Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

How to Embrace Winter’s Warmth

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Discover Cozy Crafting Delights

Embracing winter’s warmth can feel like a contradictory statement, yet it is possible! Want to know a secret of how to help with the winter blues!?  The answer is simple…yet not always easy. Create! Crafting during the winter months is more than just a pastime; it’s a gateway to warmth, creativity, and shared joy.

Three reasons why we should all be creating more right now:

1. Winter crafts bring an extra layer of coziness to our homes. Bonus: if you create something IN your home, you can enjoy it with all the extra time you are inside. I added some black paint to our TV console TODAY, as the picture above shows the final result.

2. From toddlers to adults, everyone can find joy in creating something beautiful. It’s a timeless activity that allows for self-expression fun! Check out my new kit in the shop for those sensory loving young artists.

3. Creating gives opportunities for meaningful connections. Whether it’s a family crafting night or a solo project by the fireplace, these moments foster connections, laughter, and shared memories. My eldest likes to create with pictures and videos. Did he go outside with me today in the negative temps for a photoshoot?? He DID! Running back inside the house was a fun moment. We now have a shared memory of this cold day.

To help make it easier for you to jump into creating, you can check out daily doses of my imagination here or pick up a craft kit for you or your artist in the shop!

In the spirit of sharing and creativity, I’m thrilled to announce that my “You” collection is now available for purchase online!  Maybe there is a reminder you need or one you know a friend needs. I hope the beauty and individuality captured in each piece can inspire and encourage you and your people.

I have been creating more, as I embracing winter’s warmth with all the colors and images in my head coming to life!

My little art room is my current happy place, so I am sure you can expect more creations from me to be listed real soon! Give it a try with me, and create something today!

In it with you!

Erica

What is an easy YES for you??

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Over the weekend, we were headed out on a little family walk.

Taking family walks is one of my favorite things to do together.

It’s a time to unplug, enjoy nature, get a little exercise, and connect. As we were headed out, I turned around and saw Caleb had a camera. He wanted to take pictures of this winter walk. I smiled to myself and only said, “very fun!”

What are things that are an easy yes for you? When you think through a situation or a plan and there is an obvious alteration to it, what is an easy yes?

In my situation, getting off technology, a screen, and devices is part of my heart for these walks. Yet, Caleb had a camera and I allowed it.

One of my family values

As we walked and I thought through why I allowed the camera, it hit me. An easy yes for me is creativity. I will always welcome the creative process.

For example, we can be pulling out of the driveway, running late for something and Reagan asks to run back inside for markers and a notebook….and I stop the car and allow it.

I can have just vacuumed the house and be ok with Reagan pulling out cardboard boxes, hot glue and making all kinds of little shavings on the floor in her creative project.

Jeremiah might ask for chalk markers to use on his chalkboard wall, instead of the messiness of regular chalk, and I add it to my shopping list.

I can have a sewing project out and someone wants to paint and I clear off my whole desk or table to get them started.

Caleb may want to take a camera on a walk to make this reel and in the process give me all these pictures that I have turned into this post, and I am so proud.

The creative process is something I value and always say yes to.

What is an easy yes for you?

Has something come to mind that is an easy yes for you? Here are a few ideas of things that it could be…

  • heart level talks: will you stay up later, if your kids are wanting to talk?
  • healthy food: will you say yes to a snack at any time in the day if it is something healthy?
  • sports: will you sign your kid up for a travel sport and be ok driving and giving weekend time, if it’s keeps your kid doing a sport he/she loves?

When we normally think of family values, honesty, perseverance, responsibility, character, and kindness might be some that you automatically think about. I think there are also others that you might not realize is also a value. If you start thinking about it, and process through how other families treat that same thing, you can begin to see it as a value.

These pictures help me see the world like Caleb does. What caught his eye, the angle he captured it, and even the placement of his subject is interesting to me.

I will always encourage the creative process. It’s a value to me. What is a value to you?

It’s important to know your values

Life is going so quickly, and I think it’s important to know your values so you can treat and honor it as one. Just because it’s important to you, doesn’t mean it is to everyone. So, to get you thinking more about what you may value, think through these questions:

  1. What makes you really happy?
  2. When are you most proud?
  3. What do you spend free time doing?

Maybe you already know what you value and what is an easy yes for you. If you do, I hope this is just an encouragement that it’s good to be YOU, even if you prioritize something others may not treat with the same weight.

If you don’t know what a unique value that you care about may be, I hope it gets you thinking.

Honoring your family values is a form of creating a connection that matters.

**If the idea of forming a deeper connection with those that matter most to you, sounds like something you would be interested in, I’d love to invite you to join my Create More Connection digital course. I will be back to tell more about it soon, but you can enroll today right here!

It’s winter, so let’s build a snowman!

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We’ve been enjoying a winter storm here in Indiana. The kids are going on day three of school moving from in person to e-learning for the amount of snow we have had. They estimate we have had more than a foot of snow in 48 hours.

Our family has been able to get out and walk, play, and even scrap the driveway a time or four now.

Although we love the outdoor play, we have had more indoor play as well. It got us thinking that others might be looking for some indoor fun too. We thought we would share this fun and multiple step snowman project with you to encourage some creative fun in your home this winter. Gather a few supplies from around your home and join us to build a snowman!

Supplies:

base canvas (we used white cardboard)

coloring tools (we used pastels)

paint supplies (we used tempera paint and a brush)

scrap paper (card stock, construction paper, etc)

scissors

Elmer’s glue

Once you have the supplies and are ready to create, the first thing you do is draw a snowman! I love how Reagan drew a two circle snowman and Jeremiah drew a three circle snowman that is zoomed in on, as part of his shape is “off” the page.

After you have used your drawing tools to draw the snowman, then you are ready to paint a winter scene for the snowman to live in! Paint the background surrounding the snowman. You can ask your artist why you should NOT paint in the snowman. Hopefully, they value clean, white snow too.

The final step is to embellish and add details to that snowman. We used scrap paper to cut hats and scarfs to dress our snowmen. You can also use your drawing tools from step one to add more details to the snowman or background.

Wasn’t that super easy? This is such a fun project to do with a few students or a whole class! Just as a review the steps are..

  1. Draw a snowman
  2. Paint around the snowman
  3. Embellish by gluing and drawing to add details

We love that no matter the same steps taught or supplies used, every project can look different. If you keep the rules “open ended” like they are listed simply above, each artist will take their own interpretation and be able to use his/her imagination to bring their own ideas to life. How cool is that!?

We had so much fun creating some indoor snowman. Jeremiah suggested that real outdoor snowmen are more fun to create. It’s hard to compete with snow, right!? But, if you too need some indoor fun, try this fun project. My artists are in 5th and 7th grade and they still had fun. We are never too old to play with creative tools! The pieces don’t have to be saved for forever. Stick them on your mantel for the season like we did, and then feel free to toss them out. The most important part is to to HAVE FUN!

What kind of snowman will you create? Imagine the possibilities!

DIY Feather Wreath

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I am so excited to share today’s Project Spotlight with you!  A few weeks ago, I fell in love with a white feather wreath at Target.  I stood there staring at it, trying to decide if I should buy it.  It cost $19.99, and I decided to pass it by and try to make it myself.

Today I am going to show you the technique I came up with to make this DIY feather wreath, and it only cost about $4.00 to make!  That is less than 1/4 the price at Target, and it really was so easy!

Here is what you will need to buy: one styrofoam wreath and white craft feathers.  I already had my hot glue gun with glue sticks, but if you do not have those items, you will have to buy them as well.  I got my foam wreath (normally $4.47) at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon.  I also got my white craft feathers there, and they were 30% off this week.  So, the normal $1.99 a package of white craft feathers cost me about $1.30 each.  I completely used both packs.

I started by adding a big drop of hot glue to my wreath.

I added a feather and pressed my thumb on the spine of the feather to prevent getting burned.  I just want to briefly say here, I am so sorry for my messed up/old finger nail polish in all these pictures.  How embarrassing. 🙂 

I went about five or six feathers across the styrofoam of the wreath.

Those feathers were my first row.  I then started my next row about an inch lower on the styrofoam.  This allowed for lots of overlap but spread the feathers out a little, so I didn’t need as many.

I found that the five or six feathers across allowed for some “wrapping” on the sides of the wreath.  They started to go towards the back but also the back still had a bare streak, so as not to waste feathers that would not be seen.  Play with the amount of feathers you need.  Depending on the size of your ring of styrofoam and feathers you may need more or less.  The important part is to just cover the sides well because you don’t want any styrofoam to be seen at any angle your wreath ends up being displayed and seen.

You then just keep adding rows and rows of feathers doing the same steps until you are about to where you started.

From there you do your best holding/bending the first row of feathers back so you can stick glue in there behind them and glue those final rows.  It was a bit tricky managing it on my own, but it can be done!

After you get those last rows done, you are done!  You have just created a professional looking wreath for less than 1/4 the price!

I love it!!  I think it looks Christmasy yet also wintery.  Even after the rest of your Christmas decorations come down, this pretty wreath could stay up till the spring!

I think these wreaths would make amazing Christmas gifts for friends or family.  I think they would also make fun hostess gifts or a nice wedding/house-warming present.  The ideas are endless, and they are gorgeous and CHEAP!

I stuck my wreath up on my mantle with a little star I found at the Dollar Tree last week.  Today we are getting all of our Christmas decorations down out of the attic and I can’t wait to really deck my halls with this beauty!  I’m sure I will be back to show you my results!

Have you started decorating for Christmas?  Can you see yourself making this wreath?  Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

 

 

Linked up at: DIY Show Off, The C.R.A.F.T. Blog, Little Inspiration, Homeschool Creations, and Shaken Together