Celebrate Mom with guest Maureen Cracknell (and giveaway)

It's Day 4 of Celebrate Mom here at Happy Quilting!!!  A fun filled week of  daily guest posts and daily fabric giveaway's for you !!!  Today, I am super excited to welcome my guest Maureen of Maureen Cracknell Handmade!!!

Maureen is an amazingly creative individual and I am so happy to have her as a good friend!!   She runs a thriving Etsy shop with the cutest handmade crowns, is a member of both the Riley Blake and Art Gallery design teams, and uses her amazing sense of color, design, and artistic talent to constantly create unique and stunning projects!!  So without further ado, let's toss it over to Maureen!!

Hi, I'm Maureen and I blog at Maureen Cracknell Handmade, I'm so excited that Melissa asked me to join in as a "Celebrate Mom" guest! When Melissa reached out to me, by her second sentence, "I realized a while back that one of the most frequent comments I get is "how do you do this all with kids...," I was ready to respond YES! to her invite right away. This is something I am asked quite I bit as well, and was thrilled to have the chance to share a little on this topic! Thank you so much Melissa!!



As a busy mother of three, finding the time to pursue this passion for sewing has and will always be an ever-changing work in progress. Thankfully, my children are all intensely creative individuals, and are wonderfully encouraging when it comes to my own creating. Especially when they get to be a part of the process, often "helping" me in someway -- that's the key! When I started blogging, I wasn't sewing yet, I was a big knitter and everything I made was either for my children or inspired by one of them! When I would get a new project idea, I would describe what I was hoping to make to at least one of them and ask them to draw out "the pattern" for me. This would both get their creativity flowing and make them feel proud that they were a part of what was being made. They would be so excited to see the finished item, they were more than happy to see me working away until we were all done! Mwah, my super tricky secret!

Here are a couple examples of just that, that I had shared back in the early days of my blog, before I even began to sew!

A Jedi sweater, designed by and for Jacob : :



A Kaiden inspired stitched, felted basket : :



When I decided to learn to sew, my children continued that same role. They have always been a huge part of this amazing journey -- helping me, creating along side me, and more than anything, inspiring me!

An impromptu sewing session  -- silly felt hats, designed by Jacob : : 



Since we bought our first home in November, we have all been sharing a creative space, and so far that is working out perfectly! 



The activity table in the center of the room is full of art supplies for the kids to use while I sew!



I try my best to keep our space organized and fun, so when we are sharing the space together, everyone is happy and comfortable, and we can make the most of our sewing/craft time together. Being surrounded by beautiful fabrics and having lots of supplies on hand is really important to me, so I make sure to keep the kids stocked with new, quality supplies of their own, too.



For me, my blog isn't just a place for me to share my daily makings, fabric stashing, tutorials, and giveaways -- it's a journey of not just how I have grown as a creative person, but how we have together as a family. Perhaps what I'm most proud of, and I know my boys won't mind me saying this, is how all this sewing has formed such a special relationship between my daughter Haila and I. I could never put into words how much a part of all of this she has been! I'm getting emotional just thinking about it now. Besides being the inspiration behind so many of my projects, she is such a great little helper. I believe that sewing will be a very special part of our relationship forever!



It's my wish that each of my children grows up to be just as passionate about something, as I am about sewing, and that they find the love, encouragement, and support that I have found through them and the amazing people in this community!

Thank you so much for having me today! ♥,  Maureen

And thank you to Maureen for being part of this Celebrate Mom event!  As you can see, she certainly makes her passion a family affair :)

And before we sign off, how about today's Giveaway!!!

Today's Celebrate Mom Giveaway is sponsored by Christa Quilts.   One lucky winner will win one of Christa's Custom Color Fat Quarter Bundle  as their Mother's Day gift!!  And the winner will even get to choose their color bundle!!!

  

 

So what do you have to do for your chance to win???

Leave a comment here of your what Custom Color Bundle from Christa Quilts you would choose :)

That's it.  Up to 1 entry per person.  Giveaway is open to international entries.  It will close on Friday, May 10th and a winner will be selected randomly and announced shortly after.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back tomorrow when Natalia Bonner will be stopping by and The Intrepid Thread will be hosting another fabulous giveaway!!!

Linking up to SMS Giveaway Day - And just in case you missed them, here is Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3