The Christmas tree is a German tradition spanning about 400 years and involves taking a live tree in to the home and decorating it, to keep it there for the duration of the Christmas holidays. In the nineteenth century the Germans invented the first artificial Christmas tree which was made of wood however […]
journal - wips
Origami Ornament Day
The weekend was ripe with potential. And then I got laid out flat with some kind of cold/sinus/fall muck. So I decided to spend Saturday and Sunday playing around with paper and trying to figure out which origami ornament would be the one I make for all my friends and […]
journal
New chapters being added to my life: super long post
Life has a funny way of looping back around and smacking a person upside the head. Especially when, like me, you go with your gut. Let’s rewind to about 9 months ago. I decided to take a part-time-fill-in-every-once-and-awhile job in the Octagon Center for the Arts gallery shop. It was […]
journal
Vacation Fini!
We did our vacation in 5 phases. It was an awesome good time AND exhausting. Oktoberfest Triathlon. A few days in Galveston, Texas swimming in the ocean, eating candy, and eating amazing food. 5 Days with friends outside of Dallas. Backpacking in the Ozarks — the White Rock to Shores […]
journal
Postcards, a promo, and snail mail love!
It’s a commonly known fact that I love mail of the slow kind. So much so that I rented out a PO box (PO Box 1314, Ames, Iowa 50014-1314) just so I could get unsolicited mail from anyone wanting to send it my way. When UPrinting contacted me about sponsoring a […]
journal
Vacation!!!!! Check it.
Jason and I have been having a huge blast being on vacation this week. Vacation 2012 phase 1 was doing the Oktoberfest Triathlon (my first repeat race! Last year it was the first Tri I did). We ate a ton of pre-race amazing food.
journal
haha, hi.
Sooooooo, sorry you haven’t heard from me for a long time with no explanation. You see I encountered something I’ve never encountered before. “Missed Scheduled”. I thought you all knew that I was on ragbrai and was taking some time off and while that doesn’t excuse my absence this past […]
journal
Make Do and Mend Contest!
Calling All Crafters! Do you have old, worn out clothing that you can’t wear anymore? Or perhaps you just stained your favorite tablecloth and don’t know what to do? Well, I’ve teamed up with Storey Publishing to host the Make Do and Mend Contest! Take your worn out or damaged […]
clm - journal - zines
What’s a Zine?
I first wrote this post 12/15/2009, it addresses such a great question of “what’s a zine?”. Since I’m knee deep in working on the next issue and thinking zine-y things, I thought I’d update it, and re-share it with you. Enjoy! I love getting questions about zines. It’s one of […]
journal
Last Week on Craft Leftovers
In case you missed it, I shared a recipe and story about making French Toast – which is a delicious breakfast staple. It was a pretty light week otherwise because of my travels. Last weekend was the Maker Faire (awesome), and Jason and I decided to drive around the country for a […]
journal - round up
Create, Eat, Think Roundup – Fuel Your Creativity!
Create
1. Beautiful Fabric Pendant – I can just imagine a little fabric leftover being used for this.
journal
Meet me At the Maker Faire!
I’m sitting on my friend’s couch right now…. no big… except that my friend’s couch is in San Francisco! Jason and I packed the car on Tuesday and have done an epic cross country journey to get here. 33 hours, 3 mountain ranges, and holy moly I’m glad we opted […]
Crafty Business - journal
LIVE Video Chat with me Tonight!
Hey everyone! I just wanted to remind you that TONIGHT, I’ll be hosting a live video chat on my new book Mend It Better. If you go to my Shindig event page at 6PM ENT (5PM CST), you can talk with me, ask questions, and hear some never before insights […]
journal
Meet the Author (me!) LIVE Thursday at 6pm Online!
I am happy to announce that I will be hosting a live book talk on Shindig, a new customized video chat space for live events. We will be connected globally via webcam online, and can interact and participate in a live talk about Mend it Better!You can socialize with other […]
journal - round up
Round Up: April Showers….
May Flowers! Maybe we aren’t quite there yet, but with flowers all around me I couldn’t help but be inspired by them. See all the posts I loved this weekend after the jump!
journal - little woods homestead - thrift kitchen
Weeknight Crunch: Top Five 20-Minute Meals
The thing that keeps me from eating out more than anything else is an easy, delicious, fast meal. Jason and I will hit that 7:00PM wall where dinner really needs to be on the table like a half hour ago, we’re both hungry, we are both tired from working all […]
journal
Sick as a dog.
Okay, so I’m sure you’ve maybe seen my random crabbing about being sick on twitter. But the truth is, I’ve been realllllllly sick. Chicago kicked my butt and took my name down so it could kick it again. I’ve been pretty much unable to do anything more than lay on […]
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Meet me at Chicago Zine Fest!
After Renegade I was floored with how exhilarating it was getting to meet so many of you! Blog/Zine making is such a solo act. I still don’t really understand what “40,000 unique visitors a month means” because if I did, I think I would have a panic attack. But going to a […]
book review - journal
My first book: Mend it Better!
I’m so excited to officially announce the release of my first book Mend it Better! It’s in stores now and on the shelves officially – I’m a nerd, I went and checked! Go here to order it online from a number of great book sellers, or head over to your […]
journal - little woods homestead
New Addition to the Little Woods Homestead: Bob Barker
I’ve been lurking on petfinder.com since Jak passed. I’ve wanted a dog for so long and I was feeling a bit like fate sucker punched with me Jak – here’s this awesome super sweet dog…. who just happens to only have 9 months to live. I missed having a dog […]