Friday, August 21, 2009

Placemats...and guest blogger Jill!

I'm so excited for you guys to meet my friend and very first guest blogger...Jill!

Jill is Super Mom.

She does things that I only dream of.

Her and her hubby have chickens
and a vegetable garden.
They go camping and hiking
with their toddlers.
She makes all her own bread
among other things.

Jill is also the person who convinced me to start sewing.
She sent me a pattern to make Mackenzie a bib because she was always spitting up.
From the first stitch of that bib I was hooked.

Jill encourages me to be a better wife, mommy and homemaker.
I know you guys are going to love her as much as I do.

Jill made these super cute place mats for her daughter Elizah.
I love the idea and thought you might too.

Here's Jill...
We bought Elizah a little kitchen table so she could eat at and do art or paint or whatever. Little did I know that she would want to eat all her meals at the little table and not care to eat with us any longer. Hmmm....I'll have to think of something. I made these place mats so she could set her place herself and at the same time learn where the various items are placed on the table. This has been a huge help. She now has a bottom shelf of the pantry where all of "her" dishes are kept so she can get them and just set it herself. I got the idea after reading an article about Montessori (my sister-in-law is really into it). The idea that kids can do a lot more than we give them credit for and thus should be taught to be independent in what they can do. It's way more complex than that but I guess that's the idea behind the place mat creation. She also has a little pitcher filled with water so she no longer has to ask me twenty times a day for water. She can just get herself a cup from her shelf and open the fridge and pour herself a cup of water. She loves the independence and thrill of doing it herself. The fabric I used is from Moda Fabrics.I love most of their prints.

Feel free to visit Jill's blog The Art of Provision and leave her some comment love. She has taken quite the vacation from her blog but promises to be back soon :)