2011: A Casual Review

In crafterhours world, 2011 was a busy year. In sorta random order: we held Skirt Week. We joined Pinterest. We began accepting sponsors. We hosted Spoonflower I Spy Swap 2. We welcomed a baby ourselves and those of close friends. One of us moved. One of us got our husband back. And all the while we made things, the bulk of which were inspired by our little offspring. (And Adrianna now has 33% more inspiration than I do. That's how that works, right?)

Here're just a few favorites:

puffer shrug, exposed zip twirly skirt, all-in-one facing, presumptuous potholder

custom grosgrain labels, reversible playmat, personalized pencils, long sleeves to short

wall hanging maps, record-your-own audio books, big girls' romper, knit princess aurora

baboon costume, military hat, tee-to-tank with Upcycled Education, ornaments

pretty pleats tank, pjs, I-know-where-it-goes stickers, santa bag

I'm not one for resolutions. The minute I make them I break them just because I feel constrained by them. I know I need room to change my mind. But I have lots of hopes. Hoping to get a handful of new business idea off of the ground. Hoping to improve daily life balance --always a challenge. Hoping to keep the family healthy and rested so that we have the energy to do when we want. 2011 was a long year. A hard year. And still a beautiful year.

There was a brief discussion 'round here of making "I survived 2011" shirts, but the idea was squashed by superstitious anxiety of making such a claim in advance of the close of the year. Nothing like asking for a last-minute catastrophe that would surely involve news photos of said shirt on whoever was being carted away.

What's next? Nowhere to go but forward, with a needle, thread, scissors, mod podge... and coffee in hand. Intrepid crafters always.