What's a Tiny Junk Journal?

 

Are you ready to try making a junk journal? But you feel a bit overwhelmed by all of the beautiful journals you've seen and all of the amazing "stuff" that goes into a junk journal? Well, now you can give it a try on a small scale with one of these sweet little "Tiny Junk Journal" kits now available from Vintage Mama's Cottage.

A "Tiny Junk Journal" is just like a regular junk journal . . .but just tiny! You can have great fun making your own tiny junk journal. A “regular junk journal” is simply a book, notebook, blank book, or a discarded library book where you can include all kinds of fun stuff! Labels, wrappers, pictures, sayings, poems, pockets, absolutely anything that you can glue down.

Here's a little video that explains what a Tiny Junk Journal is and how it can be a really fun project for you!

Buttons, ribbons, pretty papers, lists, letters, pockets, tiny envelopes, tags, pink, paper clips, vintage charms and stamps - anything at all.

Home and Family Planner

 

Who needs a home and family planner?

If your family is as busy as most these days, I'm sure you are doing your best to keep up with everything. But that is really challenging, even on "slow" days! Trying to fit everything in to each day often feels like an overwhelming task. And it is!

If you are also trying to include self-care / health and wellness / spiritual growth / and other personal development goals, it becomes extremely challenging to keep it all sorted out. I know, because I've been working on this kind of planner for a really long time! 

So, the answer to the question is: everyone needs a home and family planner!

What's it all about?

I created this home and family planner based on my experience of years of writing out my daily, weekly, monthly plans and goals all by hand. Then in a separate notebook, I would have the weekly menu plans and grocery lists. Another notebook for budgeting and bill paying. And another for my daily Bible reading / prayer list / devotional journal. 

I did that for years! And it actually worked quite well for a long time, but lately I was thinking about designing and creating a planner that included all of the important areas of my life. That's how this particular project came into being!

Here's what's in the all-inclusive Home and Family Planner:

There are pages that you can print off and put in your own binder / notebook (or actually there will be a ready-made version in my Etsy shop if you would rather purchase one already set up and ready to go) - and the best part is that you can print as many pages as you need each week or month for the various planning projects that you need for your family.

Weekly menu planning and grocery list . . . 

You will find pages for planning your weekly menus and grocery list, as well weekly household tasks and budget planner. This home and family planner even include a page where you can write down your goals for the upcoming week, months, or year!

Budgeting and goals planning pages . . . .

There are two different budget planning pages so you can choose which one works best for your family! If you are living on a budget (and who isn't these days?), you will be able to keep your family finances and budget organized - that always helps me stay on track and keep things under budget each week.

Your spiritual journey and prayer list . . . 

For your personal growth, spiritual journey, and your goals for the future, there are pages to record all your ideas and dreams, as well as you prayer list and devotional journey. there are so many options in this home and family planner that you will find something that works just for you and your family.

Everything you need to stay focused!

Everything you need to stay focused, cut through the mental clutter, get your days organized, and stay on task, all in one planner! If you are interested in purchasing a digital download of the Home and Family Planner from my Etsy shop, please stop by and visit me at Vintage Mama's Cottage!

PS January is the perfect time to get things organized in your life . . . . I'm working on decluttering and organizing closets this week - what are you working on? Would love to hear from you!

Nina

Another "Slow Stitching" Project: "Summer Bazaar"

This one isn't quite finished - I still have a few butterfly charms, a few more buttons and a dowel (or stick from the back yard!) to attach to the top with a bit of twine to hang it - but it was just so much fun creating such a whimsical, colorful collage of fabric scraps, ribbons, and leftover other "stuff."

I was thinking about my summer garden and all of the beautiful colors bursting forth in the middle of a gorgeous summer day, with the sun shining through the leaves of the trees in our back yard. Then I found one lone "junk" earring in my stash that is a flower design with a bead in the center. I have jars and jars of vintage buttons, so I pulled out a few of them in coordinating colors, and snips and bits of ribbons in the basket that I've used for sewing and art journaling. 

My favorite part is the little fabric scrap with a birdcage . . . and a birdie inside with a key attached, just ready to open the door and let her fly free!

I love the little streamers at the bottom! Just makes me think of children playing on a summer day - like we did when I was a little girl - out in the woods behind our house. Nothing particular, nothing perfect, nothing exact, but just a lot of fun, sitting at the kitchen table, slowly stitching while the family talked about their day, supper on the stove, and the doggo laying on the floor by my feet.

It's the simple pleasures of life, I'm especially treasuring these days, in the midst of the cold, snowy days here in Indiana. I hope that wherever you are that you can slow down and truly experience the joy of quietness and peacefulness.

If you have ever tried "slow stitching" I would love to hear from you! Show me your work and tell lme your stories. 

Nina

Everything Old Becomes New Again

 

I recently discovered that the latest trend in sewing / fiber art / quilting / embroidery (among other traditional skills) is called "slow stitching." I was intrigued, so I decided to do a bit of research . . . and to my surprise, this "new trend" has actually been part of my life for over 50 years! 

A bit of history 

Back in the "olden" days, as some would call it, this technique was called simply "hand stitching," or "hand quilting." It has evolved, of course, into a very different idea than it was originally practiced.

When I was twelve years old, I wanted a new dress, but of course, there was no money for a "new" anything. I loved the second-hand store where my mom would buy a "grab bag" of leftovers for 25 or 50 cents, and it would almost be like Christmas!

She would pull out anything that was usable "as is" (or in this case, "as was") and then sort out the rest of the treasures looking for any fabric that she could use to make or "remake" for me or for herself. 

When I was still pretty little (so I've been told), she took a lady's winter coat, cut it apart, and made me a "new" coat. Perhaps that where I learned to be a frugal and creative shopper!

What happened next?

Back to the time when I was twelve years old . . . I decided that the only way I was going to have a "new" dress was to make it myself. So I did! There was a variety store (we called it a "dime store") in our little town in Michigan, and it carried a wonderful array of fabrics, patterns, threads, zippers, rick rack, lace, and ribbons. 

So, I would babysit on a Friday night, make $2.00, then go to the "dime store" and buy enough fabric, and a pattern for about $1.50 - perfect! 50 cents left over to buys buttons and thread.

Then the magic happened!

With that precious piece of fabric and 50 cent pattern, and a few embellishments, I made my first dress. It was a soft yellow plaid cotton fabric, with short sleeves and a Peter Pan collar. Don't know what that is? Check it out, you'll love it!

I wore that dress to school and I was so excited to have something "new" that was all my own. After that, I kept practicing on the old Singer sewing machine that my grandma passed down to my mom and she let me use . . . until I was making jumpers and blouses, more dresses (back then we always wore dresses to school), skirts, pajamas, shorts in the summer, tops of all kinds, and I even made my own swimming suits!

What about "slow stitching"?

As the years passed by, after a year of college, I got married and started a family. And since sewing and "refashioning" had been a major part of my life for a long time, I made many of the outfits that my children wore when they were little. I even learned how to make a man's suit when it was all the "rage" to sew with the new polyester knit fabrics.

Much of the work of sewing for my children and myself involved a significant amount of "hand stitching." Hems were always finished by hand, zippers were frequently "hand picked," and any trims or buttons (of course!) were put on by hand. 

Then, one day when my three oldest children were still pretty little, I took a class at a local "variety store" where I learned how to make a quilt, all stitching done by hand. I was fascinated and suddenly obsessed with making quilted wall hangings. 

Eventually I ventured into a larger hand stitching project - a full size quilt. All pieced and stitched by hand. Talk about "slow stitching"! It took months to complete each quilt. 

The best way to hand piece and quilt a large project (in my opinion) is using a frame where each large square is quilted individually, and then all of the squares stitched together afterwards. Makes the stitching a bit easier.

There's more to this story

There is so much more to the story and history of "slow stitching" which I will document in an upcoming blog post. For now, the most important thing is to remember that "slow stitching" is actually not something that has recently been "discovered" or "invented" but a traditional skill that women have practiced for generations.

The great thing (among many) about the modern trend of "slow stitching" is the philosophy that seems to have motivated it. It is about slowing down, taking time to engage in the process and not worry so much about the finished product. 

For now, let me encourage you, if you are interested in "slow stitching" there are hundreds of examples online, with websites, blogs, and videos to guide you to your own style of "slow stitching." 

Enjoy the process and we'll talk again soon!

Nina 

Be Creative Every Day!

 

What's keeping you from being creative today?

As a line-long creative, it has been challenging for me the past couple of years. So many different events happening, all at once, or one right after another, or health issues that kept me from being as active as I always had been, had made it really difficult. 

I'm sure everyone has times like that . . . and I know how discouraging it can be when you can't do the things that you want to do. The things that are in your heart and mind - the creative ideas that you are wanting to do - those are the things that make it so hard to be physically incapable of actually accomplishing.

What to do about it . . . . 

After a couple of years of struggling though health issues, loss of loved ones, and general struggles to get through a day, I am finally having the time and energy to get back to some of the things that I love to do. But . . . so many things have been left undone for so long, that it is going to take some time for me to get caught up!

The first thing I decided to do is to get back to blogging. Although I realize that people don't read blogs so much anymore, I still really love to put together creative ideas and inspirational posts . . . just in case someone actually stumbles across my little corner of cyberspace.

Why not today?

Today, two days before Christmas, I wanted to encourage you (should you happen upon my little blog) to set a goal of doing one (just one!) creative thing each day. Even if that is to read a book, sing a song, or tidy up one corner of your world . . . five minutes should do it! I always feel better when I've take just a few minutes to do something that makes my world a bit brighter!

Then, I will get busy right after Christmas day and begin tackling some of the tasks that I haven't been physically able to do for a while, and little by little, I will get back to my creative projects. One of which is updating this blog, as well as updating my Etsy shop, at Vintage Mama's Cottage. 

Check out the free monthly planner pages from A Country Girl's Life!

What's your plan?

Another major task is to reorganize my sewing room / creative studio so I can work on several projects that are calling my name! I hope you find time to be your creative self and find joy in your daily activities. Until next time, wishing you a joyous and blessed Christmas celebration!

Nina

The "Rebel Homemaker"

As the whole world seems to be filled with anxiety, fear, and confusion, it is no wonder we are all searching for a place of peace and tranquility. That place used to be, for many of us, our home and family. These days, however, people find themselves alone in the midst of a chaotic world, questioning if there is a better way of living.

Those of us who have experienced the simpler things in life (by choice or necessity) search for ways to return to those days of baking bread, hanging the laundry out to dry on a sunny day, planting a garden, sewing our own clothing and making outfits for our children. It is not easy these days, being a "rebel homemaker"!

The social pressures on young women, single, married, children, or no children . . . are incredibly heavy. We've been convinced by the world around us that our value lies in how "important" we are, or in our job description, or our career choices. 

All of those things are important, but for many there is a longing for a quieter, peaceful, less stressful (and maybe even "boring") lifestyle.

That is why I believe "simplicity" is trending among young women. Even the whole "Trad Wife" movement seems to be seeking to recapture some of the traditional values and lifestyle of years gone by. 

If you have been contemplating the journey to simplicity, I encourage you to join me as I revisit some of the "old fashioned" homemaking and family living skills that just might give you a bit of inspiration to begin to simplify your life.

It's a Great Time to Start Your Own Family Traditions

  There's been a lot of chatter online recently about returning to traditional family values. It is interesting to me to consider how this concept has evolved over the past couple of generations. And, since I am a Vintage Mama (and grandma!), I have observed and experienced many of the various iterations of "family traditions."

I suppose it depends on where you grew up, when you first experienced your own "family traditions," and even the different variations of "family" that you might have experienced. For some of us, "traditions" go back many generations; for others it might be that you are just now realizing how important "family traditions" are, and you are wanting to include some new "family traditions" of your own.

Since it is one week before Christmas, I've been thinking about "family traditions" and how they have changed over the years. When I was a little girl (a long time ago), our Christmases were pretty simple. There was a tree, a few simple gifts under the tree - usually some things that we really needed, such as a new sweater, or fun things like a book, a game, or a coloring book - and that was magical!