Spoonful of Imagination

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Heartfelt Valentine’s Finds

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With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to spread some love and celebrate the special people in our lives! Whether it’s your significant other, family members, or cherished friends, there’s no better way to show you care than with heartfelt finds.

Creating Heartfelt Creations

I’ve made some new creations around my favorite shape for the shop-hearts! Each heart-themed item I hope warms the hearts of loved ones.

I love how the heart design/shape is a quick way to represent love, kindness, and joy. For this Valentine’s Day, I hope you are inspired to celebrate love in your own unique way. Whether it’s a special gift you’ve found or a heartfelt DIY creation, every gesture counts to show love to those you care about.

3 Ways to Show Love Within a Family

As we are in our busy basketball season as a family, it feels like we are all going in different directions and just scrambling to keep up with schedules daily. Even in this season, I want to be intentional with showing my family they are important to me. Often it is little gift pick ups or adding their favorite snack to my groceries. It is also just going back to the basics, so let’s take these ideas listed below, as going back to the basics for both you and I.

  1. Express Gratitude: Say “thank you” and show appreciation for even the smallest acts of kindness or assistance. When I only have to ask one time for the trash to be taken out, that means a lot. In the same way, when we get the text that a kiddo is ready to be picked up from a team dinner, and my 16 year old jumps up to be the chauffeur without being asked…I am super thankful, so I say it.
  2. Help Out: Pitch in with household chores or tasks without being asked, showing that you’re willing to lend a hand and make life easier for everyone. All my kids/husband are way able to pack their own school/work lunches, but I still do it. I know it means something to them, and I have the time. I just have written into our family values that is my love letter to them everyday. They know it. I don’t write cute lunch box notes anymore, but the lunch itself is their note. 
  3. Share Laughter: Find moments to laugh together, sharing jokes, funny stories, or just enjoying each other’s company. Lazy weekend days are my favorites. I look forward to them. Matt and I are drinking coffee in what we call our “snow room” and one by one a kiddo wakes, slips in, and we just are hanging out as we start our day.

There’s no better feeling than spreading love and making someone smile. I hope you too are able to be find windows to be intentional with those you love this Valentine season. If you need a card or small gift to help you, I have some good ones listed online.

In it with you,

Erica

 

Why Writing Greeting Cards Still Matters

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Do you love receiving snail mail? Like an actual fun piece of mail delivered to your mail box? We all get junk mail. That alone gets so annoying that I have moments that I wish all the mail would go away. Instead, I let that junk mail build up on my counter, before I do a deep purge. That I am guilty of! But, you know what gets opened up right away!? Any piece of mail that seems fun, personalized, and meaningful. This thought has gotten me to actually start writing greeting cards.

Greeting cards are an intentional act.

I have always loved making them, but I am leaning in to sending them more too. Connection to others matters. It breathes passion and fulfillment in us and our relationships. Yet, we often lose it from busyness, anxiety, responsibilities, and work. Can you relate?

One way to create a deeper connection with those you care about (especially those who live further from you) is to send greeting cards. It’s a powerful, meaningful way to say I was thinking of you and YOU Matter!

I’ve been on a mission to write 3-5 greeting cards every week this year. We need more happy mail. Through this new card writing habit, I’ve noticed a few things:

What a gift that we can use our time and words to encourage others!

It’s a crazy beautiful thing that it also builds into us!

New habits can be hard to start, so pausing to see progress and the good that is happening is so powerful. Would you like to join me in this mission to send more love and encouragement out? I’ve made a list of 26 prompts to get you started. 

Pick one prompt to write to several people in a week or pick a different prompt per a day to use for different people. The way you use this list is up to you! 

Fill out the simple form by clicking the button above, and we will give you the PDF download right away! 

Don’t stress that this is another thing to do.

Just add it as an option instead of scrolling on social media or sending a text. This is intentional, meaningful, and investing into relationships that you care about.

I do love making my cards.

If you don’t love making your cards, you could pick some up in my store or so many other wonderful places. The actual card is fun and special to receive, but what really matters is what you write on the inside.

Let me encourage you to be intentional with your words and to build into others! We are all fragile and going through something. What a powerful way to show someone you care about that you see them and they matter.

Send a greeting card today!

The Making of a Mini Mural

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Mister Rogers. Was he a part of your childhood?

I watched the show a little growing up, but I think Mister Rogers really became a hero for me more as I was an adult. His philosophy and perspective for children and their development is one that I just really respect.

I recently read Fred’s biography, as I was wondering what made this man into who he was.

I have been in a season of change with my own work. As we worked to close down our non-profit studio, I have been thinking through what do I want to do now!? I really still want to help people tap into their imagination, be creative, and feel empowered to bring their ideas to life. So, not much has changed in my passion. I just want to go about it differently.

You can imagine how encouraging it was to read about Fred’s life and how every 5-6 years he changed the work he was doing. Did you know that!? I’m not going to get this perfect but in a quick summary…

  • He left a growing career at NBC to work on a free children’s program in Pittsburgh.
  • He began and worked on the Children’s Corner for 6 years
  • He stopped that and went to seminary
  • He then did not get a church after seminary, but he wanted the TV to be his pulpit
  • He then moved to Canada to begin Mister Rogers in a 15 min show
  • He moved back to Pittsburgh to begin the Mister Rogers Neighborhood that we know
  • He quit that to work with adults -wanting to help them, so they can better help kids
  • He went back to Mister Rogers Neighborhood

I’m not sure how you sum up Fred Rogers work, but I tried. One theme that I took away from his life is he stayed true to two core principals.

  1. He knew who he was and what he cared about and loved.
  2. He had a passion for children development with education.

He might have changed how he went about his work, but he never stopped trying to help children imagine, learn, and walk through big emotions and situations of life. That was so encouraging to read, as I still want to do a lot of the work I used to do. It just needs to be different in this season.

Fred’s mom often said to Fred, “Look for the helpers. There are always people helping”. That phrase helped Fred through scary times and he used it to help others. As I process the world and how many people’s lives have changed drastically the last few years, I wonder how ok people really are? This concept can go lots of directions, but without talking politics, pandemic, or work force, we still know there are heroes all around us. Heroes on the front lines.

The concept of a “hero” can be a big pressure to feel or believe is impossible to reach. How do you become a hero? Maybe you don’t want to be a fire fighter, nurse, doctor, policeman, or teacher, but you can be a helper.

We can be helpers by doing simple acts like…

smiling at a stranger in the supermarket.

holding the door for an older citizen.

taking the trash out for your family.

pushing the shopping cart.

playing a game with a younger child.

making a meal for a hurting family.

sitting with someone grieving.

writing someone a card.

There are so many ways we can be helpers. In this simple ways of being helpers, we really are being heroes too. I love how Fred used easy words to say powerful concepts.

This quote stuck with me and I imagined how inspiring it could be to live on a big wall in a community. I took Fred’s whimsical, childlike heart and paired it with his mom’s powerful words and dreamed up this mural.

I had to get the idea out of my head, so I painted it on a sign and got my talented friend, Beth, to do the words. It’s our mini mural.

We can all be helpers. We all have that power. Being a hero might seem intimidating, but we can all do simple, everyday acts to show the people we interact with that they matter. Taking the time to really “see” people is what can help heal whatever we all just went through these last few years.

We are better together.

Now, don’t you see this painting on a city wall!? Where should it go??? Do you relate your life to books and back to real life again? Go out and be a helper today. I am off to make my family dinner ;).

The Creative Process Can Teach Us Life Lessons!

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Hello friends,

However today is going, I hope in this little moment, of this post popping into your day, it brings a smile to your face -or just the feeling of being seen. Life can be oh so hard. After sewing dozens and dozens of cards last week, I had this thought how all the cards were layered with so many colors and different movements. The stitching was not perfect and each card had little quirks all over. Yet, when I step back, I see how beautiful the finished cards are all together. Our lives can be seen like that too.

Life can be heavy, hard and also light and whimsical. We have awkward bends in the journey, yet this is OUR life to live.

In being real, it has already been a Monday over here. I recently read that “we” as a people group are in transition. One month last summer, 4 million people quit their jobs. Wow. I’m not the only one trying to figure out what’s next. It’s a messy place to be. I often turn to creating and creating with my family to ease the thought sorting and help me find a refreshed perspective.

What about you?

This past weekend our Jeremiah finally launched his YouTube channel. He’s been asking for a while, but it just now became the right time. Hearing him dream, laugh, and process what could make others laugh was so fun.

We don’t have to be perfect and have things all figured out to have beautiful lives. We just need to keep moving and I’d also say keep DREAMING. One step at a time.

The creative process can teach us powerful life lessons like how our point of view can impact how things turn out. Check out this short reel where I walk you through this thought.

So, wherever today is hitting you, get out and create. The process will be so good for your mind and heart!

If you happen to need a colorful heart to help yours, use one of mine.