SouleMama

SouleMama Sponsor ~ LISA LEONARD DESIGNS ~

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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Lisa Leonard. In Lisaa's words:

"Lisa Leonard designs creates beautiful gifts filled with meaning. From necklaces to wedding treasures and home décor, each piece is hand-crafted with care. We know you'll find the perfect gift for yourself or a friend."

You can follow Lisa on her blog or through Twitter!

SouleMama: Tell us about the beginnings of your business.

Lisa: Lisa leonard designs started out as a hobby business. I used to do home parties with friends and had some local shops carrying my designs. It has been so fun to watch it grow—and challenging at times. I could never have dreamed we would be where we are now. I am so thankful for a business that allows me flexibility to be with my boys and a meaningful creative outlet.

SouleMama: What artists/crafters/teachers have inspired your work?

Lisa: My sister is an amazing artist. She can create beauty with the simplest things. Her home is filled with beautiful spaces and lots of natural light. She is a huge encouragement to me—and also a source of honest feedback.

SouleMama: Tell us about your customers.

Lisa: Our customers are mostly women who live life and feel deeply. They love their families and treasure these relationships. They recognize that life is sometimes painful but even in difficulty, beauty can be found.

 

For today's giveaway, Lisa Leonard is generously offering the following set to TWO lucky winner:

~ a $50 gift certificate to Lisa Leonard Designs! 

In addition, Lisa is offering all SouleMama readers 20% off their entire orders through August 1st, 2011. Use code shoplove20 at checkout. Hurry - offer ends August 1st!

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Thank you to Lisa Leonard!

To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Monday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post by Monday evening.

Comments closed! The winners are...

I love her work and would love to win!
Posted by: Jen @ Home Is Where You Start From

Another chance for Lisa Leonard? Thank you so much!! Happy Weekend everyone!
Posted by: Sophie - Meili Farm

SouleMama Sponsor ~ SWEETSKINS ~

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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Sweet Skins. In Mira's words:

"Sweet Skins is Organic Clothing made in Oregon by Mira Fannin, Mother of 3. Simple wearable designs that you will want to live in."

Follow along with the Sweet Skins blog!

SouleMama: How long have you been in business?

Mira: 7 years.

SouleMama: Tell us about your background. Tell us about what led you to where you are today.

Mira: started re-designing thrift store clothing for self. became a teen mom and started making kids clothing. finally weaned my last one and started making woman clothing. finally!

SouleMama: Tell us about the beginnings of your business.

Mira: started sewing in my garage in Oregon. selling at Saturday Market and music festivals. started website.

SouleMama: What does a typical day at work look like?

Mira: juggling teenagers and bolts of fabric

SouleMama: What inspired you to start your business?

Mira: needed to get a job, so I started doing what came naturally.

SouleMama: What inspires you?

Mira: Keeping my ladies on the cutting edge of fashion forward hippie eco chic everyday wear.

SouleMama: How are your children incorporated into your business?

Mira: All of my children are fashion forward in their own way. None of them are all about what I design though. Just this year my 18 year old daughter discovered and announced that "it's really cool" that all of my designs are organically and consciously made. That was a special moment for me!

For today's giveaway, Sweet Skins is generously offering the following set to TWO lucky winner:

~ 2 classic Tank Tees
(shown in third photograph. size options xs-xl, color options natural, black, slate blue, dark plum)

In addition, Sweet Skins is offering all SouleMama readers 15% off their entire orders through August 30, 2011. Use code SOULE15 at checkout.  

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Thank you to Sweet Skins!

To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Sunday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post by Monday evening.

Comments closed! The winners are....

Beautiful clothes, but seriously comfy looking.
Posted by: Baby By The Sea

These shirts are amazing!!
Posted by: Kimmy

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

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SoulePapa Blogs :: In the Thick of It

Having survived our tenacious four day "heatwave", we're back to situation normal in these parts.  Perfectly comfortable and reliable sunshine fill the calendar as we are forced to wring every last drop of pleasure from its grasp.   If it weren't for July, the state of Maine would be all but void of inhabitants.  July is so good that it can reboot an entire population, wiping their memories clean of what happened to them a few short weeks ago.  Remember?  When that absolutely frigid winter ran so far into spring that you began checking house listings in Brazil?  Then those spring rains came and pushed so far into May that you hadn't realized it was actually already June.  Remember? 

Nope, these are the days when anything is possible.  We can head west into the mountains of Northern Appalachia and neither completely freeze, nor be carried away by insects of the ferocious biting variety.  A tiny window of comfort in some otherwise seriously rugged terrain.  We may opt to venture to the fabled coastline, where the unforgiving waters of the North Atlantic briefly allows swimmers into its fold without numbing them, mind to toes.

Perhaps the biggest thing about July in Maine...it's no secret.  As the population swells with camp kids and tourists, we are left darting down unmarked back roads made of dirt to avoid the main arteries at all costs.  Cruise ships, tour busses and family wagons bringing people by the score to enjoy and share in the joy of our land in this, its most comfortable state.

So, yesterday as the mercury peaked at a most lovely 80 degrees Farenheit, we stayed home!

We walked among growing things and remarked at all that we didn't know.  Then we named a few that we did. 

We held on and wondered.  We let go.

We took a day to ourselves among the flurry of summertime living where the lists of things we hope to do are long and the schedules busy and full.  Yeah, our plans for July are concocted around the fireplace on those dark winter nights we've now long forgotten.  There's no way to complete all of our warm weather tasks.  No way to visit all of the sites we highlighted on our worn-out map.  But it's July.  In Maine.  It's really here and it's right now. 

In about a month (Amanda says a week) the wind will shift.  Even on hot days there will be a strange hint of cool wafting past that won't register on the thermometer but will be felt in our bones.  The beginning of the end of our brief season of Sun.  But that season is so good.  So perfect.  And we're in the thick of it.

There's only two seasons in Maine...Winter.  and Fourth of July!

                                                                 ~   Old Timer Saying

corners of our home :: turning turquoise

That was fun.

sleepily sewing shorts

There are so many reasons I love sewing for little ones. High up on the list is how very forgiving that kind of sewing is. Because even when sizing is a little off, or the fit not quite perfect, they still manage to be adorable wearing it. I'm sure of that. A recent example - this set of shorts I made for Harper.

The pattern is, of course, my favorite Quick-Change Trousers from Anna Maria's Handmade Beginnings (with the length shortened for shorts, and the elastic adjusted to 'just right' for Harper). The perfect pants pattern, I am certain. Easy, comfy, cute and...reversible! Which is oh-so-fun for this little one who loves dressing himself (or undressing as the case more often is).

 

(Mama and her pesky rules about chicken coops and shoes. They're usually ditched the second the chicken pasture gate is closed behind them.)

{Harper's shirt is from Silk Oak, overdyed in green just a bit, my favorite way to deal with stains on white shirts.}

Cute, right? He seemed quite pleased with them and they fit perfectly fine.

The next day, though, I went to make a second pair. Only to discover that I had first used the 3 months pattern pieces instead of the 2T. Oops.

This might have something to do with why I enjoy sewing so much for my little ones, but a little less for myself. I'm trying to imagine what it might look like should I wear something I made for myself four sizes too small. Not so cute.

And in the "right" size, a whole different look, yes? And yet, I think - and he thinks - they both work just fine. And no one is worse for the wear as a result of Mama's sleepy sewing mistake.

in the heat of the day

Hello, heatwave!

We are doing our very best to enjoy you, and remember, as always (and especially here in Maine), that this too shall pass (remember January? I do). Some of us love you more than others. But all of us are enjoying you most of all with a side of ice cream, many lake visits, frosty beverages, fans, plently of shade, all forms of cold, cold water, and a whole lot of moving very, very slowly.

How about you?

SouleMama Sponsor ~ SILK OAK ~

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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Silk Oak. In owner Jan's words:

"Silk Oak offers original design cotton clothing, hand silkscreened in our studio in Ithaca, NY since 1977!"

SouleMama: What do you dream for the future of your business?

Jan: My vision and dreams have evolved over the last 34 years. It used to be enough to make things that were safe, colorful, high quality and made people happy. I still believe in those values but the world is changing and I feel that businesses have a responsibility to be a force for positive change.

What does that look like for me? My business values need to mirror my personal ones. I buy goods made in the U.S., make them as sustainably as possible, pay a living wage and partner with others who are working on similar goals. I try to use Silk Oak as a vehicle to support local non-profits and groups that make a difference in my community, as well as around the country. That can find us making shirts to benefit our public school's Local Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Snack Program or donating money and time to projects that I feel passionate about. I feel fortunate that I still love what I do.

SouleMama: What inspires you?

Jan: There seems to be no shortage of things to be inspired by. Inspiration usually comes from the most unexpected places, like a gift! Over the years, I have found that, in my exploration of things that seem foreign or unrelated to my work, I find the greatest surprises. I always try to be willing to do something outside my comfort zone.

SouleMama: How do you avoid burnout?

Jan: It's easy to push yourself too far, especially when you are balancing family and work. I used to try to be superwoman/earthmama and do it ALL (and maybe I still can go down that path) but, I've learned to pace myself. I try to prioritize, make time for the things that are really important to me and accept that that will mean there are some things that may not get done. It's all about choice.

 

For today's giveaway, Silk Oak is generously offering the following "family" gift package to ONE lucky winner:

Bright, purple flowers on a hand dyed, hand silkscreened lime green skirt

Bright, purple flowers on a hand dyed, hand silkscreened lime green empire waist tank dress

Flying Fish Organic Trout Unisex Adult Tee

Flying Fish Organic Trout Unisex Child Tee

In addition, Silk Oak is offering all SouleMama readers 15% off their orders through August 7th, 2011. Use code SOULEMAMA at checkout.  

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Thank you to Silk Oak!

To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Monday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post by Monday evening.

Comments closed! The winner is...

Absolutely gorgeous! Thank you both for this giveaway!
Posted by: Boatbaby

SouleMama Sponsor ~ ROOST BOOKS ~

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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Roost Books. In their words:

"Roost Books presents lifestyle books that celebrate the small actions that can fill our days with joy. From parenting activity books to craft books, cookbooks, and more, the books in this imprint all have a positive sensibility and a contemporary aesthetic."

Join them on Facebook!

SouleMama: How long have you been in business?

Jennifer Urban-Brown: Roost Books is the just-launched lifestyle imprint of Shambhala Publications. Thanks to the wonderful contributions of our authors, our parenting and craft book offerings have grown and grown over the last five years. When we stepped back to reflect on this part of our publishing program, we found that not only did we have a great collection of books, but that they all have a shared sensibility. And so Roost Books was born!

SouleMama: Tell us what you envision and dream for the future of Roost Books.

Jennifer: We’re so excited about our forthcoming books! Of course we’re just weeks away from the release of The Rhythm of Family. And this summer and fall, look out for Playful Learning by Mariah Bruehl, a collection of wonderfully fun learning-based activities for kids ages 4 to 8; All Together Singing in the Kitchen by Nerissa and Katryna Nields, a book on music-making for families; and Made to Play! by Joel Henriques, a craft book filled with ideas on making your own children’s toys—by the creator of the blog MadeByJoel.com. We hope to keeping bringing out more books that value creativity, connection, and family.

 

For today's giveaway, Roost Books is generously offering the following gift to THREE lucky winners:

~ copies of two fabulous writing books: The Write Start, and Rip the Page! 

(In The Write Start, author and occupational therapist Jennifer Hallissy shares the secrets to supporting young writers—from the smallest of scribblers to middle-schoolers mastering script—as they learn writing basics and develop a love of writing that can last a lifetime.
And once your little ones are writing, Rip the Page! offers writing ideas, experiments, and inspiration to unfold their imaginations and get their writing (and perhaps your own) to flow off the page!)

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Thank you to Roost Books!

To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Sunday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post by Monday evening.

Comments closed! The winners are...

Those look fantastic :) We'd love to put them to good use!
Posted by: Gypsy Forest

My kids would love these!
Posted by: Kat Kirkwood

would love them!
Posted by: shadygrove

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

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the "new" arrivals

We've been joined by a few new critters on the farm in the past couple of weeks. Fifty new critters to be precise. The "meat birds" are here, and already growing, growing, growing right before our eyes.

After a lot of wintertime research and household debate, we ultimately decided upon the Cornish X birds (ordered from Mt Healthy Hatcheries). The birds are currently living in the brooder in the barn, but we hope to move them out this week once a portable coop is built for them (we're still finalizing our plans, but I think it might be a slightly glorified Polyface/Salatin-style structure with moveable fencing). The plan is to rotate them through the pastures during their short stay here. At the end of their growing, we will do the processing here ourselves, and then enjoy the fresh home-raised meat through the coming year.

This is all (the chickens, the hens, the pigs, the pasture we're trying to clear, the garden I'm growing, etc, etc) - "new" to us. And like anything new, that one wants to do well and thoughtfully, it comes full of research and debate and wondering....about the best way to go about it all - for the sake of the earth, our time, our health, our meal, and our collective - and individual - family spirits.

Daunting, sometimes? Yes.

In the newness, though, I'm grateful for the wisdom and experience shared by friends who have traveled this path before us. And for those who share their knowledge so graciously online (Throwback at Trapper Creek, posting on Simple, Green, Frugal Co-Op, has a wonderful series of posts on raising meat chickens). Or the plethora of books that have for years graced our bookshelves as we dreamt and planned.

I'm grateful, too - and perhaps most especially - for those who appear in our dooryard with an opinion or two. Those who always seem to make the very things we research, fret and talk about to bits, suddenly seem as simple as can be. Below, you see the man who bore witness to our month-long, exhaustive efforts to turn little miss Annabel from her breech position, and repeated to us each day, "She'll turn when she's good 'n' ready."

Simple and wise. And of course, true.

As we moved these birds from their arrival box to the brooder, with such a dooryard visitor having just stopped by, I found myself beginning to explain a whole lot. Why we got the birds we did, what we plan on doing with them, how we'll do that, the children's involvement, the food we'll blend for them, the structure to build...and on and on (and on). 

In response, I got a quizzical look - from both the older gentleman stopping by, and the young girl who knows (more than most believe) precisely what we're doing. A few simple words from our friend, and I was  stopped in my tracks. What are we really doing? We're feeding our family in a way that feels right to us.

That kind of simple truth comforts me, quiets me, and eases my wondering mind.  Hearing the words make me feel as though my grandfathers are both nearby, despite their passing long before I was on this path (oh, how I miss them!). My grandfathers who 'knew' this kind of living in a way that books never taught them. They knew it because they had always lived it, and those before them had too. Their knowing came not from the books on their shelves, but from the bones in their body.

As I find with parenting and so many other things in life, there's a place for all that reading and research, discussion and community - the value is immeasurable, and I am ever so grateful for it. But eventually, we reach the time when we simply must put one foot in front of the other, quiet our minds, take a deep breath, and have a little faith in our instincts. Somewhere,  deep in our bones, is the knowledge we need to keep on the path we're on. Whether we're talking about parenting, farming or feeding our family (or the perfect combination of the three), what's "new" to us is hardly new at all. There's comfort in that.

in my kitchen

This week, in our kitchen, we have...

:: been slowly - in newborn naptime increments - been making the shift from the crazy-hurts-your-eyes yellow we inherited with the house to a mellow yellow that makes me happy (even if no one else notices the change). It's Yolo's Grain .01.

:: loved making the walk from garden to kitchen, over and over again, and filling my basket up with goodness.

:: made kale chips nearly every day (I do something similar to this, with a little garlic powder mixed with the sea salt. And yes, it really is yummy on popcorn).

:: stained everything red with all the fresh beets we have been eating.

:: started a sourdough starter from here (the same source for my original kombucha mother).

:: cleaned out, and oh-so-thoroughly enjoyed the last of the 2010 frozen pesto...to make room for more.

:: added strawberries to our pizza (with feta, balsamic vinegar, and sliced almonds. Yum). (Our favorite pizza dough is the recipe from Artisan Breads Every Day).

:: made tarts out of all the raspberries Adelaide discovered behind the pig's pasture (I use the tart crust recipe from Good to the Grain).

:: enjoyed lettuce soup for the very first time, thanks to your suggestions in this post.

:: found any excuse to make whipping cream.

:: brought nearly every meal outside to enjoy. (It all tastes better out there!)

:: been helped all along the way by little hands and voice - the very best of kitchen company, indeed.

It's a busy place, this kitchen of ours.

What's going on in YOUR kitchen this week?

almost here

The Rhythm of Family: Discovering a Sense of Wonder through the Seasons is now available for pre-orders in my Shop!

It continues to be available for pre-orders through Shambhala, Amazon, and your local independent bookstore too. I expect it to start shipping in the coming weeks as we get closer to the official publication date of August 9th!

After a long hiatus from shipping things, I also have the shop stocked with copies of The Creative Family and Handmade Home. (Ordered through my shop, all books will arrived signed, and can be shipped internationally.)

A bit more about the book here.

Our advance author copies arrived last week. With a party to plan, house guests arriving, and a flurry of everyday family life happening all around us, we barely had time to open the package, give each other a high-five, and do a little jig before getting back to the reality of our day. But with a few of those things behind us, on our way out the door to the beach last night, I grabbed our copy. And there, I had a little glance. It felt fitting to be looking at the pages there - with five little ones in five different directions. Together, but on their own natural paths at the shore.

I'm so excited to share this book. We began the work on this project the very week that Harper was born. (Yes, Harper.) It's been such a large part of our lives since then - as we dreamed it, worked on it as a family, and wrote it (Steve and I) together over the course of more than a year (followed by an equal amount of editing and production time). I'll share more about the actual making of the book in a few weeks.

For now, I want to tell you simply that it's a collection of essays, projects, recipes and patterns from our family, through the course of a calendar year, as we traveled the seasons.  Sprinkled throughout are more special seasonal traditions from some special families who so generously contributed to the book -  Heather Bruggeman, Heather Fontenot, Amy Karol, Langdon Cook, and Maya Donenfeld. And of course, there's a whole lot of SoulePapa in here too.

A few words from Steve:

"As I began writing essays for Rhythm, I was drawn in by how much our lives change and shift through our cycle around the Sun.  How our interactions with each other as a family and as a part of society are  influenced by the pull of each season.  In our particular corner of the world, the changes are distinct and when the weather patterns erupt and merge in unfamiliar ways, it can have a very real affect on us all.  At times it became difficult to put thoughts into words when my own skills as a parent felt meager and our lives chaotic and disjointed.  But, without fail, those storms always passed and the essence of who we really are would return.  I learned that the rhythms aren't just in the positive, life affirming peaks.  They are in the beauty of the everyday grind.  They are in the determination of pulling yourself and those around you out of the most difficult of times.  We persevere and look for those glimpses of absolute love.   It was a wonderful challenge and great honor to contribute to this book."

Right. What he said. This magical mystical rhythm we're all so in search of isn't something you can tangibly hold and conquer, nor something that we always 'have'. Like the shifting seasons and passage of time, the flow of our family time together is just as dynamic and beautiful and intense and ever-changing. Slowing ourselves enough to notice our environment's earthly rhtyhmic changes - however subtle they may be where you live - brings us a greater awareness of not just the minute and beautiful natural world around us, but those rhythms and flows in our families too. And in that awereness and presence of mind, we find a deeper connection with each other, and the joy in family living. For there is so much joy to be found...

:: right now ::

Right now, I am...

:: feeling grateful for outdoor summer parties, sunny weather, and a fabulous mother-in-law who gave us a reason to celebrate this weekend.

:: enjoying having much-loved, often-missed family from far away at our breakfast table this morning.

:: loving the solution of old doors + sawhorses for quick outdoor party tables.

:: appreciating that my bigger baby boy can still find comfort (and sleep) on Mama's back in the middle of noise and chaos around him.

:: remembering - for a snowy winter's day - the sight and smell of all the fresh flowers in my yard, on my tables, and in each room of the house.

:: thinking that these pitas (grilled!), with this feta dip, have become my 2011 summer favorite snack to share.

:: hearing the new Gillian Welch (& Dave Rawlings) album The Harrow & The Harvest gently usher in the day.

::smiling, knowing that after all these years of being a fan, I'll finally see them play in Maine this fall.

:: telling my little ones that leftover birthday cake does not a hearty breakfast make. (Oh, maybe just this once...)

:: wondering when naptime for Mama is today.

:: laughing at that.

:: holding in my hands a hot-off-the-press (soon-to-be-released) book that I can't wait to talk about with you tomorrow!!

:: giggling as I watch my children count how many times they each appear in said book.

:: knowing it's an even number. (Because Mama already counted. I've done this before.)

:: closing the door on my studio to make eggs, bacon and a strawberry something -or- other for a crowd (with a side of cake).

:: wanting to spend the day moving as slowly and gently as one can with five little ones. In and out of the garden, perhaps. Yes, that's it.

:: wishing you a very beautiful Monday!

SouleMama Sponsor ~ BANBERRY PLACE ~

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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor  Banberry Place. In Corie's words:

"Banberry Place is chock full of beautiful, unique, and inspirational fabric, patterns, and trims that ship for FREE every day.  For apparel sewing we have a large selection of knits, corduroy, velveteen and poplin.  You’ll also find a large selection of European and Japanese fabric imports as well as hip domestic quilting cottons.  Apparel  and accessory sewing patterns are abundant from Farbenmix to Ottobre and all sorts of U.S. brands, there is a pattern for everyone!" 

Our blog is found at www.StuntSewing.com, it’s a mixture of sewing projects, inspiration and family life."

SouleMama: What does a typical work day look like for you?

Corie: Having a fabric store in your home has its perks; I love the flexibility it allows.  During these summer months I spend the days with my kids under foot, encouraging their creative side while I cut fabric, fill orders and scout out new items for the shop.  The kids have voluntarily taken on various roles including iron-on assistant, product photography and giving the seal of approval or thumbs down on potential new products (could that be called quality control?)!  We’ve done sewing classes, photo shoots and mail runs.  Inspiring my children, feeding my dreams and encouraging other sewists is a great way to spend a work day!

SouleMama: What inspired you to start your business?

Corie: I went looking for unique patterns and fabric to sew for my own children and stumbled upon Farbenmix patterns, trims, and European fabrics.  I knew I was on to something!  I jumped in feet first and started one of the biggest adventures of my life.  That was nearly 6 years ago and the selection of fresh and modern sewing supplies available just keeps getting bigger and so does our selection.  We’ve branched out from exclusively European fabric and now offer more knits, Japanese fabrics and quilting cottons.

SouleMama: What inspires you?

Corie: I am continually finding inspiration through my own children and our adventures.  Outside of that, my “go to” Internet inspiration comes a handful of blogging sewists, the Kickundblick gallery, and of course, flickr is filled with amazing talent.

 

For today's giveaway, Banberry Place is generously offering the following gift to ONE lucky winner:

~ a $50 gift certificate to Banberry Place!

In addition, Banberry Place is offering SouleMama readers 10% off your orders. Use code SOULEJULY at checkout. Offer valid through July 31, 2011. 

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Thank you to Banberry Place!

To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Monday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post by Monday evening.

Comments closed! The winner is...

I love fabric! I also love that this company is a family business. Thanks for doing the giveaway!
Posted by: Kinda Crunchy Kate

 

SouleMama Sponsor ~ A CHILD'S DREAM COME TRUE ~

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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor A Child's Dream Come True. In Debbie's words:

"A Child's Dream Come True serves families, schools and crafters by providing inspiring natural materials for toy and doll making, art, and handwork. We're family owned and just the right size to offer personal customer service. Come take a look at our very large selection of wool felt, felting wool, fiber craft kits, art supplies and more."

Join them on Facebook for notice of special offers and craft projects!

SouleMama: Tell us about your background and the inspiration for your business.

Debbie: I was lucky to have grown up believing it was normal to be creative and was encouraged in subtle ways. Supplies were readily available; my art and crafty endeavors were never criticized; my mother knit and sewed for her family so handwork happened in our home. When the cousins got together we would play outside or dress-up or make art while the adults visited. There was no technology to distract us from being children and expressing our creativity.

I was attracted to fiber even back then. As a young girl, I loved the texture and recall picking fuzz off my hand knit sweater to tease into fluffy balls of wool. I knew nothing of spinning or felting. I just liked the feel. I had quite a collection of trolls too, those little dolls with scrunched-up faces and lovely colorful wooly hair. I hand sewed a complete wardrobe for them. Cute little felt garments consisting of two holes for arms, a snap at the back and a bit of rick-rack for embellishment. 

During my high school and college years in southern California I studied arts and crafts with a few business classes thrown in upon my mom’s suggestion. I took everything offered through the arts department at our community college, classes at local shops, some university extension courses and a summer intensive at Penland School of Crafts. I had no grand plan. I was simply following my interests and my heart. It was while working a few years in a weaving and spinning shop I began dreaming of having my own business, someday.

In the meantime though, needing to earn more than can be made as a retail clerk, I became a bookkeeper and continued in that field for many years. Once married and starting a family my husband Bob and I moved from the city to the rural desert and I stayed home with the children, sewing, cooking, raising chickens, making toys and enjoying being a mom. 

While considering options for schooling our oldest I came across Waldorf education. As you can guess, the handwork and arts-integrated aspects of the curriculum drew me in. We learned more and then chose this holistic education for our two children. It was during this time I found out about A Child's Dream, a mail order catalog of natural craft supplies for teachers and families operated by Waldorf early childhood educator Ronna McEldowney.

In 1991, Ronna asked us to produce A Child’s Weaving Kit for her catalog. We agreed and started Naturally Creative in 1992. I developed a few more kits and for ten years we sold them through Waldorf schools, A Child's Dream, Magic Cabin Dolls and other catalogs as well as toy and fiber shops. The children helped. It was a fun cottage industry which gave me confidence building experience so when A Child’s Dream was for sale in 1999, I felt ready to dive in. After putting the catalog online we changed the name to A Child’s Dream Come True.

My background in Waldorf education comes from home schooling our older child, now 29, and being involved in the 1992 founding of the Sandpoint Waldorf School in Idaho. Our younger child, now 24, attended the school while the older one continued home schooling.

So to sum up I would say the path that led me to my work today began with the encouragement of crafts in the home when growing up which was furthered by my continuing interests in handwork and the eventual exploration of Waldorf education as a mother.

It has been 12 years now and I feel so fortunate to be loving what I’m doing and expressing myself in this way with this business. I get to work with color, incredible materials and our customers and suppliers are wonderful people. It’s a dream come true for me and I hope you will find what we have to offer to be the same for you!

 

 

For today's giveaway, A Child's Dream Come True is generously offering the following gift to TWO lucky winner:

~ a $30 gift certificate to A Child's Dream Come True!

In addition, A Child's Dream Come True is offering SouleMama readers 10% off their schooling and craft supplies sitewide. Use code SOULEMAMA at checkout. Offer valid through July 31, 2011. 

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Thank you to A Child's Dream Come True!

To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Sunday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post by Monday evening.

Comments closed! The winners are...

I have been a big fan of their products for some time. Lovely!
Posted by: Rachel Wolf

Neat story. So many wonderful things to choose from.. Thanks for the giveaway.
Posted by: Dawn Suzette

 

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

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SoulePapa Blogs :: My Mom

As I search through my earliest of memories she is there. 

I feel her presence and I am comforted by words she may have said, long ago, to a little boy that needed to hear them.  Words that she has probably forgotten, through the long battle that is raising children, but I have held them close to my heart, as treasure. 

I remember having nightmares as a child and she taught me not to run.  "Don't run.  Turn and face whatever it is that's scaring you, Steve.  Remember to do that and see what happens."   I heard those words, her voice, speaking to me in my dreams.  Those nightmares never returned.

As I became a young man she was there.

Not always knowing what it was that I needed but listening.  Always listening.  She infused an element of spiritual guidance and understanding into all decisions great and small.  I learned from her that most problems can be solved by looking, not up or down, but in. 

Twice, she allowed  teenage friends of mine to stay with us for extended periods until their own home situations improved.  I remember listening to her speak with them as if they were her own children.  I remember how they trusted her and the words they said in return...

She was right there with a kiss and a tearful wave goodbye when I drove out west, down the road to a deeper journey.  I didn't exactly know at the time but, for this trip, she had me well prepared.  Many times in the years that followed I would show up at her doorstep with a backpack and my dog.  Without question, I knew that I could stay as long as I wanted and leave as soon as I needed.

When I became frustrated with the trials and efforts of a nomadic life she would look me in the eye and say, "Stephen, this is important work you're doing."  Understanding exactly what I was after.

Now, I am a father to my own family.  Never has the role of my mother been made more clear to me than to see it through the lens of my own parenting.  How she took each of her four children and interacted with them on a spritual and emotional level befitting their individual needs.  She truly knows her own children and wonderfully enjoys her grandchildren.

My amazing and lovely Mom turns 70 years old this week.

Thank you, Mom.  A collective thank you from all the lives you have touched so beautifully in these seventy years.  Thanks to you I am the man I am today.  I love you.  Happy Birthday.

 

when i grow up

These little typewriters travel all over - both inside the house, and these days - outside too.   I hear the click-clack-click-clack-ding! of the keys, as my boys rapidly work their one finger to say just what they want. Sometimes they sit side-by-side to compose their words, and other times, I find them like this...tucked away in a quiet corner, dreaming up something.

In their wake, are the piles (and piles) of paper I find behind them.  "My Favorite Songs," "Why My Brother Stinks," "The Arawak's and Christopher Columbus," "Music for Mama and Papa to Preview,"  "Another Boxcar Children Adventure," song lyrics, secret codes, complete stories, partially-complete stories, and future plans. They're passionate about their typing, and their in-progress work, but after that, these little pieces of paper are paid no attention. That's okay - I'll take that as my job, as documenter of our homeschooled lives, as keeper of the everyday treasures. Deciphering what they might want to keep working on, what might be recycled, and what treasures I might just want to tuck away for later. When you're eight, or ten, or thirty four for that matter, time passes and things change so quickly. Though we never think it possible, it may only be two months from now that I've forgotten who might have been the latest obsession - the musician/historymaker/poet/baseball player that the conversation always steers back to, all day long. I love these little documents for the momentary reminders that they are of all of that. Sometimes they make me cry, feel proud...or, in the following case, just plain make me giggle.

Ezra said I could share this one I found yesterday. 

When I Grow Up!
by Ezra S. Soule

state: new york
city: new york city
apartment: yes.
people i'd like to live with: lil' wayne, simon {his best friend}, my girlfriend
top baby names: boy - nichole, girl - courtney
occupation: rapper/actor
bodyguard (if I'll need one): simon
instrument: my microphone
motorcycle? yes.
what kind? harley davidson
eat organic? yes.
phone: ipod touch.

Everyday daydreams from my eight-year old, from under the pine tree, at the edge of the pasture, on a warm summer's afternoon.

notes from my garden

 

Garden Notes:

:: Lots of you have been asking about my straw hat. I found it my local farm & feed store. Oh yes, that's right - high farm fashion (but not nearly as fashionable as these). And, by the way, if you're looking for a way to embarass your own tween, I'd recommend buying as much of your wardrobe  as can be bought at the feed store, and then wearing it everywhere. (He's a good sport to tolerate this Mama...and crazily-bearded Papa.)

:: Buying a shade tent (I got this one) for the garden might have been my (self-declared) Greatest Idea Ever. When my little helpers need a break from the full sun that the garden loves, the tent is nearby for a little rest. It's usually full of books, blankets...and popcorn. Sometimes a sleeping baby. Not often.

:: I'm feeling grateful that for some reason I cannot remember now, three babies ago, I bought a white Moby wrap. On these hot, hot days, I'm grateful for the lightness it brings to a whole lot of fabric wrapped around my body.

:: Note to self: Um, you might want to try spacing out the lettuce plantings just a little bit more next year, girl. (Salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner! This week and next!)

:: I had a dream this week about Colorado Potato Beetles. More specifically, the larvae. It wasn't very nice. But I do think my obsession/vigilance with them means I'm keeping them at bay.

:: The jersey strips I had so much fun making from old t-shirts for the recent chair redo? They're also finding a home in the garden to hold the tomato plants against their designated fences. All sixty five of them. I planted sixty five tomoto plants. Oh My. But if there's one thing the Soule Family depends upon for survival, it would be tomato products - pasta sauce, pizza sauce, and salsa. And Ketchup. Harper just cuts right to the chase and calls the plants Ketchup Plants. Except his "k's" come out as "ch" and so it's really like Chechup. Which is awesome.

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With great hope, but low expectations (given our spring arrival), I started our garden here this year - our first garden on this land (turned over for us by last winter's pigs), and the biggest garden of my own that I've ever tended.

I am love, love, loving it these days. Loving the food that comes out of it and onto our table. Loving the meditative life reminder and practice that we can only pull one weed at a time, thin one carrot at a time, and breathe one breathe at a time. But most of all....oh-so-loving the garden visitors: A baby sighing in her sleep on my chest; a toddler at my feet talking about what he's going to eat with his ketchup; a girl who knows as much as I do about the plants (or more); two boys who visit to pull a weed (just one) and ask what's for dinner; a wandering chicken; the honeybees from afar; a farming neighbor who offers advice (solicted or not) about what I've got going on; and sometimes - if I'm lucky - my husband at the end of the row, on his hands and knees, testing out that new hip, and squashing potato bugs. 

Oh yeah, the garden is where it's at.

How's your garden growing these days?

her sweater dress

My hands have been busy these past six week...busy planting, baking, weeding, typing, touching, and holding. Lots of holding of big and little loved ones. What these hands have not done, however, is knit. Not a single stitch! Can you believe that? I hardly can, but it's just fine by me, really. This holding is lovely for now, and goodness, there will be time soon enough for knitting once again.

But in those precious two weeks when we knew that Annabel was Annabel, but before we actually met her...there was lots of knitting. You saw all those bootees. And then there was this little sweater dress to match. A quick and simple knit. It's The Emma Tunic, knit in one of my favorites - The Fibre Company's Terra. The bloomers are from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Babies.

{Ravelry link.}

(5 days old.)

...she wore it in her very first days, tiny as she was.

And she wears it now, growing as she is....

(5 weeks old.)

Just this very past week, she went from newborn to baby. I swear it happened in an instant - she fell asleep a newborn and woke up from a nap as a baby. As suddenly as that...her cheeks, belly, and chin(s) are filling in; sleep/wake times are getting more distinct; smiles are becoming abundant; she is waking up to the world around her and letting us know a little bit more about who she is. She seems oh-so-curious about all these faces that are constantly around her - reading to her, singing to her, giving her a little extra (tight) squeeze.

Oh these days of growing so much - from my ten year old right on down to this new little baby of ours - they're so bittersweet, aren't they? As we leave one wonderful age and time and head into some place new Thank goodness, though, they're quite heavy on the sweet.

SouleMama Sponsor ~ COCO PENNY ~

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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Coco Penny.  In Mary's words:

"Coco Penny offers a stylish and affordable collection of hair flowers, headbands and embellished onesies using materials including felt, chiffon and jersey knit.  Each hair accessory is super soft and comfy, and inspired by daisies, gardenias, dahlias, sweet peas and peonies, among others.  They come in darling gift ready tubes and boxes."

You can visit Coco Penny on Facebook, where you'll find all the latest news, deals and specials.

SouleMama: How long have you been in business?

Mary:  We went live in March 2011!  Woot Woot!

 SouleMama: What inspred you to start Coco Penny?

Mary: My sweet baby Hazel.  She was my first girl after two boys and I wanted to celebrate by decorating her cute little head with bows and loveliness.  Unfortunately when I went out looking for hair bows I couldn't find anything I was particularly keen about.  The few things I liked seemed to be out of my price range.  I wanted stylish and affordable but couldn't seem to find it in any stores.  My best friend Marianne and I put our heads together and started making bows we liked.  Pretty soon other people were asking for them and voila, Coco Penny was born.  Well, not really quite that simple but you get the idea.    

SouleMama: Tell us about your customers.

Mary: I LOVE our customers.  Many of our Coco Penny wearers have taken the time to write in and tell us what they love about their Coco Penny or to send us a picture of them wearing it!  Our customers are also our biggest inspiration and are often the impetus for a new style or color.  "Meeting" in person, on the phone or through email has been one of the best surprises with opening Coco Penny.  I love getting an email that let's me in to a small part of someone's life, whether it be a baby blessing, a wedding or just the experience of wearing an old work outfit turned new with one of our flowers.  Having an online business has put us in touch with amazing people all over the world that we might otherwise never have met.  It has been a wonderful opportunity and I feel so grateful to meet all these wonderful people.

SouleMama: What's the product or offering that you are most excited about right now?

Mary: I love our coral and turquoise onesie set.  It is my favorite gift to give expecting moms because it comes in such fun packaging and works as a starter set of sorts (includes a onesie, two bows and one headband).  It is also my own daughter's favorite outfit to wear - I have to stuff it in the bottom of the laundry bin or it will get brought to me dirty or clean to be worn. 

SouleMama: How does the balance of work and family play out?

Mary: Each day is a balancing act.  Somedays I'm better at it then other days.  My father was an amazing example to me of family/work/life balance.  I recently read some advice from him, "Practically speaking, the areas of work and family time have to take turns being put on hold.  Pray to be guided and you will know which one takes precedence on any particular day."  I try to live with his wise guidance and example in mind. 

For today's giveaway, Coco Penny is generously offering the following gift to TWO lucky winner:

~ a $25 gift certificate to the Coco Penny shop!

In addition, Coco Penny is offering SouleMama readers 10% off your order. Enter "SouleMama" in the coupon box at checkout. Offer valid through July 31, 2011. 

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Thank you to Coco Penny! 

To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Monday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post by Monday evening.

Comments closed! The winner is:

What a fun treat! We have two little girls, our foster daughter and our biological daughter and they would look precious in some of these cute hair things! Thanks for the chance!
Posted by: Rachel ~ at the butterfly ball

oh yes, please! both myself and my little girl need new bows!
Posted by: natalie @our old southern house

SouleMama Sponsor ~ LINEANONGRATA ~

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Today, I bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor Lineanongrata. In Julia's words:

"Lineanongrata is all about illustration, be it on paper, fabric or as a class. I produce prints, buttons, patterns for appliqué quilts, all decorated with my illustrations. The Lineanongrata illustration eCourse teaches tips and tricks to those who would like to start drawing or who are already having fun with pen, pencils and paper but would like to take their art a step further."

You can follow along through the Lineanongrata blog, and find out more about the ecourse on her website!

SouleMama: Tell us about the beginnings of your business.

Julia:  After I finished graphic design school in Paris I started to work as a freelance illustrator, both for French and for German clients. It was the time when everything seemed to shift from print to the magic Internet and I discovered the wonderful world of blogs, the handmade movement and platforms like Etsy. Wherever I looked I found new inspiration, something new to make, to draw, to illustrate, something new to try, to add to the ever-growing to-do list. It was like an itch - in a good way - I had to scratch by producing new things all the time. Over the years I have produced prints, postcards, calendars, buttons and I can't even remember what else. Some things worked, others didn't. By trial and error I have gotten to where I am today and I'm happy to report that the to-do list has never been shorter than at least 20 items in the last seven years. One idea leads to the next and I am quite sure I'll never run out of new things to make.

 SouleMama: Tell us what you envision and dream for the future of your business.

Julia: If dreams became reality, I'd one day be able to move my business from my living room to a 'real' studio. Working at home is great (Pajamas until 2 pm anyone?) but it also means that I'm always surrounded by the things I still need to finish and by the mess my job often creates. Meaning I work late almost every night and I wake up to piles of fabric strewn everywhere, paint on the floor, paper in the bathroom (how it got there? Nobody knows.) and sometimes even pinback buttons in the sink. Visually, it's not a quiet way of life.

So separating home and work are definitely the next step I would like to take.

SouleMama: What's your favorite part of your job? The most challenging?

Julia: What I like best about my job? That's easy: The making of things.  I love to sit down and get paint or glue all over me. I love to make a mess with bits and pieces of fabric strewn all around the studio.  And even though it sometimes feels a bit 'wobbly' when I invent something new, because its like making something out of nothing without knowing yet, if anybody will buy the something I'm making, I still feel this is the most blessed part of what I do.

The most challenging part is teaching. I teach both the illustration eCourse and a class of young adults at a private college for design here in Berlin. The eCourse is easy because the participants are adults and they all signed up for the course of their own volition. They want to learn and they learn for themselves. My real life students are in their early twenties, just out of highschool and they enjoy college life for the first time. They also think they're studying entirely for my benefit (the idea being that they produce what I want, they get good grades and that's the end of the story). So sometimes I feel like a one-man show, trying to motivate them. Trying to find the right words, the one it takes to make them understand what is important. And what's not. Educating the young is a challenge, it's a great responsibility but it's also a great blessing. Because just when I'm at my wit's end about how to tell them what they'll have to do, just when I think I'll strangle the next one who complains and tries to worm him- or herself out of an assignment, one of them will silently get what I'm trying to teach. One of them will start to produce a really good illustration. And just as silently, just as magically, the rest follow. It's an amazing process. And I hope like crazy it's a law of nature and will work all the time.

SouleMama: What's the product or offering that you are most excited about right now?

Julia: Can one be 'most excited' about two things at once? Because I can't decide. The illustration eCourse is very exciting. The first one is over and was a wonderful experience. Both for me and the students. Every day I was truly amazed and often just speechless about the progress my students made. You wouldn't believe how far they came in just six weeks. They were a very supportive group, commenting kindly and helping each other to overcome small difficulties or the fear of showing their work.

When the course was over I thought I'd feel pretty lonely without my peeps, but about half of them decided to stay with the group while they wait for the follow-up course that I'll be teaching this fall. We have a monthly subscription plan they can join. Each week there is a new assignment and I continue to give tips and support in our private Flickr group. As I said, it's a wonderful group and a wonderful teaching experience.

The second thing I'm 'most excited' about are the new patterns available in the Lineanongrata Shop. They allow everyone to make their own piece of Lineanongrata-inspired art, on quilts, wall-hangings, bibs, bags… the possibilities are almost endless.

 

For today's giveaway, Lineanongrata is generously offering the following gift to THREE lucky winner:

~ the package will contain one half-sized print (A5) of the winner's choice, three patterns and a small bag of goodies (pinback buttons, postcards and the likes)!

In addition, Lineanongrata is offering a 'buy one get one free' deal on all prints in the shop. Also, everyone who purchases an applique pattern will receive a free special extra pattern that will not be on sale otherwise. These offers are valid through July 12, 2011. 

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Thank you to Lineanongrata!

To enter, please leave a comment in today's post (one entry per person, please). Comments will close on Sunday by 8am EST. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced here in this post by Monday evening.

Comments closed! The winners are:

So cute!
Posted by: coffeemama

Aww these are so whimsical and beautiful. I'd love to see them in our home!!
Posted by: Ali Grace

I just love that lantern print! Thanks for offering the giveaway! ~ joey ~
Posted by: Joey Van Oort

 

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

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the company we keep

 

Let's see. You've got the full update on the bees. The bees! Oh, how we are loving the bees...and learning so much about them too. Like on this very hot day when I found them all bearding outside the hive for a little bit of ventilation. So very cool and brilliant, those bees.

But there's more than just the bees here right now! We're joined this summer by two new additions to the farm, Salt-n-Pepa (named, of course, after the girl duo. My boys are enjoying a trip into the world of late 80's hip hop). Yes, we've named our pigs once again and will continue to do so - we enjoy, know them, and treat them  so well while they are here, it only makes sense (to us) to give them names.

Having the pigs here in the summertime has been quite different than the wintertime. With the ground not frozen, they'll spend the whole time continuing to turn over sod and brush, clearing this new area for future/someday larger-livestock pasture. Summertime also has presented us with so much more food 'surplus' in the way of our garden (and more to come), thereby cutting down considerably on feed costs.  Steve is quick to mention the summertime bonus of not having to shovel out the fence line (a serious bonus). And of course, the weather conditions have also meant that we're able to be outside with them so much more (if you can't find Adelaide with the kittens, try the chickens, then the pigs!)

Oh, there's so much we're learning. And all the while, enjoying their presence.

And, the chickens! Oh my, how they've grown since we last spoke about them! We introduced them to our older ladies many weeks back now, and they are all living together quite happily. (In joining them, we followed some of the good advice found here.) We made a few revisions and additions to the existing structure we had for them - adding much more roost space for all these girls, and external nesting boxes and such. Their coop is inside a one-acre fenced-in pasture, where they can be a bit protected from foxes, racoons, coyote, dogs and other wandering, curious predators.

That makes for 15 Rhode Island Red's, 15 Araucanas, 4 Buff Orpingtons, and 1 lone, but happy Pekin duck who believes herself to be a chicken (she really does).  The Rhode Island Red's "belong" to Calvin, my little entreprenuer with grand plans and a desire for Itunes cash. Adelaide has a name for each and every one of the 'rest' of the birds and claims to be able to tell them all apart (oh, how varied and lovely the colors are on those Araucanas!). And Harper is fast on his way to becoming a Chicken Whisperer himself.

How could I mention the farm animals and not mention the barn cats? Three kitties have found loving and wonderful homes with friends, where regular postcards and photo updates have been requested by Adelaide. Miss Sally (one of the kittens) stays, and all other appropriate cats have been fixed. Phew. (Oh, but those kittens were such fun!)

Family/farm head counts are comical around here these days, and tucking everyone into bed at night (so to speak) has grown into quite a long production. There are moments then when it gets a little harried and overwhelming. Luckily, just when that feeling strikes, Steve and I can usually find each other somewhere amidst the flurry and the chaos, take one look at each other for the reminder to step back...and laugh. Because this? This is just how we want it to be. It's better - and crazier - than we ever could have imagined.

I love this company we keep.

and be kind

This little lovely was headed for a burn pile (literally). What's that, you say? A burn pile is precisely where it belongs? Well, that's just what my parents said, and Steve said, as it was sent away not once but twice. Oh, but I got it back, and knew I only had a matter of time to do something with it before someone tried to clear it out of here once again.

So one day recently, with just two at home, I dove right in (it's very silly how all of a sudden "just" two or "just" three becomes miraculously easy, but of course when we had just two or just three total, it wasn't that way at all. Hmn).

And then I cut up a bunch of tee shirts. Do you know where I'm going with this? Oh yes, an Alabama Chanin chair. It's from her book Alabama Studio Style (the only online photo I can find of one of her chairs is here in Anna Maria's post about her time with Alabama).

The chair got a good scrubbing, a fresh coat of paint, and then I began tying the jersey on, and weaving, and tying some more. Annabel napped a lot - right on my chest, and Ezra and I played Scrabble. All day long. Which is his favorite game to play, and fabulously fun and funny with him...but goodness, it really is an all day affair. He prefers to play with no time limit on turns, which is just fine by me so long as one is able to do something else while he's thinking and planning and plotting his next move for however long as it takes. Which can be a very long time. Which is just how the weaving and tying was done on this chair.

 

I painted a favorite quote on the ladderback of the chair. It reads, "Do the best that you can where you are, and be kind." by Scott Nearing. I'm a little bit in love with this chair, I have to tell you. And I love how it tucks so wonderfully into this corner of our living room - where the little ones often sit and browse the nearby photo albums, or climb up to play with the rocks. Or read a little Gertude Stein as the case may be (Harper's quite advanced for his age, you know. Hee).

With a newborn baby, a house with so many renovation projects in progress, and a garden that needs some love...there were so many other things I could have done that day. Sleep. Weed. Clean. Cook. You know...the list goes on. But oh, sometimes it just feels so very good to make. And not just to make, but to make something entirely 'frivilous' and fun and for the sheer purpose of making something (hopefully) beautiful. It feels good. It fuels the soul. And it was just what I really needed most of all on that day. (That and a good long game of Scrabble. I love that too.)

blissed out

In between eating dinner outside and crawling into bed with windows open, lies a magical summery window of time. As much as we can, this is how we've been spending it.

Oh sweet, sweet Summer. I love you.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

We're off for the long holiday, I'll be back here on Tuesday. Have a lovely weekend, all!

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July 1st

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Welcome (and Welcome Back!) to July's newest Sponsors here on SouleMama...

Little Sprouts ~ cloth diapers and natural baby products

Creative Thursday ~ art by Marisa Haedike

Stubby Pencil Studio ~ eco products for creative kids

Action-Pack ~a mini-mag for kids who want to do stuff

Naturally You Can Sing ~ Waldorf Songbooks for families

30 Day Vegan ~ a summer session of the 30 Day Vegan workshop by Heather Bruggeman

Tiny Prints ~ custom baby announcements and more

It's such a pleasure to have them joining us!
Do check out their handmade, crafty, creative, and beautiful offerings and look for giveaways from them in the coming weeks and months.

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