Here we go again … another year of the excitement for Valentine’s Day, which will bring lots of sweets, but please nothing that involves hearts or the color pink, kisses or the word love. That would just be too cute, and don’t you know as a 9 year old boy you are no longer cute?! …

When my dear friend came to visit, I made the no-knead bread for her. (I must admit a slight obsession with baking that bread … it is almost as satisfying to me as finishing a perfectly crafted/sewn/knit gift). My friend loved the bread, but given that she lives far away and I can’t make it …

My sweet little (or not so little) cousin just got married. A perfect small wedding, no white dress, no registry…just a very happy young couple. I’m sad I couldn’t be there, but thought it was silly to send fancy dishes or napkins, as that is just not the life they live, in a little cottage …

‘Twas the night after Christmas, when all through the tube, the weathermen were promising us lots of snow. The children were jumping all up in their beds, while visions of snowballs danced in their heads…. That’s where the story ends and reality hit—I had forgotten my mittens at the office and hate the cold enough …

What came first, the chicken or the quilted potholder?! Well, for the cover of the January issue of Martha Stewart Living it may have been the chicken…but take a look at the potholder in the story: The two have quite a bit in common—both are basic and traditional and easy. Yet both slightly intimidate at …

Usually I give food gifts to teachers, since I never feel like I know them well enough to make something more personal. This year, however, my son told me that his teacher collects sea horses and he wanted to give her something to add to her collection. Athena made me aware of this craft punch, …

Last year I shared with you that I’ve been making advent calendars for my mom’s birthday for many years. Her birthday is November 25, so it’s the perfect present, as it is so close to Christmas. Every day she gets to open an envelope with photos of her grandkids . . . it’s just a …

People ask me all the time  how we come up with new ideas for stories month after month. Well, often one project inspires the next. I had tried to dye pom-poms for my dipping story in our August issue. The pom-poms didn’t take the dye in an even way, which didn’t quite work with the …