Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now!

CONGRATS TO JULIE L., BABEECRAFT'S FIRST GIVEAWAY WINNER!

I suppose this dates me a bit, but every time I learn of a new giveaway, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' song bumps around my brain for hours afterward. I can only imagine the number of times I will be stuttering "give it away now" while standing in line for groceries this week, the week of my first giveaway.

You can win this cute "For the Birds" set of 10 blank note cards and 5 matching gift tags by leaving a comment below (click on the "comments" link below this post). Be sure to include your name in the post and tell me which item in the Babee Crafts shop you like most.

Increase your chances with 2 additional entries.

• "Like" the Babee Crafts Facebook page (all fans automatic earn one entry in the giveaway)
• Follow @BabeeCrafts on Twitter and send out a tweet about this giveaway. Make sure to tag your tweet with @babeecrafts. (Tweeting earns one entry. You do not earn more entries each time you tweet.)

This giveaway will end on Friday, January 28th at 5:00pm EST and a winner will be selected through random.org and announced the evening of the 28th on this blog, on the Babee Crafts Facebook page, and through Twitter.

Good luck!

^{perched bird images used on the cards and tags created by Blackleaf Studios}

52 Questions: Why?

Where did January go? We're already spilling into the fourth week of January, and I'm just now able to set aside some time to start to think about 52 questions, my pet project to take on one question about parenting each week. Looks like I have some catching up to do.

Why 52 questions on parenting? Well, first let me say that I am by no means an expert on parenting. I do not hail from a large family with siblings numbering in the double digits. I have not written any books on parenting. I am not an early education researcher with an alphabet of university degrees. I don't spend my days wiping away boogies and drool from a room full of toddlers...well, not usually. Instead, I am a mom interested in connecting with and learning from other moms.

My eldest son is nearly two and a half while my youngest son is five months old. I know that I cannot even begin to imagine all the peculiar situations that I will certainly find myself in raising these two gregarious boys nor imagine the millions of questions that will arise from these moments. After having to explain to my two year old in the middle of the grocery store why he shouldn't "honk" mommy's boobies while he sits in the cart, I know to expect the unexpected. But, what I found is that when I share my experiences, when I spend some quiet time reflecting and writing on both the proud moments and my parenting pitfalls, I'm better able to be a parent. My hope is that as I respond to these weekly questions, it will encourage me to be more present, to spend more time reflecting on not only the parent that I want to be but the parent that I am. And, in doing so, I hope to connect with others who are traveling this same road.

Front Page...Sort of

So logging into Etsy this morning I noticed that I had a number of new people favorite items in my shop. Strangely enough, many of them hail from Europe. After a quick search using CraftCult's Etsy tools, I figured out that my Baby Washcloth Sushi Rolls were featured in a treasury that made it to Etsy's front page around 4am this morning. Okay, my item was in the original list, but my rolls didn't actually make it on the front page. Still, I was within reach!

I Am Cookie Monster

Growing up, my mom would begin to stock up on wax paper just before Thanksgiving in preparation for the frosting, packaging, and storing of tin upon tin of Christmas cookies. Our dining room table would be lined with wax paper while my younger sister and I rolled out dough and cut it into stars, bells, Christmas trees, and a very awkward looking Santa, which once baked, never really resembled much of anything. Later, the wax paper would be rolled out once again as we frosted the cookies. Wax paper lined the kitchen counters as my mom made press cookies and those crumbly nut-filled cookies that are rolled in powdered sugar that I never learned the name of. At last, the cookies would be carefully packed into decorative tins, layers separated by wax paper, and given out to our postal carrier, our neighbors, co-workers, teachers, and friends.

With two children of my own, I now stand in awe of my mother, not so much that she was able to bake and give away such a variety of confections during the holiday season with my sister and I running around, but that she was able to keep any sweets in the house at all! I have tried to bake Christmas cookies and peppermint bark and fudge to give away during the holidays. And I can usually time it so that I can do the baking while my youngest naps. My two year old loves to help out and dons the apron that matches mine, made for us by my mom, in order to help me stir all the ingredients together. The problem is - I can't keep the sweets around long enough for them to be given away!

And so, I give up. Instead, I've rediscovered some quick cookie recipes perfect for making with little ones and munching on at home. The recipe below is from my mom, a no-bake chocolate and peanut butter cookie that you can make in just a few minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa (try Dutch cocoa for a yummy dark chocolate treat)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
• 3 cups quick oats

DIRECTIONS:
Boil together the first 5 ingredients for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and oats. Mix well and drop by spoonful onto wax paper. Allow to cool.

And that's it! Easy, fast, delicious cookies just for you!

It's Not You. It's Me.

I do some of my best thinking during the twilight moments, somewhere between lucid and dreaming. As my head his the pillow last night I realized I was working too hard at being something I'm not all that interested in being...well, at least as far as this blog goes. I adore all the crafty mom blogs out there. Each week I see moms posting tutorials and giveaways and recipes, and I have tried to imitate that approach with my Made By Me Monday tutorials and Tech Tuesdays and whatnot. But I didn't really start this blog with that in mind. Instead, this blog was borne out of my work with students and blogging about my adventures in teaching. Upon becoming a parent I realized that much of my reflection on teaching connected with what I was also learning as a new parent. I wanted a place to share those reflections, to connect with other parents struggling in similar ways, and start a conversation. Turns out, I didn't intend to start a tutorial blog. I was just easily sidetracked by all the great tutorial blogs out there.

So with the coming new year, I'm going to start again, returning to where this blog began. But I need your help. Last night I had an idea that I would blog each week in response to a question. So, I need 52 questions, one question for each week of 2011. I'm not talking "What color should I paint my kid's room?" kind of questions. I need 52 of the big parent questions to think about, reflect on, and respond to. I'm already thinking that I need to respond to a question on religion. What happens if you were raised a religion but haven't attended in years - should you return to services simply because you've had children? Or something to that effect. Maybe even some practical parenting questions - to cry it out or coddle? Or how about how do you handle gift overload during the holidays? Help me create my list of 52 questions to answer. Use the comment box below to post your ideas. I'll start to organize a list as the questions start rolling in.

Fabulous Finds Friday: All About the Holiday Tutorials

There's still time to get your craft on before Christmas. Check out these great tutorials and blog posts for some inspiration and motivation.

• Elizabeth over at Twelve Crafts Till Christmas has a great post on Handmade Holiday Tips. She gives me hope that there's still time to finish those seven or so unfinished projects cluttering my dining room table.


• I love all the ideas over Green Eyed Monster for Sustainable (and creative) Gift Wrapping Ideas. I'm already scouring our house for old books to use their pages as gift wrap. But if you do receive some gift-wrapped packages, repurpose that wrapping with some creative origami. Check out their great tutorial for a Repurposed Wrapping Paper Box.


• I was at JoAnn Fabrics this morning buying terra cotta pots and paper mache letters, inspired by Jessica over at Craftily Ever After. I LOVE the "Noel" wall art, especially since it's inspired by Philly's own "Love" sculpture. And I'll be putting together my mini-potted pines tomorrow morning.


• I love this DIY Dish tutorial for felt flowers. I used it for the felt flowers that I added to the yarn wreaths I created for gifts this holiday season.


• This is another great fabric flower tutorial posted a while back by Wise Craft. And in my search for different fabric flower tutorials, I'm so glad to have run across this blog. Wise Craft is full of such great ideas and ones that I can relate to!

Tech Tuesday #5: Twitter or Facebook?

I'm cheating a bit for this week's Tech Tuesday. I'm posting a link to Amber Jordan's article "Should I use Twitter or Facebook for Marketing my Handmade Business?" over at Handmade Spark. It's a short piece, but full of great links and information for marketing your handmade crafts online. The short of it - Twitter is the way to go.

The key is to make sure that you are using Twitter effectively. "A constant stream of look at me updates will leave you alone in the tweet-o-sphere. You have to learn the tweeting etiquette and use the 80/20 rule. You retweet useful articles, links, interesting tweets made by others 80% of the time and only self promote 20% of the time," says Jordan. It's all about establishing relationships, especially in the handcrafted online sphere. You need to know who you are connecting with before just jumping in to either Facebook or Twitter. So, to help you get started, Jordan passes along a couple of great links:

• What Message Are You Unconsciously Sending on Twitter?
• Craftypod: Being More Authentic Online, with Kirsty Hall
• Times Are Tough: Should You Cut Back on your Publicity Efforts?
• Craftypod: Engagement Marketing for your Crafty Business