Blog Archives - Cynthia MADE

On Not Wanting To

1/29/2015

Picture by Lily

"You don't have to want to do it, you just have to do it." Unknown

When I was a young mother, I would ask my children to do something and they would often reply with the dreaded phrase "I don't want to." Now, trying to be a progressive parent, I would explain all the benefits complying with my request would bestow in an effort to persuade them to do what I asked. This approach was seldom effective and the conversation often degenerated into a thoroughly unproductive and often unpleasant one.

What to do? An answer came to me one day while browsing through a parenting magazine waiting somewhere, probably the pediatrician's office. There was a page of favorite phrases and my opening quote was one of them.

Now telling children that they have to do something whether they want to or not may not be the most progressive approach, but I have found that it is a successful one. Children need to know that in life we are often faced with tasks we don't want to do but must do them none the less. Understanding this is a hard lesson, but it is an important one in the development of a conscientious and responsible individual. It also has the added benefit of ending the conversation before it has a chance to deteriorate .

Have a fun day even if you have to do something you don't want to.

Cynthia

On Expecting the Unexpected

1/27/2015

"Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm. 'Come in,' she said, 'I’ll give you shelter from the storm.'" Bob Dylan

Here in the northeast we were expecting a blizzard of historic proportions! The schools closed early yesterday and announced there would be a snow day today. Even my husband's office closed early and his company decided to close today. There were travel bans in effect for the tri state area. I assumed I would wake up to monumental drifts of snow, go out and take loads of arty pictures to post and talk about the amazing amounts of snow.

When I woke up this morning, I looked out my window and what did I see? Well there's snow yes but not amazing amounts. The roads look plowed already. It is still windy and cold, and we do still have to shovel but it's definitely not what I expected.

Something unexpected did happen though. As I opened the door to take a picture, our family cat Ginger (yes, I know she's grey but that's another story) ran out! Now, Ginger is an inside cat. She never tries to get out. Not only did she run out, she started going down the back stairs! I was sure I would have to run out in my slippers to get her. She did turn around eventually when we called her to come in and we gave her shelter from the storm.

I hope today that everyone stays safe and finds shelter from the storm.

Have a fun day,
Cynthia

New Aprons in Our Shop

1/23/2015

"Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise." - Ted Turner

One of the reasons we started this blog, in addition to sharing our stories and what we've learned, is to help us grow our business. So, taking Ted Tuner's advice, I have decided throw in a few advertising posts. So this is the first one of those and here is our newest batch of aprons:

On Sharing What We Know

1/22/2015

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am a great believer in doing it yourself - or at least attempting it.

The great thing about the internet is that it gives you access to all kinds of information. It is truly wonderful how many people are willing to share their ideas and knowledge. It is in this spirit of sharing that we have added a DIY page to our website where we can give instructions for some projects we hope you will enjoy.

Have a fun day,
Cynthia

On Serendipity

1/20/2015

ser·en·dip·i·ty
ˌserənˈdipədē/
noun
the occurrence and development of events
by chance in a happy or beneficial way

We have all had things happen to us that seem to defy explanation.

I had one of these events the other day. I made a shirt for my grand nephew for his second birthday. Along with the number 2 graphic, I used pieces from a shirt with dinosaur graphics on it. I had also, in the course of my adventures, accumulated other dinosaur related items: a small puzzle, a big puzzle and a book about dinosaurs. I went to the post office to mail the present and while I was taking the package out of the car, I glanced down. Right at my feet was a small, plastic dinosaur! What are the odds?

Now many people attempt to explain these coincidences in a scientific way, citing statistical probabilities or attributing them to the workings of the unconscious mind. I, however, have a different explanation: magic. Not magic in a Harry Potter kind of way, but rather magic in the sense that the world truly is a mysteriously enchanting place. One in which not every thing needs to be explained away but rather one in which we can simply be amazed.

These experiences remind us that there is wonder in the world. We should use them to ignite our curiosity and look for the magic that is all around us.

Have a fun (and serendipitous) day!
Cynthia

On Embroidery

1/15/2015

"All my scattering moments are taken up with my needle." Ellen Birdseye Wheaton, 1851

I love sewing!

Some what obvious I guess since I have a business sewing. In my business, I use a sewing machine and a serger. I enjoy this type of sewing very much, but I also like sewing by hand whether for garment construction or decorative embroidery.

Sadly, embroidery seems to be pastime that's popularity is diminishing. It is not thrilling like playing video games or titillating like trolling the net but to me that it's appeal. Embroidery is a thoughtful process that forces us to slow down and pay attention to the details of what we are doing. At the same time, it's rhythmic nature is calming allowing us to sort out the troubles of the day and put them into some kind of perspective.

Years ago, I took an on line embroidery class at the Opus School of Textile Arts. I learned may things in this course and created quite a few embroidery samples while exploring a range of traditional and contemporary embroidery techniques. I would like to share some of what I learned and some of the pieces I created today and in future posts.
This piece was created using Running Stitch. This is the most basic of stitches, worked from left to right. The needle goes in and it comes out. That's all there is to it! It is used in garment construction, quilting and, of course, embroidery. It is a simple stitch to do and yet can produce an enormous variety of effects.

Sewing is a wonderful pastime and I do hope to inspire some of you to try it.

Have a fun day!
Cynthia

On Babies

1/13/2015

"Never pass up an opportunity to take a shower or a nap." Me

My niece and her partner recently had a new baby. A girl! Finally someone to model all those Two Sweet Mamas dresses - eventually. This blessed event lead me to reminiscing about when my own girls were babies. While I never experienced the first year of life, as both my girls were adopted at around the age of one, they were still new babies to me.

Let's face it, babies are wonderful. They bring so much joy to our lives. They're cute, cuddly, adorable, precious and EXHAUSTING.

This leads me to my opening quote. As a mother of older children, new mothers have asked me for advice and this is what I tell them. This is because I have come to believe that sleep is one of the most important things for new mothers and babies. After all, everything is harder when you are tired.

Both my children were adopted from China, a place many thousands of miles and 11 time zones away from where I live. So even though I did not face the challenge of getting a new born to sleep through the night, adjusting to the time difference was difficult. With my first child, I tried to stay up during the day and was awake with her during the night. This proved not to be the best approach but did allow me to experience sleep deprivation first hand. I don't recommend it! So I started to nap when the baby napped and eventually we got to being on a normal sleep schedule. Although, as my oldest was always an early riser (she was on daylight savings time about two months before the rest of the world) my napping habit lasted a number of years.

Establishing good sleep habits is fundamental for having happy children. Children are less cranky, more alert, more cooperative and all around more pleasant when they are well rested, and so are you. So if you're tired and can do it, take a nap with the baby or if you're super tired go to bed when the baby does one night. The laundry can wait.

As for the shower part, well, no one ever tells you how having kids interferes with your personnel hygiene!

Have a fun day,
Cynthia

On Resolutions

1/8/2015

"Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever." Keri Russell

January is the month of change.

It is the start of a new year and many people, myself included, start by making resolutions. More often than not those resolutions don't last. I know this from personal experience! I have made many of the same resolutions for years and though I start out strong, my resolve seems to fade away distressingly soon.

I have often wondered why this is. In my search for an answer and perhaps some guidance on how to remedy this situation, I have read a number book about human behavior. While these books are interesting and do provide insight into why we do what we do, they do not really give much guidance into how to change what we do.

This brings me to the whole point of this post. I have found a book, which I want to tell you about, that does give guidance on how to make lasting changes in you life. The book is Small Move, Big Change: Using Mircoresolutions to Transform Your Life Permanently by Caroline L. Arnold.

In her book, Ms. Arnold makes the point that most of our resolutions are framed in terms of being something different: be organized, be on time, be thin, be whatever. Or they are vague: lose 10 pounds by summer, get out of debt, get more exercise etc. Her main insight I think is not to make resolutions to be something else, but to make resolutions to do something different. She calls these actions Microresolutions because the focus is on doing small, specific changes to your behavior which will ultimately result in permanent change. She gives a complete set of guidelines with many examples, some from her own life. She is not a self help guru, but a woman with a successful career and a family.

I highly recommend this book if you, like me, are looking for a way to make lasting changes in your life.

Have a fun day!
Cynthia

Cynthia's First Post

1/6/2015

"The hardest part is starting." Me

When we first decided to start this blog, a while ago, I thought I would start my first post with a quote from a famous person. So I searched and searched and then searched some more through some of the many, many sites that have quotes. I couldn't find just the right thing. Then I realized that looking for the quote was a way to put off getting started. New beginnings are hard, but I have found that once you get started, things do get easier.

So, now that the hardest part is over with, I hope to be posting on a regular basis.

What will I be posting here? Well, a little bit of everything: things I have learned about raising children, things I have learned starting a business, crafty things, cooking things, garden things and any other things I can think of.

For now though, this is it.

After all, it's the hardest one