A Crafting Club - written by Jennifer Stevens

Working for almost 10 years straight, I was a bit shocked after the birth of my first son. I had always yearned to be a stay at home mom and raise my kids. However, going from talking to adults all day to little babies, was a major transition. Two kids and 4 years later, I have learned that I still need that grown-up social interaction. That's when I formed a crafting club.

Running a tight household, I relied on myself to come up with creative ways to save a penny. My love of decorating combined with some good online crafting ideas, gave me all the ammunition I needed to start a crafting club. With a quick call to some of my close friends and a few neighbors I wished to know better, we set up a weekly time to meet.

Our process is quite simple. Every week one of us is in charge of coming up with a crafting idea. Using a decorating or crafting website, we always find things that we want to make. Whether for holidays, entertaining, or everyday items, it's always fun to make something with your own two hands. The projects are cheap, and the payoff, rewarding.

Being indoors the majority of the day, we relish getting a few moments outside. With the help from a sturdy monitor, we put our sleeping babies down to rest and head out to the back patio. With only a glass pitcher of lemonade and a few snacks, we jump into our project. I have been amazed at the things we can accomplish when we are together. We laugh, share stories and have a glorious time.

I used to think that being a stay at home mom meant becoming somewhat of a hermit. Learning to respect my needs for friendship and socializing was a major help to the rest of my family. I have become a much happier mom and quite the accomplished crafter.

Working for almost 10 years straight, I was a bit shocked after the birth of my first son. I had always yearned to be a stay at home mom and raise my kids. However, going from talking to adults all day to little babies, was a major transition. Two kids and 4 years later, I have learned that I still need that grown-up social interaction. That's when I formed a crafting club.

Running a tight household, I relied on myself to come up with creative ways to save a penny. My love of decorating combined with some good online crafting ideas, gave me all the ammunition I needed to start a crafting club. With a quick call to some of my close friends and a few neighbors I wished to know better, we set up a weekly time to meet.

Our process is quite simple. Every week one of us is in charge of coming up with a crafting idea. Using a decorating or crafting website, we always find things that we want to make. Whether for holidays, entertaining, or everyday items, it's always fun to make something with your own two hands. The projects are cheap, and the payoff, rewarding.

Being indoors the majority of the day, we relish getting a few moments outside. With the help from a sturdy monitor, we put our sleeping babies down to rest and head out to the back patio. With only a glass pitcher of lemonade and a few snacks, we jump into our project. I have been amazed at the things we can accomplish when we are together. We laugh, share stories and have a glorious time.

I used to think that being a stay at home mom meant becoming somewhat of a hermit. Learning to respect my needs for friendship and socializing was a major help to the rest of my family. I have become a much happier mom and quite the accomplished crafter.