Wow, I had planned 2020 to be the year I take my creativity to the next level after taking four years off to spend time raising my little one. I signed up for Bonnie Christine's Immersion Course to take my creative/design career into surface pattern design, open an online shop, and to get back into creative roles I enjoy. Then the virus ...well required some changes.

The entire family is home, and our entire schedule was disrupted like so many others. This was going to take some planning to make progress and reach my goals. So in between making breakfast, lunch, dinner, and playtime, crafts, art and taking online classes, blogging has been the last thing on my mind.

I had to figure a way to make things happen and still enjoy the time with family and give my husband being an artist needed time to shake the dust off his drawing table, time to read.

Here is what I have been doing during these stay-at-home, flatten-the-curve-times:

*Building the places we are missing with legos.*

We used our creative skills to builds all the things we miss doing. With legos, we built a coffee shop, playground, and spent some time pretending. My little one has already started planning all the places to go when things get back to some amount of normalcy.

Thankfully we were able to go on short walks in the neighborhood, and it being spring it's the perfect time to explore. Also we collected things to bring back and inspect further. Great learning experience for the entire family.

The only knife I trust my little one with is a butter knife, so I took this moment to have my little one help with dinner. We watched a video from Great Depression Cooking, Clara's The Poorman's Meal. A great moment to learn how to make a meal with what you've got on hand.

I was so excited about taking my creative career in a new direction, by dedicating myself to online class with Bonnie Christine's Immersion Course, starting an online business, building my surface design collections, becoming a licensing artist. This stay at home order has been a crazy juggling act, and only those with kids truly understand that struggle. In the end it will be worth it.

Thankfully we had the dirt and planters on hand. We did not venture out to buy those non- essential things. We started our garden with the celery, spring onions, garlic, and potatoes we had on hand. Regrowing vegetables from scraps, and foods that can regrow. Talk about a fun way for the entire family to learn.

We also printed and colored cute labels for the garden. Tip: Use clear packing tape to laminate the front and back of the labels. It should last longer in the weather and stand up better to watering.

Wow, who knew I would be breaking out my scrap material for this. I ended up making masks for family, friends, and neighbors, and I got some sewing therapy at the same time. It felt good to create something that could help protect my family from this virus. It prevented us from touching our faces with our dirty hands when we had to go out in public. Wearing a mask is better than nothing. The Pattern I used Fu Face Mask Pattern

Well our game night has really been great tool to bring the family together to the table other that eating.

Here is a list of our favorites:

Candy Land
UNO
Ticket To Ride
Battleship
Dr. Eureka
Connect Four
Working on Checkers and Chess

Everyday you have to mix it up between snack time, art, reading, movie nights, craft projects and video game play (Animal Crossing) we are just enjoying the moment and capturing every moment with a camera is not my priority.

I love having the entire family at home, and if this was the norm, the one thing we really need to work on would be time management. Every artist needs time to nurture their art and making time is tough when you have kids. So, for now, we are giving up naps, staying up late or getting up early to get in some creative time and being exhausted to nurture that will perhaps be worth it.

So enjoy the crazy time with your family, connect with family and take this time to learn something new. When it is time to press GO, you are ready.

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Staying Home

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