diapering is super easy nowadays. Really, really not that much of a bigger deal than using disposable diapers. And if you're going to cloth diaper, go ahead and use cloth wipes, too!