Create With Kids

A new series! This one combines two things we love-- creating and our kids! I get a little sentimental in the middle of this post-- forgive me! Scroll down to the bottom for details about guest posting opportunities and how you can get involved! 

A while back a friend of mine posted this on the MIH facebook page:

I was floored for two reasons:

1. Karen is a creative mothering genius. She and her daughter have a ton of fun together. I've hit her up for help so many times since Ishaan was born and I'm completely in awe that she would ask me anything!

2. Um... don't we sew to get away from our kids? Just kidding... not really... :)

 I've talked a bit about how I sew when I'm stressed, or just to have a little time for myself. At the end of a busy week (or day), I often shut myself up in a room sans kids and just let the sound of the machine drown out all the whining, fighting and shouting. By the time I emerge, I'm refreshed and ready to face them again with a genuine smile on my face and my 'patience tank' refilled. There. I said it:

Sewing makes me a better mom.

But my kiddos are creative, and they love to do what mama does. They play with fabric, steal scraps from my sewing room and pretend to sew and knit. And the truth is, I don't just want to encourage their creativity, I want to share what I love doing with them.

So with a little prompting from Karen, I decided to give sewing with Ishaan and Amaani a shot.

And you know what? We had a blast! You can probably guess that those sweet little bears were our first project. Well... we had so much fun that we couldn't stop!

The Details: 

I'm going to be sharing those bears and a few other kid friendly projects each Wednesday in August. This round we'll be focusing on sewing, and I hope to be focusing on other crafts as the year goes on. The focus will be on making items with your kids-- not necessarily teaching them how to sew. I'll also include tips about using a sewing machine safely around your preschoolers and toddlers!

Have a great idea for a post? If you are excited about this topic as I am, give me a shout out about doing a guest post-- any creating with kids works-- it doesn't have to be about sewing.

And... (and this is big news, people) I finally figured out how to use hashtags! I think.  'er... I hope. To join us on social media-- facebook, instagram, pinterest, twitter, etc.... use the hashtag #createwithkids!

I'll be um... watching? listening? reading? chatting? (does anyone know the correct slang?) on that hashtag, and I'll highlight all of your awesome work througout the week.

I'm thrilled about this series... and so are my kids! We had so much fun creating together, I'm so glad to have a reason to do more!