A Perfect Circle

A Disclaimer: If you are unmoved by or uninterested in the amazing and often hilarious things that come out of the mouths and minds of children, this blog may not be for you.

For the rest of you, here's a story written and read for you by my very own Mazzy, inspired by the If you Give... series by Laura Numeroff.

Of particular brilliance are the illustrations.



Atta girl, Maz.

Mid-Week Music Video

I'm not too proud to admit that my family watches our fair share of YouTube videos. Some because they're funny, some because they're informational, and some because they're viral. My favorite ones, though, tend to be of the music variety. The old late-nineties MTv lover in me never died, I suppose, though the bands (read: the videos) I'd choose to tune into now would never have made it to premium cable.

So, I think it's high time to fulfill an early teenage dream of being a VJ. If only once a week. Move over, Martha Quinn.

Gifts For My Girls

I wanted to share some gifts I recently made for the girls. At our house, Mama-made gifts come when inspiration strikes, so they are specially cherished because they are one of a kind, designed so specifically with each child in mind, and filled with love.
First, for Scarlett, I made a little lady tool belt.
It was inspired by the stash belts that can be seen in abundance at summer festivals. I salvaged the leather from an old coat that was begging to be repurposed. The leather was great, but the jacket was hideous. The butterfly clasp came from a flea market years ago and has been patiently waiting for me to put it to the perfect use.
This particular eight-year-old's utility belt features plenty of pockets for treasure collecting and little custom compartments to hold all of her essential tools: a pocket knife, a flashlight, a pair of scissors, a large purple whistle and (on special occasions) a hammer. Now those things she always seems to need are always within reach and her hands are free for climbing trees and riding her bike. Next came Tallulah, who just had her first birthday. I wanted to make her something to help us remember this important milestone, something that would last, that would withstand being chewed on and dragged around and loved and still be around for her when she has a one-year-old in need of a Mama-made gift. And it had to be a doll.She has red hair and blue eyes to match Tallulah's own, and I stuffed her with the sweetest smelling wool bits to avoid using polyfill. She fits right in with the rest of our doll family, and most importantly, she fits just right in those loving little hands.

I get such a feeling of satisfaction from creating something with my own two hands for the ones I love. I hope you feel a little inspiration to make something for yours.

Drums, Please...

A list:

(for those of you looking closely, this was only one of two pages of names)

A hat:

A hand:


A winner!:


Congratulations, Mrs. Hunter.

Thank you to ALL of you who commented, liked, joined, shared and tweeted!
We're happy to have you.

An Ordinary Average Day

We are:

~Building a small scale Cherokee Indian longhouse

~Getting a little carried away and making elaborate furniture to go in the Cherokee Indian longhouse
~Wearing big girl panties and filling everyone's boots with goodies from Mama's basket

~Drinking Carrot-Orange-Lemon juice with a side of Wheat grass

~Working on novel #2

~Dropping one kid off here

~Meeting my best girl for afternoon coffee here

~Eating veggie burgers for dinner here

~Heading back home for a little American Idol with the girls.

~Then off to bed to read a little bit of this before I doze off to a good nights sleep so I can wake up and start it all over again.

How did you spend your day?

Our First-Ever Giveaway!!

You may have noticed, and you may have not, that we haven't blogged in some time.

There are many, many reasons for this: Winter boredom, laziness, a sharp decrease in desire to spend any more time than absolutely necessary in front of the computer, particularly with a willfull button-slamming toddler on the scene, and a sharp increase in desire to cook and read and snuggle with our real babies. The most important reason, though, is that DamestarBaby (and all that comes with it) has always been second to our ever-evolving families. We mother first, and sew second. We're super grateful to have the option of ignoring our business when we need to, and so are our kids.

That said, we still sort of feel bad, and we're ready to start paying attention again. What better way to celebrate than with a giveaway?!

So, here's the deal: the winner will receive two shirts of their choice in any size they'd like. TWO SHIRTS. For example,

a Chakra shirt for your daughter

and a Guitar for the little man in your life.Perhaps a gift for a birthday party,
or just a little wardrobe lift.

These are just a few examples, peep the rest of our shirt options in our shop.

No matter how you slice it, you win two of our shirts, for free. Well, almost.

It is a contest, and there are rules. It's like this, to enter you can:

1)Become a Fan of DamestarBaby on Facebook

2)Follow the DamestarBaby blog

3)Link back to this post on your own blog or Facebook wall or Twitter feed

If you are already a fan and a follower, just comment so and you'll be entered. If you do more than one of the above, leave a separate comment for each action and you'll have twice (or thrice!) the chance of winning.

We're procrastinators ourselves, so we'll give you a whole week. This giveaway ends Saturday, March 5 at 3 p.m. The winner will be chosen at random, because we couldn't possibly choose which one of you we like best.

OK Go

Here's a brilliant, worthwhile way to spend seven spare minutes: watch these two videos and tell us which is your favorite.

Grab your kids first, they'll want to see this, too.





AWESOME, right?!