Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

Launching a New Chapter

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We started blogging a little over 10 years ago. I know for sure because we started when I was pregnant with Jeremiah who turned 10-years-old a few months ago. It all started as a way to stay in touch with our family and friends while we were spending a lot of time on the road. In between my family updates, I started posting Friday Project Spotlights as a way of sharing simple DIY craft projects for my friends to do with their kids. With no attempts to market these posts, somehow they picked up a groundswell of momentum. Before I knew it, hundreds of people were tuning in each week to craft with me. We rebranded from our family blog into Spoonful of Imagination and those hundreds became thousands. It’s so humbling. Truly. As someone who struggles with dyslexia and the fear of stringing words together, it never stops surprising me that people keep showing up.

This blog has stretched me to grow and try things that I would have never ever imagined. Matt and the kids have gone from cheering me on to becoming my partners in this platform. They have helped me write, build, take pictures, brainstorm, share my posts, develop craft kits, ship out items from our shop, and eventually build a non-profit art studio. What a ride!

But we are keenly aware that it would have never happened if it weren’t for you – our loyal friends, readers, and fellow creators of Spoonful of Imagination. Thank you. No seriously… THANK YOU!!!

As we’ve grown and our kids needs have shifted and changed, I’ve honestly put this space on the back burner for a while. For those of you who have felt that shift, I’m excited to announce that is about to change.

With Matt working full time in video and film production and me working full time at managing the art studio, we’ve both found that our creative energy is being poured out like never before. We are so thrilled and privileged to be able to help so many people and organizations create. What we have found though is that we need to have a creative project that is “ours.” Something that we can do together, as a family. That brings us back to here, Spoonful of Imagination.

Now, as an all-hands-on-deck team, we are working on putting together new content for you, our loyal friends and readers.

We will have new posts and DIY tutorials just like the one I posted the other day. But it’s better than that! Starting today we are launching (well kinda re-launching, but I’ll get back to that in a minute) a YouTube channel dedicated to Spoonful of Imagination vlog content!

This is something we’ve been talking about, dreaming about, and planning for months. Oh my goodness, let me start by saying, “RESPECT!” to all of the faithful YouTube creators out there. We have spent a lot of time studying other channels out there. We have learned so much from people like Peter McKinnon, Casey Neistat, Art Hub for Kids, Matti Haapoja, That YouTub3 Family, just to name a few… and we’ve decided to toss our hat into the vlogging ring. We have a couple of new videos on the channel now. You’ll also see some OLD videos. We decided to leave some of those up for memories sake and to serve as a reminder of how far we’ve come.

Here’s a quick introduction from Matt and me just sharing the heart behind the channel and our vision for what we hope to accomplish. It’s the most boring video we will create, we promise. After this, it starts to get super colorful and very fun.

Like everything we’ve always done, our desire is to help other people create. We believe there is life changing power in being creative and if we can encourage someone to add a Spoonful of Imagination to their life, then we consider that a win!

Here’s our first DIY Tutorial. Enjoy! Oh and as we’ve learned from our YouTube mentors, please subscribe to the channel, like the videos, and share with your family and friends. Your comments, likes, and shares have been the fuel that have kept this blog going for so long. We would be honored to have you join us in stoking the fires for this latest chapter of our journey!

A Playdate All about “Color & Create” with Roseart

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Disclosure: Thanks to RoseArt Magic Fun Dough for sponsoring today’s discussion. I was compensated for my time, but all opinions are my own.

roseart_partyI love color and creating, and it has rubbed off on my kids. They love to use their hands to create. We are constantly doing little projects, so I was thrilled when asked to review the new RoseArt Magic Fun Dough Kits. We decided to share this fun with some sweet friends, so we hosted a little play date. With both genders and a range of ages, I opted to have a “color and create” themed little party, where we all got to create and play.

My little Reagan had been asking to break open her new toy ever since it came in the mail. She was all too excited on the day of the play date when I finally told her “yes! We can open it!”

magic_fun_doughOur play date was after school, so I had some colorful snacks as a treat. While we ate we talked about creating and ways we can use our imagination.

Color_partyI gave a brief demonstration about how we could use the Magic Dough kits, and they were all grabbing at supplies and off starting before I totally finished. Here is a quick little video that can show you what I demonstrated.

magic fun dough playdate-2The process was simple. Roll out the dough, cut out a shape, use the water to transfer the image, wait 60 seconds, and peal the paper up. It was as simple as placing a temporary tattoo on your body! The kids LOVED it! It worked perfectly and had no sticky weird residue.

This technique allows for imaginative play as they can create characters to play on the larger prop that came with the kit. We received the Volcano Valley and Fairy Tea Party.

playing_magic_fun_doughThe image would disappear, if you rolled the dough out. This would allow for play over and over again. I tried this feature to see it work. It totally did! My kids didn’t want to “mess up” their creations though. We have let some dry out, and talked about turning them into Christmas ornaments.

playing_magic fun dough

friends_playdateReagan eventually claimed both kits and had so much fun with all the features of the play sets. She made volcano lava and then would turn and make some tea and offer me a cup. 🙂

volcano magic fun doughWe had so much fun playing with these kits! The hardest part was my little impatient four-year old didn’t always cover his image with the water completely, so parts of it didn’t always fully transfer. The boys laughed and said it looked like they had gotten their heads chopped off. 🙂

This was such a hit. I seriously left the kits out for three days after my play date. My kids have been having a blast. We have used them a lot and still have tattoos! I am very impressed with how much you get with this kit.

The Magic Fun Dough kits are available at Target, Walmart (located in the craft aisle), and on Amazon. They all cost under $20.00.

tattoo_your_magic_doughWe had a blast at our color and create play date.

I think these kits would make great Christmas presents. I am all about ways to encourage imagination and creativity, and these kits totally do that.

magic fun dough playdate

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Imagine

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imagineDo you have a word that is kind of your life mantra? If I had to pick one word that I am continually challenged, encouraged, and inspired by it would be “imagine”. So many things come to my mind when I think of this word. I like to picture a world different than we all know. Here are some of the thoughts that challenge me as I imagine…

Imagine a world where we really live out loving our neighbors.

Imagine if we were patient with our kids as we so desperately try to instill patience in them.

Imagine if we all believe we are masterpieces that God created.

Imagine if we all really lived in the belief that we have something to offer.

Imagine if we all believed to our core that we are accepted like we were created.

Imagine if we put our phone down and picked our kids up more.

Imagine if we used our gifts and talents for good.

Imagine if we cared for the widows and orphans.

Imagine if we gave our time away to help and be there for others.

Imagine if we truly lived like we had no tomorrow.

Imagine if we stopped moving and talking long enough to listen.

Imagine if we decided to live a purposeful life rather than watching it pass us by.

Imagine if we truly loved one another.

getting_a_tattooImagine the possibilities.

The beauty of these thoughts is that we don’t just have to imagine them. We can act. We all have a part to play.

This world can be changed. Let us walk in that belief. Let us face this week knowing that there is no one else like us and we have something to offer the world and those close to us. We all have a part and together we can imagine and act in creating a greater tomorrow.

getting a tattooI often lose perspective and get lost in my selfishness. I need reminding to step outside of myself and imagine a bigger and much better story – a world that can be changed by simple daily steps. I hope and pray as we start a new week you will join me in imagining and being a part of creating a more beautiful tomorrow.

 

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I think I may have misled you (part 1)…

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I have so many blog entries written in my head, and I am going to try to start typing them up so you too can enjoy them!

The first entry I want to write is how I think I may have misled you all.  I have given you the impression I love to create, and that is very true.  What I have NOT shared is my heart behind my favorite stuff.  I love to make gifts.  It is something that fuels me and gives me so much life.  It’s not simply the making of stuff.

Often, when I want to love or encourage someone I think of what they like.  You too can think through these three simple steps when needing a gift:

1.  I ask myself what they like?  What are things they enjoy to buy?  What are things they use daily?

2.  Thinking through those answers, I ask myself is there something I can make them that they would like/use/need?

3.  Based on what I come up with to that answer, I then go into picking out the fabrics, details, that will personalize that item for that individual.

I guess it’s the desire to make someone feel speical and unique.  “Time” is a huge love language to people.  The giving of  time in a fast pace/crazy world speaks to what we value.  People are special.  We are made to love.  We all are created masterpieces (Ephesians 2:10), so why not let a gift make your loved one feel that way!?!

I absolutley love making gifts.  I think it’s one reason why I can’t just make a ton and sell it, although I have done that with a few shows or on etsy.  But those techniques of what to do with my crafts grow old and don’t leave me wanting to do more of them.  I guess it’s also why I don’t like taking personal orders.  When asked to create a custom order for someone, I usually try to politely get out of it.  It’s so flattering, but they stress me out and make the “crafting process” less fun and enjoyable.  I guess it feels like work :), and we all have enough work.  Downtime activities should be FUN (in my book).

Well, I say all this because two weeks ago I was blessed with the opportunity to create some capes for three special kids!  We had our friend, Tim, who lives out of the country come stay with us for a week.  It was such an encouraging time to hear his heart and what God is doing through his family’s ministry.  While Tim was here in America, his wife and three kids stayed home.  They are all awesome.  Although, there is a lot of distance in between our two families, they are people who encourage and challenge us in what we are about and what matters in life.  We are blessed by this family and the life they live.  If you want to check out their story and hear more about life of an american family living overseas please check out their blog!

 

I have one more gift given recently that I want to share with you all.  It brings my heart so much joy!  Part two of  “I think I may have misled you” is coming soon!