My Very First Podcast

Hi Friends,
I made my very first podcast! You can click on it above. It is titled Making Our Home a Haven and this is something that has been on my mind for a long time now. I was so nervous that I even said the wrong date. I actually attempted making the podcast yesterday (which I thought sounded better) but I didn't hit the record button!
Anyway, Making Our Home a Haven will be a new feature at Basketmaster Weavings. Please bear with me as I work out all the idiosyncrasies with it. This podcast is only about 2 minutes long.
Blessings,
Nancy

Beaded Doily Coaster

Hi Friends,
My in-laws were visiting this past weekend. My mother-in-law is an amazing beader. I've taught her how to weave some baskets throughout the years and this weekend she taught me to do the above beaded coaster. It is just the right size to sit my cup of coffee on in the mornings so you get an idea of its size. Took me about 4 hours to make.
Beading is one of those few crafts that I've not yet gotten involved in doing. I keep telling myself I CAN'T start another hobby!
Have a wonderful day!
Nancy
This Post links to:
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Skip to My Lou
The Girl Creative
A Soft Place to Land
My Frugal Family
Lucky Star Lane
Today's Creative Blog
Someday Crafts

Nancy's Sloppy Joe Recipe

Hi Friends,
I was looking through a Taste of Home cookbook the other day and I ran across a recipe that looked similar to my above finished product. It looked good and I thought I'd like to give it a try. (don't even remember the name of it, it was bacon cheeseburger something or other) Anyway, the recipe had you make the bread from scratch and the meat sauce was made from scratch too. It was just one of those days where I didn't have time for all that fuss. I needed quick and easy and things that were on hand.

I had a loaf of French bread and a can of Sloppy Joe sauce so I thought I'd do the Semi-homemade version of what I remembered seeing. To start with, an easy way to cook the bacon (one package) is to cut it with kitchen sheers first and then cook it in a pan. If you use a pan with high walls it helps keep the splatters to a minimum. Drain the bacon.

In another pan I browned the ground beef (a little over one pound) and added 1 can Sloppy Joe sauce after draining the beef.

I cut a 'V' shape in the French bread and placed 5 slices of American cheese. On top of the cheese place the cooked bacon and on top of that place the ground beef mixture.

This recipe served my family of 5 and I had tossed salad, cooked broccoli and carrots with it. It was different than a standard Sloppy Joe and the kids gave it 2 thumbs up. We also put mustard and pickles on our sandwiches. It was so much easier than the original recipe that inspired me.

I'd love to hear what quick and easy recipes you are feeding your families these days.

Enjoy your weekend,

Nancy

This Post Links To:
Craftaholics Anonymous
Women Who Do It All

Feature a Friend Friday - Colby Hart

Dear Friends,
I'd like to introduce you to Colby Hart. He is a new weaver and has been weaving with reed for only three months now. Take a look at his work here! Colby and his wife enjoy crafts and making things with their hands. He started basket weaving as a way to make some Christmas gifts this past year while his wife made soap. Colby doesn't have a website or a blog....yet...but when one is started I'll be sure to pass the link along.
Thanks Colby for sending me your photos to share. I'm sure the recipient of the gift basket was thrilled because it looks great!

Readers, please feel free to e-mail me with photos of your baskets. I'd love to show off your work!
Happy weaving everyone.
Nancy

Free Online Basket Pattern

Dear Friends,
I wanted to be sure and remind you about Baskets of Joy's free monthly pattern. Be sure to get over there and download or print it off before the end of the month. What a great basket to use up your scraps of dyed reed.
One more thing to take notice of, did you see the lashing on this basket? How sweet to do the lashing in two different colors! Lashing in two colors is something I've never tried but this inspires me to do so. If you don't have all these great colors already dyed, Baskets of Joy also sells this as a kit.
Enjoy,
Nancy

Tip Technique Tuesday - A Unique Basket Handle

Good Morning Friends,

Remember when I introduced you to Pam Kurkowski HERE? I mentioned that Pam has a fun technique to make a sweet primitive basket handle. Take a look!

This is Pam's doll Amelia that she made. Can you identify what the basket handle is made of? It is a wire and a cinnamon stick! I think that is just the most clever way to make a basket handle. Of course Pam wove the little basket as well.
Thank you Pam for letting me use your pictures.
Please be sure to visit Pam over at Primitive Basketcase to see more of her fun and wonderful creations.
Have a wonderful day,
Nancy

Paper Crafting Easter Tree Ornaments

Good Morning Friends,
I've been having fun using my Cricut machine to make some ornaments for my little Easter tree.

You could use any die cutting machine or cut some out by hand. The key is that they need to be basically symmetrical images on the left and right sides.

Cut out five of each shape from double sided cardstock and stitch all five images together with some heavy thread. Then fold the top two pieces toward you and the bottom two pieces fold away from you to make a 3-D ornament. I then added a few beads to the top and bottom on the string for embellishment.

Here is my finished Easter tree that I put together just using six branches with tiny flowers that I got at Hobby Lobby. For the hanging eggs, I drilled holes in the tops of plastic eggs and threaded a ribbon into the eggs for a hanger.

Have a Blessed Sunday,

Nancy

This post links to:

Thirty Handmade Days

Read more: http://birdcrafts.blogspot.com/2010/03/easter-link-party.html#ixzz0iv0eUNXi

Around the House Saturday - a special day

Dear Friends,
I'd like to introduce you to two very special people in my life, my mom and dad. Yesterday was a very special day. It was my parents 54th wedding anniversary. They live in Kansas and I'm hoping to visit them in a few weeks. I am so blessed to have them as parents and in my life and I wish we lived closer where we could see them more. We love you mom and dad.

Have a wonderful weekend everybody.
Nancy

Feature a Friend Friday - Pam Kurkowski

Dear Friends,
I'd like to introduce you to Pam Kurkowski who blogs over at Baskets N Prims and Primitive Basketcase. Pam does some beautiful weaving and on this coming Tuesday, watch my blog for a technique that Pam uses to make a fun primitive basket handle.

I'm a self taught basket weaver & made my first basket in 1989 from a kit that I bought. I have made well over 3000 baskets and used to do shows but stopped about 10 yrs. ago when the economy started getting bad here in Mi. My favorite baskets to make are plaited but do make the occasional ribbed basket. I love the primitive style so I make alot of shaker style baskets & one of my
best sellers are the shaker cheese basket & I offer them in 4 sizes. I make my own walnut stain from walnuts that I collect each fall which are abundant in our area. When I make painted baskets I use milk paints which I buy online then I prim them up with a method I experimented with a couple of years ago. I have numerous patterns that I bought years ago but seldom use them now. I also have several books that I have bought and I love to do research on antique baskets. Over the years I have also really gotten back into cross stitch and sewing as I wanted to fill our home with primitives. I've recently started needlepunch and making blackened beeswax candles and ornaments. There are just so many things that I enjoy & there never seems to be enough time. If any of you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at basketpam@gmail.com I am happily married with 3 grown children and 2 adorable grandsons. My family is my number one priority and I am so fortunate that I am able to be "keeper of the home."

Pam sells her work over at Early Work Mercantile where you can see some of her beautiful Shaker cheese baskets among other works. I hope you'll take a few moments and visit her sites and enjoy her baskets and prim creations.

Baskets of blessings,

Nancy

(Part 3) How I began Basket Weaving and then some....

Today I finish my story about how I began basket weaving. You can read part one HERE and part two HERE. I'm also going to mention where I think basket weaving is going to go in the future.


Just before this last Christmas I started developing my own website, http://www.basketmasterweavings.com/ . I have some ideas on where I want to take the website but I'm having trouble actually implementing them. Quite frankly the website has been stagnant and I'm not happy about that. I genuinely feel that God is calling me to reach out to others with His word. Over quite some time but the past year in particular, I've been so saddened with things I see, lack of human respect, the divorce rate, child abuse, the list goes on. It is nothing new, but these are things that have touched me greatly lately. (Perhaps I'm thinking more of these things as my own children are getting older. I pray my kiddos find good spouses and then I pray for the welfare of my future grandchildren.) I know my marriage and home life are far from perfect, but it is good and it is stable. I'm feeling a tugging that's hard to explain in that God wants me to use what I know to teach others. I know there are a lot of women (and men) out there who are just clueless about some of the important aspects of life. Back when I was working in the hospital I helped two 12 year old girls give birth to babies, yes 12 year olds. I had a handful of 13 and 14 year olds and more 15, 16, and 17 year old patients than I can count. Many of these girls were addicted to drugs, cocaine, methadone, heroin, etc. and then I had to take care of drug addicted babies. You can only imagine what their family situation was like. I'm a believer that things can change.

Like I said, I know my household is not perfect but I'm feeling that in some small way God is calling me to reach out to others and teach them. I don't know that my website is the way to do it, but it will be a start. I don't know how others will even find me and if they do will they be interested in what I have to write and say? I want to include my baskets and my crafting and homemaking skills on it as well. I'm just having trouble visualizing how I really want the website to turn out. It's a process. Then there is the question of if I should have a website AND a blog or just move everything over to the website? I guess time will tell with that.


I'd also like to sell some of my work on my website as well as some of my patterns. I've just been so timid to take the plunge. When I teach and had taught all those basket classes, I would write all my own patterns so I've got a notebook full of about 75 or so. I'd like to learn the process of running my own business. I'd like to sell other things I create besides basket related items. I'd like to try my hand at an Etsy shop. I'd like...I'd like....I'd like.... Every time I think I'm ready to take the plunge I present myself with all kinds of objections. And then I wonder how can I incorporate what I feel God calling me to do with my crafts?

So where do I think basket weaving is going to go in the future? I'm glad you asked. In the last 365 days I've seen a considerable leap forward in the handmade industry. I think handmade and homemade has been growing over the last 4 years or so, but in this past year the bell curve has skyrocketed upward. I see people more interested in crafting now than ever. I see people more interested in cooking at home. People want to make it themselves. They want to grow it themselves. I'm here to teach them what I can.

As one added side, people want to be green. They want to use what they have on hand or have access to. Every week for the past several months I've had questions asked to me about working with willow, grapevine, grasses and other locally grown materials. I know a few of you out there use these materials and I have you listed on my blog sidebar. I always direct the readers with these questions to your websites as it is an area that I have no expertise in at all. The sheer number of these questions leads me to believe that this style of weaving will be increasing immensely. I'll leave that teaching up to you.

So, if you've continued reading this far over these last three days you now know my story. If you get a chance on your blog, perhaps you will write your story. I'd love to read yours. Let me know with a comment you are out there and what you are up to and creating these days.

Please know that I pray for my readers every day. I am thankful for each and every one of you that you are a part of my life.
With love and blessings,
Nancy