Ideal vs. Real - Ashley from Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night

My last amazing guest poster in the Ideal vs. Real series is Ashley from Mommy by day... Crafter by night.

She has some of the craziest sewing skills I've seen.

Like this cute Kindle case with tutorial.

And she can make her own clothes!

She is really sweet too, when I asked her to guest post she told me she had been thinking about doing a similar post anyway (great minds think alike eh?)! Plus she has just finished an amazing series of her own, Sew you think you can sew?

Here Ashley is with her "Real":

Hi everyone! I am Ashley!! I blog over at Mommy by day... Crafter by night . I love blogging about my adventures in crafting while my kiddos are asleep!

I am so happy to be here to share a little bit of the "real" side of blogging vs. the ideal side of it!

First let me start out with a question:

Have you ever felt worthless after spending hours(or even minutes) looking at blogs because in blogland everyones house is perfectly kept, kids are perfectly dressed, projects are always completed, pictures have perfect lighting, and meals are artfully prepared and served on color coordinating dishes, etc?

Then you aren't alone! I have spent many a night feeling like I am not as orderly, crafty, talented, etc as other bloggers out there!

But I have a newsflash for you... blogging is an optical illusion. You see what bloggers want you to see. The picture of the perfect chocolate cake doesn't show the kitchen in the other room that was torn apart making it! The picture of an intricate quilt doesn't show the number of seams that were ripped out while making it. The picture of a perfectly fitted pencil skirt doesn't show the safety pin in the back holding the skirt shut cuz the button popped off while taking pictures! Get what I mean? 

Pretty much 100% of the time that I blog, I am sitting in my pajamas with a house in need of some sort of attention! (to my defense, I mainly blog at night so pajamas are fitting- but that is no excuse for my house! ha ha)

Of course we want everyone to see the "perfect side" not the side that has let the laundry pile up and go unfolded for weeks while working on sewing projects. {Of course that has never happened to me- just giving an example- wink wink}

So today I thought I would let you in on a little bit of the behind the scenes in my neck of the woods. Brace yourselves... it isn't pretty!

I live in an apartment and have limited space. I don't have a perfectly decorated craft room {that will be the day}- so my dining room doubles as a sewing/laundry room. Here is what is was looking like last night amid-sewing...

Across the room lies a space full of disorder!! (un pictured in the corner is a sink full of dirty dishes and an empty pizza box cuz mommy didn't have time to make dinner! ha)

I guess what I am trying to say is that blogging is awesome in a lot of ways- but just keep in mind that what you see isn't always the whole picture! :)

Thanks so much for letting me come say hi! 

Feel free to swing by and say hi back:)

xoxo, Ashley

I love, love, love Ashley's post! I can totally relate to the laundry, fabric and toys out. I especially like Ashley's post I always drool over her photos of her home and projects, so it is nice to know that her home looks like mine too sometimes! 


I have just loved seeing bloggers real life homes and knowing I'm not alone! This IS what a home looks like, and I still think it's pretty :) Thanks Ashley!


And in case you missed any of the other posters:

Jillen from The Overhaul

Jen from A Place To Call Home


Now the extra fun part! I would love to see some of your homes too! (not in a creepy stalker-ish way...mostly :) ) 

• If you have a blog, you can send me a link to a post. 
• If you don't, or don't have a post, send me a photo or two with or without a description.
• Or even just send me your experiences of "real" life, or tips on making the "real" a little easier!

I would love to be able to feature some of your "real" life photos in a blog post next weekend. Showing my own home far from perfect, and putting it on the internet feels really quite liberating! Plus how great is it to see how other bloggers homes aren't picture perfect and being able to steal some of their tips along the way! So be brave and send me an email:

rhiannon.parker2904@gmail.com

And of course I will include a link back to your blog from your photo so we can all see have bit more of a nosey at your home!

And I'll leave you with a photo of what happens as soon as I try to take a photo for a minute instead of playing with the kids...