the creative family by Amanda Blake Soule

Title: the creative family
Author: Amanda Blake Soule
Pages: 212
Rated: 5/5



This book is pure, unadulterated creative dynamite! I wanted to review this book knowing that I would enjoy it, but I had no idea to what extent it would challenge my family and I. Amanda and the rest of the Soule family do an excellent job in this book of inspiring creativity, of living artfully and of helping other families reach their creative potential as well. Last night, after reading a little over half of the book throughout the day, I could not sleep for hours (and I usually have no problem) but my mind was stewing, in hard-core overdrive imagining all the fun things we can do together as a family, thinking of all the neat projects that my two little boys are old enough to do now that are in this book!


Some of the exciting projects include little hands learning to felt, sew, make stuffed art, knit, and embroider. Other projects that stood out to me were family drawing time, making traditions, handmade holidays, art placemats, and "craftivisim" . If you have thought about the level of creativity in your house, and desire it to ebb and flow out of all of you and yours, The Creative Family by Amanda Blake will be a sweet dream that can be your new reality, an amazing place that after you have entered you'll know you just gotta stay. The best thing is that kids are drawn to create and it need not be something you are apprehensive about, take it from Soule, she believes that, " as human beings, we are all born with the ability, the desire, the passion, and the drive to be creative. We may become anxious about "teaching" creativity to our children, but there is really no need for us to teach. They know how to be creative. The know it with every ounce of their being- it isn't conscious or rational. It is simply who they are. Until somethings stands in their way [...]they will be creative" (p. 13).

Consider me inspired: Yesterday I set up an inspiration wire (p. 21), and several times I noticed my little one checking out his art on the wall with intense pride. I went out and found some things that our art cabinet (dresser)(p. 25) was in need of, and I was dying to do the projects in the book. Today, after reading the section on letting your kids use good quality things I (must admit reluctantly) let my four-year-old paint with my paint brushes...the results were just beautiful, let me tell you that next time I will not hesitate, he can use my brush! This weekend we are going to do the freezer-paper stenciling (p. 74) after I find the shirts we need, and because our "inspiration wire" is already way too full I am going to put together some sturdy art clips (p. 83) up at some point in the near future. The project that I am incredibly excited about though, and have already been eyeing materials for is the incredible "Banging Wall" (p. 197) I cannot wait to get that up in our backyard! Those are the projects that have inspired me, since yesterday...and there are many more in this book waiting to be used as well.

One of my favourite aspects of this book is the desire to bless others with your art, for whom you want to express love or care for. Here is an especially great quote on just that, Soule says, " Living a creative live is made all the more fulfilling and rewarding when we are creating with, for or because of others. Much creative drive is certainly internally driven, but there is such benefit to creating beyond ourselves, beyond our family, and beyond our homes, for our community and the world around us. Connecting with and creating with others can be a powerful and inspiring act, as well as a wonderful gift for our children, teaching them how to connect and share their own passions with others" (p. 191). It is beautiful to allow art to not only influence your family, but to impact those around you as well. Kids and parents alike learn life lessons from such acts.

This is one of those books that come around very much too infrequently that you would like to buy 100 of and give one to all your friends because you know they would love it too...but then you do the calculations and realize that would not go over too well with family budgeting. No, seriously I will buy this book for several of my close friends who I know will love it just as much as me, and to all the rest of my friends who would also love it just as much I will give it the highest recommendations possible. All I can say, if you believe in creativity, or would like to start...buy this book and you will want all your friends to buy it too!

The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule
Available on April 1st

wooden puzzle fun

Jackson loves this wooden puzzle that he got( thanks langs!!it really is perfect)...I tried to disguise the poor quality of pictures from my camera phone by editing a little on the first one. I think it looks pretty neat. You can see the finished product better in the second pic. I love doing things like this with j, pretty soon o will be old enough to do things like this too!

one butterfly, complete!

picture update...

I am so sorry for all my family that lives far away and is awaiting pictures of j's birthday. I tried to get them up today for the first time, and realized that I do not have the camera cable to get the pictures onto the computer from my camera. I am sorry... we must have left it at our old house. I promise to pick it up next time we head over there, I am not sure when that will be...


sorry...the news isn't too good.

Spider Kills Two Rats!!

one yesterday, another one today...our little kitty spider is an avid killer and there is nothing that can stop her. not even me, our 7 foot fence or the little rats that she is finding. I am not sure where they are coming from, and really am not to worried about it since they won't exist very soon anyway. I am bragging. We have the best hunting cat I have ever seen or heard of.

At our old house she caught many, MANY birds...which actually kind-of made me sad...but she also caught three moles (little ones to large ones), a bat, and trillions of flowers in the spring (she would leave them on the door mat, or bring them through the cat door, she would then yawl loudly until I'd come to see what her latest gift was). So, because of all this, it wasn't surprising when she was prancing around for over 6 hours taunting this young rat. She started before j's birthday party and continued way after. The amazing part to me is both of the rats that we have found, have no puncture wounds at all (that I can see) they look like they died of natural causes...maybe eventually she gave them a heart attack or something. okay...this is starting to get pretty morbid...I just wanted you to know what an amazing killer cat we have at our house. So: BEWARE KILLER GUARD CAT!

I will spare you pictures of beheaded birds...but I do have some.

photo shy?

new bungaree pictures to come very soon. jackson had a great birthday. I'll post them at some point, pretty soon.

luvs.

primeras frases completas

Aquí estamos tratando de hablar en frases completas. Todo es muy básico, pero los niños van aprendiendo rápidamente. Por ejemplo:

¿De que color es Yoko?
-Yoko es blanca.
¿Cómo se llama la gata blanca?
-Se llama Yoko.

¿Cómo te llamas?
-Me llamo Jackson.

¿Cómo se llama?
-Se llama:
-Oliver
-Yoko

¿Cómo me llamo?
-Te llamas mamá

Es como empezar de nuevo con ellos, y como si olvidáramos que saben hablar en ingles. Como si empezaran desde bebes otra vez, porque lo que estamos aprendiendo es completamente distinto. Es difícil no hablar en ingles, pero acabamos de empezar y ya estoy viendo resultados enormes. Los dos aprenden rápidamente. La verdad es que lo que no aprenden o lo que no saben es toda mi culpa. Estoy trabajando en disciplinarme más y tener más sesiones en español. Quisiera llegar a hablarles solamente en castellano en la casa.

bungaree speak: getting bigger

B: do you realize that oliver is just about as tall as jackson?
b: no he isn't
B: Yes, look at them!
b: no, he is only up to his shoulders.
j: no he's not, he bites!


B: Brad
b: bethany
j: jackson

tricycles

pretty eggs

We did easter eggs today. It was HUGE fun with jackson. I have come to the conclusion that brown eggs make the best colours, check it out!

bungaree speak

Ha! Here we go again:

j: why do we have teeth? (he is constantly asking things like this now-a-days)
b: Uhm...for chewing our food.
(silence)
j: (and then in a very matter-a-fact manner he says) And for smiling!
b: Haha, yes...that is a good reason to have teeth.