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Parenting

Changes

February 28, 2012 By Terri Thompson

I was busy yesterday! I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want my blog to look and operate.
Yesterday, I took the plunge and started redesigning. I hope the new design will make my blog easier for you to navigate and find what you are looking for.

Another BIG change I’m sure you noticed was the name.

I’ll be transitioning from the name My Creative Family to Creative Family Fun.

Why? This is actually something I’ve thought about since my blog was a few months old. I love the name My Creative Family, but it didn’t quite fit with what I wanted my blog to ultimately be.

When I decided to buy my own domain, the decision to change the name became much clearer. My Creative Family wasn’t available!

So, I purchased creativefamilyfun.net with the knowledge that I would be changing the name in the future.

So, now is the time! What does that mean for you? If you’re following me through subscription, Twitter, or Pinterest, nothing will change. The only thing that will change is my Facebook page. Unfortunately, Facebook will not let me change the name, so I’ll have to make a new Facebook page (scary!).

I would really appreciate it if you would click though and “like” my new page: Creative Family Fun on Facebook. I will be operating both Facebook pages until people have had the opportunity to transition to the new one. I hope you’ll join me there!

Thanks for coming along on this fun and exciting journey with me!

Weekends: The Handwritten Note

February 25, 2012 By Terri Thompson

This weekend, it’s time to slow down a bit and re-discover a lost art, the handwritten note.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m horrible at writing notes. I’d love to be better at it, so I thought I’d help myself along.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

For inspiration, I found the book The Art of the Handwritten Note: A Guide to Reclaiming Civilized Communication by Margaret Shepherd. The book talks about the many reasons why it’s important to write a note and talks about the different types of notes you may find yourself writing. It touches on the thank you note, condolence note, congratulations note, the love note, and many others.

To help get inspired to write, I made some pretty note cards.

I don’t have step-by-step photos to show you the process, but it was very easy. I trimmed the front edge with my fancy-edged scissors, then cut some thin grosgrain ribbon to run across the bottom. I applied it with regular white glue. So easy and so cute!

I feel a little bit more equipped to write a handwritten note now. But, I wanted to make this as easy on myself as possible.

After I saw this post on The Sleepy Time Gal, I knew I needed a writing basket. I filled it with various note cards. I have thank you cards, blank cards, and even small pieces of card stock just in case the mood strikes to be artistic. I found a small notebook and turned it into an address book, so I wouldn’t have the excuse of not having an address. I also keep pens and pretty stamps in here, so I’m all ready to go.

The writing basket sits on my bedside table as reminder to sit down and write a note. It’s a nice reminder and something I hope I make more of an effort to do.

I’ll leave you with a quote I found in the book:

“Behold me going to write you as handsome a letter as I can. Wish me luck.”
Jane Austen to Francis Austen 1813

What are you doing this weekend?

Weekends: Declutter & Create a Donation Bin

February 18, 2012 By Terri Thompson

Happy weekend! Are you ready to do something for yourself?

Let’s do a bit of decluttering and create a donation bin to help keep that clutter from taking over your life.

Now, I know this doesn’t sound super-creative or even all that exciting, but hear me out.

This is worth all the time and work. You will feel better, refreshed, and much more organized when you’re done. Believe me, I felt pretty good about myself when I finished.

I spent the weekend weeding through my closet and even recruited my husband to do the same.

We ended up with about three boxes full of clothes to donate and another box of clothes that needed recycling.

And yes, we did enjoy ourselves and had some good conversation while we were at it.

Recruit your children to do the same! Freshen up your house or your closets and help others out at the same time.

How do you decide what can be donated and what should be recycled?

Donate anything that is: clean, in good repair, and free of any stains.

If it has holes, stains, or just looks worn out, it needs to be recycled.

Fold it all neatly and pack it in either boxes or bags. Do you really want to donate a bad full of wadded up clothes? No, I didn’t think so!

Now let’s make that donation bin.

What is the purpose of the donation bin? It’s a place where you can put things that need to be donated as you find them.

Instead of putting those clothes that your kids have outgrown into a drawer, add it to the donation bin.

Once it fills up, it’s time to take a trip to the donation center.

I used the donation bin as an excuse to go shopping, that part’s not necessary… but it is fun.

After wandering the aisles of my favorite home improvement store pondering all the cute baskets and bins I could buy, I came to the realization that I was going to have to find something with a lid.

You see, I have a pretty black cat who really likes to sleep in baskets. Her favorites baskets are ones that are big with something soft in them.

So, big plastic bin with a lid… welcome to my house.

Find something cute, but most of all practical, and set it aside for a donation bin.

I labeled mine with a simple sign taped on the top. Make sure the family knows where you are keeping it and what the purpose is for.

I decided to put mine in the laundry room. It’s out of the way, yet easily accessible.

Now that you’ve decluttered and made your donation bin, you’ve got two things left to do.

1. Take a trip to the donation center and drop everything off.

2. Relex, celebrate, go out for ice cream, enjoy your family!

Working together to take care of your home and to help each other is always rewarding. And, your kids are never to young to participate!

How are you planning on spending your weekend?

Weekends Are For… Grownups?!?

February 12, 2012 By Terri Thompson

If you notice, the name of my blog is My Creative Family and almost everything I blog about is for the kids, activities for kids, crafts for kids, games for kids. We do a lot for our kids, don’t we? It’s easy to get lost in that. I know I find myself doing that all the time, thinking only of the kids and forgetting about myself in the process. It’s easy to do. But, hopefully, I’ve found a remedy for that. I’m claiming weekends and you should too!

I’m not proposing you ship the kids off for the weekend or ignore them completely. I’d like to show you ways to do something for yourself, something a bit more “grown-up,” but still involve the kids. Because, after all, we’re part of the same family.

I’ll be steering away from the child-centered posts on Saturdays and give you ideas for you… the grown-ups in the family. Whether you’re a parent, a grandparent or a child-care worker, I hope you’ll find ways to enrich your life and the whole family’s life. I want My Creative Family to include the entire family.

Each weekend idea will have a theme, with ideas surrounding that theme. We’ll declutter and make a donation station. We’ll explore a new hobby. We’ll spend a weekend exercising outdoors. We’ll rejuvenate, renew, and reinvent.

I invite you to join along!

Top 11 Favorite Posts of 2011

December 30, 2011 By Terri Thompson

Yesterday, I gave my top 10 most popular posts according to page views.

Today, I want to share my favorite posts that did not make it into the top 10. Some are from the early days of my blog and others are more recent.

While putting together this post, I realized I’ve only been blogging in this space since June – wow! It’s been so much fun and I can’t wait for the year to come!

I love all the projects we’ve done and just couldn’t narrow it down to 10, So here they are, my top 11 favorite posts of 2011.

11. We spent a day observing, playing with and doing simple science experiments with ice. They’re all here in this post: ice play.

10. I set out all the parts to make a mask and let the girls come up with their own creations. I love this post because it was child-led and I loved to see the creations the girls came up with. Check it out here: making masks.

9. We had a lot of fun learning about Japan and one of the crafts we did at that time were these recycled kokeshi dolls.

8. We played outside a lot and one of the fun things we did was this driveway obstacle course made only with sidewalk chalk.

7. I love books and so do my girls. I’ve been having a lot of fun coming up with craft projects to go along with some of the books we read. Here is one based on one of my favorite books for my childhood: The Little House Book and Craft.

6. We love pretend play and the girls absolutely loved this pretend snack bar we set up!

5. I stepped outside my comfort zone and let my 4-year-old use a glue gun while crafting. Check out a girl and a glue gun to see our creations!

4. After seeing so many inspiring pictures of story stones, I decided to make a set for the girl. They were simple stones made with only rocks and a Sharpie. Here are our story stones.

3. A pivotal point for me was participating in the Creative Christmas Countdown along with a group of talented and inspiring kid bloggers. Here is my post about giving back and helping others.

2. I love a good scavenger hunt and we had a great time with our backyard scavenger hunt!

1. Well, it’s time for my favorite post and I’m not telling you yet! Come back on January 2nd and I’ll reveal my favorite post.

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