In just one week (and a few days) we will be releasing Celebrate Summer – our fourth, and final, year-one Seasons issue. It has been an amazing journey, crafting and connecting through a year of seasons. And don’t worry, we are not just stopping after a year; year-two will bring a whole new series...
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We’ve been thinking for many months about how to bring our individual creative outlets – Andrea as a painter and myself a printmaker – here into Crafting Connections. A few weeks ago, as we were thinking about stories and our plans for this months story shells or stones mini-mag , it came to us. ...
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When we began our creative focus on the first of May, green had a very different meaning to me. Green, then, was a hope and a dream. At the beginning of the month we were smack dab in one of the strangest “springs” I’ve ever known. Cold. Wet. Gray. Setting the creative focus as green...
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It’s such a simple request – “tell me a story” – yet finding the right words isn’t always easy. Sometimes you need a little prompt to get the words flowing. David Sewell McCann, from Sparkle Stories, offered 4 tips on how to follow the thread and tell an intuitive story, the most important being...
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We are excited to release our third {free} mini-magazine! Each magazine has the same lovely layout as all our Crafting Connections magazines. Print it out or view it on your e-reader – either way, we’re sure you’ll love it! Sign up & Download your Crafting Connections Mini-Magazine! This month we have a special way...
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Today we are so, so glad to have David Sewell McCann of Sparkle Stories, here talking about trusting in your inner voice and creativity and sharing a few of his tips and techniques for telling a story. Enjoy! We are entangled. All of us – together – entangled, like the fibers in a felted...
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“My Mama had a dancing heart and she shared that heart with me.” Libba Moore Gray Every time I read My Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray, I can’t help but think about my own little ones and what they’ll remember me for. What kind of heart do I have? What sort...
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What we call little things are merely the causes of great things. - Henri Frederic Amiel Here are 10 ways you, creative mother, are embracing all those sweet little things (and little ones) that have come into your life, feeling their greatness, and succeeding in so many more ways than you probably know. You...
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I hardly bat an eye when my floors are a mess. Or my dishes are piled miles high. Or the laundry is heaped. It bothers me so little, in fact, that I have no problem showing you here. See, it’s really bad. Anyways.. I’d imagine very few people are remembered for their clean homes....
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**This giveaway is closed** Thank you everyone who stopped by and left a comment reflecting on the word GREEN. We have loved reading all your comments, but ultimately, only one winner could be chosen…Congratulations lucky #4 – Brooke!!! Brooke shared, “When I hear the word green I think of grass. Our grass here just...
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A couple of months ago, Danielle challenged herself to go screen free – well, at least phone free (fun fact about Danielle, they do not have a TV in their home). It was a neat experiment to see from the outside. Our morning conversations had to be quick and done prior to her 9am...
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Happy screen-free week all! How’s it going? Did you turn it all off? Just take a step back? Don’t know what I’m talking about? While my family didn’t choose to participate in screen-free week this year, I have been spending a lot of time this week thinking about the role of screens in my own life...
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You know how sometimes you flit and float from thing-to-thing without any particular focus. That’s kind of the way I’ve been feeling these days. I’m chocker-bock full of inspiration and ideas, but having a hard time finding the thread to connect them. This lack of focus, of connection, can keep all those ideas and...
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There are times in our lives with little ones that we feel frazzled, things seem to be coming apart at the seams, and everyone (everyone) needs to take a breath. These are the moments – when we are wondering if we are doing any of it right – that as mothers, we need to...
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All of a sudden our weekly library trips have changed. Both of my little guys have treasures they’re looking for during our weekly trip – dinosaur and train books, mostly. Both of my little guys have a book – or five – that they just aren’t quite ready to return yet. And...
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We could talk to you about the benefits of playing outside with your little one. We could talk to you about whipping up some sidewalk chalk and setting off on an adventure. We could talk to you about how – by just getting out of the house and outdoors our moods can all be...
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Earth without Art is just “EH” {free} Printable – Happy Earth Day! Well happy Earth Day everyone! After a long winter, things are feeling much more spring-ish around here, and just in time to celebrate! Since Crafting Connections began, we have very much had a close tie to nature, to our earth. Time and...
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It wasn’t long ago that my 4-year-old started drawing monsters. They were his first recognizable forms. Bodies. Eyes. Legs. You know. One day we sat down with a big roll of kraft paper and a giant bowl filled with googly eyes and he went to town. Big monsters. Little monsters. Two-eyed monsters. Three-eyed monsters....
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It’s time for our second {free} mini-magazine!! Each magazine has the same lovely layout as all our Crafting Connections magazines. Print it out or view it on your e-reader – either way, we’re sure you’ll love it! Oh dear – this mini-magazine is no longer available. Click here for more information on our latest issue....
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“The encouragement of creativity from an early age is one of the best guarantees of growth in a healthy environment, self-esteem, and mutual respect – critical ingredients for building a culture of peace.” UNESCO Part of raising a creative child and living a creative life is giving your little one (or yourself) the tools,...
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Quite some time ago, I made a life list. A long, long life list filled with goals and hopes and dreams big and small. One of the things on my list was to read through all the Caldecott Medal books. The award has been given each year since 1938 to honor the artist responsible...
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Right now I’m …just coming off of a lovely vacation, gathering with family that live far away, walking the local state park beach looking for shells, catching up on reading I’d been wanting to do for awhile, and recharging in ways I didn’t even realize I needed. …laughing through Let’s Pretend This Never Happened,...
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