Goodness in the Mail

Wednesday, upon returning home from Santa Barbara, I was anxiously on the watch for the arrival of the long anticipated The Creative Family by my beloved Soulemama. I love Soulemama's blog--she is always so inspiring in her natural lifestyle and the way she raises her children, and her photos are gorgeous. I've had this book on preorder for months so was thrilled to finally see the UPS man pull up to my house Wednesday afternoon. I got a chance to sit down with it that night--the book is delightful and lovely, but definitely different than what I was expecting. For one thing, it's so small! I was visualizing that it would be a large format paperback like Bend the Rules Sewing, but it's just 6 1/2 x 8". Soulemama's blog seems so larger than life so I expected the book to be large too. I was also surprised there aren't more of her gorgeous and inspiring photos. The writing style is more subdued too--or more formal. Nonetheless, I love the theme of the book, which is nurturing creativity not only in your children but in the entire family. She encourages the parents to draw and play and write too--not just the children. I love that. And I'm a big believer in the importance of creativity. I've always believed I'm not in the least creative, but Soulemama says we all are (this is something Ken and I talk about sometimes--he sees creativity only as coming up with something truly original. I say, if you are creating something, isn't that being creative?). The book is full of sweet and simple ideas for adding creative pursuits to family life. There's a great list of resources too--websites and other books for supplies and more inspiration. Good stuff.
So yesterday I decided to jump right in and make something from the book. This is from the section called "Gathering" under the chapter heading "Being Resourceful." (By the way, I love how she has the book arranged into sections, Gathering, Playing, Living and Connecting). This is the Fabric Basket. The idea is to give the toddler a basket with a collection of fabric scraps of different textures and colors. I don't have any silk or wool to include at the moment, but I did rustle up some corduroy, flannel and linen as well as some cottons for the little guy. Here he is in action:


Thanks for all your kind and supportive comments and e-mails this last week. Rainer's illness is definitely a marathon and a journey, but it certainly is nice to have some good news for a change. I don't expect to get more test results until Monday. Meanwhile, he's tired, a little cranky, still super weak, but mostly in good spirits because he has such a great little nature. Have a good weekend, everyone.