Who is The Handy Hausfrau

My name is Sara, and I'm the Handy Hausfrau.  I've always been a girl who loves to create things.  Heck, I started a greeting card company when I was seven - going door to door in my neighborhood with samples of my greeting card drawings.  I think only three neighbors purchased my custom-made $1.00 cards, but it was the start of something creative.

I live in the foothills of Colorado with my two amazing sons who make me laugh everyday and my husband who loves me unconditionally - even when I'm covered in papercuts and paint or have a trunkful of used furniture that I tracked down on Craigslist.

I joined the DIY revolution for several reasons.  I love to create things (see above). I can't sit still - watching television is impossible for me unless I have some knitting needles in my hands or a notebook in my lap to record ideas. Fourteen years ago, I married a very thrifty man.  He helped me to appreciate the true value of a dollar and because I loved him, I curbed my crazy spending habits.  Funny thing happened - one day I woke up and realized I feel even more proud of my DIY projects when they're concocted on a shoestring budget.

In 2003, I expanded my DIY repertoire when we purchased a 110-year old house. It was truly a fixer-upper in a historic neighborhood.  We poured ourselves into renovating the house and did as much as we could on our own.  I found myself three stories up on a ladder tuckpointing the brick walls, refinishing the porcelain in a clawfoot tub and reupholstering roomfuls of furniture.  The day that I impressed a professional contractor with my extensive knowledge of copper pipe fittings and knob-and-tube wiring, I realized how empowering it is to do it myself on projects big and small.

When I'm not crafting or renovating, my professional life keeps me busy.  What do I do? In order of importance and time spent:

1. 
   
   Mom to my two wonderful, crazy kiddos (I became a stay-at-home mom when my first son was born)
2. 
   
   Writer - I'm a freelance writer who gets paid to write about subjects as diverse as OCD in Doberman Pinschers, Broadway musicals and landscape architecture.
3. 
   
   Marketing consultant to small businesses and non-profits

Thanks to everyone for reading. It's so much fun to share my DIY ideas and life with all of you.

I almost forgot - why The Handy "Hausfrau"?  Hausfrau - pronounced house-frow is German for "housewife." Nope, I'm not German.  Don't think I even have one stitch of German in my lineage.  I just love the word.  And you have to admit, "Hausfrau" sounds a lot more fun and a lot more exotic than "homemaker," "housewife," "stay-at-home mom," etc.