Blogging & Me

Thanks for coming to my blogoversary!

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to win a Silhouette Cameo {here}

Today you’re going to learn a little bit about me and my blogging story.

Thanks for asking questions!

How did you learn how to sew? Both my mother & grandmother sew. I remember watching them as a child. I also took a sewing class in Junior High. Though, I must admit, most of what I know now has been self-taught through trial and error. My grandmother also taught me how to crochet when I was about 9yo.

What is your favorite craft medium? Hmm, good question. I like so many different types of crafts, it’s hard to narrow it down to one. I really like fabric, jewelry, wool felt, and paper crafting. I don’t like scrapbooking, mainly because I don’t really have an eye for it. I love trying new things, if I don’t know how to do something I’m immediately drawn to that type of project.

What is your first love: crafting or photography? My first love is definitely my children. Between crafting and photography… hmm… I like them both for different reasons. I love crafting because it’s a huge stress-release to sit down and make something beautiful with my own two hands. As for photography, I initially got into it because I love taking pictures of my kiddos, it just kind-of grew from there.

Why did you start blogging? Funny story actually. In Manhattan {pre-kids}, I was a member of a craft club. One of the members, Jill,  announced she was starting a craft blog, Homemade by Jill. The craft-blog-world was still in its infancy (or at least this was the first time I’d heard of it!) and it was SO fun reading about something I loved doing. Fast-forward 2 years, Peeska (one of my best friends & also a member of the Manhattan craft club) and I are in Boston, our husbands are attending Business School together. We went from “Wall Street Widows” to “Grad-School Widows”. At this time, Miss M was 1 1/2 and Little L was on the way. Peeshka and I busied ourselves with craft after craft to pass the quiet times. I remember joking in passing that, “when Mr. V graduates, I’m taking a picture of every craft and placing it side-by-side to a gap and gown pic on my family blog, titling the blog post, “We’ve been busy”.” Once I realized that was going to be nearly impossible I decided to start a blog to document each craft as I went along.

How do you find or make time to craft without neglecting your primary role as wife and mother? I love this question and I’m so glad that someone was brave enough to ask it. Before I give you my answer, I want to state emphatically that I do not want to make anyone feel judged or wrongly treated by my answer. I really, truly believe that we are meant to lift each other up, bear one-anothers burdens, and above all, be kind. It’s important to remember that everyone (especially stay-at-home-mom-bloggers) has different situations in life. Each has unique skill-sets, desires, coping mechanisms, amazing multi-tasking skills, schedules, family-support, some of our kids are grown, some of us need to find a way to bring in supplemental income, etc. You can never accurately judge a person, nor should you try. That being said, I’m still going to answer this question as it pertains to me, and only me.

Aside from blog events {like blogoversaries} I make a concerted effort NOT to blog everyday. I usually blog once, maybe twice, a week. I’m at a point in my life where things are TOO crazy to fully devote myself to blogging. I have three callings (weekly volunteer work) at my church and I have three very young children: an almost 5yo, and almost 3yo, and an almost 1yo. Aside from Miss M’s preschool three times a week and dance once a week, the kids have nothing else to do. I try very hard to be present during their waking hours. We often find ourselves at the local pool, park, or library. I have great memories of my mom taking me to the library often as a child. It’s a tradition that I am carrying on with my own children. I consider it a privilege and extreme responsibility to raise my children to be good people. I do most of my crafting during nap time (lucky for me, Little Man and Little L nap at the same time), Miss M has quiet time during their naps, where she reads or plays Disney Junior on the computer. Since the kiddos are really young, bedtime is at 7 or 7:30. My husband’s job keeps him busy from 7am-7pm, plus commute time. He might as well be one of the children as he always goes to bed around 9pm. This leaves me… alone… with nothing but my scissors and my laptop. I’m usually up till midnight or 1am. On the weekends, I almost never blog. Since my husband works so much during the week, Saturdays & Sundays are very important to us. We usually find something fun to do on Saturday and we always go to church together on Sunday.

Now, I don’t want to give you the impression that I’ve got it all together, I really don’t. I struggle sometimes making the right decisions for myself and for my children. Sometimes I have an almost a compulsive urge to check my stats, find a new sponsor, or be the biggest, best craft blog ever ;) but I have to remind myself why I’m blogging. It was never meant to be a profession, or a way to bring in supplemental income. I craft for fun and I blog as a way to meet other women who are like me. Will I look to make money with this blog? yes, definitely. I can’t afford to maintain my crafting-addition without paying for it somehow. One day when my life is less chaotic, will I devote more time and energy into blogging? maybe, maybe not. Nowadays there are so many things that can pull both men and women away from their families, I hope to never be guilty of neglecting my children or husband for any reason. I also hope that I can always have the strength to do what’s best for me and my family. At the end of the day, the question I need to ask myself is, “how can I be the best me?“

How many hours a day do you work? I work 2-3 times a week during nap time and after my children go to bed. I probably work about 10-15 hours a week. 

Did you ever consider giving up? Yes, yes, and yes. I’ve felt like giving up many times over the years. Sometimes I wonder if this is really worth it, worth the energy I put into it. It can be really defeating when you get a negative comment or no comment, for that matter. I often find myself walking by my computer, scowling at it, thinking, “you don’t own me!” lol. Hence my un-reliable blogging style ;)

Wow, that was a bit long-winded… are we still friends? ;)

Come back tomorrow, I’m going to talk about my photography journey…