Some people get their home decor thrills in white slip covers.  For others, it’s all about the thrift shops.  Me?  It’s handmade.  Today Robin at Well of Creations shop and blog is here to talk to us a little about her handmade journey mixed with motherhood and life abroad.  Incredible stuff!

I hope you find it inspiring to pick up your knitting needles or whatever materials strike your fancy in creating a handmade home and something for yourself.  Don’t forget to enter the fabulous giveaway she’s offering at the end!

Take it away, Robin.

1. Tell us a little about you and your art.

My journey into a life of creativity began a little over 2 years ago. I am a military wife who is a also stay at home mom. I did not really have to contend with the FULL WEIGHT of those identities until the time frame mentioned when my husband was deployed and I found myself alone and unable to really convey to friends the depth of that loneliness. Our family did not live close. I had a two year old at the time and was unable to afford any kind of child care to help with her care and to allow for me to have some kind of break.

So, one day I found myself perusing a local craft store desperate for some sort of outlet that I could do at home. I glanced at a “crochet a scarf” kit and since I vaguely remembered some instructions my mother gave me when I was a girl, I purchased it. It took a while for me to warm up to it and then suddenly, I opened up to the value of art and the meditative rewards that helped in motherhood and in personhood.

2. Where are you most inspired to create?

I am most inspired in the children’s section of the library. Books have always felt like friends to me. One of the biggest blessings I have experienced being a mommy again (I have two grown sons) is having the “excuse” to go through the children’s library and check out TONS of books.

3. What hinders your creativity, and how do you work your way out of it?

Isolation is a double edge sword for me. I HATE IT yet I find my most inspired work comes during that time when I need to deal with the ramifications of that alone time and the emotions I am experieincing. I truly would like to be that “happy art” person and I am at times. But mostly it happens in the down times.

4. How do you incorporate simplicity into your work?

I am a HUGE fan of color. But I believe in moderation the colors are able to hold their own as well as excite the senses. This balance is what I strive for in my pieces.

5. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the piece you are giving to a lucky Making This Home reader?

I have never been the one who likes to be in charge of holding the camera and documenting the memories; I prefer to use words for that. But once I started my handmade business, I quickly realized I needed to get over that! The more I began to learn some tricks with using my digital camera, the more in LOVE with photography and equally the more RESPECT I have for the art form. The camera bag is my little tribute to the profession.

6. What advice would you give to those who are living abroad and thinking of starting a handmade business?

The shipping issue REALLY can be an issue when you are abroad. My best advice is to have someone who is able to speak your language explain to you the ramifications of customs. I minimized my shipping to just a few small items while I lived in Germany because the shipping costs was just too large to pass onto the customer.

A huge thanks to Robin for her insights.  I really like hearing different perspectives Americans have when living abroad as we go there for different reasons.  Now on to the giveaway, right?!

* * * This giveaway is now closed.  Thank you! * * *

Prize: the above-pictured, handmade camera case valued at $20 from Robin’s shop
Specs: This bag is 7 inches high and 6 inches wide; the strap is 12 inches from the shoulder to the bag on each side.  It’s fully lined and includes a fun little pocket for extra batteries and other camera accessories.  Colors are:  maize, two types of gray, and two types of green: lime green and leaf green.
Capacity: expands up to 4.5 inches
Entries: One entry per email address and per household please.  Leave a response in the comments section below with your answer:

What hinders your own creativity and how do you work your way out of it?

Ships to: anywhere in the US of A or to anyone with an APO address
Contest ends: Monday, October 4, 2010 at midnight in the Rocky Mountains.  Winner announced here on Tuesday.

October is slipping into the neighborhood with lovely little yellow and red leaves.  It means the holiday season is coming.  It also means it’s time to open the door and say welcome to anyone interested in promoting your small business, handmade goods, art, or blog on Making This Home.  We have fresh cider simmering on the stovetop for you!  And we have managed to ration our first candy corn in years, so you’re welcome to nibble.

A huge thank you to the lovely September sponsors.

If you’d like to join me in October, all the details on advertising are right here.  What do you say?  Whooo is up for some Making This Home love and admiration?

Have you heard about the paperless bathroom movement?  There are people all over the developed world who have made the decision to stop using toilet paper.  They’re not drip drying, mind you.  They’re using cloth.

The idea can seem pretty crazy at first.  But just imagine how much we could save our environment (and our wallets!) by ditching traditional toilet paper.

All you have to do is keep a supply of small bits of fabric next to the toilet.  Don’t flush it in the toilet.  Stick it in a bucket with water and a little cleaner, just like you’d do with cloth diapers.

Make up your own guidelines – do you use cloth for #1 and #2?

Can’t you just see the raised eyebrows from your mother-in-law!?  Maybe you want to offer toilet paper to your guests.

But I hear that the cloth solution is sooo much more comfortable.  So what do you say?  Want to save money?  Sooth yourself?  And save the environment?!  I mean, come on – what’s not to love about this solution?

Well I can think of a few problems.  I’m sure you’ve thought of your own, so I’ll skip the details of why our house has not created a toilet paper free environment.  (We’re still working on paperless nose blowing after all.)  Using cloth is a pretty interesting concept though, isn’t it?

Instead, we always buy 100% recycled.  In Germany, the price is easily comparable to other toilet papers.  In the US, it’s more expensive.

Our neighbor teases that we’re literally flushing our money down the toilet.  We pull out our guns and fire back in good ol’ Western style about flushing our state beauty down the toilet, yadda yadda. (He uses your regular old toilet paper… the kind that is 100% from virgin trees and stuffed with chlorines and bleaching products.)

I understand a consumer’s reasoning for buying the most affordable toilet paper.  What I do not understand is why companies chose to make toilet paper with absolutely no repurposed materials.  Imagine the impact we could have by using fewer resources in the bathroom.  My vote – and thereby my dollar – just feels like it has to go to companies figuring out ways to recycle paper.

In the meantime, has your family made any switches to recycled toilet paper?  Or even cloth?  Do you think it’s all silly?  Whatever  your heart feels, share it right here.  We’re ready and intrigued.

To answer the slew of questions since the release of {You Are Loved} – the new baby book over at Gadanke:

No we aren’t expecting a baby at our house any time soon.  In fact, I wasn’t expecting that I would design a baby book so soon.  I thought: what do I know about babies?

Well earlier this summer (when Martin and I flew over Grand Tetons National Park), I got to meet the baby bump that is going to be my niece very soon.  We were all soooo excited.

I could see this beautiful relationship that already existed between mother and child.  It choked me up.  I might not know how to change diapers at 2:00 in the morning.  But I do know love and relationships, and the things I witnessed were a huge part of the first portion of this journal.

Over the summer, I have been reflecting a lot on mother + child relationships.  What are the moving experiences worth capturing?  What is the day-to-day like?  What do mothers crave in a baby book?  What is a mother’s sacrifice like?

Martin has been raising an eyebrow when he sees me looking at baby blogs and photos.  “It’s research!” I keep telling him.

“Uh huh.”

Honestly, this research has been some of the most moving and inspiring I’ve ever done.  Even my grandmother (a mother of TEN) and I sat down to talk about mother + child relationships.  We sipped mini cans of Coke through straws.

I’ve listened to this album entirely too much.  (Song #7 is called “Baby Mine”.)  And my parents let me flip through hundreds and hundreds of old photos of generations and generations of parents + babies in our family.  The emotion is so revealing.  I slowly worked on ways to help draw out those stories with writing prompts.

The very best thing I received was an old cassette tape from my first Christmas.  It’s my parents talking, me girgling, and love coming to life.  That inspired this page among many:

I still don’t know anything about diaper rash.  Feedback at places like the Gadanke Facebook page were extremely helpful for this project.  What would you want in a baby book?  Our stories change with a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd child.  I wanted this book to work for all of them.

I also wanted the detail-oriented, meticulous mother to fit in all of the specifics without letting mothers who write when the mood strikes feel out of place. I think this book has the perfect mix of milestone moments and this-is-us-right-now pages.

So if you are my mother-in-law, my grandmother, or the lady down the road who drives an enormous, black and dusty truck, I can’t answer your questions about babies at our house.  So why not ask me about love and stories… and baby books?  I know a lot about baby books.

** Create a plan, then make a dent. **

I didn’t remember the feel of autumn in America.  It’s been years since I’ve been here for Halloween or tasted candy corn.  Autumn frost, carving pumpkins, fake bats and ghosts dangling from trees – all of these things that have been a huge part of my American life have been absent for several years.  They’re not a part of our German world at all.

But they’ll be a part of this autumn.

Our neighbor here in the US needs help.  We feel this great need in our hearts to change our plans of returning to Germany this month like we had planned.  We need to help.  That’s the beauty of Martin being a student (he’ll be doing online classes) while I build my shop.  We’re flexible.  We’re lucky.

Our Berlin apartment is being taken care of.  (It is soooo weird to video chat with family and see them sitting in our apartment!  Martin says I am always trying to peek over the other person’s virtual shoulder to see how the kitchen is being taken care of.  I think he’s right!  And just so you know – you can’t do that when the internet is 2-dimensional.)

I know we are very, very lucky to have this flexibility.  There’s nothing I’d rather do than help this friend – this HERO of ours – in my home state.

So I’ll be sure to keep you posted on travel plans.  In the meantime – guess what I bought for the first time in years and years?

A quick question:  if you were spending autumn where you are now, after being away for years and years, how would you celebrate the season?  What would you do to embrace where you are?

(Second image compliments of Flickr)

Shhh.  What do you hear right now?  What sounds and noises are around you?

We have two types of noises around us:  the noises of a constantly moving world (traffic, dogs barking, neighbors doing their thing, animals on the roof…).  Okay – animals on the roof may only be something on my list right now!

(this summer in the Rockies)

What else do you hear?

Why do you hear that?  Is your TV constantly on?  Is music always playing?  Are headphones always in your ears?

Living in Germany taught me this amazing sense of silence.  I was living in the middle of a compact city of 3.5 million people, and that’s where I learned silence.  Crazy, right?

Have you ever gone over to someone’s house for dinner and they don’t turn off the TV?  You feel like you’re competing with a television.  Or how about going somewhere with someone who’s on a cell phone or constantly checking it all the time?

In Berlin, I was the ONLY person wearing headphones on my daily walks to school until I learned to ditch the audiobooks and music and just enjoy my journey.  People were rarely on their cell phones as they walked or waited for the subways and buses.  No one in class rushed to yank out his phone to check his texts and voice mails during our breaks.  When class was done, we lingered.

I learned the beauty of silence.  I noticed how much more relaxed it made me.  I noticed how even though my class could barely even communicate with each other since we didn’t know much German, we learned to engage in conversation.

(this spring in Berlin)

I feel like I couldn’t do that in my US courses at all because everyone was in such a rush to turn on phones or get to the next activity.

With my classmates, I learned the beauty of silence over meals.

This weekend, pause for a moment and notice the sounds around you.  Do it in the car, at your computer, while you’re preparing dinner.  You don’t have to change anything.  Just notice.  Just embrace the effects silence can bring.

Will you do that?