Don’t be fooled by this Kleenex box full of…used dryer sheets! We love the ease of use we get when we grab a dryer sheet to pick up gooey glue from our work tables and for dusting our counter jars-yes, dryer sheets have multiple uses! Catch our next Creating at Home idea later this week were we’ll give you a crafty idea for creating with dryer sheets.
Tis the season!
It’s time to grab one or two of our CReATE STUDIO Eco Craft Kits for your maker, creator, S.T.E.A.M. fan explorer, tinkerer or builder.
Our kits contain a myriad of recycled and crafty materials for days of creating! $20+tax (and shipping if applicable)
Get yours by calling us at 818-575-9566
We’re putting the reuse in creativity because it just makes sense. It’s is our mission.
Reuse is to creativity what peanut butter is to jelly or crackers are to cheese. They belong together and help each other flow.
I’ve shared how reuse was common place in my family, it must have trickled down from the generations before me. I am so glad it did. It’s ultimately how we got CReATE!
In the awesomeness that reuse is there lies unexpected hidden gems that benefit humanity like presence, connection to yourself if creating alone and to others if you are creating together, to mindfulness either way. What could be better than that! It also removes the potential for comparison. As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy”. When we are creating anything we are in our vulnerability. Vulnerability comes as we express ourselves and share who we are through what we make. When we’re all creating the same kind of thing, comparison has a tendency to sneak into our psyche, even at a young age. I saw that process throughout my kids years in school, especially with art because of it’s expressive nature. There we guard our vulnerability. Using recycled materials in it’s one-off and random nature means two creations tend not be alike and when they are I see collaboration. Self expression is comfortable here. Since we each see the world through our own lens we can look at the same kleenex box a different way that leads to very different creations. This is where I see independence being strengthened as creators find themselves trusting their own ideas and process. There is an overwhelming sense of pride when the idea that inspired the creation comes together the way it was planned. Presence, connection, healthy vulnerability, self confidence, self expression and independence make a good foundation for experience.
Creating with recycled materials is like a peanut butter and jelly experience, it goes perfectly together and it’s oh so good.
We’re off to a great start with birthday celebrating and this sleek looking paper plate Wyvern Dragon. One plate cut just the right way makes this ancient creature and sparks resourcefulness in our creators.
We have a creative month in store for you with our Pinspired Project Night on the 7th, Parents Night Out on the 8th, Paint Pouring on the 14th, and our collaborative half day Artys Yoga Camp with @littlefoxyoga to name a few.
Let the creative reuse fun begin!
We have one last Spotlight on Natural Things to share before November ends. On this fall day make a family moment to head outside for a walk and look for an item from nature; a pinecone, a branch or a leaf and really look at it. You’ll see order and intricate details that must be magical. It is the simple things that make life sweet.
As a girl I spent a lot of time at my grandparents, Darling and Grandad’s house. My only-child status seemed to trigger my curious nature to explore their house. I was a looky-loo. I could spend hours going through the kitchen junk drawer and any other drawer looking to see what I would find. I was so curious. The more random and everyday the finds were, the better. Those times were magical for me. My grandparents kept all sorts of things that made every drawer feel like a keep sake box. I felt like I was going on little odysseys as I sorted and sifted through notes, jars, trays and the like.
Years later when I’d grown up and my grandparents had both passed away I found myself going through those magical drawers. I came away with a small bag of special treasures from the famed kitchen drawer that I saved for just the right occasion. When my girls were small we got an idea for an art project that the junk drawer bag would be perfect for. As we laid out the contents of the bag and thought of our Beach Birthday Party theme we had the loveliest time sharing in the curiousness of exploring my Darlings kitchen junk drawer things. Most of them made it onto our mixed media collaboration and touch my heart still as I look at the finished creation hanging on a wall at our home today. The things from her drawer that are still most wondrous to me are the handmade candle for her 21st birthday, the $2 bill and the bottom half of a heart shaped china box. They are nothing to look at per say but they carry curious wonderings about their origins and why she kept them for all those years. It’s funny to connect my childhood experiences as an explorer to the studio I have created that I now realize has a touch of her junk drawer magic available for all who create with our recycled this and that selection.
Creating the piece with my girls back in 2004 was a beautiful, presence filled experience. I want that kind of memory for you and the ones you love after you’ve spent time together at CReATE. Keep curiosity with you and I know you will.
Warmly,
Jemma
Happy Thanksgiving from CReATE STUDIO! May your day be filled with gratitude, love, connection, joy and creativity!
“Last week is behind us, a new week lies ahead”.
I attended a Bat Mitzvah this weekend. It was a lovely service and one that had to be relocated due to the Woolsey Fire’s path. There were mentions woven into the service about the fires and homes lost. Everyone attending could relate to the destruction and upheaval the fires and Borderline shooting had caused. The Rabbi closed the service with a prayer that felt like grace. He said, “Last week is behind us, a new week lies ahead” and as he said it, I could feel the ash and smoke lifting as the breeze of a new week lay like promise on the horizon of my mind.
It was a treat to see this fantastic doodle by my friend donna who decided to try out the calligraphy pens on our “Try It” tray. It seemed to take her just a few minutes to create but appears to have hours of detail in it.
Here’s a little festive holiday pre-inspiration.
Come in and get inspired to make some holiday joy for your home ❤