Valentine's to make!

I go a little nuts around Valentine's Day and I have made several things, all will full tutorials, and posted them on the various places I post.

There is this one:

                                                             and the tutorial is here.

And there is this:

with a tutorial here.

And for the kids, there is this:

with the tutorial also here

have fun spreading your love!

xoxo, nicole.

Keeping the creative fire burning in your teenage girls

I recently wrote a piece about nurturing your teenager's creativity here. I think that as I've been watching my daughter grow up - and now she is 5'6", like me, which is weird - I have been pretty conscious of her ability to cultivate her creativity with very few bumps in the road. You know, being a teenager doesn't feel that long ago and I can't help but compare myself to her. It was hard - as some of you may relate to - and I think it would have been easier with a talent and drive to create things. Despite how things have turned out for me, there were some dry years where I really didn't think things I made were good enough to make me persist. When that doubt creeps in, the actual JOY of creating isn't really on the table. It is the perfect example of getting in your own way. So, it has been imperative for me to support Ava. Mostly I think it is just who she is, but we have certainly been supportive. I think it has paid in dividends.