MAY NEWSLETTER HAS ARRIVED!

April Newsletter!

Easter Goodies from Etsy.......

Eggs, hot cross buns, bunnies....its that time of year again. Bakers Delight have a lot to answer for - those Choc Mocha buns are devilish!

For some Easter goodies that wont add inches to your waistline -here are some beauties I found recently:


Bon Bon Bunny by Tumus


Easter nest pendant by The Man Trap


Bunny Tea Towel by Artgoodies


Chick Mini circle tags by Pacokeco


Have a safe and happy easter everyone....and consume chockies responsibly ;-)

Recap on the Stitches and Craft show 2009 - Melbourne 10-14 March

This year marked the very first show organized by Living Creatively - and judging by the comments on many of the blogs who reported on the event - it seems they did a fantastic job!

The show in Melbourne was held at the Melbourne Showground and unlike past shows they put a fresh spin on what many thought in the past was a 'tired and cluttered' show (having been to a couple of the Sydney shows in the past, I tend to agree).

So you can imagine how super excited I am to see what treasures the show will hold this year when it hits Sydney. A group of us plan on going this year to check it out. So put these dates in your diary and look out for further details regarding our 'meet up'

Sydney Stitches and Craft show : Rosehill Gardens 19-23 August.
Brisbane Stitches and Craft show: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre 29 April to 3 May

Here are some pretty pictures courtesy of Julie Knoblock's blog:





To check out more photos from the show on flickr click here.

MARCH NEWSLETTER HAS ARRIVED!

Join our brand spanking new FACEBOOK group!

Ladies - we have created a brand new Facebook Group. An invitation has been sent to all of you. We hope you join. This will make it much much easier for us to share the happenings and exciting activities we have planned for Creative Fusion! We are both working very hard to get as many of you involved so that we can all share and inspire each other.

As mentioned in our first newsletter, we plan to have interviews with members, some group challenges, competitions and ofcourse, always share as much information as possible to help you all to start and develop your creativity.

We also encourage you all to participate in the group. Add comments and links and also if you want to share photos, please let us know.

xox
claudes and lin

For the Kids

This weekend I'm excited to watch a documentary about a young girl who was brought up on her father's old schooner, travelling around the world from age 5 onward. It made me think of school in the traditional sense, and how we really cannot rely on it to raise expressive and creative children.

Many of us are mothers, carers or have little ones in our lives. And what a huge job it is to know that you are a great influence in this little person's life.

In the traditional sense, children learn all sorts of skills, as well as behaviour by interacting with others at school. Some schools even encourage children in their weekly, or daily art exploration.

Here are some ways you can help those little beings in your life to continue the process of creation at home, where they are most relaxed and are available to create what they enjoy:

- Offer a base from which the child can grow, such as discussing with them your own creative childhood adventures with the paintbrush, the mud pies or the lego.

- Let them colour, but let them go outside the lines :) How often have we been told to colour within the lines? Perhaps that statement really meant something deeper.

- Get excited about rites of passage, religious/pagan festivals, birthdays, etc. and start a project for one with your child. Having a date to work towards encourages the child to finish their project.

- Encourage your child to go handmade at gift giving times. Bring back the importance of having a gift which means something, rather than one you give with a receipt in case it's wrong.

- With Autumn here, go frolicking in the falling leaves and plan a project for the cooler months with your child. You'd be amazed with what they can see when finding objects.

- Most importantly, display your children's work. Not only will they be proud of something they have created, it will encourage them to create more. Of course, the many pages they give us with 'I love you mum' or 'this is me this is mum this is dad this is cat' don't always fit on the fridge! Perhaps sit down one day and collate these with your child into a big book they can always add to or flip through. And presto you have a history of their work, and can see their artistic growth through the years.

Spread creativity to your children and enjoy your little beings!

Lin x