I fell in love with this guy when I was nineteen, and it's been so much fun to journey through this life together. Over ten years later, our life looks so much different. No longer are we living off of ramen (I can cook now!), no more classes, and these two munchkins. They are our most exciting journey. Our greatest joy, and sometimes our greatest challenge too. When Billy is being his restless toddler self and refusing to go to sleep at night? Cory will go upstairs and sing him to sleep (which never works as well for me). Isia is always asking for "just her time," so he often takes her on errands and out to lunch- just the two of them. He knows how to love his family and, as you can see, they love him right back!
"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."
(words and inspiration via Soulemama.com)
. . . . . . . .
If you've been following our journey for awhile, you already know my belief that creativity doesn't have to cost a lot of money. Some of our favorite projects involve household materials, like suncatcher lids and toilet roll garlands. People were creating long before craft stores, using excess materials they already had. So I'm always looking around, trying to bring a creative second-life to things. My children have caught onto this, and I often get in trouble with Isia for trying to throw anything away. "Can't you fix it?" she'll ask, "Can't you make something out of it?" And I love that, even if it means I have to hide things away (like her dress up shoes that were recently broke beyond repair) to dispose of when she's not looking! Here are a few thrifty drawing materials that have been favorites lately:
Binder clip journals (like mine) are a great way to use up extra paper, or bring new life to old drawings. For the covers of the kids' drawing books, we cut matching pieces out of a drawing pad cover. However, cereal boxes, old watercolor drawings, and/or cardboard would work great too. The inside is a mixture of drawing papers we already had, but magazine pages (great for collage inspiration), old drawings, colored paper, and pages from old, falling apart books are fun creative inspiration too. These also make Great presents. You can personalize the covers, then gift them with stickers- a favorite around here- and a pack of crayons or markers. Thrifty, thoughtful & always enjoyed!
And these are some old appliance instruction books I found during spring cleaning (for appliances we don't even have anymore!). On a whim, I handed them over to the kids who Loved them. I thought the text-filled pages might damper their creativity, but they definitely didn't. Isia, soon-to-be-kindergartner, especially enjoyed interacting with the areas that were already there and making them her own.
What are your family's favorite drawing materials right now?
Even though we've been here for seven months now (where did the time go?), it's only lately started to feel like home. It's taken a long time to tie up these loose ends, unpack all these boxes, and reclaim our dumping ground basement for utilitarian use. And as we start to finish that unpacking process, with all the downsizing & minimizing that's come with it, it's been a great joy to start working on my favorite part: the corners. For really, I believe, it's the corners of a home that tells its stories. And it's great when those corners have a chance to speak for themselves, with a little help. So I created these creative corners last week, one for me and one for the littles.
Mine started with a thrifted frame, and the kids' began with the middle of the access panel in their room. I took the glass out of my frame first (carefully) and washed it to get it ready to paint. Then I painted both, while Billy napped and Isia caught a cartoon. A small quiet moment for everyone. I painted the first layer with horizontal strokes, let it dry, then followed it with a layer of vertical strokes. It's amazing to watch the layers meld together. For an even smoother surface, you can sandpaper between layers and at the end- but this was smooth enough for our purposes.
And then I reassembled them! I was really happy with how they turned out, especially the bright green frame for the kid's room. Isia picked out the green, and their bathroom (soon to be painted) will match. Let the creating begin!
Check out more chalkboard quotes on our Instagram feed.