The joys of homemade goods

One of the reasons I chose to start this blog is because I have come to love all things homemade. It could be food, crafts, decor items or Halloween costumes. I don't attempt clothing, yet. There is definitely a learning curve involved in some projects (the Christmas PJ's I attempted are proof!)

If you are a make-it-yourself person as well, then you know where I'm coming from. If not, I hope I will inspire you to try making something, anything.

There are 3 main reasons I like to make things.

1. You get to use the materials/ingredients you choose. This means that if you have a food allergy or special diet, you don't have to scour ingredient lists and "may contain" warnings in the grocery store to find something you can eat - you just replace that ingredient with something else in a recipe. It also means that you get to skip those food additives that you can't pronounce that may or may not have health consequences. If you choose, you may even use organic or non-GMO ingredients. Same goes for outside the kitchen. You can make sewing projects that use soft cotton if you have sensitive skin, or skip the scratchy wool if you are a knitter. Because you chose the inputs...
2. You get the product you envisioned. I can't tell you how many times I have gone searching for a particular product that I had imagined only to find that it doesn't exist. Sometimes you can solve this problem by making it instead. Maybe it's a cushion with a certain colour or pattern of fabric, or whole wheat sour dough bread with olives in it that you can't find in the store. My husband and I were searching for a tiled patio table that didn't cost an arm and a leg, and couldn't find one we liked, so we are going to make one (I'll let you know how that one turns out).
3. You save some money. Most of the time, it's cheaper to make something yourself, because you're not paying for someone else to make it. This is especially true of food (think of the cost different between a restaurant meal and a home-cooked meal).

I know what you're thinking. "Okay, that sounds great, but I don't have time for that!" I will admit, making things yourself does usually take a bit more time, but I will bet that it's not as much as you think! Some things, like bread, don't take a lot of active time, more just waiting around. Plus, you save the time you might have been searching stores or the internet for that perfect whatever you're looking for.

If you're already experienced at making things, keep it up! I hope to post some projects that you might like to try. If not, I challenge you to try making one thing you haven't made yet. It might be easier than you thought!