Everything's Better When It's Homemade

Welcome to the August Carnival of Natural Parenting: Creating With Kids
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how they make messes and masterpieces with children. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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I’m pretty big on homemade things. You may or may not have noticed, but I like to make things for my children as often as I can and I accept homemade gifts for them as I would a gift of solid gold. They’re not quite at an age where I can create thing with them (although we have made a few attempts) so in the mean time, I will make as much for them as I can and hope it will last through to the next generation.

Heidi's doll on the left, Piper's on the right.

I have always appreciated items made by hand, but having children has caused my appreciation to quadruple. My mother made a lot of things for me as a child, many of which I still have, and she has already continued that tradition by making things for Heidi and Piper. For their last birthdays (Heidi’s 2nd and Piper’s 1st), my mother took two doll bodies and painted their respective faces on them, sewed matching hair on each one and dressed them in semi-homemade clothes. Although the dolls spend more time naked than clothed, they get a lot of love. The hair on Piper’s doll has already seen better days and needs some refurbishing, but I love knowing that these gifts are already so appreciated.

After I discovered Mama’s Felt Café, I decided to try my hand at making homemade toys and haven’t looked back. I already made some “numbered felt squares” for them and have gone on to make a plethora of felt photo frames as gifts. I plan to make my own felt food to give to them for Christmas when they may or may not get a kitchen from Santa. Naturally, plastic food is often easier to wash, but, well, it's also plastic. Since I've been trying to rid my house of as much plastic as I can (a long and tedious process), I prefer to give them some homemade food because to me it holds much more value.

But I didn't stop at felt fabulousness.

I love skirts and have always loved them in one sense or another. Watching my children play, I've noticed that their movements are often restricted by their pants, mostly because they do not have any pants that were specifically made to fit cloth diaper butts. I thought to myself, "Self, how hard can it be to make a skirt? It's just two pieces of fabric sewn together, right?" Well, almost. While I was relatively successful at making Heidi a skirt for Christmas, it was only because I used elastic for the waist. I'm pretty bad at hems and wouldn't have a clue how to do a proper waist without the elastic (I'm working on it). Nevertheless, I have sewed two play skirts for her that allow for plenty of movement and are sufficient enough to withstand multiple washings and rough toddler play. I long to make more, but every day I resolve to sit down at the sewing machine, I am repeatedly distracted for some odd reason.

Nothing is going to stop me from making more and more homemade items for my children. As they grow, I will include them in whatever practices they find interesting and I will always reinforce the notion that homemade is better than anything found in a store. I look forward to making many Halloween costumes, toys, dresses and whatever else they fancy. After all, what could be better than having an infinite catalog of goodies (mom) at your disposal?

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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Family Draw Time Art Show — Kate Wicker shares art (and inspiration!) from her family's cherished tradition of family draw time.
• The Rules of Creativity: Learning to Create with the "Non-Creative" — Zoe at Give an Earthly shares how she learned to accept her "non-creative" child and claims that anyone, child or adult, can be creative given the right handling and environment.
• Creating With Kids: 4 Ways That Work For Us — See how Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings nurtures creativity with her kids through craft projects, outdoor creative play, celebrating the creative process, and setting up "little spaces of beauty."
• Creating memories, not things — Mrs. Green from Little Green Blog reflects on life with a ten year old and how 'creating together' has evolved from 'things' to memories.
• The Gift of Creation — It may be hot, but Kellie at Our Mindful Life is already thinking about winter.
• Hidden Talents — Sylvia at MaMammalia describes how providing the opportunity for creativity sometimes means learning to look for hidden talents in unusual places.
• Creating Joy — CatholicMommy at Working to be Worthy shares how she and her one year-old son create joy for their community.
• How to do Crafts with Kids — Gaby from Tmuffin guest posts at Natural Parents Network and describes how to keep things simple when doing crafts with kids for magical (easy-to-clean, and tantrum-free) results.
• Sugar & Spice & Baking on the Kitchen Floor — Carrie at Love Notes Mama enjoys making a mess in the kitchen with her daughter.
• Young Scientist Makes Purple Potion — Hannah at Wild Parenting loves being a lab assistant for the young scientist in her life.
• Making a butterfly house — Lauren at Hobo Mama demonstrates the proper way to build a wooden butterfly house with a preschooler.
• Nurturing Creativity — Amyables at Toddler In Tow shares the enjoyment she feels in nurturing the creativity of her children.
• Home School Music - Sparking A New Generation Of Musicians — Based on her musical background, Chante at My Natural Motherhood Journey talks about how she creates with and teaches music to her children.
• Creating (im)perfectly Together — Mudpiemama shares some of the highlights of a summer spent building everything from ships to hoops but most of a lesson on letting go of perfection.
• Family Soccer Kick Around — When her children wanted to play soccer, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children helped organize something that would work for her family.
• Creating Memories Together on Skype — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now tells how you can create memories online with adult children or anyone who lives in another city or country.

• We'll always have Halloween: Creating costumes for kids — Jessica Claire at Crunchy-Chewy Mama is not the craftiest mom on the block, but she does make a mean homemade Halloween costume.
• Let's Make Juice! — Wendylori at High Needs Attachment shares about the benefits of juicing with kids, as well as a quick recipe.
• Everything's Better When It's Homemade — Amanda at Let's Take the Metro praises the art of homemade goods.
• Creating the Opportunity for Art — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction shares how her family has created an environment conducive to art.
• 10 Easy and Functional Crafts Preschoolers Can Do with Minimal Assistance — Dionna at Code Name: Mama offers ten easy crafts preschoolers can do while sitting near parents — but they don't need a lot of parental help. Added bonus: all of these ten ideas double as something functional (gifts, decor, educational).
• Creating with Kids: Singing Together — Ana at Pandamoly details the important role music takes in her household and provides a quick (and easy!) tutorial for creating fun songs to sing together!
• Create This — jessica at instead of institutions considers different aspects of creativity including those without an end product.
• Make Your Own Pocket Bib — A tutorial from Amy at Anktangle on how to make two simple and quick bibs to keep your little one clean at the table.
• Creating Together in the Kitchen — Despite not feeling "crafty," Momma Jorje finds a way to create and connect with her toddler.
• An Artist-Mama's Perspective — In this post, Shannon at The Artful Mama discusses the differences between her choice of artistic outlet and her son's, and how they embrace those differences together.
• Heart of the Home — Jona at Life, Intertwined shares some highlights of cooking with kids.
• Getting creative with kids — Isil at Smiling like Sunshine shares how much she enjoys watching her daughter getting creative.
• Creating with Children - The Nature/Seasonal Table — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama celebrates the rhythm of the natural world with her toddler through the creation of a seasonal nature table.
• How Involving My Kid Saves My Sanity — The Happy Hippie Homemaker explains how involving her toddler in projects allows her to get more done, while providing valuable opportunities to teach and to bond (added bonus: amazing oatmeal raisin cookie recipe!).
• In the Kitchen with Kids — Cooking with Real and Pretend Food — Terri from Child of the Nature Isle engages her kids in the kitchen with culinary creations of both real and pretend food.