There are two grocery stores equidistant from my house. I’m a pretty serious cook and I buy a lot of fresh ingredients each week. Both stores carry high-quality produce, meat, and fish. Both are clean and have friendly, helpful staff and good prices. But every week, when it’s time to do the significant shopping for…
Archives for December 2013
Graphic Design Hacks for Craft Bloggers
Craft blogging is all about telling visual stories. You make things and then show what you've made, teach how you made it, and explain the techniques you used. To do it you (and I) depend heavily on images. Great visuals convey meaning more effectively than words. They attract the eyes of new readers, they make…
Best Tutorials of 2013
As you may know, I used to be a teacher. I still have a lot of fondness for writing lesson plans and on the blog that translates to creating tutorials. Pictures, instructions, and a neat finished project – what could be better? Here are some of the fun tutorial posts and free patterns I've created…
While She Naps Podcast Episode #10: Wendi Gratz and Stacey Trock
Interesting people find interesting stuff. That’s my theory, anyway. The While She Naps podcast is developing into conversations with designers and crafters in the industry about the things they love, work-related and otherwise. I’ve got amazing guests lined up for the new year and I’m really excited to discover all sorts of new and amazing…
Book Review: Sew Fun by Deborah Fisher
Making art is all about solving problems. How can I form this shape? Which two colors will look best here? What material should I use to make this part sturdy? If you think about it, you are facing and solving hundreds of tiny problems throughout the process of making something. Every one of us develops…
Easily Create a Blog or Etsy Banner for Free Using PicMonkey
PicMonkey is a free online tool for editing photos and creating graphics. It’s easy and intuitive to use, and it’s more powerful than many people realize. I’m a PicMonkey superfan! Today I’m going to show you how to easily create a beautiful new banner for your blog or Etsy shop, for free, using PicMonkey. Head…
2013 Year in Review: The 5 Posts I’m Most Proud Of This Year
Throughout my childhood my mother was a newspaper reporter for the Washington Post (you can read one of her more controversial articles here). My mom is someone who wants to get to the bottom of things, to say what nobody else dares to say, to make change in the world with words. From her I…
How to Embroider: Chain Stitch
A few simple embroidery stitches can really add a lot of beauty and detail to your sewing project. For softie making I often use embroidery to create facial features: eyes, noses, mouths, eyebrows and lashes. Chain stitch is a nice outline stitch. It's a bit thicker than back stitch which allows it to stand out…
The 2013 While She Naps Reader Survey
2013 has been a fun, busy year for While She Naps. I've written 163 blog posts this year and had some amazing discussions with readers as a result. As the year winds down I'm going back through all that has happened with this blog and my business and I'd really like to hear from you….
Studio Update: Meet Pip the Pig
I've been working on a new little guy. His name is Pip. He's a super huggable piggie! Sometimes he wears a winter scarf for extra warmth. I sewed him from velour, my new favorite material for making softies. It's just so cuddly. Still machine washable and durable, but with a smoother finish than fleece. The…