How to Paint a Watercolor Butterfly Has learning to paint what you see in nature been on your list for a while? Today I'm going to show you how to paint watercolor butterfly and moths even if you are the newest beginner. This is one of those projects that looks so hard but is really fun and easy! You might also enjoy the snail tutorial I made for you HERE. Watercolor is such a great medium because it's so versatile and dries quickly making ...
Parenting and Kids
Watercolor Flower Heart Tutorial for Beginners
This is one of those projects that looks so hard but is really easy! Seriously. Easy. Watercolor is such a great medium because it's so versatile and dries quickly making it easy to get a whole stack of gifts done in less than an hour. This is one of four tutorials/patterns I've made this year for YOU this February. If you'd like to see the rest just go here, here, and here. All of the patterns are available in the Resource Library. If you ...
Phenology Wheel – Nature Journaling Prompt for Beginners – Bullet Journal or Art Journal
How to Make Your Own Phenology Wheel for Your Nature Journal, Bullet Journal or Art Journal I'm always looking for easy but effective ways to get myself and my children out in nature, recording what we are experiencing together. So when I saw these posts from Lynn Seddon at Raising Little Shoots I was pretty excited to start a phenology wheel in 2019! The word Phenology according to the Merriam Webster dictionary means the study of cyclic and ...
Ten Ways Art Helps Me Be A Better Parent
Did you know art makes parenting easier? It really does! And today I'm going to tell you how. Here are ten different ways ART (either appreciating or making) has helped me with parenting and helped my kids with life. Quick Note: Before I start I want to invite you to the Lily and Thistle Resource Library where you will find all kinds of great resources and join our community of Creative, Intentional Moms. If you'd like to include more art ...
Why Cleaning Makes You More Creative
I swear some of my best ideas happen when I'm hunched over the toilet bowl with a scrubber. Maybe it's because I subconsciously want to be in another place? I've thought about this phenomenon (while cleaning) and wondered why for me, cleaning and creative epiphanies seem to always go together. So I did a bit of research (aka: I googled it). Why Cleaning Aids Creativity Turns out, I'm not alone! According to science, creativity and menial ...
Loose Parts – The Ultimate Learning Toys
Am I the only one who spends hours reading toy reviews and guides at Christmas or birthday time - determined to find the ultimate toy for my kids and my pocketbook? I'm always sure I'll find that perfect toy that will engage my kid's minds and bodies and make them magically want to leave their ever calling screens behind. Lately, I've found that I don't have to go far or spend much. In fact, some of the best toys of all time both for cognitive ...
How Time In Nature Helps Me Be A Better Mom
We all want it. That deep assurance that "today I truly connected with my child". That knowing smile between mother and child; the shared experience carved deep in our hearts and minds. It can be so elusive in our distraction-filled world. But I have found a secret to making those moments happen more often - even daily. The secret is so simple, requires no money and actually very little time. The secret is simply exploring ...
Chronos and Kairos – Measuring Time When the Days are Long
From the Archives January 2012 The twins just had a birthday. Four years old now. I will spare you the "I can't believe they have grown up so fast" commentary because it has gone fast but in a lot of ways it has been slow too. Today I have been thinking about what my life has been these last four years. It's easy to sit here in my quiet studio and reflect when all of my kids are in bed and it is calm. It's easy to feel ...
How American Girl Helped My Kids Love Reading and History
Our love affair with the American Girl books started with a desire to get the twins excited about reading on their own, for fun. I wanted to find something that would keep their interest and make them want to come back for more. My cousin (who is just enough ahead of me in this parenting journey and oh so wise) told me how great the books are and what she did to encourage her girls. We tried out her advice with great success! A ...
How the Amazon Echo is Saving My Sanity
Am I really doing a whole post about this electronic device? Yes, yes I am. I am not on the Echo advertising team (although I should be...I tell everyone about this!). I just had to share. I'm always looking for ways to simplify so I can have more reserves for creativity. This little device really has helped in that department. The day "Alexa" (this is the Echo's name...kind of like Apple's "Siri") arrived, I inwardly ...
8 Ways Service Can Help Your Kids Become Awesome Adults
I'm always looking for ways to reverse the damage I'm pretty sure I'm doing on a daily basis over here (kidding...kind of). I talk a lot about creativity and nature and how both of these things have really made my job as a parent easier. But, did you ever stop and think that regular, consistent service can make a huge difference in the development of kids? After a bit of research, I found some pretty incredible ways service (at home or in the ...
Teaching Our Children To See Goodness and to Love
In a world full of half-truths about what it means to be successful and happy; It's natural to want our children to be equipped with a deep knowledge that they have value and that they are loved. We want them to be kind and to see the needs of others. To be helpers. I think back on my own upbringing and realize that this was an outlook my parents tried to give me every day in a way that I am just now discovering. There is one memory in ...