lettuce for julie

A maya*made reader, Julie, asked for info on the technique I used for edging on my daughter's green dress. I was hoping to tell her when I posted a picture of the completed dress...but my appreciative girl hasn't taken it off long enough for me to add that last part. So here is what I did to create the "lettuce" ruffle at the bottom hem and at the sleeves. I've only tried this with jersey knit fabric. Set your sewing machine to a tight zigzag, essentially a satin stitch. Sew along a raw edge and stretch fabric in both directions as you go. Take care to still let your machine feed the fabric and don't pull it through. That's it! It's very fun and super easy. The only drawback is that you go through a lot...I mean A LOT of thread! I cut off a pair of leggings that were too short and turned them into lettuce edged capris to slip on under the dress. I'd love to hear if others have a different way to achieve this look with a standard sewing machine. Hope this helps, Julie!

movin' in

Mama Goose closed the doors to her first home last Saturday, and the push to move into her new spacious digs has begun. Kelly Moreland, owner and founder of this beloved hot spot for parents and their offspring, has assembled an amazing team to complete this huge expansion project. The Goose has grown from 850 square feet to 4000 square feet of retail space in a matter of months. It has also undergone a major make-over...the Goose is up-dating her look. It's been wonderful working with Kelly and sharing her vision to create such an innovative retail space...and doing it all on a shoestring! Our Goose style can best be described as "Retro-Dustrial". We salvaged and repurposed vintage resources and combined them with the utilitarian industrial materials.
-old doors and windows for display
-cement floors
-galvanized pipes for clothing hang rods
-metal buckets and wash tubs for storage
Craigslist became our best friend, as well as Significant Elements, the local architectural salvage store. It's so exciting reinventing things... forget Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel...head over to your local Salvation Army and see what you can find to recycle and repurpose!

We are still in that chaotic phase of unpacking, but here are a couple more sneak peeks...

A vintage door with a handmade display stage....we have several of these that will have hooks for highlighting select clothing and used as room dividers.


A local shop was closing and Mama Goose bought up all of their handmade crate/display stands. They've been invaluable...window benches and bases for tiered tables ...we keep finding new purposes for them.
The new maternity/newborn room features a vintage cupboard and classroom blackboard.



One of Kelly's talented staff , Julie Dean is also a potter (and glass artist, painter, and teacher!). She created these great tiles that will be incorporated into the new stucco of the front entrance.

before and almost after cubbies

Salvation Army:$3 handmade cubbies....lightbulb! Help for my chaotic studio!

I decided to paint them red. Love red, but can get scared of it's intensity... in some ways it remains a neutral to all the other colors I love...green, blue, orange. My hope... it will tie things together and break me out of the green rut. The afternoon sun made it look on fire!

My studio is exploding with so many simultaneous projects that I'm feeling a bit crowded and overwhelmed. I will take a "before" picture, but am too embarrassed to share it until the "after"can be taken to be posted along side it. Here are the cubbies temporarily in place...already lending a hand.

WIP

I'm a very intuitive sewer, making my own patterns and tracing them onto newspaper. Sometimes I take a sleeve from one shirt and a neckline from something totally different. I often make it up as I go along. It's very exciting and nerve-wracking...I'm never sure what the end result will be. My goal is to gain confidence in following "real" patterns, but not lose the freedom and thrill I get from figuring it out as I go. Deconstructing clothes (taking a ready-made item and creating something totally different) lends itself to this kind of "free form" sewing very naturally. Here is a dress I'm working on for my daughter. It started out as an oversized GAP t-shirt and has morphed into an A-line play dress with capped sleeves and lettuce edging inspired by some of the the adult clothing made by Secret Lentil. It is now ready to be embellished and I have several ideas in the works. I'll post it as soon as it's done!

the crafty crow

maya*made is being featured on The Crafty Crow today. Yippee! A big welcome to The Crafty Crow readers and warm hello to all my regulars. Are you just stumbling upon me? What a perfect time to stop in...I'm finally at a place to catch my breath (a little) and share where maya*made is headed.

First off, let me fill you in on The Crafty Crow. This is a fantastic site to find creative activities for children of all ages (toddler-teens!). There is always something new to try and some links to get lost in. Each project is contributed by a pool of talented and inspiring parents, teachers and artists. I'm thrilled to be included!

For the last 9 and 1/2 years I've been a stay-at-home mother to my two great children. My family ( kids, husband and cat) live in an 1850's farm house in rural upstate New York. My husband and I are both urbanites (SF and NYC) and wanted our family to experience country living...gardening, chickens, wide open spaces, and exploring our creeks. This new year propelled me out of my cozy little home and into the public with a speed I never could have imagined. A combination of being hired to do some design consultation for an expanding local children's re-sale shop (Mama Goose), and some wonderful successes in a variety of contests (see the side bar) gave me the push I needed to venture out.

Prior to having children, I worked in the natural foods business (baker and cook) and was a nursery school and toddler teacher. In fact, I am a third generation nursery school teacher. My mother is still teaching...she's at Stanford University's lab school, Bing. My grandmother directed the Huntington Cooperative Nursery School on Long Island for 50 years. Awareness of young children and early childhood education have always been an integral part of my life. Art and crafting continue to play a huge role, as well.

So what will you find here at maya*made?
-projects and tutorials for children and their parents
-things I'm working on...from play clothes and softies to accessories for play spaces
-recipes children love
-a few stories from my eccentric girlhood ...growing up in the 70's in San Francisco with hippie artist parents

So welcome...and stay tuned!

found!

While I was up in the attic, packing away the winter clothes, I stumbled upon a missing treasure. This swiss music box merry-go-round had been mine when I was a baby. I had been wanting to put it in a little vignette in one of the kids' rooms, but could never find it. I was so happy to discover it, but realized it was in pretty bad shape. A little elbow grease and some glue and it's looking fine. Once it's dry I'll have to find a special spot for it. I just love fixing things!

sharing perspective

My daughter and I have been reading (over and over again) this lovely book:




Learning to see the world through someone else's eyes, whether family member, friend... or even a snail...teaches compassion and perspective. After reading this book, my daughter and I love "being snails".
My friend and fellow blogger at Zen Crafting has a beautiful post,Ways of Seeing.

nature bracelets

What could be better than taking a walk out in nature on a beautiful Spring day? Try collecting treasures and making something beautiful...to wear...instantly as you walk! This is a perfect activity for a three year old on up...I certainly had fun!


Supplies needed:
-duct tape ( try clear or white) masking tape works pretty well too
-grass, leaves, seed pods, flowers, petals

To create a beautiful one-of-a-kind nature bracelet:
- rip a piece of tape to fit over the wearer's wrist with enough room for it to slide off
-if using duct tape for a tiny wrist, cut/rip the tape in half down the long strip to make a narrower bracelet.
-connect the sides with the sticky side facing out and the smooth side against skin
-go for a walk
-collect treasures and add them to your wrist as you go
-admire your/your child's handy work and give thanks for all of the beauty at your finger tips

one day at a time

Local artist, Mary Beth Inken, is working on the Mama Goose mural on the Corn St side of the new building. It's so exciting to see such a large version of this beloved logo and familiar Ithaca icon...originally designed by another local artist, Alice Heise.

Yesterday.....Today....

artful organization

I'm obsessed with getting organized...primarily, because I never seem to stay that way for long. When I find something that really works, I know it's worth sharing. I have two children and a very creative house...this means a lot of craft supplies and many lovely things to display. Creating a system that could rotate art and be accessible to everyone was key. Introducing... "gallery clip boards". I'm a big fan of traditional pegboard because it's so darn easy...no drilling involved. They come in easy to manage 2x4 ft. sheets at Lowes. Simply painted in a favorite color and adorned with bulldog clips and an elastic band, this has been a lasting solution to the paper madness. Both the clips and bands are attached with a screw, nut and washer. My older child can rotate his art, my youngest can't pull it down. My little one has so many treasures and folded paper pieces; she loves tucking them into the elastic strap all by herself and surprising me. I've also put two magnetic boards beneath for her to manage and update with her tiny creations. Here's a little corner of the children's studio right off the main room of our home. We all find it very inviting and orderly.

In addition, these giant clipboards can be customized for any room in the house. Unlike a traditional cork board, papers stay in their zone, rather than all over the place. Add more clips or bands depending on your needs.
- mudroom: a family communication wall
- art studio: a new kind of inspiration board
- kitchen: smaller one for meal planning
- home office: a clip designated for each project/task/day of the week

If you've been reading along, you've heard me mention Mama Goose, the expanding children's resale shop I'm doing design consultation for. In retail, finding unique ways to organize and display merchandise is key. We will be using the "clipboards" to hang packaged toys neatly and uniformly and a board of straps for corralling softies. For more info about Mama Gooses' move (or to learn about my role in all of it), check out the new blog dedicated to their expansion project by clicking here.

my mom

I talked about my mother in my very first post, but haven't since. I think I've been worried that if I start, I'll never stop. My friends are very patient about me going on and on...they enjoy my mother too. My family doesn't mind...they all adore her as much as I do. My mother and I share everything from the daily minutia to the big stuff. She even calls to tell me what typos I have to edit from my blog..."not another exclamation point, Maya"..."can't help it Mom...I'm enthusiastic!" You see, she is my best friend, my mentor and my confidante. She's the most beautiful, creative woman I know...my brother and sister would definitely agree. I'm quite nostalgic, so I thought I'd surprise her with some lovely "Vintage Mom"...but she's even more lovely today.
Precita Park, San Francisco 1975


Valencia St. 1973 My mother hugs my little friend, Mary, and me(left)


Three generations: My grandmother, mother and me Baker Beach 1972

delicious dandelions

Last night at dinner, my family and I realized that I had caught the wild spreading disease of "blogaphoria", where bits of life start being shaped by posting opportunities. The biggest symptom might sound familiar to some of you. I find my camera to be one of my best friends and have started to shoot EVERYTHING, because the I love having a venue for sharing. Thinking back on my life, I keep kicking myself at all the perfect "posts" I could have been doing. Ha ha. Here's what inspired that revelation...

It's dandelion season! Every year when millions of Americans are bemoaning their perfect lawns being littered with yellow weeds (and dumping tons of pesticides into the earth), my family and I celebrate the beginning of "picking our dinner". Our meadow becomes our garden and we go out and harvest the edible greens of this lovely golden flower. Common, everyday little dandelions have green leaves that pack an incredible nutritious punch...very rich in iron.


Even the tender new leaves can be a bit bitter, but I've come up with a secret ingredient that has my littlest asking for seconds. I saute them with olive oil, fresh garlic and tamari until they have wilted and aren't too chewy...then I add some magic, a little maple syrup. Sweet, salty and garlicky seem to work well for my family. We prepare kale and other greens this way too. Here's to backyard greens!

liquid sunshine

As promised for today... a little DIY bucket o' grass. This is so easy, satisfying, and cheap...I want to encourage everyone to grow their own bucket. It could greet you on your front porch or bring a little greenery into an urban dwelling. Let's face it, these buckets are just happy! I'm planning on having grass growing all winter long next year. My inspiration came from the buckets themselves. Each bucket is 12 quarts of heavy duty, galvanized steel and only $4.95 at Lowe's. That's an amazing deal for their size and quality! Here's what you need to get started:

-bag of soil
-packet of wheat grass (don't use other varieties...wheat grass is majestic as it grows)
-hammer and a nail
-bucket

step 1: Hammer several holes into the bottom of the bucket for adequate drainage.
step 2: Fill your bucket with soil.
step 3: Sprinkle soil with a generous amount of seeds and cover it lightly with another thin layer of soil.
step 4: Water. Continue to keep soil moist through entire growing process.
step 5: Place bucket in a sunny location.
step 6: Sit back and watch it grow...liquid sunshine!


Here's some getting ready for a trim:

light at the end of the ...shed

The last two days have been very exciting over at Mama Goose's new site. The front end of the store's historic building has been covered up since the 1960's. The sheds that hid the entrance are coming down! We've been waiting for this moment for a while, and even the local press went out to cover the demolition. Today's Ithaca Journal had a wonderful article about the Goose and the revitalization of State Street. The top picture was taken from inside the shed, where the front patio WILL be. The rest of this post will be a series of shots of the unveiling of
the frnt entrance and a peak into the marvelous chaos of unpacking and helping to set up shop.

thanks sfgirlbybay!

I check out the inspiring blog sfgirlbybay just about everyday...for her lovely perspective and a taste of my hometown ( I grew up in San Francisco...the Mission and Noe Valley). Somehow, I missed yesterday...what a day! I noticed my Flikr photostream going crazy over my picture of buckets of grass and figured something exciting was happening. Needless to say, Victoria (sfgirlbybay) had discovered it on one of my favorite Flikr groups, Corners Of My Home, and featured it on her blog! Hurray and thank you! I was just getting ready to take a picture of how lush the grass has grown, alas it's a rainy Spring day (and I need that "sun streaming in" effect!)....stay tuned for a bucket up-date and tutorial tomorrow!

all my little ducks (GEESE) in a row

Putting the finishing touches on this little project seems to be paralleling putting the finishing touches on the new Mama Goose. Things are moving steadily along. More to post tomorrow, after I check the furniture and display racks the moving team delivered this afternoon.