I was working with my afterschool Girls’ group yesterday making a flag for our Collective. It’s a pretty simple process of cutting the fabric and laying it out on the banner and then ironing it into place. Really quite fun. Unless. It’s not.

One of the girls was really struggling with the process of cutting the fabric. Partly because it was a teeny-tiny piece. Partly because it was windy and we were outside. Partly too because it was 4:00 in the afternoon and she was tired. I could see she was getting frustrated but let her go a little bit thinking she’d figure it out.  I never want to intervene too early. Too late I realized it was too late and she slammed her scissors and her fabric down on the table and burst into tears. “My fabric’s too small and these scissors are wrong and my nose is driving me crazy and this is just too hard!” (you know that feeling don’t you?)  We hugged. I held her. She cried. And we talked about how in the problem is the information needed.  She laughed when she realized she had stated all the problems she was having.

She hula hooped for a couple minutes. She got a new piece of fabric. She found another pair of scissors. She wiped her nose. And was right back at it. Cutting and crafting.

It made me wonder how often the problem and solution are so simple and yet we make them somehow complicated. It made me wonder how if I just tuned into the feeling of frustration I would actually find the tools for solution. I don’t know for sure yet but something tells me it just might work.

Did I learn this lesson already? Probably but it won’t be the first lesson I’ve had to learn again and again.

The book itself will be out in June, just in time to get to work on some summer family projects. You can start out with our Summer Intentions banner and take it project by project, right through until September.

In the meantime we’ve got some other irons in the fire over here – we’re making art and writing stories, oh, and parenting of course. Starting January 18th, and every Tuesday until mid-April, Bernadette will be holding a Girls’ Collective for girls ages 7-10. There’ll be some crafting, writing, hiking and some community service projects too. You can read more about it here…

We learned a lot in 2010. Some lessons didn’t necessarily present themselves as lessons at first but we’re quick learners. We enjoyed working on our book together and right now we can sit back for a while, we think, and watch as it gets put together by the Wiley Publishing powers that be. And for sure we’ll be ready in June to share it with all of you!

Happy 2011. Let’s make it a good one.

What’s been happening for the past year, (almost exactly) and what is becoming quite obvious that it really, really is going to be an actual thing that you can actually hold in your hands, is that Kathie and I have been making a book. For the past many months, give or take a few weeks vacation here and there and random other gigs too, we’ve been writing, crafting, making, editing, writing, and crafting some more all with this sort of conceptual idea that we were making a book . It’s only really recently though that we see it all coming together and we really see it taking a form that before was only idea.

A couple of weeks ago we turned in our last project, the 24th project actually, which I’ll not divulge just yet but which I will tell you is about family and craft and ritual and love and tradition and beauty too and which you will surely want to make for your very own when you do find out what it is. And we’ve been measuring and remeasuring and checking our lists of steps and materials and going over the text and generally going back and forth with our amazing team at Wiley publishing, making sure that  what we’re putting out there in this book of ours really does make sense.

This week we met with our amazing photographer and stylist and found a beautiful place to shoot that fortunately belongs to a very generous couple of friends of ours who are letting us use their space all week and by watching it all come together we are really, really, really blown away and amazed and EXCITED that our book, Make Stuff Together, which has 24 sustainable family projects,  should be available to you in April of 2011.

Soon I’ll have a bit bigger of a teaser to offer, but in the meantime, you’ll have to just take our word for it and take a gander at this location shot and just imagine that you and your family will be happier, healthier, more connected and more handsome too when you finally get a copy of your own.

So start saving your burlap and finding some bird seed bags and digging out that ancient wet suit and hitting the thrift store for some vintage bed sheets, because you will definitely want to be ready.

This week’s special featured artist is of particular interest. To me anyway. Well, it is me. So perhaps that’s why. You can read all about it   here…

A couple of weekends ago I shared the stage with Gever Tulley of the Tinkering School (enough already Bernadette!) and my partner in Slow Family Living, Carrie Contey. The theme of the night was innovation in education and it was a great synchronistic trio of talks. My own talk was on creating with kids, or, making stuff together. And the idea that it’s about the process and the connection built and not necessarily the end result.

Through our classes and through our crafty sessions with our kids,  Kathie and I have  learned a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t when creating with kids – when to push forward and when to back off and let well enough alone. In our current pause from studio classes, we’ve learned a bit more as well, and are grateful for the collaborative effort that lets the ideas get ping-ponged back and forth as opposed to just lying dormant in our brains.

Do you like to make stuff with your kids? Someone else’s kids perhaps?  After you read the points below, I’d love to hear what you’ve learned in your own process. Because as we write our book, Make Stuff Together, we’d really like to know what everyone out there is seeking and experiencing in the making stuff together with kids. Here’s what we know so far and right now…

• Remember that the process is the goal. Not the finished product but the process of creating. If you have a vision of how something should look, make your own.
• Creativity is not mimicry – inspiration not imitation. You can show an example if you like but allow their own expression to shine through.
• Set boundaries that work for you. If you are comfortable with chaos, go for it. If you’re not though, it’s not a necessity of the creative process. If you’re tense, it’s not going to exactly encourage their most creative selves.
• Use materials that work for you in the setting you’re in.  Watercolors vs. tempera or crayons vs. markers. If you let yourself go a bit with certain materials as opposed to others, go with that. They can explore the others some other time in some other place.
• Allow enough time for the project at hand. A rushed craft session is a recipe for familial disharmony if ever there was one.
• Work where it works for you. Does outside let you let go a little more? Go there. Kitchen table? Floor? What do you like?
• Look for signs that the end is near. Catch it before it breaks down. Remember that frenzy does not equal creativity. Be willing to put it away and call it a day.

And what I learned from Gever’s talk, is to remember that we are collaborators, not leaders. It is sometimes hard to do, to let go, but it is definitely an idea worth working towards. Because our kids have some pretty cool ideas of their own if we give them a chance to express them.

Our winner this week is Heidi with random.org’s lucky number 21 and as soon as we get her mailing address, we’ll be sending a fine fabric stash her way.  Thanks to all who left a comment. We love reading your words and knowing you’re out there. Keep coming back because we’re really enjoying the process.

So leave a comment for next week’s drawing. Our question this week is, what project are you working on that fills your proverbial cup?

Something along the lines of the fabric used for this project.

It’s a dream for Kathie and I to get to work together on a regular basis. (Right Kath? Huh? You like it? Right?) And we can’t wait to begin the process of bringing our connection into our book.

So, as we enter this Thanksgiving week, Kathie and I have an endless list of things we are thankful for and we definitely count all of you who have visited our site and our work so enthusiastically. So thanks guys.

And remember us at Christmas 2011 when you are seeking just that perfect gift for the family crafter in your life.

And this month, just in time for Halloween, we present our Halloween t-shirt Trick or Treat bag. Check it out. Whip up a few and get ready for some free candy!

We’re back on Craftzine this season with a new collection of projects under the heading, Reduce, Reuse, Refashion. Our first project out the bag, (pun totally intended) is for these super cool, lightweight and breathable produce bags made from sports jerseys. Get on over there and check ‘em out. And while you’re at it, check out the newly revamped Craftzine site. Full of super crafty ideas for your itchin’ to craft fingers.

In addition to working, I mean, um, volunteering at school, we’ve got a few good projects up our sleeves and we’re just now starting to once again don our Future Craft hats, and a few other hats we wear, and gear up for some fall fun.

Starting September 25th look for us on Craftzine with our new monthly “Reduce, Reuse, Refashion” projects. Each month we’ll be taking some item and refashioning it into something else. I’ll give you a hint for our September project. It has to do with football jerseys.

Kathie just finished up a weekend of Handmade Nation fun including a book signing and a showing of the film, featuring filmmaker Faythe Levine.

This Thursday, September 10th, I’ll be hosting the first Collective Craft Night from 7:30-10:00 pm. If you’re a lady looking for some crafting action, come on out and join us as I set the stage for a night of collage and card making.

We’ve also got a little writing project we’re working on, but that news will have to wait until we’re given the go ahead for a full blown release. We’re excited though!

If you’re in the market for an uber unique and amazing custom made personalized western shirt, you can always check out Kathie’s Ramonsterwear site. Her latest creations have been nothing short of jaw droppingly beautiful!

And finally, my other endeavor, Slow Family Living, has a few classes, workshops and fill-ups lined up for September and October. If you’ve a hankering to slow things down a bit on the home front and spend some intentional time connecting with your family, go check it out.

In the meantime, we’d love to hear what projects you’ve got lined up for fall…