Creative Reads: Books to Inspire

It’s not easy to be creative sometimes. We’ve all had days when the kids are home from school, their friends are over, and we can’t think of a thing to do that hasn’t been done before. It’s our opinion that what’s fun for the kids should also be fun for the parents – at least kinda fun.

We’re guessing that we aren’t the only parents who get creative block being that there are so many great books out there to help inspire us. Here are a few that we’ve pulled out lately.

“The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections” by Amanda Blake Soule

This fabulous book chock-full of easy projects as well as tips for creating a home and lifestyle that oozes creativity. It reminds us all that kids thrive in an creative environment, and creativity can be as simple as writing and decorating thank you cards or drawing up plans for a backyard garden.

The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule

“101 Places You Gotta See Before You’re 12!” by Joanne O’Sullivan

This book wouldn’t be categorized as a typical “creativity” book, it has ideas for places to go that are sure to drive your kids to be creative, think about things a little differently, and marvel at the natural and manmade world. Though some of the places to see are lofty, like “An Ancient City” or “An Olympic Training Center,” there are many more everyday places, like “A First-Rate Secondhand Store” or “An Ethnic Restaurant.” All are places that inspire ideas and conversations – plus there’s a pocket in the front of the book for souvenirs, and the book comes with stickers like “awesome adventure” and “way strange” to keep track of where you’ve been.

101 Places You Gotta See Before You're 12! by Joanne O'Sullivan

“Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond the Unexpected” by Claudine Hellmuth

This book may seem a bit above of the average kid’s ability level, but with a little help from mom (or dad), there are some really fun things that can be had from this gem. Claudine Hellmuth is a master at collage (we wish we were half as good as she is) who uses everything from paper and wood to buttons and fabric. She gives detailed instructions on creating unique, customizable art. If you’re not quite ready for full-on art, take a few pieces of her ideas to create fun things like paper dolls or Valentines.

Collage Discovery Workshop by Claudine Hellmuth

“Photocraft: Cool Things to Do with the Pictures You Love” by Caroline Herter, Laurie Frankel and Laura Lovett

We don’t know a kid who doesn’t love taking photos. With the ease of digital cameras these days, the kids can snap away and actually get some great shots. (We apologize to our parents who had to shell out so much to have our crazy photos of our stuffed animals developed at the drugstore. Sorry!) But if you are like us, most of the photos just sit in the computer and seldom get looked at. “Photocraft” will change that. There are plenty of projects to choose from, and many are suitable for kids to take a stab at – like the Jewel Case Display or the Accordion-Fold Book.

Photocraft by Caroline Herter, Laurie Frankel and Laura Lovett

What books inspire you and your kids? Let us know and we’ll include them in a future post.

Cool Birthday Party Ideas

In our opinion, it’s never too early to start thinking about our kids’ birthday parties. We have one that will be turning seven in June, but, heck, when a good idea befalls us, we better be ready to jot it down or the idea will be lost amongst the many piles in our brains.

While trolling through some of our favorite blogs today, we came across some really cool ideas and thought we’d share.

First up…the imprintables blog, a blog by the Australian creator of imprintables invitations. The Sydney mum (we love how they say “mum”) started the blog to inspire creativity into children’s parties. Well, inspired we are! Check out this face painting…

Face painting by Australia's Face Focus

How cool would it be to have an animal-themed party and do face painting like this?! Do you think Face Focus would make a trek to the States?

For the younger set, check out this coloring-themed party from Kensington Blue. There are a bazillion beautiful photos of the party on the blog to get your creative juices flowing.

Ella's Coloring Birthday Party on Kensington Blue

Or perhaps a bakery-themed party like Kate’s Bakery Party on the Over Cocktails blog. Each of the girls received an apron with their name embroidered on it when they arrived, decorated gingerbread houses and cookies, and took home their goodies in bakery boxes and bags.

Kate's Bakery Party on Over Cocktails

Sometimes our kids give us grief about having a winter birthday – can’t play games outside, too cold, blah, blah, blah. But really, there’s no reason that we can’t have fun in the snow. How does sledding, snowball fights, snow angels, and hot cocoa sound? Veronica Reeve shared her daughter’s Brrrrthday Party on her blog.

Brrrrthday Party on Veronica Reeve Photography Blog

And of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention how much fun we have using our Color Me House playhouses and rockets at our kids’ parties. Have a space-themed party complete with Color Me House rocket, games like Hot Moon Rock (like Hot Potato) and Saturn’s Ring Toss, and MoonPies for snacks.

What theme parties have you thrown for your kids? Let us know your ideas, and we’ll share them in an upcoming post!

Blue Butterfly Campaign Takes Off

A few weeks back, we introduced you to our friend Jayne Dearborn who used art therapy as part of her healing after losing her son to Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a form of childhood leukemia that has a staggeringly high mortality rate. Art therapy helped Jayne grow both personally and professionally. Her creativity poured out, and she started JayneMax, a fabulous handbag business.

In addition to JayneMax, she started Max’s Blue Butterfly, a non-profit organization created to raise money for research to find a cure for AML. The Blue Butterfly Campaign, initiated by Max’s Blue Butterfly, provides an online resource directory as a helping hand for the families and friends of children with cancer. It’s a fabulous organization that comes straight from Jayne’s heart.

We know how important it is to both raise awareness of diseases like AML, as well as raise funds, so Color Me House is excited to be a sponsor of the 1st Annual Blue Butterfly Campaign Golf Tournament which will be held on August 27, 2010 at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, Oregon. Langdon Farms is a beautiful golf course, and the day promises to be a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children with leukemia. So if you live in the area and want to join us, please do!

Perfectly Simple

On our quest for creative ways to engage our kids, we ran across a “family” of blogs that help satisfy our never-ending thirst for ideas: Simple Kids, Simple Mom, Simple Nest, Simple Home School, and the soon-to-be Simple Bites and Simple Organic. Simply put, the blogs offer up practical advice on ways to make life simple. Boy, there’s a lot of simplicity going on!

Simple Kids’ tagline is “uncomplicated parenting in a complex world.” We like that. The Simple Kids blog not only has creative ways to have fun with your kids (One of our favs: “20 Activities Under $10″) but offers articles on how to build character, reading ideas, and kid-friendly food (like “Finger Food: 11 Ideas for Breakfast and Snacks”).

We got these blogs bookmarked and can’t wait for the new ones to open shop later this year!

A Creative Friend is a Good Friend to Have

If you’d had a chance to look at our Facebook photo album “Design Ideas,” then you may be familiar with Jennifer McCollum. Jen is a good friend of ours who is constantly impressing us with her creativity. She’s such an inspiring person, we thought you’d like to get to know her a little better…

Jennifer McCollum

What is your art/craft background?

I have taught art classes to children of all ages for approximately 5 years. I love it! My current degree is in International Business but my true passion is the arts. I am working right now on going back to school to get another degree in the arts.

Color Me House Rocket painted by Jen McCollum

What is one of your favorite art projects to do with kids?

Wow, I am not sure I have just one. I love anything that allows children to use their creativity and express themselves. It could be as simple as ripping paper and having them build a tree or using buttons to make a mosaic. Paper plates are wonderful and can be made into all types of animals and birds.

I like using all types of items to have them express their inner artist. It is so interesting to see how they can all start with the same tools, and yet they all end up with something completely different from each other. Each piece shows a piece of their personality, an expression of themselves. You can see it clear as day when a project is finished.

Do you have a favorite holiday project?

At Christmas time, with my girls, I love to make gingerbread houses. Half the time my kids and I eat more candy than we put on the house. It is not just about the project, it is also about the time we spend together. I also like making angels and ornaments for the tree. This is something parents can keep forever. The projects I love tend to be more about the process than anything else. As long as a project is made with love, it is perfect no matter how it turns out.

Color Me House Playhouse painted my Jennifer McCollum

What makes the Color Me House Playhouse and Rocket a good creative outlet for kids?
I love Color Me House! This is a perfect creative outlet for a child where not only are they expressing themselves with their creativity but also using their imagination. It is a blank canvas, just waiting to molded into a whole new world. It can be made into a castle, a clubhouse, a jungle, a horse stable, just about anywhere their imagination can take them. As a parent I can say that my kids love to work on their Color Me House. I also love drawing and painting on it too. It is something we do together and share lots of laughs and giggles.

You can check out Jen’s blog for more inspiring ideas!

Healing Power of Art

We believe that art and creativity play a crucial role in the development of children. That’s one of the reasons that we created Color Me House – to be a part of that development is so exciting to us! But not only is art a development tool it can also be a therapeutic tool.

According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is “based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight.” Phew – art sure can do a lot!

Our friend Jayne Dearborn is proof that art therapy can change your life. In 2001, Jayne lost her son Max after a triumphant battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a form of childhood leukemia that has a staggeringly high mortality rate. While trying to find a something different as part of her healing process she turned to art. First it was watercolor painting – though she found it calming and relaxing, she admitted to us that she just wasn’t very good at it. Then she tried pastels – again, not the best. Then several people mentioned the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron. Since the book kept coming up in conversation, Jayne took it as a sign that she should read it.

Thank goodness she did! The combination of spirituality and art really clicked for Jayne. One of the “assignments” in the book was to go on an “artist date.” Jayne went to a fabric store. (I hear bells going off and light bulbs being turned on!) Handbags. “I can make handbags,” Jayne said to herself. She began by using part of Max’s bedroom as a studio, both as a way to connect with him and with her creativity. Five years later, Jayne started a handbag company, JayneMax. Voila! Art therapy at work!

JayneMax On the Town Evening Bag

“It’s healed me on many levels,” says Jayne. “I’m finding I can do things I never thought I could do before.” It’s important for Jayne to remember her inspiration  - Max. So JayneMax has a non-profit element to it, Max’s Blue Butterfly, that supports research for AML. A portion of JayneMax’s profit go to Max’s Blue Butterfly.

For Jayne, it’s been a path of healing, personal growth and professional growth.

Yeah, art!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Just a quick note to let you all know that we have appreciated all the support, comments and advice that you’ve given us throughout the year. Color Me House is such an important part of our lives that it means the world to us that it has been so well received. We’ve got lots of fun stuff in store for 2010, so stay tuned!

Happy Holidays to all!

How Cool Are These?

We have a very creative friend named Jen who has done some amazing work on our playhouses and rockets. We know everyone isn’t quite the artist Jen is, but we hope these give you and your kids some inspiration!

We’ve posted more ideas on our Facebook Fan Page - check them out here.

Dreaming of a Green Christmas

“Go green” is used all the time these days, but it sure sounds best when you’re talking about the holidays. (You know green and red…OK, corny, we know.) But really, it only makes sense to us to try to make some subtle changes to our holiday traditions to help out the environment a little.

We just love the Planet Green website. We find it to be a wonderful resource for all things “green.” Their How to Go Green series is full of good and easy tips. We think the How to Go Green: Holidays is especially good.

From trimming the tree with LED lights to sending greeting cards that can be turned into ornaments (or better yet, send email cards) or giving gifts of experience (like concert tickets or spa treatments), we think we can make some valuable changes to our traditions – without sacrificing the joy of the season.

Hope you join us!

Playing Elf in NW Portland

We were in doing a little holiday shopping this afternoon in Northwest Portland and popped into Child’s Play, a cute little neighborhood toy store, and what should we see right inside the front door…a Color Me Rocket! It’s so fun to see the rockets and playhouses when we’re out and about. It was cool because they let the kids color on the Rocket while moms and dads are shopping. It was great to see the little ones go in and out of the Rocket. One cute little girl even said she was going to ask Santa for a Rocket. Hmmm. Maybe we can talk to the big man at the North Pole about a quantity discount!

Child's Play in Northwest Portland

If you live in the Portland area, you should check out Child’s Play. It’s not a huge place, but it has a great selection of quality toys. We picked up a few things for the kiddies on our lists! Plus, NW 23rd is a fabulous area for other things like chocolate – we took our friends to Moonstruck Chocolate for a little after shopping treat!

If you have other favorite toy shops, we’d love to hear about them!