Urban Blog

Depending on where you live, the variety of craft supplies in your local shops may be limited, or you may have to visit several stores to get the supplies for a project. Shopping online opens up more possibilities and requires less driving from you. Ashley Phipps suggests you visit Consumer Crafts for supplies.
 
She’ll explore the site with you at Simply Designing.
 

December is a time to make things for people. Craftsy has a pile of free online classes, so be sure to visit and peruse them for this holiday season. Out of 39 free classes when I checked, there are plenty of sewing, fibre art and cooking classes in the mix.
 
Thanks, Money Saving Mom and Moms by Heart.
 

Dirty Diaper Laundry is an awesome place to find cloth diaper reviews. What I’ve noticed about the Thirsties One Size All in One is, boy, do the authors love this diaper. This video shows the diaper’s features, while the blog has more details. If you do or are thinking of cloth diapering your baby, let Kim Rosas tell you why to look at Thirsties.
 
Read the full review.
 

Sword & Plough is a fashion company that repurposes fabric from military surplus material. Three important points about Sword & Plough are:

• They help ensure that military textiles don’t go to waste.
• They create quality bags while paying their craftspeople living wages in the USA.
• They employ veterans.

On Factory45, Shannon Whitehead interviews Sword & Plough founders Betsy and Emily Nunez.
 
Hear it from the source.
 

Why does the washing machine only eat one sock from each pair? Depending on how much you prefer matched socks, you may or may not find this list of uses for old and odd socks helpful. From crafts to household hacks this list has a tip for every family.
 
Visit Katie Femia on Premeditated Leftovers
 

This week, I am officially allowed to start posting about holiday decor. Let’s look at Ashley Phipps’ golden miniature tree.

It’s as easy as pinning large sequins onto a styrofoam cone like loose shingles. Ashley puts her tree on a stand. With string, this lightweight tree becomes a radiant decoration to hang around the house and it can reflect dots of light all over the room as it spins.
 
Visit Simply Designing for details.
 

 
Oops, have you machine-washed a sweater or handmade socks that weren’t supposed to go in the washer? Never fear, felt is a wonderful crafting material. You can crawl the web all day for craft ideas, but for toy food patterns, visit Premeditated Leftovers.
 
Christine Tolhurst did the searching for you.
 

 
Buying large quantites of food on sale can help your food budget, provided you eat it on time. Organizing your food in the order in which you need to eat it can help you rotate stock just like the grocery store, and beat that “best before” date. Visit Jillee for methods of rotating a full pantry.
 
Because money tastes good.
 

Let’s talk about an American clothing company called Imogene + Willie. Matt and Carrie Edmonson started their family-run business by updating the factory of Carrie’s family in Kentucky. Their American-made jeans are worth washing properly (or rarely washing). In this video, Cotton, Inc. interviews Carrie and Matt.
 
Read Imogene + Willie’s story
 

 
Simple living means you watch over your time and protect yourself from constant distractions, choosing when to engage media instead of letting it decide for you. It means using your whole brain, including the parts that you may have neglected since getting a tablet, like your five senses. Crystal Ellefsen is discussing how to ingrain this philosphy in her children.
 
Consider The Art of Simple for children.