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Imagine the Possibilities with me!

March 29, 2023 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

Imagine the possibilities with me for a minute! What is a way you LOVED to create as a kid?

  • Love playing outside and building forts with sticks and mud pies?
  • Come alive cutting and gluing paper?
  • Enjoy the heck out of painting free and big?
  • Play with blocks or legos for hours?
  • Was rearranging or redecorating your room the normal?

Chances are the way you enjoyed creating as a kid you will still enjoy today!

I know for me, growing up in a family of nine kids there were always DIY projects going on.

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about how expensive raising nine kids must have been for my parents. As my kids grow, it feels like it just keeps getting more expensive. Our oldest is learning to drive, and we all remember when we first caught wind of a brand we liked. Not just any pair of shoes always works anymore. I know my parents had to be thrifty to make our world work because I was so blessed and never went without. Being resourceful has been modeled for me.

I remember when my parents expanded our house. With nine kids, we outgrow the size house we had. The addition brought saw dust and scrap wood components to our lives. To this day, I still enjoy working with scraps.

Art doesn’t have to be expensive. We all have little things that we can reuse. For me, wood scraps has always been something I used, so to this day, I save them. The texture, possibilities of small pieces, and options of several things coming together to make something new is something I have always loved. Wood is a great material for all of those things to happen in the creative process.

Now, it’s no secret that I love to create in LOTS of ways. But, for many of us the ways we created as young kids can still be enjoyed years later or maybe the way we choose to create changes as we change.

Do you remember how you love to create? Has it changed?

Let me encourage you to imagine the possibilities.

Imagine trying that childhood creative process again that you loved so many years ago. Or, if you know of a new way you love to create imagine how you would feel if you took thirty minutes to do that activity this week?

We both know that your heart, mind, and soul will be better for that time of being FREE and using your hands.

I miss encouraging others in their creative process. It’s been a year, since we decided to close our art studio. So, as I was playing with some wood scraps, I dreamed up a kit with a lesson that I could share with all of you. If you need an extra nudge to get creative and imagine the possibilities, join me for this LIVE class one week from today. I will walk you through using these wood scraps to create a playful wood mobile. There will be a replay video, so if you miss the live. You can watch the tutorial replay back at a more convenient time.

Snatch up your kit to let me encourage YOU and your creative process. We will paint. Playing with order and design will definitely happen. Yarn will be wrapped. Of course, we will celebrate options and diversity. It will be so fun!

My hope for those that snatch up this creative kit (and for you on your creative journey) is that after playing with new materials and tools you feel a little more empowered in believing in yourself, knowing you can make good decisions, and trusting that how you think matters.

The creative process is a window into what’s going on inside us.

We find that inner discovery in playing, and pulling out of the expected. Keep playing. Keep creating. You never out grow the need to create.

 

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What I am Thinking about my 40th Birthday!

November 10, 2022 By Erica Deuel 4 Comments

my 40th birthdayRecently, I was asked if turning 40 was harder or easier than turning 30. This made me pause and wonder more what I was thinking about my 40th birthday, and I am excited to put those thoughts into words with all of you.  Life is a journey and as Peter Pan says, “to live will be an awfully big adventure.” How cool I’ve now been adventuring for 40 years.

This past weekend I turned the big 4-0. We celebrated in the most low key, family way.

I don’t like surprises or having lots of eyes on me, and I just wanted to intentionally enjoy my family. The older I get, the more I want the simple things in life. It’s been the work of the last few months to get to a more sustainable, enjoyable place. The ability and gift to sit in a chair and not be wondering of what you should be doing or what needs to be done, but can rest peacefully is the hard work of coming out of an intense season.

On this birthday, I just got to play, be agenda free, and be in the moment. That was the best gift of all. To me, it showed that I had grown.

What I am thinking about my 40th birthday

handmade birthday cardsOne of the biggest lies and fears I had when closing the studio was how it felt like I was going backwards. At the time, I was being asked, messaged, and emailed regularly about how to open an art studio. I processed and responded to these requests the best I could, but I always was thinking “whoa, I’m not sure. I’m still trying”.

Inwardly, I was also processing how to shut it all down. How do you quit and go back to your roots when the world pushes forward movement, position, and sees only the good?

How I Celebrated My 40th Birthday

On my day, I threw on my Halloween costume and went outside with my family. I was present all day just being with them mentally and physically. It’s in these moments that I am continually reminded I have done the RIGHT hard work.

My head and my heart were at the same place.

This is my 40th birthdayI’m Feeling Free on This 40th Birthday

Matt has told me several times that when he’s asked how I am doing now he responds with ‘she’s the healthiest I have ever seen her’. Wow.

We’ve now been married for over 18 years. We see each other every day and go to bed together every night. For the man, who knows me most, to say that means a lot. I’ve done some hardwork to reconnect with Erica. The Erica before all the expectations and responsibilities; and as a result, it’s made me more free.

I feel more alive.

I feel more light-hearted.

I feel more playful.

I feel more energized.

I feel more confident.

I feel more available.

I feel more content.

I feel more hopeful.

Life is a journey, and I am so thankful for every road and turn that has led me to this beautiful life that I have renewed eyes to soak in the small moments and everyday gorgeous, simplicities.

To celebrate my day, I wanted to adventure with my family. We tried to do a ropes course, but as northern Indiana would have it- most were closed already for the season. We opted to do an escape room, dinner out, and a Target run to celebrate my birthday on Saturday. While we were gone, a huge tree fell in our yard. Luckily, nothing was really hurt except the door to our fence.

We woke the next day, on my actual birthday, and had a relaxed morning of donuts and the sweetest gifts-including my fresh Target haul all wrapped up (still in the Target bag :)). We then went into the yard and climbed the tree, cut the tree, burned the tree and were literally outside all day as a family.

In Moving Forwards, I am Largely Connecting with My Roots

My day was a dream day. As a kid, I always would choose to go camping or do a hike to celebrate my birthday. Being in nature is one of my happy places. I was back doing that sort of thing with my family to celebrate.

There’s something so so satisfying about burning wood. I love it. Can you relate??

I could sit at a fire and feed it things all day long, and I got to do just that. Being outside, off devices and playful with my crew made for an amazing day.

I rescued some wood slices to use in projects and Matt made them our plates, as we cooked over the fire. It was so fun, un-rushed, and relaxing.

The gift and simplicity of a fun day to remember is what my heart longs for now.

Simple Gifts on my birthdayIn conclusion, turning 40 was much easier than turning 30. My 30’s were all about growing the life I now get to live. I grew kids, we fostered other kids, we moved hundreds of miles, we began a new business venture,  and it was a very busy, exciting (while also exhausting) life. There was constant change.

I learned in this bridge from 39 to 40 how far I can extend myself, before I don’t feel like me. I am coming back into me, and I am here for it. I think my 40’s are going to be some of the best.

Feeling more like me is one of the best gifts.

There’s Hope in Living

If you are still in the hard years, giving your all and coming up drained, don’t give up.

There’s things you can do even now to begin a healing journey. I’ve been doing the hard work of processing my story and writing up daily habits that helped me go from overwhelm and exhaustion to a more empowered and intentional life. I can’t wait to share more, but for now…STAY IN TOUCH. In the next two weeks, I will be sharing more and have an opportunity to work with all of you. It’s more behind the scenes of my journey, but it’s really largely for helping you with yours.

My journey is not done, and wherever you are within yours, I would love to help cheer you on. We are made to do life together, with people and cheerleaders in our corner! Stay tuned and if you aren’t on my newsletter yet, jump in for this weekly goodness. This is where I will share it ALL in just a few short weeks.

Thanks for celebrating my birthday by reading this long post about where I have been, where I am now…and where we can hopefully, go together in the coming weeks. Living is an awfully, big adventure.

 

 

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A Playdate All about “Color & Create” with Roseart

November 14, 2013 By Erica Deuel 7 Comments

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

November 10, 2013 By Erica Deuel 1 Comment

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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