Teaching Kids to be Creative

LOS OSOS, CA – Wednesday afternoon – It’s our job to help teach our kids and grandkids the steps to express their creativity!!! I know, I know… we’ve been talking about it for weeks on the Inspired at Home radio show (and for years on the Aleene’s Creative Living television show)  about how important it is to “teach” children to express their creativity.

We often don’t really need to ‘teach’ but to let kids just be who they are and I always find that their creativity just soars. I have found that by simply showing the kids the basics like how to use scissors, how to glue and other simple techniques they just blossom into creative artists.

My grandson Jackson 10, lives close by so he’s often hanging out at our house. Some days he will watch a few TV shows. Sometimes it’s shooting hoops and other times he’ll venture into the studio to be creative.  This past week was the first time he just came into the studio…. looked around and he knew exactly what he wanted to create.

He found a ceramic donkey that was actually from my Mom’s collectible collection (sorry Mom but it went to a great creative cause!). He knew exactly what he wanted …..  put the donkey into a mosaic with grass, a river, a tree, and the sky and ‘”bytw grandma do you have something the donkey can sit on?”

He went about his creative task, gathered up the supplies and went to work gluing tiles into place. At first as he was working on his project he was wanting to use five (or more) different colors of grout.  I didn’t say he couldn’t use that many but simply explained for best results he would have to wait a day for each grout color to set before adding the next. Not wanting to spend that many days on this project (he’s got lots more planned), he finally settled on one color.  He worked on his creation, tile nipping the tiles and then gluing each tile into place, then grouted it. He was SO proud of what he created!!! And for two days no computer and no TV.  Yippeee!!!

Ahhh… the sweet creative life…sharing and teaching kids creativity!! I just love it!!!>>Love Ya! Heidi

PS. Would love to hear any great ‘teaching kids’ to be creative stories!!! Just leave a comment or email me at heidi@inspiredathome.com

Busy in Maryland

GRASONVILLE, MD – Sunday afternoon – Well… I’ve been in Maryland for a little over a week. We’ve been shopping and shopping and making and creating!!! I’m not quite sure how many fairies and fairy houses were magically and lovingly created this week. Yesterday’s Fairy Festival was so much fun! Here’s a picture of Candace’s grandaughters Gabby and Allie. All the kids at this event decorated fairie wings, fairie wands, fairie headwreaths, fairie ponies and romped around the gardens.

My heart mosaic class last week was held on a very rainy – lightning- thunder night…. these brave souls trekked to the studio to spark their creative juices…. then posed for the camera  “can you say mosaic”?

Lots of fun and lots of creative brainstorming ( nothing to do with the lightning and thunder storm or maybe ????)  More photos coming soon.

Until then don’t stop being creative!!! Love Heidi

Heidi’s Newest Mosaic Commission

LOS OSOS, CA – Tuesday morning – Well here it is –  all done –my newest commissioned mosaic. Yippeeeeee!  Well at least my part of the mosaic. Keep in mind I did not have to install or grout this piece. I created the mosaic on tile mesh, then the tile installers at the job site will be attaching it to a wall above my client’s cook top in the kitchen, then they will grout the entire project. This is for a new home in Cambria, California. I will get final photos when the project is complete.

It was a challenging week trying to layout this mosaic. The background tiles were almost 1/2″ thick, therefore I could not nip them with my handy dandy tile nippers.  The letter tiles had a crackle glaze finish…therefore extremely difficult to cut – no again to the tile nippers. Crack… chip… crack errrr!!!  Thank goodness for my friend and fellow stained glass and mosaic artist Nita Overley for letting me borrow her extra ring saw!!! Unfortunately, it was an older extra saw. I ran into difficulties on certain parts that had to be replaced (blade, ring bearing, belt, metal and plastic raceways). All said and done….. it is done and I am grateful.  Lots of lessons learned including pricing  (I’m worth so much more!)…. and I’m going to buy my own ring saw! Yep!! BIG lessons. Lots of Mosaic Love to you! >>Heidi

Inspired Bath!

GRASONVILLE, MD – Wednesday morning – My Creativity Sisters have been mosaicing for years. [Did you see my sister Heidi's pretty plate mosaic blog posting. LOVE IT!  Go here>>

Now, back to me. I'm a newbie at this mosaic stuff and it's definitely something that I could get REALLY happily addicted to.

I found a set of glass canisters at the local consignment store with non-descript metal lids. [The set was only $4 so I couldn't pass it up!]

I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do with them but it didn’t take me long to figure out they would be great to put by my bathtub filled with herbal bath blends and aromatic bath salts.

Then, when I was in the Studio one day staring at the hundreds of jars of mosaic tiles, duh! It came to me that I must mosaic these jar lids in pretty chakra colors.

So, here you have it — my Inspired Bath Jars.  I lined them up and placed the tiles so that the colors flow from one to another.

I cut and glued a few mirror tiles here and there and the alphabet beads were perfect to spell out my inspired words.

I let everything dry overnight and then I grouted.  I love my inspired bath time! Happy soaking >> Tiffany

Creating a Little Magic for Myself!!!

LOS OSOS, CA – Thursday night – Sometimes I just need to create something for myself. It may take me a long time for the process, with all the other projects I have pending, but eventually I get it finished. Here is my most recent mosaic stepping stone!!!!!

A friend of mind gave me a few of these dishes she had purchased at a yard sale. (She had no choice but to give them up — I was practically drooling over them!!) I fell in love with the colors.  So during a stepping  stone class several weeks back (ok.. so it could have been a month or so) I decided to create right along with everyone.  A dinner plate is always perfect to place around the outside edge of a round stepping stone. I carefully nipped my plate for the outside edge.  I glued everything into place without really thinking there had to be a precise pattern…I was just going for the colors. I actually remembered to take a “before the grout” photo. In this photo, the mosaic looks pretty, but in the finished photo above, it looks WOW! It’s amazing how the grout always brings everything together…..like magic!!!

Yep! I’m just creating a little magic for myself! >>Love,  Heidi

Just Had To Share This!

LOS OSOS, CA – Tuesday night – Hey Girls!! I wanted to share this project with you. It was created by Liz, who is a regular student  in my studio. Liz is almost 80….she  is funny, quirky, and very inspiring. She comes to the studio on a regular basis. I look forward to every visit. It’s always fun to assist her with one of her ‘visions’. It  could be mosaic, it could be collage or a little of both. On this particular visit (actually it took several visits) she wanted to make a mosaic with a message and she was going to hang it in her hallway. She was on a creative mission….she brought her mirror,  board, and lots of her life collectables (jewelry-pins-necklaces etc.). She  started to lay out her masterpiece. She glued she grouted and we both said ‘Wow’?!   It truly turned out better than she ever imagined.  By the time she was done, she had even added lots of ceramic cookies and other goodies from my studio shelves.  If you can’t read the saying on the mirror…it says  “Mirror, Mirror on the wall…..What the hell  happened” !!  She just constantly reminds me to laugh at life and enjoy. Isn’t it wonderful to have such a great sense of humor !! Lots of Love and Humor>> Heidi

Almost Spring Cleaning!

LOS OSOS, CA – Friday morning – It seems like weeks since I’ve been here to post (sorry about that Tiffany!)  1st. I have been busy cleaning the studio with the help of granddaughter Savannah (she is on break and home visiting from boarding school).  I love it when she is able to help me. She is such a great cleaner-upper. She will do anything that needs to be done. She even helped paint the outside of the studio awhile back.  I was able to grab her away from friends for a couple of days to help me with some of my projects. I’m just noticing the studio seems to really have a lot of dust especially since our fruit tree orchard is right outside the window. It is something I will have to address in the future. Savannah was able to dust everything and get the shelves back to normal – if that’s possible!!  We also removed a table for extra space. There is actually a corner we could dance in.  The studio is looking great!!

2nd.  I taught my mosaic brick class last night at my studio. Everyone enjoyed the easy-to-do technique. Everyone always has fabulous results. These bricks make really cute door stops or mantle sitters or table art and best of all – anyone can create this do-it-yourself art! Here’s a photo of Savannah and her friend Kendra with Kendra’s brick. Great job Kendra!

3rd. Savannah and I were also able to cut and clean over 600 soda cans to be ready for making into recycled art and jewelry. My hubby Harold cuts the tops and bottoms off with the band saw – yes, that would be 1200 cuts! –  and Savannah and I cut and cleaned them. We then sort them into colors and sizes, place a clean paper towel in between each can and stack them for storage (see photo at left). They are then ready to be cut and shaped into fabulous creations. I make all sorts of jewelry items and wall art from my recycled soda cans! Here are a few examples of what I make with them! PS. I have some of my one-of-a-kind SodaPoppy jewelry available to buy on-line today at the Inspired at Home website. Yes, with over 600 cans needing this preparation, it has been awhile since we had done it not to mention where they were being stored – namely everywhere in my design studio!!

Oh I also gave both my dogs (Dewey and Coco) a bath today! So . . . see, I haven’t been doing nothin’. Just busy with stuff!!

Have a fabulously creative day! >>Heidi