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Creating at home with fabric

In last week’s blog I introduced our Spotlight series on Fabric.
We had a chance to explore the tip of the ice berg on what fabric is made from and how.

This week I thought it would be fun to share a recent creating at home project I put on YouTube, making Homemade Hacky Sacks using socks. I categorize socks in the fabric family as part of the clothing we wear for comfort and protection. Socks are notorious getting lost or going missing in households everywhere, usually leaving a solo sock behind.

Thinking of ways things can be reused through our creating at home series is a passion for me. Turning socks into puppets are always fun but hacky sacks are something different. They create a whole different level of engagement with the creator for more physical fun. Using a few stray socks to make a hacky sack to play alone or with someone else gives those solo socks a unique sense of purpose and of course, reuse.

Fabrics aren’t always recyclable in their original states, (TerraCycle can help route the items that can), but they are reusable in many ways. I believe we do important work at CReATE, reusing things, inspiring other ways of reusing things and the mindset that everything has potential to be used again. It’s important to reuse, we are already taking so much from the planet then throwing it away. I want you to have fun exploring your creativity. When you do, it eases some of the pressure our planet carries.

We spotlight different materials each month to create space for awareness, curiosity, creativity and responsibility. I am so glad your here.

Let’s create!
Jemma W.
Owner/ Founder

Let’s explore the world of Fabric.

Sock Friends

I am a curious person by nature so my propensity to wonder where things come from is natural. I find myself thinking, Let’s explore the world of…fill in the blank.
Developing the Spotlight program here at CReATE allows me to share my curiosity findings with you. Each month I explore where the Spotlight materials we use at the studio come from. Casting a little imaginary light creates space for more inspiration and awareness about the things around us every day.

This month we focus on Fabric. Of all the genres we look at throughout the year, Fabric is the one that spans such an array of manifestations. From ribbon, to shirting, to coats to shoes to carseat covers, fabric has us covered.

As for where fabric comes from, the old category breakdown of Animal, Vegetable or Mineral seems to fit as the root sources. I found a short YouTube video from Don’t Memorise that provides a good overview on Fabric.

Stay tuned throughout the month at I explore the Fabric and it’s realm through our creative ways to reuse.

Jemma W.
Owner

painted rocks

This summer make painting rocks top notch on your activity list, but that’s not all. Let painting rocks lead to continued family fun.
Explore our list of activities for added learning, playing, exploring, connecting and discovering this summer. Let them continue throughout the summer to truly enjoy the simple gifts they have to offer.

  • Learn about the history of painting- who painted first? Hint- they used rocks.
  • Learn about how rocks are formed by the earth and what rocky varieties there are.
  • Paint rocks to create games like tic-tac-toe or hop scotch that can be played throughout the summer.
  • Turn your painted rocks into a garden sculpture for the whole neighborhood to enjoy.
  • Hide your painted rocks around the neighborhood for other people to find. Use a sharpie to mark the back of your rocks with the city you live in such as @westlakevillagerocks
  • Try painting rock pets that each family member can care for over the summer. Talk about those processes over dinner.

The great thing about painting rocks is how it’s fun for any age. All these activities are thoughtfully made with toddlers to seniors in mind.
I hope they create feel good summer memories for your family.

-Jemma
Founder/Owner

Art in a box

Our Eco Craft Kits are just the thing for ongoing summer fun.

As they open each packed box, they tap into their natural curiosity to explore it’s contents. Inspiration strikes and avid creating ensues like magic.

They are are perfect for play dates with neighbors (pictured here). They are a great go-to for down time at home or for your next road trip too!

Hand packed with tons of our favorite recycled and crafty materials lasting way beyond a one time use.

We’ve even include a little note just for kids. They’re invited to find additional recycled materials around them, expanding their creativity into ongoing play.

We think these kits are a must for the lazy vibe of summer days.
Order yours today!

What’s the word

Black lives matter.

I saw this sign as I made my donation pick-up rounds last week. You may wonder why I am sharing it here, on an art studio’s blog. After all, it’s a personal point of view?
I see it as a piece of art, speaking plainly, about the times we’re in. Isn’t that what art does? Communicates the times.

This sign gives us an opportunity to process, to think, ultimately to talk with others about the issues of today. Talk with our families, our friends. Where do we stand in relation to it. Are we for it or against? Why? Talking about it is good. It’s honest. This is what art does. It sparks us.

We may all believe different things but the truth is underneath it all we are all connected to one another through the invisible thread of humanity.

In this sign, art is imitating life. I hope we can talk about that.

We come to you

We think it’s great.

Mobile making with CReATE is our new approach to art into our community.

Yesterday I provided a small social distance gathering for one of our CReATE Families and a few neighborhood kids who’d spent the last few months together.

It was so good to start creating again, watching kids explore materials that inspired them, then creating to their hearts content. They were busy and engaged throughout my time with them which felt like we had never stopped creating together.

When our time together done I was talking to the host parent. He wondered if I needed to bring all the things that I did? “it’s my goal to provide you a studio experience at home”., he replied, “oh, you have done that”. What may seem like a simple response from him felt like a huge compliment for my efforts to bring families and the community at large the studio we’ve always known studio four walls.

Anywhere four wheels can go we’ll be there to provide a creative experience. Whether it be outside, in the shade, under the stars or even indoors I am excited about where we can be. Fresh air is a favorite of mine and a huge part of my mobile inspiration, a little like art in nature.

On the Move

At Least in spirit.

Our wheels aren’t rolling just yet but we’ve got forward creative momentum. “Those who move forward with a happy spirit will find that things always work out”-Unknown.

We are excited to partner with the City of Malibu and our friends at Little Fox Yoga to bring artful yoga fun to little ones later this month. We’re continuing our Eco Art Zoom workshops through the end of June and posting weekly creating at home projects on YouTube too. We’re also hosting our annual Camp CReATE summer camp weeks, in July in partnership with the City of Agoura Hills.

Before long we hope to get back to celebrating birthdays, hosting Family Fun experiences at Libraries and Museums and eventually school campus activities.

We’ll all get back to many of the good things we love over time. For now though we at CReATE plan to roll with the flow in spirit at first and then, with all wheels on the ground. Check out out happenings page for up to date events and experiences we’ll be traveling to.

Learn more about our mobile story here.

Patience

We have been in a Covid 19 swirl of change, loss, sickness, growth, uncertainty and creativity for the last two plus months.

The pandemic has certainly been a force behind our mobile “pivot”, as Ross Geller of Friends would say. I realize that patience is our calling as phase two of California’s reopening process unfolds.

I am anxious to start creating again but the time is not quite right. Our nerves are tender, we’re feeling cautious. I’ll be ready when our families can gather, our rec facilities can reopen and we’ll feel ready to reassemble in some revised way. CReATE will be there, on the go and popping up to share creative time with our communities. I am excited for that time but patient for the process as we continue to take things one day at a time.

In the meantime we’ll continue to see one another virtually. I am grateful for that option and always warm hearted at the sights, sounds and prospects of kids and families creating together.
Learn more about our mobile pivot here.

Jemma W. Owner

Today is a gift

So let’s make one.

Whenever I feel uncertain about things I look to quotes for comfort. There is always something that speaks to brighter days that lifts me up. Today as I pondered some of my favorite quotes, I came to this jewel by Eleanor Roosevelt. “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That is why they call it the present.”

She always knew what to say and this quote is no exception. As we navigate this uncharted time I appreciate her poignant quote. In fact, it inspired me to think win win. Here’s an opportunity to enjoy the gift of today and make a gift today for someone else! That’ll be three gifts on one. The gift of the day itself, the gift of giving and the gift of receiving a gift!

One of the things I loved to do as a child was to make gifts for my parents and friends. Today my fellow parents, your kids can too. The feeling from creating for someone will have a lasting effect of goodness and the day will have proven itself to indeed be a gift.

Creating is such a useful avenue of self expression. Eleanor shared her creativity with us in the way she used her words and more. I hope her words inspire your family to. Make this day a gift to share.

Jemma W.
Owner

Mindfully Speaking

I don’t know about you but I need to focus on positive experiences.
There is so much information arising daily. Managing this Pandemic is a full time job that is tiring.
That’s where mindfulness comes into play. Its self preservation, an act of self respect really.

As Jon Kabat Zinn said, “Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience”. Doing something creative has always been a go to get myself into the present moment and out of the past or worse, the impending future.

Before having children, I did wardrobe in the film business. Stress and future tripping were easy roads to take when clothing was needed yesterday or we were coming in over budget. A costume designer I worked for had a great escape from the stress of our department. She would disappear from the set to the wardrobe trailer and color in kid coloring books she had stashed to calm herself down.

I always thought that was a healthy self preservation tool. Now, I turn to this idea in the biggest future tripping era I try daily not to experience.

I have a mindful coloring book that is on the small side. I lack the patience to color inside the tiny lines of it, though I know that causes focus, the intention for it. I decided to take a creative spin on coloring it, instead painting the page with watercolor. Painting instead of coloring proved to be a great alternative for me.

Try it yourself. If you have a coloring book at home, even a princess coloring book, it can work. Grab a watercolor set and start painting. It’s sure to bring you right to the present moment, mindfully.