Nurture your own creativity while you're busy raising a family
Being creative is good for the soul at any age, and it's a great stress-reliever when you're raising kids. So if you're having one of those extra-challenging days with your toddler or preschooler, why not pull out the art supplies and watch the mood go from terrible to, well, a little less terrible. (We're talking glue-sticks, people, not magic wands.)
Then, when you get some time to yourself at some point in your day, journal, blog, paint, or otherwise nurture your own creativity. It's a great way to ease the stress that goes along with being a parent and to do something nice for yourself at the same time.
Creative Thinking
Selected Posts from my Yahoo! Parenting Blog
- A Thriftin' We Will Go
- My ten-year-old son and I share a passion for anything vintage or retro, which means that we can often be found making the rounds of thrift or second-hand stores to see what treasures we can unearth.
- Your Family Can Change the World
- One of the things I love most about the Internet is the speed and ease with which it connects large numbers of people with potentially world-changing ideas. Someone comes up with a great idea for making change and that idea goes viral. Within a matter of minutes everyone is talking about and coming up with fabulous variations on that initial theme. That's what the Internet does best.
- Real Life 101
- What skills do kids need to thrive in the real world?
PBS on the value of creative play
How and why to promote creative play
"Play should be the result of the children's ideas and not directed by the adult. Try to foster your children's abilities to express themselves through play. Try to help your children base play on their own inspirations, not yours. Your goal is to stimulate play and encourage children's satisfaction in playing with each other or by themselves."more
Instant art supplies
Tune into the cool retro design possibilities of these vintage wallpapers
Bookmark these vintage wallpapers for a day when you're looking for art inspiration for yourself or your kids. Print out some swatches on your colour printer and you've got the modern-day equivalent of those wallpaper sample books we used to cut up when we were kids. Kidspiration
Crafts and games - created by Ann Douglas, author, The Mother of All Parenting Books
Creative Inspiration for Parents and Kids
Instructables.com is a website "where passionate people share what they do and how they it, and learn from and collaborate with others. The website is totally addictive."Don't say you weren't warned.
"Upcycle obsolete or found objects into something unexpected and fabulous. Go wild!"
Kid Art @ Flickr
I love tacksgiving!
Phillip's other card...
MY card for Lisa
Phillip's Card for M...
Chloe and her mom ca...
Old Lady
melted crayons
One of Bronte's
Fun Finds @ Etsy
- Vintage Watch Repair Tags
- A fun addition to a scrapbooking project, and yet inexpensive enough to use for everyday art.
- 100 Vintage Buttons
- Because they don't make them like this anymore.
- Small Mixed Pack of Mostly Old Paper
- This will inspire you to start creating your own creative fun packs with materials that might otherwise have been tossed in the trash.
- Destash Beads
- Here's the secret to unlocking the hidden treasure at Etsy. Type in "destash" and you'll find motley assortments of supplies being sold off by Etsy designers and artisans.
- Supplies - A Manual for Creative Flight by Julia Cameron -- Just $5
- Etsy is also a terrific place to pick up craft books -- both vintage and new (at discount prices).
- A smorgasbord of supplies
- Supplies galore.
Remember that there's no expiry date on creativity
You're never to old to enjoy being creative. In fact, recent studies have shown that most of us feel a desire to become more creative at mid-life. (This is Mother Nature doing her part to encourage us to keep our brains active during the second half of life.)
So follow that impulse wherever the path of your purple crayon takes you.
Have fun!
- Ann Douglas
Free Paper Toy Downloads -- The Best Site Ever!
You can't beat this site for Free Paper Toy templates, ideas, and downloads. Projects for beginners and experts alike.
Inspiration Alley
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How to Build a Cardboard Castle
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Building a giant castle in your backyard is great for birthday parties or anytime you want to turn a weekend into magical childhood memories. And it's so much easier and less expensive than you ever imagined. With Mr. McGroovy's Box Rivets and FREE c...
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Creativity For Life!
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Exploring Creativity in Our Everyday Lives!
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15 Ideas to Encourage Kid-Creativity
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I am creative. You are creative. We are creative. And our children are creative, but perhaps their creativity hasn't been encouraged. Perhaps their first grade teacher is a math major; perhaps she dislikes art because she feels incompeten...
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Art Journals
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Art journals generally combine visual journaling and writing. Every imaginable style, media and technique is used by art journalists. There are no rules!
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Pipe Cleaner Crafts - Fun Activities for Kids
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Lots of ideas for pipe cleaner art. Great activity for taking on holiday! This is a really cheap and easy craft activity. The activities listed in this lens are probabaly best suited to children aged 5 and up. Decorating Idea Using bright coloured...
What are your inspirations?
What inspires you as a parent and as a person? How do you encourage your child to remain excited about learning (or do you have to encourage your child at all)?
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stickytabby
Hi..Great lens you have there!..Talking about babies and all that..Cant wait to have one! I have similar resources you might find interesting. I would appreciate it if you give these a visit - Baby Girls Names | Baby Resources | Baby Information Posted July 25, 2008 |
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PirateMummy
Anndouglas, what a great lens! 5 stars from me. This is a great resource, you're bookmarked and i'll be back often!!! And i've lensrolled you to my classic wooden toys lens, if you don't mind. :) Posted February 28, 2008 |
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Evelyn_Saenz
The Purple Gallinules just flew over to check out your lens. We love to teach how to read color words while learning science. Posted February 15, 2008 |
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lissame73
your squidoo is awesome, i am a homeschooler and you offer some good resources Luckily I am an artist adn all 4 of my kids picked up on that in some way. my oldest enjoys writing and wants to write a best seller someday and the other three love art in some form im luck they are self motivated Posted October 14, 2007 |
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Sara_Bev
I wrote a module about what inspires me. Have a look at my lens, all the way at the bottom! I believe creativity is part of a persons spirit and it should be expressed. Great lens! Posted October 11, 2007 |
Craft Supplies You Can't Find Anywhere Else
Etsy (which has to mean "addictive place to shop" in some language) is an amazing place to scout out one-of-a-kind supplies for arts and craft projects.
PS -- Feel free to visit my corner of Etsy while you're in the neighborhood. I specialize in vintage books and ephemera, discount books about creativity, and unique and inspiring craft supplies.
