Make a Haunted House

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Perfect Halloween fun.

I love October. The feel of the air, the smells of fall, the deep colors and of course Halloween. This year I felt inspired to create a workshop series that grew from the kid in me who loves October the way I do now.
This October we’re Creating Haunted Houses during our workshop series each Friday.
The goal is for each participant to create a 12″x 12″ haunted house that matches their love of Halloween and all things fall in a whimsical way from rooftop to ground floor.
This includes wall paper, spider webs, funky furniture they make and the zany characters of they develop. All materials are included.
If your kids love halloween they are going to have the best time making their own Halloween House to savor every halloween or all year long. Learn more and sign up through the Creating Haunted Houses link.
I can’t wait!
Jemma W. Owner

Out of the mouths of babes.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Wise words from a six year old.

You know the changes in the world are big when a six year old talks about them. Lyle’s dad told me a story about how she likes to create at home. She reuses everything she can get her hands on. Lyle stopped her dad on a trip to the recycling can recently asking for the box he was holding. She said “reusing a box means one less piece of trash and one more piece of art”.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. I love that Lyle is aware of the bigger picture and, where things really go.
Perhaps that’s the next layer of conversation we can all start having with kids. The next time you take the recycling out for disposal you can tell your kids about where things go from there.
Waste Management has a Recycling Plant and Landfill right in our community. They process the trash we throw away and the recycling we pass along. From there, recycling collections may go to an MRF -Material Recovery Facility to get to more specific destinations.
There is a buzz the final steps for items like cardboard specifically, there is just too much out there. Talking a page from Lyle’s book and reusing everyday recyclables is a great way to help shift our habits at home. Make art not trash!

Art for all

Monday, September 9, 2019

Everyone has the right to explore their creativity.

I was talking to a parent last night who said she wasn’t artistic. We were making little glass magnets with map pieces. She loved the project because it was simple and she could collect pieces of map that matched the important places in her families lives like, where her husband and kids were born. She was having a great time creating. She thought she wasn’t artistic yet here she was, deciding that she would use the magnets to reflected her families heritage right on the fridge! Where did she get the idea she wasn’t artistic?

As we chatted I told her something that is the steam behind CReATE STUDIO and CReATE ON YOUR CAMPUS. Everyone should be able to explore the realm of art for themselves, even if it’s not their passion or skill. Art for all that it can be is a form of play and expression. We are all created to experience it.
She may not be an artist per say, but she absolutely gets to have a good time with art. I want to nurture that idea in people, from kids on up. Reusing things creatively is a pipeline to the art of individual expressiveness in such a health way. Everyone should be able to explore the realm of art as I said so, let’s get everyone some cardboard and stuff and create!

Parent’s Night Out!

Sunday, September 1, 2019

That’s what we’re talking about.

Every second Saturday of the month we host a Parent’s Night Out event at CReATE!
It’s a Win/Win experience because kids spend an evening at the studio, creating to their hearts content while their parent’s go out on the town for a date night!

Adriane Burckert hosts these awesome nights and always has a special seasonal project option for the kids to do. The kids are encouraged to bring a sack dinner or eat before hand but Adriane has heathy snack options on hand as well, after all using all that brain power to create means kids need some extra fuel for their bodies.
At $26 per child or $8.60 per hour the price for our evening is better than any sitter would be.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 14th from 6-9pm and book your child for a Parent’s Night Out with us while you try that restaurant you’ve heard so much about.

Welcome to Club CReATE!

Monday, August 26, 2019

A subscription membership program for our community.

We are over-the-moon excited about our new Club CReATE Monthly Subscription program which launches September 1st!
With unlimited drop-in creating sessions for kids, our monthly subscription membership program is the perfect way to bring more free-style art to your child’s life all month long, month after month! That means your kids can pop-in for an hour, 2 hours, 30 minutes or whatever time your family schedule permits to have creative time to draw, paint or build their ideas and imaginings.
The benefits of creative freedom are explained in this article from pbs.org and I couldn’t have said it better myself though in short, kids need creative opportunities to develop their whole, healthy selves. An important added benefit of time spent at CReATE STUDIO is independence. That’s kids learning to do for themselves. A skill they’ll carry into adulthood.
At CReATE kids get all these benefits and you get one more. You need not worry about the mess that creativity can unleash because it all happens with us!
Starting September 1st we’ll have easy online registration for our automatic monthly subscription on our Happenings Page.
$19.95 for a single membership / $38.95 for two
We can’t wait to share more creative time with your kids.
We want to spend lots of creative time with your kids and your family.
Let’s create together!
Jemma W.
Owner

Let’s go to CReATE!

Monday, August 19, 2019

We love school field trips to us.

“This is by far the best field trip I’ve ever had!”
Reese H. 2nd Grade Student
Willow Elementary School

We think so too Reese! CReATE STUDIO is a must do place for your child’s next engaging Field Trip experience. Teachers are planning their 2019/2020 events and activities and we want to be a part of their plans.
Whether students are learning about Native Cultures, Rain Forests, Animal Habitats, Family Heritage, California Missions, U.S. State Reports, or any other subject, CReATE provides unique hands-on learning experiences through creative reuse to fit any subject. Our awesome material selection engages learning fun at all grade levels.
There’s more, visiting CReATE STUDIO leads to more good with 10% of the field trip cost going to our non-profit, CReATE ON YOUR CAMPUS. C.O.Y.C. which connects school campuses like yours to creativity through a campus reuse program. Learn more about C.O.Y.C. and our mission here and talk to your child’s teacher about scheduling a visit to CReATE this year- we’re right in the Conejo Valley backyard!
Details and pricing for field Trip visits are listed in the Field Trip hyper-link above. Let’s create together.

Interviewed

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Talking shop

I was interviewed by my friend and money guru, Michelle Perkins for her radio show, Limit Free Life this past Spring where we talked about the business of creativity.
I loved being on her show, we connected on the valuable creativity is and the business it calls me to do.
Check out a little clip here or catch the who interview on Michelle’s Limit Free Life radio show.
It was amazing to make this connection with Michelle. I hope it sparks inspiration in you.

Jemma W. Owner

Creativity for Schools

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Creating on campuses.

We are bringing creativity to school campuses in the Conejo Valley this fall. You may know that CReATE STUDIO has a sister organization, CReATE ON YOUR CAMPUS. Our Board Members refer to it as C.O.Y.C. for short. C.O.Y.C. brings creativity to school campuses through the reuse of campus cast-offs. Think along the zero waste lines for art and curriculum use!
CReATE STUDIO has 10 years of recycled creating under it’s belt so we understand the inherent value of creating with these raw materials for kids. In fact this knowledge was the a big part of motivation to bring the spirit of the studio to school campuses. We have been connecting with materials found on campuses to build out our campus organization for the last five years.

This year brings a positive mascot to our campus efforts. Students made these Forky style friends after being inspired by Disney’s Toy Story 4 character, Forky. For kids and adults alike the Forky character helps communicate a connection that using recycled materials and a bit of creativity can create real fun.
I grew up on the broad possibilities that consumer packaging can have for a child’s imagination. We’re excited to bring that spirit forward through campus materials for the 2019/2020 school year. With our Forky style friends at the helm kids can take their imaginations to infinity and beyond!
Jemma W.
Owner

Community Good

Friday, July 26, 2019

Let’s do good together.

What could be better than teens working together for the greater good through the Agoura Hills Teen Coalition? CReATE joining in their good fun! The coalition has an annual program mission to help economically disadvantaged kids in the Conejo Valley start the school year smart with brand new donated backpacks and school supplies.
CReATE STUDIO is acting as a collection hub for new backpack and supply drop-offs. We’ll also be hosting a craft table at their 2nd Annual Backpack Distribution event at Mamba Sports Academy on Tuesday, August 6th at 1pm as well.
We’re so excited to be a part of this event coordinated with our friends at The City of Agoura Hills, the Los Angeles Rams, Mamba Sports academy and and other awesome local organizations to get things done for kids in need.

Use this community event as an excuse to get out to your favorite store this week to shorten your to-do list by grabbing your kids fall backpacks and other school supplies along with a spare or two to donate to this awesome program!
You can bring your donations to CReATE all week. The box will be out even if we are not open.

I loved the 70’s

Monday, July 22, 2019

I was a child in the 70’s so I come from an era of resourceful creativity.

Cool clip art, funky animation and lots of catchy song School House Rock surrounded me. My classroom cubbies were made from empty Ice Cream drums from Thrifty Mart. That spirit of recycled art was woven into much of our everyday experiences at school. Colorful paper chains and lanterns were classroom staples.
Finding these Eco-Labels as I sorted donations last week sparked memories and insight into who I am. I realized that imagery like this along with recycling things into new things as the labels promise played a big part in shaping me for good. They were so obviously 70’s, 1972 to be exact. Their graphic fun with an emphasis on recycling was part of a growing environmental movement back then. Encouraging the reuse of tin cans with the graphics contained therein were purposeful, practical and environmental.
My parents were born in the 40’s during World War II, in a time when reuse was necessary. Why did we ever get so far away from that reuse habit? It was so fun as a kid. I grew up steeped in my imagination because my surroundings always prompted it. We lived modestly in the 70’s when my dad was in art school. I remember us remaking a piece of aluminum foil into a crazy cat toy, it was the obvious thing to do. You’ve never seen such happy cats.
My public school education seemed creative as did the whole 70’s era. As I write this blog I become aware that I have built the studio on the fundamentals of my youth. That’s why it’s about open-ended creativity, resourcefulness and recycled art fun.
I’m not saying that life at that time was always easy or fun, there was a lot of turmoil during the 70’s. Somehow, the colorful, playful and creative expressions that surrounded our culture buffered the big stuff and helped round out the day to day. I am so excited to have found these Eco Labels, they have inspired me to connect with my roots and the endearing times of my youth. What do you remember about the 70’s?

Jemma W.
Owner