The Creative Wave

Since my 4th little one was born, I have been hit by this insane wave of creativity. I have embraced every kind of creative process there is....ok, maybe that is a bit of a stretch, but I have picked up knitting, crafting, and sewing with a fervor that I have not done before. While I used to do these things before, it was when I was maybe 10 and really dabbled in it back and forth in between the years. Now, I think I have become very engrossed with it because my kids love doing and creating with me. It was with combined self-loathing and pure excitement that I found Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafting at the local library and checked it out. I actually think I let out a little squeal of delight, then made some sort of noise of disgruntlement at myself for being so excited. Obviously, I have not come to full terms with myself for enjoying Martha Stewart yet. However, this wave of creativity is flowing through everyone in my family. I caught Otter reading the book and when I actually decided to purchase it, he was the first one flipping through to the crafts he wanted to make (soap and candle making). I then purchased 2 more sewing books and found that Beanie and I were taking turns lying in the library reading through the projects and trying to decide what to make first.

One of the joys of this new found love is seeing the kids receive handmade creations from fabrics or yarns they have picked out. Beanie designed and colored her very own scarf and voila, had it made for her! Otter was amazed to have a camouflage bag made for his birthday and is now designing a camo quiver for his "arrows." Smoosh just wants something yellow. Squeakers even gets her own little adventure bags to put little things she finds around the house into. Bean has her own sewing machine and knitting needles that she loves to use. She has her own yarns and can sit and hand knit for hours with me. There really are not any kind of toys out there on the market these days that can match that kind of joy. Smoosh also loves to just cut fabrics and play with yarn. He has even sat and made his own bag with me at the sewing machine. And happily, I caught Squeakers yesterday playing in the yarn basket yesterday with the needles in and out of yarn balls. Yeah! She is on her way to becoming our next little artist in the house.

While it is still very easy to tell what is homemade vs. store bought around here as my talents do not quite match my enthusiasm, I would much rather spend my time and money getting fabrics and creating with the kiddos then doing just about anything else. Except maybe sleeping every once in awhile:)