2021 Handmade Home Challenge + Meet The Maker Tara Philipp

Y’all!! I am so excited to introduce you to – not only one amazing and talented women – but also one of my very dearest friends: Tara Philipp of She’s Rooted Home. We have a super fun 2021 handmade home challenge for you, but first let’s get to know Tara! 🙂

I honestly don’t remember exactly how long ago it was that I “met” Tara. But it’s somewhere around 8-9 years ago. We connected on Instagram. And soon became great friends! I have never actually met her in person. But through many texts, facetimes, and voxer messages we have shared so much life together. She is an absolute blessing to me and I am so thankful that God brought us together! I love her to pieces and I know you will too!

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF

Hello there! I’m Tara from She’s Rooted Home, where I share our family’s journey as we cultivate a homestead, work towards an organic lifestyle and share crochet basics. I’m a homeschooling mama of 3, homesteading enthusiast, plant lover and crochet addict. My dream is to one day own a small farmhouse with a wrap around porch. And raise sheep. I love the idea of caring for, collecting, cleaning, hand dying, and spinning my own wool into yarn; that I can create garments with for my family. I’m very passionate about building community and serving others.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST LEARN TO CROCHET?

I was around the age of 7 or 8 when my grandma sat down to teach me how to crochet. My great grandmother loved to knit. And my grandma + mom both knew how to crochet, so it was natural for me to want to pick up the ability to work with yarn. Learning at a young age meant my grandma and mom both started lots of projects for me that never got completed. But I always had great intentions on learning how to make handmade gifts. As I got older my love for handmade gifts grew. And in high school I picked up crocheting again. I’ve been crocheting ever since.

WHAT IS CURRENTLY ON YOUR HOOK?

To be completely honest nothing at the moment. I’d really like to learn how to Tunisian crochet & plan to start a washcloth…just after I finish my knitted hand towel that I’ve been working on.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR PASSION FOR HOMESTEADING AND CROCHET ARE CONNECTED?

Absolutely yes! There’s this stirring in my heart to get back to the basics and I believe it’s rooted in tradition. I could sit down all day, listening to stories about past generations and how they did things. The full but simple lifestyle of milking a cow and collecting eggs for breakfast, sewing clothes for the family and crocheting washcloths for the kitchen, is way more appealing to me then the fast pace go-go-go/consume lifestyle we live today. It’s hard work but also therapeutic to walk outside and collect eggs from the animals we care for daily. It’s more than rewarding to pull out a hand towel I created to dry my hands with.

For me, crocheting and knitting is to bring back a piece of my past – The history that lies in the women before me. Homesteading is much the same – a desire to reconnect with the food that nourishes my family and the history of men and women that make up my family tree. There is so much we can learn from history. And it’s important to me to slow down enough to think about how those who came before us used their time. How did they serve their families? Working with my hands helps me find purpose in my everyday life; as I serve my family’s needs both homesteading and crocheting.

WHERE DO YOU FIND YOUR INSPIRATION?

Mostly from photos. I sometimes imagine the days when moms and daughters would cut out photos from country living magazines, dreaming up ideas for their homes and future families. Instagram and Pinterest are much alike in that aspect. I love leaning in and gleaning from others, then creating pieces that will serve my home. It also inspires me to think about my great grandmother’s generation. And what she might have made or used in her home. Back then everything had a purpose and it served its purpose until it was no longer recognizable. Now, handmade items seem to only serve the purpose of a keepsake – storing it away instead of using it to its full capacity. I find inspiration in creating pieces that I see being used around my home daily. I want it to feel natural for my kids to create more than consume.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CROCHET BASICS COURSE.

My Crochet Basics course is designed to give you a solid foundation as a crochet beginner. Included are video lessons, descriptions & step by step photo tutorials. Covering everything from: supplies, how to attach the yarn to your crochet hook, how to properly hold your yarn & hook, creating stitches, how to read a pattern, and fastening off.

Check out Tara’s Crochet Basics Course [here]!

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE INTERNET?

I’m mostly on Instagram – @shesrootedhome
but you can also find me on Pinterest
or on my website – shesrootedhome.com

WHAT IS YOUR FUTURE VISION FOR SHE’S ROOTED HOME?

To continue building a community of women coming together + supporting & learning from one another. To create a space that invites a slower, simpler pace of life by getting back to the basics; while offering resources and support for the modern homesteading woman.

thank you!

A huge thank you to Tara for sharing more about herself, her passion and her business! She is truly inspiring! And I can’t wait to share with you her 2021 Handmade Home Challenge! I’m joining in and she would love to have you, too! 🙂 Let’s make a handmade home together! Find out all about it from Tara’s post below…

See more of Tara and her homestead + find out what I’m making for January and February of the handmade home challenge in this video. Press play!

2021 Handmade Home Challenge details

Challenge your creativity & build a purposeful home with the She’s Rooted Home- Handmade Home Challenge!

After a year (2020) filled with quarantines & cancelled plans, I found it difficult to go out and buy the items I wanted for my home & family. Empty shelves, closed stores, weeks for shipping and home quarantining after getting sick really challenged my creativity. I had to get creative with what I already had on hand.

I thought I was creating a handmade home. But when I looked around almost everything was store-bought! And I’m not just talking about the supplies that where store-bought. I rely heavily on someone else/stores to supply our home with its daily necessities.

This eye opening year helped me dive a little deeper into my desire to live a more back-to-the-basics lifestyle. How could I supply our home with its daily necessities & rely a little less on the store..

Yes, I understand I still need ingredients and/or supplies from the store. But how could I learn to move away from store-bought products and in return, learn how to make them myself? This doesn’t completely eliminate the need for stores. But helps me buy the supplies our family needs in bulk; while giving me the opportunity to make it myself. Which means I could continually make our household necessities every few months before needing to buy the ingredients again.

mark your calendars!

I started brainstorming items in my home that I could hand make and swap out for store-bought items. Knowing that I need accountability, I decided to tackle one project at a time; giving myself a month deadline for each one.

This is where the Handmade Home Challenge was birthed. If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you’ve probably discovered I love to build community! What an awesome opportunity to come alongside other women, challenge our creativity and inspire one another to build a handmade home.

This Challenge is designed to be as simple & flexible or intricate & detailed as you’d like. I carefully curated each months challenge to – not only encourage you to build a more purposeful home – but to challenge your creativity. Throughout this next year, we will tackle one project a month. This will make creating a handmade home doable, while helping us stay accountable.

Use the hashtag #HandmadeHomeChallenge or #ShesRootedHomeChallenge on Instagram to share your progress and gain inspiration.

Join our 2021 Handmade Home Challenge Pinterest board [here]. And add your favorite DIY/handmade inspiration + projects for each month!