One-Month Old Baby + One 10-Minute Craft: Status COMPLETE!

Baby Lars celebrated his one-month birthday this week, and to commemorate the moment, I felt I had to MAKE him something. 

I mean, what kind of crafter would I be if I didn't start producing for my first born child? 

Answer: An exhausted one, with only moments of "free time"


Luckily, I had a few white onsies, some fabric pens (not a complete box, of course, so I had to use a Sharpie as well) and when the babe went down for a quick 20 minute nap, I got busy.

The steps are no great mystery, but I had to post this project on the blog to prove (to myself) that I can keep crafting with a baby. 

If you want to make your own birthday onsie, note that Sharpie markers stink to high heaven, and I had to hand wash this number in cold water & detergent TWICE to get the stink out. This step slowed down my "quick craft" quite a bit, but had I been more organized, I would have known where my black fabric marker was and could have skipped the pre-wash altogether.   

We're having a lot of fun with this dumpling of a boy. He's got such a sunny disposition, and most of the time, he lets us sleep a few hours in the night. That's the best we can ask for!

xoxo

radmegan

Handmade Treasures for a New Baby Boy

What a moment in time this is for us. On the morning of Mother's Day (May 12th) I gave birth to our sweet little son, Lars. We are so in love, we can barely see straight.

We've been so overwhelmed with joy these last two weeks. We've also been incredibly blessed by the kindness of others. I haven't been able to work on many of my own craft projects the past months, but I've SURE had some busy friends and relatives. These are just a FEW of the very special handmade gifts we've received.

Row 1, Left to Right:
"Velkommen" doormat by my mom, Lavender Sachet with Viking Ship stitching by Jessica W., Thor inspired Viking Cap by Linda Z.

Row 2, Left to Right:

Knitted Viking cap Devon L. Crochet Converse & Hiking booties by Aunt Connie

Row 3, Left to Right:

Rad Viking Baby onsies by Johanna W., Viking baby bunting by my Creativebug friends, Embroidered carnivorous plant, viking and dragon onsies by Amanda H.

And this sweet Berenstain Bear storybook quilt by my mom

There are so many more little treasures that have filled our homes with reminders of love, tradition and talent. We feel so so fortunate to have so many wonderful folks in our lives, but especially, our little angel Lars. 

New Articles in Kids Crafts 123: Summer Craft Issue!!

There's a new issue of Kids Crafts 1-2-3 on shelves now at Barnes & Noble, Walmart and Michaels! If you run across the issue, be sure to pick it up and look out for my TWO SUMMER CRAFT articles; one on "Seashell Magnet Friends", and one on making "Fingerprint Chalkboard Frames for Dad!"
 
I had tons of fun working on these projects with my sweet little nieces and hope you enjoy these projects with your own wee ones!

 

Pre-Pregnancy Food: Roasted Tomatoes

We're looking at 8 days until the due date of our first baby! With the onesies washed and organized, car seat installed, and hospital bag packed, my new area of focus is FOOD. What on earth can I make/assemble/re-heat while in recovery mode. Fortunately, we have some seriously gifted and generous family offering help, but this morning, I decided to roast a batch of cherry tomatoes to have handy when mama needs a boost of vitamins.

 

Roasting tomatoes is super easy, quick and makes salads, pizzas and sandwiches THAT much tastier. Plus, it's a great way to make your toms last longer when you get a bumper crop. 

Here's how I roasted mine:

- Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes

- Slice them in half and toss them in a large Zip-lock bag.
- Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil per 3 cups of chopped fresh tomatoes.

- Grind sea salt to taste into the bag

- Add a large handful of fresh thyme (chopped) into the bag. 

(rosemary, basil and garlic are all welcome in this mix if you have them on-hand)

- Seal the bag and give it a few shakes to coat the tomatoes in the oil and herb mix.

- In a 300 degree oven, spread the tomatoes onto a lined (foil or Silpat), rimmed baking sheet

- Bake for 40 minutes 

- Store in a jar in the fridge (if you don't gobble them up right off the cookie sheet first!)  

Enjoy!!

Looking Back: Norway

I'm currently 37 weeks pregnant. It's been an awesome journey for me, but this week my body has commanded me to SLOW DOWN. So, I'm looking back through old travel photos. Here are a few snaps from our Bergen -> Flam train ride a couple of summers ago.

 

Looking Back at Craftcation 2013

I spent last Saturday teaching at Craftcation and I just wanted to say that I had THE. BEST. TIME.

It's such an humbling experience to attend a conference that brings such inspiring business owners, makers and doers together. Time and time again I overheard intense conversations about how attendees were torn between two workshops in one time slot; they KNEW that both would enhance their businesses or lives and would get so upset that they couldn't attend both. I can't think of another event I've attended or spoken at where I heard this same complaint so frequently. There wasn't a workshop, panel or hands-on craft class in the entire line-up that didn't look AMAZING. 

I started off the day teaching a small group of 16 students how to take their DSLR cameras OFF of the automatic setting, and get familiar with what the dials and modes mean, and how and when to use them. 

If I'm honest, I was a bit nervous about this workshop. My "pregnancy brain" reached unparalleled levels of forgetfulness over the weekend, but keeping the group at a manageable size was a great help to me. I sent everyone home with "recipe cards" on how and when to use bracketing, what depth of field is, and how to "paint" with light. I may have also handed out a few of the DVDs I recorded on craft photography!

(Apologies to the folks who were on the waiting list and got turned away. I'm sure whatever workshop you ended up in was just as useful.)

Next, I had the pleasure of sitting on the "Effective Blogging for Business" panel with my Creativebug buddy (and author of Vintage Craft Workshop), Cathy Callahan, the best-selling author of The Handmade Market Place and Grow Your Handmade Business, Kari Chapin, and moderated by the hilarious and whip-smart Rosalie Gale of Unanimous Craft! The discussion was fairly straight-forward (how often should you blog, how do you get more followers etc.,) however the surprise take-away was that a lot of us are not blogging as much as we used to, and perhaps the reason is that blogging is NOT an effective tool for business. What do you think?

My last workshop was a full-house of crafters eager to learn how to build their own light box for better craft photography! 

  I was feeling mighty pooped out by this point, but I have to say, there is something awfully energizing and motivating about being in front of such a large group of folks, eager to learn. My students were awesome, and everyone left with a helpful tool that will diffuse light and ensure better product photography. Hooray for that.
Note- This workshop also had a huge waiting list of peeps who were turned away at the door- so if any of you are out there now- I have the full light box tutorial here on my blog. Enjoy!

One of these years, my plan is to attend a few workshops as well as teach them. But until that time comes, I'm just so honored to be a part of the Craftcation community, and want to extend a HUGE thank you to Delilah and Nicole who are the masterminds and muscle behind this event. They are two of the nicest, and hardest-working ladies you could ever hope to know.  And thanks too, to their amazing crew of volunteers who always set my mind at ease and put a huge smile on my face. What a tremendous team you all are! 
Hope to see you next year, Craftcation! Thank you again for the memories.

Radmegan Peeps Contest at Creativebug!

There's a Radmegan Peeps Contest going on over at Creativebug this week!

Leave a comment on their blog to be entered. Contest ends Friday- so hurry on over if you want to win a couple of pre-made Radmegan Peeps AND all the stuff you need to make your own!

Good luck!