It only shows for a fraction of a second, but it made my day!
Don’t cry over spilt milk. Unless it is breast milk. Then cry as long as you want. Then figure out a plan. So it wasn’t spilt milk in this case, but 5 bags left out overnight. At least they were in a cooler, but now had a 24 hour expiration date, instead of 6 months. I could either pump all day (bleh, no thanks, pumping is one of my least favorite things ever), dump them out (not a chance, this stuff is liquid gold!), OR try something I’ve wanted to try for forever. Like, forever, for at least the last month. Make cookies with breast milk! But I’m in the middle of a muscle gain challenge, so no cookies for me. Next best thing: Alfredo sauce over pasta and chicken! (Full disclosure, I wrote this when I was breastfeeding lots of years ago, and am finally just publishing it cuz I still believe that breast milk is awesome!)
Step 1
You’ll never believe the first step. Find a recipe (like this one) and …
Wait for it, drum roll …
Replace cream/milk with breast milk. I know, mind-blowing.
Step 2
Make the Alfredo sauce. I’m assuming y’all are crunchy and pinteresty enough to find the resources to do this on your own. We ended up using mostly breast milk, plus a little bit of cream. Probably good for muscle gain, right?? 🙂 Since the breast milk was less creamy than cream (bah-dum-dum!), we cooked it a little longer.
Step 3
Eat the sauce. On top of noodles, or toast, or potatoes, or cheetos. Not judging. Are you ready for this? It’s going to taste like …
Wait for it, drum roll …
Alfredo sauce! Again, mind-blowing.
But really. It’s milk. Mine happens to be a little sweeter than cow’s milk.
I’ve considered myself a little bit crunchy for a while now. I think this new story/event/adventure/whatever launches me into the full on hippie category with no way to turn back.
________
The crazy stuff in my brain that may or may not belong in a blog:
I try to get answers by experimenting in life like this. This whole adventure seemed to raise more questions than answers. Why are some humans grossed out by breast milk? But why is it okay to feed it to our babies? Why was food connoisseur Gordon Ramsey repulsed by breast milk? (Well besides knowing how to get a reaction and ratings). How is cow’s/goat’s milk less disgusting than human milk? How long has human milk been “gross”? Will it ever be normal? How long will it take to become normal? Have you consumed breast milk as an adult? I’d love a comment below from you!
___________
Conclusion #1: Breast milk is milk. And delish.
Conclusion #2: You can support this post by heading over to my etsy shop, where you can buy greeting cards originally painted with breast milk, or felt walls that are great gifts for toddlers (totally unrelated to this post, but this is my main gig these days! All sales support my cute family of 4). And all sales help NICU babies get this liquid gold.
A 6-week course to learn and make art.
Projects include:
Watercolor
Clay
Faux stained glass
Acrylic canvases
Sand painting
Paper quilling
Tiny studio construction
Classes are for ages 6+
Taught in Ogden, Utah on Friday afternoons for June and July.
Hi, I’m Em! I’ve taught tiny art to 40 elementary students in a gym (whew!), and have a Master’s degree in Education. Helping kids express their creativity through art is a huge passion of mine! I hope you’ll join us to have some fun and make some messes.
My sis needed a remote control holder for her airbnb. When you remove the remotes, the inside back panel says “put it baaaaaack” haha. We think we’re funny.
The file is available for digital making (glowforge, silhouette, cricut, omtech, etc) on etsy:
www.etsy.com/listing/1182568006
W.H.E.W.
I KNOW I’m not the only one saying that about 2020. So. Much. You’re all well aware of the traumatic and sad things that happened. They were real. They were hard. I cried, I researched, I learned, I felt a lot of pain.
I do NOT want to minimize the pain of last year. At the same time that pain was happening, I also grew and learned new things about myself and the world around me that made me a better person. This list barely touches the surface, but here are a few highlights.
- The world slowed down a little bit for a little while. We were able to spend time in our studio (aka our house) doing “nothing” which means snuggles on the couch, and reading lots of books. (Until November hit, then WOAH!!)
- I was able to hire 10 local friends to help cut felt, something they could do safely from their homes, and something that helped my business immensely. Shout out to Anne, Ashli, Ava, Bailey, Ella, Gabby, Hunter, Rem, Sarah and Whitney.
- Another shout out to my immediate family, who sacrificed the living room, a bedroom, home-cooked meals, and any concept of free time.
- My siblings and mom watched the babies, and came over to cut felt, and kept checking up on me to see if I was still alive.
- And a HUGE shoutout to my buyers! I love you all! You bought a LOT of felt walls. Around 1400 in fact. 131 of you bought from outside of the United States.
- It was hard having your kids home! You were a parent and a teacher and employees. You bought felt walls to entertain your kids, to help the kids in your daycare centers, to support my small business, and probably many other reasons. Then you sent me kind and inspiring messages about how you were using your felt walls, and how much you love the cause.
- Because of you, the buyers of Em Is Crafty, we were able to donate over $3,000 to the Rocky Mountain Mother’s Milk Bank! I am blown away! Like most places this year, the milk bank had some rough months, and I was giddy that we were able to send a little extra cash to them this year, even if it is a tiny drop in their bucket.
Thank you for supporting me. Thanks for not blaming me that I had zero blog entries in 2020. Thanks for continuing this journey with me. And, also, thank you to Joann’s Fabric for delivering box after box, and bolt after bolt of felt to my very cramped garage.
Here’s to another adventurous year!
2020 Stats & Fun Stuff
First 2020 Buyer: Ian from the UK
Last 2020 Buyer: Brooke from California
The amount of Sarah’s that ordered: 19
New Creations:
The Best Reviews:
You.
All.
Rock.
My.
World.
Thanks to your support and generosity, we were able to donate over $800 to the Mother’s Milk Bank at Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation!! That money goes directly to fragile babies who need lifesaving, nourishing breastmilk. Human milk is so critical during the first few days of life. Here are some stories that will make you bawl!
Seriously, you’re my heroes!! Now let’s get even more to them in 2020.
Y’all bought over 150 oceans and rainbows:
You inspired me to design more clothing:
And you ate up the frog/plumeria tropical leggings!! 😍😍😍
You requested (and I made) 3 new felt wall designs:
Noah’s Ark & The Human Body & Polar Play
What’s that you say, Photoshop?! I totally don’t Photoshop my daughter into multiple pictures.*
Help me out? I’d love to share your photos of your kiddos enjoying their felt wall in exchange for some awesome stuff! Send me a DM at @feltwalltoys.
*Yeah. I do.
And … Coasters!!
I am currently offering three designs with shoutouts to Puerto Ricans, gamers and (randomly, but not that randomly, because my brother is one) dentists! I am taking custom requests.
Thank you for your kind reviews.
Thank you for your orders.
Thank you for supporting my family, and tiny babies in NICUs across the country.
I love you.
Em
Sometimes my projects are more clutzy than crafty. Okay, let’s be honest, there doesn’t even need to be a project involved for the clutz to show.
I was holding the car door funny while I shut it. OWWWW. Black thumbnail, and TONS of pain. The progression of the wound is very interesting to me, especially the last 2 days when a big chunk just fell off and an almost normal nail was behind it. Our bodies are freaking incredible.
After 10 hours, I kind of wanted to cut my thumb off. So. Much. Pain. I did a bunch of research on what a US instacare does/charges for this. Then consulted a bunch of friends with similar experiences. Then went to a facebook wood-working group who told me to drill a hole in it. (WHAT THE ACTUAL!?) But pain. And $200 to save. So I twisted a drill bit into my nail, and I’m so glad I did.
Here’s to more crafts, more smashed thumbs, and more healing.
Step 1:
Buy cheap lumber from Lowes/Home Depot:
4″ Strips of wood
Qty: 2 strips, cut to 31.5″ each. 6 strips total for the background.
2″ x8′ Strips of wood
Qty: 2 strips, 2 cut to 31.5″, the next 2 cut to the height of your sign (line them up, then make a pencil mark).
Step 2:
Paint the 1x2s white, and the 1x4s brown. I use cheap apple barrel paint.
Step 3:
Glue and nail the top and bottom frame edges to the panels.
Step 4:
Glue and nail the sides on, use a clamp if you can to hold all the panels as close together as possible.
Step 5:
Design your layout in illustrator/silhouette/cricut software.
Step 6:
Cut your layout out of vinyl, then put transfer tape over the vinyl.
Step 7:
Apply vinyl to wood, remove transfer tape. It takes a little finessing to keep the vinyl down, especially if your wood has lots of character.
Step 8:
Dab paint onto your wood sign through vinyl stencil, then remove vinyl. I do it while it’s still wet so the paint doesn’t crack.
Step 9:
Coat the sign with polyurethane. This is my biggest expense, and makes the sign look amazing. Don’t go cheap on this product. Buy the real thing. From my link, or from the hardware store. I don’t care, just get the real stuff.
Me (in my most annoying big sister voice):
Draw an iconic Hawaii thing in Sharpie and send me a pic! I’m making a gift for Dad (who lives in Hawaii, and is a minimalist, and has everything he could ever need).
My siblings and nieces (with very little grumbling):
Me after many hours in Illustrator:
Spoonflower:
Except, of course, I got much more than a fat quarter. 🙂
Me after USPS shows up:
The gift after a lot of hours of sewing (but not too much unpicking!):
Over the past decade (when did I start evaluating my life by decade!?), I’ve made a few wedding things. I’m finally showing them off here for you to all “ooh-and-ahh” over. Please. I mean, I don’t want to sound desperate, but I love the encouragement. 😉
Annie’s:
Wedding Invitation:
Sparkly paper WIN!!!
To mail these, we put a clear circle sticker around the non-sewed side, then a stamp and an address label on the back. One of my favs!
Shower Invitation:
Wedding Day Decor:
And then came the baby in the baby carriage. 💖
Whitney’s:
Invitation:
Wedding Day Stuff:
The cake topper was so fun to make! She brought the idea, then we put string and white duct tape together. So simple and beautiful.
Shower Glasses & Hair Ties:
Karin’s:
Photobooth Sign:
Erin’s:
Wedding Day Gift:
And hey, guess what! I sell this last board in my Etsy shop!
Hey guys! I’m getting a Master’s in Education! And it’s one of the most fun things I’ve done. For real. I love learning. One of my classes is “Arts Integration” so duh. It is inspiring, enjoyable, memorable. All the things I hope to bring as a teacher one day. One of my assignments for the class: create some lesson plans that teach core subjects while integrating art.
The 4 lesson plans are:
- Felt Dinosaurs: Visual Art + Fractions & Geometry
- Puppet Friends: Drama + Characters & Storytelling/Getting Along
- Mountain Mirrors: Dance + Landforms
- Thunderstorms: Music + Weather (adapted from my sister Mitzi!)
They’ll be going up on TPT soon, but for now, you can download them for FREE!
My sister makes come follow me lesson plans. I begged her to let me make a printable for one of them, and this is the one! It’s in my etsy store, check it out!
This comes from a place deep in my heart, much like my love art did. Someone recently called me racist, and it hit me way hard! Like, couldn’t sleep, hard. I’ll spare you the details, because the whole thing was so unreal. Moral of the story: ignore the haters; look at intent; be nice. I turned the hurt into art. A very therapeutic thing for me.
I’ve had Eric Carle on my mind a lot lately, between reading his books with my girls, and seeing his work in my pinterest feed! When reflecting on my recent hateful experience and who inspires me to rise above hate and assumptions, Rosa came to mind. Thus, Eric meets Rosa meets Photoshop. I already feel better.
It is composited in photoshop from newspaper clippings, photos, her signature, police reports, etc. Here’s where everything comes from:
I love the irony in the police officer’s hair being the highlight on the bus, and on Rosa’s lips. And the seating chart in so many places. This was such a fun, healing project!
Did you hear about the one thousand and ten dollars we raised?
We donated it to a Health Foundation that helps out newborn babes.
You see, the foundation runs a Mother’s Milk Bank.
For all the work they do for kids, they deserve a giant thank.
So many babies face illness or are premature, needing a mother’s milk to thrive.
Thankfully, selfless mothers willing to donate to the bank so often arrive.
We couldn’t have raised these funds without you.
And by you, of course, we mean you, you and, yes, you.
Abigail, Adam and Adeline, thank you for your purchase.
We hope you enjoy your felt world map, Andreas.
Bronx and Boston bought theirs together, and, wow, they sound tough.
Bradbury, for your purchase, we just can’t thank you enough.
We sold items to Chelsea, Charlaine and Christine.
And, of course, we can’t forget the one-and-only Dominique.
Thanks to everyone who shopped in their own special way.
Here’s looking at you, Emma, Ethan and Faye.
Thank you so much, Hayley, Jacky, Karyn and Lorena.
Can you believe we have customers from Salt Lake City to Valencia?
We really love your style, especially you Maria.
Before we forget, same to you Natalya, Oliver and Pia.
We can hardly believe the generous hearts of Rita and Sukee.
You’re definitely the best, Tracy, Vanessa and Whitney.
Yaro and Zsuzsanna, you made such a difference for children.
And to any buyer we didn’t mention:
Thank you, thank you, thank you a million.
Written by my friend Jaime, thanks man!
And cuteness sticks to these kids!
And command strips come off your wall easily without damage (they’re included!)
And I can’t get over how cute these kids are! Head on over to @modernfarmhousefamily to check out this adorable family.
But seriously!! How cute are these kids. And how talented is the photographer!! In love.
❤ ❤ ❤
How to make a custom baby blanket.
First, have a conversation with your neighbors who are having a baby girl!! Maybe one like this:
Me: Have you chosen a name?
Him (excited!): Yeah! Lyra!
Me: Is there meaning in it?
Him: Yes. We’re both into music. In Latin, a Lyra is like a harp. My wife is into astronomy too, and Lyra is a really cool constellation.
My brain: This. Needs. To. Be. A. Blanket.
First, paint some outer space textures.
Then pull out your tombows and do some lettering. Do a lot and write “nope” next to the bad ones.
Next, pull it all into Adobe CC to isolate your shapes, colorize them and create a repeating pattern. Save as jpg.
Headto spoonflower.com to order the fabric. Sew the edges, run through the wash and bam.
My 5YO got into dual immersion Kindergarten! I’m so excited for her! I decided to do “Spanish Kids Night’ once a week so she’s not overwhelmed when she starts. I hope DI opens doors for her later in her life. We did colors last week, and learned an AWESOME color song in Spanish! It’s sung to the tune of Frere Jacque:
Rojo, Red, Rojo, Red.
Azul, Blue, Azul, Blue.
Amarillo, Yellow, Amarillo, Yellow.
Verde, Green, Verde, Green.
Blanco, White, Blanco, White.
Negro, Black, Negro, Black.
Gris, Gray, Gris, Gray
Café, Brown, Café, Brown.
Anaranjado, Orange, Anaranjado, Orange.
Rosa, Pink, Rosa, Pink.
Morado, Purple, Morado, Purple.
Los Colores, Los Colores.
And since I’m a designer by day, I made this poster for her and the other kids to reference while we did some other Spanish color activities.
Poster is available here! And when you buy the poster, you’re helping a NICU baby get human milk!
What’s the best way to get your Pinterest views up to the hundreds of thousands? Millions? There are a few ways. But the only 2 important steps are:
1. Make a product.
2. Pin it.
That’s it. You’re done. You’re going to be a millionaire in no time. Okay, okay, chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve already done those 2 steps, and you’re not quite a millionaire. But you’ve done what most won’t. I offer a sincere ‘congratulations’ on doing the creative work. Sometimes that’s the hardest step! Now it’s just a matter of putting Continue reading “How I got my Product Viewed 180,000 Times on Pinterest.”
Holy smokes! You guys made 2017 AMAZING!! You bought felt walls, you bought prints of sloths, you bought greeting cards painted with breast milk (it’s weird, I know)! You placed orders from January through December; from down the street and across the globe. Add it all up and what do you get? One phenomenal year.
The first order came from Colorado on January 2. The last, was placed on December 30, and went all the way from Utah to Maine! In between, another 485 orders were made from 42 states (plus a military base, DC and Puerto Rico) and 22 countries.
The furthest? All the way to New Zealand – that’s over 7,200 miles! The country with the most orders (excluding United States)? France with 15 orders. I also got to send a few to Czech Republic and one to Cyprus! Next time, I think I’ll stuff myself into one of those packages.
The state with the most orders? California with 47 orders, then Texas with 36 orders, then Florida with 28.
But of all these numbers, one is the most important: $1,068.
That’s right, we donated $1,068 to the RMCHF Mother’s Milk Bank. That equals 267 ounces of breast milk that the they were able to process thanks to your generosity in 2017. But they process WAY more than that every single day. So let’s keep this going! I’ll keep making crafts, if you’ll keep buying them! I was able to fly out to visit them in January, and I was bawling the whole time! The amount of milk they process is insane! The lab techs pour milk sent in from selfless moms, then they pasteurize it and ship it out to hospitals around the country. This is the lab where the magic happens:
I can’t even explain how awesome I think they are.
And how awesome I think you are. Thank you for buying crafts. Thank you for supporting my little family.
Em is Crafty 