Hope you have a happy and safe day/night! We had a great time adding 7 spooky somethings to our pumpkin patch photo (via Picnik ). Can you find them all?

handmade holiday workshop at the barn

It's time for another workshop at the barn! I get so excited about making presents, wrapping them artfully, and spreading good cheer. Seemed like a class was in order to share my how to's. The focus will be on creating inexpensive, simple gifts... many with materials already on hand: in your recycling bin or maybe your back yard. There will be lots of demonstrations, time for crafting along side old and new friends, inspiration for gifts for all ages.

Imagine the smell of baking cookies and mulled cider... festive music in the background. All of this at the beautiful red barn! Oh, it's going to be such fun! I'd love to meet some of my local readers, so I'm letting you in on this first. Next week I'll begin promoting at my near by stomping grounds. E-mail me directly to sign up and/or get more details.

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I wonder how many of you will be up with me tonight as I finish my son's Halloween costume... putting the final touches on your own costumes? How I love that it's on Saturday this year! Have a wonderful weekend.

home days

Have I mentioned that I have a new stylist for my photo shoots? How lucky to have on hand when you're doing some baking and need to set an autumnal scene(paper leaves& pumpkins via Karen). She's sweet as can be and oh so helpful now that she's feeling better. Thanks for you wonderful well wishes. I loved hearing your words for the day. We'll have to do that again soon. It's been a long week: low on sleep, but high on cozy quiet moments. We made the most of a rainy, fever-free day with baking and mellow play. Perfect pumpkin muffin recipe courtesy of Laura. We opted for dried cranberries instead of the crystallized ginger... although next time I'm slipping in a few chunks of ginger into my own personal muffins.


In the preceding days we barely moved off the couch. Here's a little glimpse...


The supplies that kept us going:

1. bucket filled with old issues of Ladybug
2. game-long time favorite Never Forget a Face
3. burlap embroidery- more about this soon!
4. paper and markers... with the cutest little ladybug I've ever seen (biased, I know)
   
5. old travel blanket (I think I made it when she was two) that's simply happy, as well as warm.
6. the travel pillow that is never out of reach!
7. Not shown, but very present: a copy of Little House on the Prairie that we got quite far into.

So as hard as it is to nurse a young child through sickness,I actually love the slowing down. Simple worked for us in a big way.

p.s. Because I've been hearing from many parents with sick children, I thought I'd add this bit of an archived post from almost a year ago. Good resources.

tea & toast
It's the beginning of cold and flu season in our neck of the woods, so I'm stocking up on our favorite comforts and immune supporting supplies. I thought I'd share my favorite "go to" books for children's health and natural home remedies for common illnesses. You can easily go Google symptoms, but I'm a bit old school and I like turning to my well-worn references for help.

Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child
Kids, Herbs, and Health
Natural Healing for Babies & Children

Wishing you a healthy day.

word of the day: simple

In striking contrast to our colorful weekend, we're quite subdued around here today. Directly after I wrote my last post, my daughter developed a high fever (my kids get scorchers). We've been in the thick of it for about 36 hours. I'm just focusing on keeping everything easy. Simple meals, simple activities (for the couch-bound), and simple expectations of what can actually get done. I fought this a bit yesterday, in my sleep-deprived stupor... thinking I could hold onto my quickly dissolving plans for the new week. Not today. I am happily greeting the morning with the goal of simplicity... and looking forward to the countless books I will surely read aloud snuggled under blankets. What is your word for the day?

the color of our weekend

The harvest/Halloween season is upon us. This weekend there were gorgeous colors found everywhere. From the beautiful blue skies to the countless pumpkins at a carving party...

to the (over the top) rainbow caramel apples at a birthday celebration...

Lots of festivities going on!

But my favorite bit of color was this snack plate I put out on Saturday filled with raw seasonal veggies from our CSA. Turnips, gold and purple carrots, and sweet red peppers.

We can eat truckloads of these sprinkled with coarse sea salt. In the midst of munching, our clever girl discovered a matryoshka doll had come to join us.

We were all so impressed with her ability to see potential and then create it. We ate matryoshkas until the peppers ran out.

Hope you had a great weekend! My wish for all of us this week? The ability to find fun and creativity in the ordinary and unexpected.

I won too!

Good morning! Hope you each have a lovely weekend ahead of you. I will be sending a bucket and banner to:

Suki said...

This is always such a lovely spot check in on!
My fingers are crossed, and also my toes!

Please get in touch with me via e-mail with your address and customization ideas.

Thank you all for your beautiful comments. I spent the week reading and rereading each of them. Your words really mean so much to me. They lift me, fill me and keep me inspired. I felt like I was the true winner in the give-away. It makes me wish I had a little shop filled with magical elves to make buckets for everyone.

The above photo is from a little elf in the South of France who showered me with gifts recently. Of course, she's not really an elf, but a lovely friend, mother, and maker of beautiful things: Sonia of Cozy Homemaking. We had a little swap going on and when her box arrived it felt like a holiday for my family and me. Look at the abundance of beautifully wrapped little packages she spoiled us with!

There were little gifts for everyone and I don't have words to express my gratitude for her thoughtfulness and generosity. Sonia's spirit and creativity are little bits of light for me... and many others everyday.

Even though she's on a mini-break, there's plenty to enjoy if you give her a visit and her shop is stocked with simply beautiful and cozy items. Don't you love introducing your friends to one another?

blog

shop

flickr

p.s. There was even more to the package that didn't make it into the photo: delicious organic chocolate doesn't last long around here. A matching wooden propeller for my daughter that was in use as soon as I tried to arrange the photo shoot. Yes,more... and even a gorgeous French children's book that was at our bedside and I forgot to include it. At least you know everything is completely loved, Sonia! Thank you deeply!

how to: simple floral earmuff /headband

This week has been so full. Definitely lovely things to blog about: pumpkin patches, baking, school project making... but I chose not to for the first time... blog about it. Well, I guess I kind of just did. But you know what I mean... I took a break from chronicling it all. It was a good choice, and I feel refreshed. I also love that I'm all caught up in my shop orders, with the exception of some custom items that will begin next week. If you've bought something recently... know that it is traveling to you... might even be in your mailbox today!
So that opened the door for a little something fun and semi-frivolous today. Fun and frivolous is quite important to sprinkle in here and there. I'm growing out my hair a little bit. I'm in that in between stage and NEED headbands. Last weekend, right before I had a birthday party to attend, my headbands all vanished into the black hole that the spare socks reside in. The kids were in the car... waiting for mama. Collecting lots of odds and ends comes in handy. I ran to my studio... grabbed an already felted charcoal cashmere sweater to chop quickly... maybe a sleeve. What could do the trick? Ahhh... it was a turtleneck. Obvious. Perfect. Inspiration. Slice. Instant head band from the turtleneck. No sewing. Done! One edge is finished so folding it over makes the whole thing tidy. I've worn it all week and then decided to make it cozy and fancy... the fun & frivolous one.

I added flowers ala one of my favorite books: FABRiCATE and made the band a little wider. Now I have a new floral ear muff that has a little feeling of a fascinator.

There are a million wonderful felted and fabric flower tutorials. Just do a google search... or even better leave a link to your favorite one in the comment section and then we can all share. I'll start us off with:
Wisecraft's fabric flower
Betz' s felted flower brooch

Simple Floral Ear Muff or Headband

Need:
felted turtleneck sweater
scissors
thread
needle


Make:
-slice!
-adorn... or not!
-wear

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I'll see you all tomorrow to announce the winner of the custom give-away! It's going to be painful for me that it's only one of you wonderful friends... thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love!

Wild Apples

I woke up this morning thinking about holiday gifts. Before anyone woke up, I tiptoed downstairs and made a list for my family and friends... and a new one: for my shop. I'm working on some patterns that I think you'll enjoy for your own gift making. More details soon. In the meantime, my favorite toymaker came to mind. I did a post about him in the very early days of my blog, so I thought I'd bring it back for you to enjoy today. He's truly amazing. May I present you with...

I recently discovered a modern day Geppetto living down the road. Geppetto was the famous toymaker who brought Pinocchio to life. Gunther Keil, of Wild Apples, has been making beautiful crafted natural toys from wood for over thirty years. When I first visited his toyshop/studio, I felt like I was stepping into a page from a storybook. The walls were neatly lined with all his whimsical creations and there sat Gunther at his workbench, looking every bit the magical elf you'd expect to create such beautiful toys.
In this day and age of plastic and disposable, where most items available to our children are mass produced, how wonderful to find lovingly handcrafted toys using non-toxic finishes, local woods, and green energy. Back to the present. I now consider Gunther one of my friends, not just someone I admire and I can tell you this: he's the real thing. True to himself and heartfelt in all that he makes. Here's a little bit more of his story, I'm sure you'll see his spirit shining through!
My long standing favorites are these gorgeous banks.

I'm sure my daughter would go crazy over this Kitten Caboodle.


Just so you know, this post is unsolicited... as much as I enjoy promoting someone wonderful just for the sheer pleasure of it... I'm also thinking of all of you. Wild Apples toys has something in every price range (seriously reasonable for handmade wooden toys!) and ship all over the world. Plus, I have a suspicion that many of you love natural toys for gift giving, too. Mama Goose carries Wild Apple toys if you're local. If not, you can go directly to their website:
Wild Apples

Press, Interviews and Publications

INTERVIEWS

• HandMadeNews
• Indie Fixx 
• The Artful Parent
• CraftSanity Podcast
• Apartment Therapy's Ohdeedoh
• WhipUp.net
• Etsy: Featured Seller
• Craft Synergy
• Resurrection Fern
• Melissa Loves
• also find my "Art Saves" story at Crescendoh

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Contributed to the soon to be released book by Lark Publishing: Craft Hope- Handmade Crafts for a Cause. Due Summer 2010

____________________________________________________________________

maya*made was honored with the title of Best Green Home Design Blog of 2009 by Apartment Therapy! I couldn't feel more proud, nor could I be more grateful to my amazing readers who voted for me.

and recently was one of...

Apartment Therapy's: 10 crafty blogs we love


Around the web

I'm incredibly grateful to the many blogs that have been enthusiastic about my work and designs! Huge thanks to these sites for their frequent features:

Craft
The Crafty Crow
Whip Up
One Pretty Thing
Ohdeedoh
Bloesem Kids
Apartment Therapy
Sew, Mama, Sew!

and a special thanks to these wonderful sites, too:

Design*Sponge
Three Potato Four
Poppytalk
Bloesem
Modish
Bliss
Betz White
The Long Thread
Knack
Melissa Loves
Craft Gossip
Sew Liberated
Soule Mama

For a full list of features and links please email me at mayaluna{at}yahoo{dot}com.

E-zines

Petite Purls spring 2010


PUBLICATIONS

Where Women Create summer 2010 
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Sew Hip volume #12 2010

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GreenCraft volume 2 March 2010
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Sew Hip Issue #11 2009

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WhipUp.Net 2010 Calendar: August
___________________________________________________________________

Premier issue of GreenCraft Magazine August 2009
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Artful Blogging summer 2009
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Country Living May 2009
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small magazine winter 2008
diy contributer


Contests

Green T Reuse Design Contest: Grand Prize Winner

Ohdeedoh and Cookie Magazine's "Now You See It, Now You Don't" Contest 2008:

Winner in the clothing category

Design*Sponge DIY Contest 2008:Finalist

This page was last updated on
-May, 2010

a custom give-away!

Good morning! I had been planning a give-away for the end of the week, but I'm in such a happy space that today seemed just right. We had an early morning drive to school that put us all in bouncy and enthusiastic moods. The rising sun was GLORIOUS! My son spotted a silhouetted heron in the distance, and all of the trees seemed to be on fire in the dawn glow. The Beetles came on the radio, and we all knew the lyrics. We sang and danced in our seats all the way to town. It was better than my cup of Gimme!... which I hadn't even had, yet! These are those luscious life moments that you can't plan... and when they happen you have to let it in and fill yourself up to hold you over until the next one. As I drove home, the sweetness lingered, but the stillness invited my mind to wander. And it came to all of you! Yes, in my long-winded way, I'm bringing this back to my give-away. October has been filled with so many highs for my blog and my work, but the I continue to feel happiest about my connections with YOU, my friends and readers. Your comments on my posts and feedback in my shop seem to grow sweeter and more thoughtful each day. As the number of friends increases, my ability to reciprocate visits and comments has become impossible if I still want my family to be happy and cared for. So, how do I say THANK YOU!? A give-away always spells gratitude to me. So here we go! I'm giving one of you a large linen bucket and burlap bunting that you customize to your specifications. I'll tuck in a little sachet, too!

What can you put on your bunting? 8 letters or less... you choose. Check out the shop listing for ideas and details. Your bucket can be simple and unadorned or monogrammed. It can also have prints from my hand-carved stamp collection: from the birds and pussy willows to the scissors, etc.(my shop has examples of most of them right now). You choose each part, I'll just embellish it. Leave a comment between now and 5 pm Friday, October 23. I'll announce the winner on the following Saturday. You can leave your custom ideas in your comment or let me know if/when you win. It's easy... I just wish I could make one for each of you. I'm at least hoping a little of my happy morning spills over into yours today!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Many of you know that my mother is my best friend, but you may not know how grateful and appreciative I am. It has not always been this way- typical of the intensity of the mother/daughter dynamic. This just makes it all the sweeter. We work very hard to communicate well and grow together: the reward is an extremely close connection that I treasure beyond definition. So today I send her my love and hopes for a wonderful birthday. I wish my brother, sister, and I weren't all scattered to the winds so we could celebrate her together. We all know how lucky we are for her honesty, artistry,wisdom, and her joi de vivre. She somehow seems younger than each of us and has always been way ahead of her time. Even though she has remained my silent partner in so many of my blog adventures (read anything in the category labeled barn!), I have a feeling that you get just how amazing she is. I'm sure some of you would enjoy an opportunity to wish her a Happy Birthday, too! Oh and that little scale, nestled in October 19th leaves? As she is a very classic Libra (zodiac sign represented by the scales), it seemed a fitting gift for her vintage industrial collection at the barn. Her other gifts aren't ready for show. Soon...

keys

I love the the simple beauty of old skeleton keys. I often wonder what doors they've unlocked over the years. They seem to hold mysteries and answers simultaneously. My daughter's old armoire came with one, I photographed some at Madison Bouckville, and even collected a couple for Steampunk accessories. They've clearly been on my mind. Last night I carved some new stamps inspired by three little keys that have been sitting on my dresser beckoning me. I have a couple of plans for them, but first they needed to go on the cover of a Moleskine journal. What perfect reminders that we already have the keys to whatever we dream... a fitting place to jot down our plans and thoughts, don't you think? I made one to replace the journal I just filled up, and I'll have some in my shop, too.

I'd like to believe that the doors you wish to unlock are just waiting for the key you already hold. Have a wonderful start to your week!

wedding gift

Now that you know a little bit about the bride and groom, sharing the gift I made/gathered for them will make sense. But before I go any further, I want to give J &V a big thank you for their graciousness in letting me gush on about them. My family and local friends hear my exuberant talk of them often enough... it's fun to share with you, too! Since the newly weds live near a big park and often travel to the countryside for the weekend, a picnic basket came to mind when planning their present. I looked for the ones like my mother has at the barn, and finally found one that was just right at a nearby antique store. I hoped for a vintage quilt or bed spread for a table cloth/ground cover. There was only one in this little shop, but when I saw that it was in oatmeal colored linen and embroidered with blue flowers, I didn't hesitate. It was spread over a bed on display with other assorted textiles piled on top. I could tell it was in incredible condition, but because I had the kids in tow, I snapped it up before I fully examined it. When we got home, I ran out to the clothesline to shoot it before the sun went away. I photograph almost everything. Look at that crocheted trim framing it!

I hadn't even washed and ironed it yet, thus the creases. My son will tell you that I started yelling... I was jumping around in the cold, wet grass doing my happy dance... and yes, yelling and yipping. This beautiful spread, that I planned on folding up in the wedding basket, had two love birds (possibly barn swallows) kissing in the center. Eeep! I knew at once that it was part of a trousseau. A real trousseau! Since I believe in magic and romance, this pretty much took my breath away.

The other piece of linen had a little hole in the center. I cut it in half. Wince. and created two picnic napkins. Into the basket went the linens, local wine, and Gimme! coffee. I'd never seen anything like the wicker covered stainless steel thermos, so I had to get that, too! The interior of the basket was sturdy and loved, but needed a little freshening. I cleaned it with organic orange oil wood cleaner and lined it with a hand printed cloth to mimic the vintage linens.
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. I've bought wedding presents from registries... but this gift seemed to be in keeping with our friends and the spirit of their wedding. Could almost imagine this basket traveling on a steam engine long ago... congratulations and happy picnicking to our favorite love birds.

Steampunk Wedding

Pack your bags we're headed on an adventure... into the wilds of the Catskill mountains! The occasion, our dear friends' Steampunk Wedding! Steampunk, you ask? Here is Wikipedia's definition. Weddings are always a joyful celebration, but this one has some very special elements that had my whole family giddy as we drove through the rolling hillsides of fall foliage. Our closest friend (J), loved and adored by our entire family, was marrying his soulmate (V). Because they are each so creative and dynamic it was sure to be quite an event. They live in the city (NYC), but escape to the Catskills regularly, so it seemed to be the perfect backdrop with the turning leaves. Steampunk gives lots of room for your own interpretation when creating a costume, so I had so much fun searching in my attic and hunting at the local antique shops.

When we got to the mountain inn that would hold the ceremony, reception, and our room for the night, we excitedly went off to change. In a moment of horror (no exaggeration when you're eleven!), we realized that we had forgotten my son's suit by the front door... of our house. Panic turned to determination.Our family motto: there is a solution to everything rang in my ears... and out loud as my husband, cheered me on. Mom will figure something out. I'd like to think of it as my Project Runway moment. What do we have in the suitcase that we can rig up in 20 minutes. A screwdriver punched a hole in my belt to fit his smaller waist. A charcoal turtleneck always works like a charm, luckily I had one for the next day and we're almost the same size. Dad's sport coat became a trench and my grandmother's antique choker tranformed into a psyeudo stop watch. Because everyone was in costume, no one had a clue that we had whipped this outfit up out of the blue.

The ceremony took place in a valley surrounded by hydrangeas and hillside of patchwork trees lit up by the setting sun.

The bride is a costume designer for NYC theater. A previous production is what had introduced her to Steampunk, to begin with. You know how there is a hush when the bride walks down the aisle? Each and every guest had been so excited to see what V would come up with for her gown, that her grand entrance was accompanied by ooohs and aahhhs, instead. We all were blown away by her masterpiece... designed and constructed singlehandedly by V.

V used the lace shawl from her grandmother's wedding to create the removable front bustle. Her accessory: a vintage parasol skeleton. I loved that! As she was escorted by both of her parents, a beautiful piece (composed by the groom for this moment), was played by a friend in the background. The ceremony was the kind that made my heart sing and be thankful for all of the love in my own life... and rejoice in a new journey for two people I couldn't love more!

Look at that joy!

Weddings hold so much promise and magic.

And then there's always the celebrating. My kids could have danced all night. That little girl soon moved on from her adoring father... to someone of proper height for serious dancing.


I'll be adding more pictures to flickr and I've heard whispers of a flickr group dedicated to the entire wedding. There were so many amazing costumes and cameras clicking like crazy. WE LOVE YOU J & V!! Congratulations!