is being online hampering your creative expression?

The NYT Magazine's On Technology essay by Jenna Wortham this week speaks to much of what I (and I suspect my friends) have been thinking about lately. How can wide freedom of creativity and connectedness happen online? And in what ways does the very fact of it being online limit the conversation?

“The internet should be a place with no rules, and freedom, but it’s not,” Piñero said. “There is a certain pressure to conform to certain aesthetics.” It was something I had noticed myself. Each social-media platform tends to reward certain behaviors and styles of posting, all in the interest of building fans and followers who are invested in the performance of a persona (maybe even more so than the Geppetto-like person orchestrating it all). Instagram is a place for intimate-seeming photos, Twitter for clever quips and collaborative memes. Facebook demands an unmitigated rawness that can be terrifying at times. With all, the works are often made to fit the platform, not the other way around.


read the article here.

{how to} make a simple advent tradition

OK. Here is the deal. I really dislike highly curated crafts and experiences for kids. Especially during the holidays. You can search Pinterest for advent calendars and will see some really amazing things. But in our house, the mama's creative interests lay elsewhere. And the kids want to be a part of the planning and tradition making. So, our holiday projects are messier, less color-coordinated and I contend, easier and more fun.

Our advent is in the top 5 favorite holiday activities. I think I love it as much as the kids. It acts as a touchstone and organizing activity. I wanted to share the way it has evolved in our family and offer an example of the great memory making that can happen when we drop the perfection and engage our kids in the process

+ Get 25 envelopes. You can use white ones, colored ones, homemade, whatever. It does not matter! I like these little coin envelopes that I use when sending badges and goodies to my lab participants. They come in packages of a gazillion, so I always have a bunch. 

+ Let the kids decorate them. Get our rubber stamps, paint, glitter, magazines, anything that might be fun. And let go. Really let them go for it. You will have the most amazingly beautiful and meaningful envelopes no matter what they do. You can jump in and make a few too of course. 

+ Hang them on a string as a garland or put in a box or bowl. Again, whatever works for you. You might even deliver one each day in your indoor family mailbox. 

+ Fill them with activities. I put in the actives I KNOW are happening in advance and fill the rest as the month goes along. So many times, something really fun comes up and alters our plan so I keep it loose. I make a list that I keep with my calendar and usually organize a few days at a time. Most are so simple, there is not much to do.

The key to this project is that you listen to what your kids think are the most important holiday activities and make sure they are covered. Sprinkle that with a few new ideas and lots of very simple activities and you have month of fun.  Hopefully, this makes the anticipation for Christmas more bearable by spreading the magic out over an entire month.


Here are many ideas to get your creative juices flowing. PLEASE leave your ideas on this project in the comments.

anything that is already on your calendar that is remotely fun
movie nights
pancakes + cocoa for breakfast
make cookies/caramels/peppermint bark
make homemade dog treats
make wrapping paper
caroling
make bird feeders
read a favorite book
take a solstice walk
holiday spa baths
take wish list items to the SPCA
lunch with a friend or grandparent
plays and performances
parade
any local events
paint your nails red + green
string popcorn and cranberries
kind bomb the library or the store
make peppermint bath salts
make salt dough ornaments
make gingerbread/peppermint/cocoa play dough
conduct an oral history of the elders (find out what the holidays were like for them)
hang twinkle lights in the bathroom + bedrooms
have a candle lit dinner
decorate tshirts to sleep in
make coffee filter snowflakes
open a new game to play
download Lego instructions for holiday themed projects
write letters back and forth to the North Pole
drive around and look at lights
make origami to hang on the tree
donate a car full of old toys and clothes
play with shaving cream and little animals in a tray
sing some songs/learn a song on the piano/recorder
do a treasure hunt for a little gift
service work
go on a photo hunt for red + green things
ice skating
play date
family lego/mine craft/rainbow loom party
Skype far away friends or family
make the biggest snowflake ever
make holiday cards/thank you cards
decorate the mouse cages

winter solstice

Hi there. I have slowed down in this space this month as I enjoy the season with my family. Also, I genuinely feel like I do not want to clutter my little digital world any more content than is necessary. You need to be with your family - not trying to keep up with blogs and Pinterest. I seem to be getting nonstop email blasts and links to last minute sales and huge craft round ups that only give me angst.

And in light of recent, horrible national events, I just don't feel like talking too much. 

But, I thought I would share something from the Holiday e-Lab about the winter solstice which happens this Friday. If you have never celebrated a solstice, this year might be a great time to start. It can be reverent, it fits easily into whatever spiritual practice you believe in, and it is full of light and beauty.  

Solstice is the shortest day of the year and although the days will start getting longer, for many, it marks the continutation of a season of early darkness and deep winter; a time for turning inward towards home and the family nest.
 
Although, I live in Florida, where the winters are mild, we do notice how early it gets dark. We like to celebrate with warm dinners and games, movie nights, extra long night-time reading and lots of blankets.
 
This season is also an ideal time to personally turn inward. By allocating a little extra time for journaling, art making or reading, the stillness of life becomes like a cocoon. You can plant ideas and dreams that are as wispy as a gossamer thread yet can manifest fully developed when the sun returns into creatures with wings.
 
Solstice is a time to celebrate and study light and the earth. We inevidably study the science of the earth and its rotation around the sun and make many kinds of lanterns and light sources to make our dinners awash with flickering color.

You might want to spend solstice night with out using any electrical lights. This is a perfect night for a bonfire, bathing and brushing your teeth by candle light.  

If you want to make some lanterns and lighted crafts, I have created a pinterest board with a handful of ideas.

Our traditional solstice dinner is fondue. When my husband and I were much younger we attended a magical wedding in Switzerland where we ate lots of traditional fondue dinners. It is like comfort food to us now as it brings back memories of an amazing adventure. 

We eat cheese fondue with crusty sourdough bread and apples. And we drink wine and hot tea, which we were told would aid in digestion. 

I was going to type up my recipe, but found this sweet story with the recipe, so I will share it instead. 

What is your warmest, most comforting food? That is what you want to serve on Solstice night.

I would love to hear how your family celebrates solstice.

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Be sure to check out the 2 e-Labs I am very excited to be offering this January. 

You can read more about them in the upper right hand side of this page. 

Email me with any questions! 

10 alternative gift ideas

Gift giving season is upon us! Given that we are in a tight economy and many homes are over run with clutter, I wanted to offer a few ideas for the sort of gifts that you can feel good giving and that put your hard earned money to work for a better world.

For the last few years, we have scaled back our gifting and now give a big bag of goodies to each family on our list. The bag is decorated by our children in a theme they think the recipient family will like and then it is filled with a variety of the following:

Our favorite food finds from the year - We love food and always have new finds we want to share, like a certain chocolate bar or mustard or cool pop, and the best part is these items will not add clutter to a house.

Handmade goodies - We make bath salts, felted soaps, picture frames, dog biscuits, embroidered pillowcases, food items, homemade candy and more. Click here to print out my laundry soup and pit paste recipes. Also, buying homemade gifts from Etsy or local artisans directs money into the pockets of creatives (which is where I like it to go!)

Local artisan items - The local farmer's market is filled with awesome gifts. I try to load up on local honey, specialty spaghetti sauces, homemade jerky, knitted items, cutting boards, and handmade soaps. These not only make great gifts for the recipients but pump money right back into our local economy.

Books - For the readers in my family, I love searching for just the right book that I think they will love. 

Gift certificates to local businesses - I am not always a fan of giving out generic gift certificates, but love giving them out to local restaurants or shops. A GC to an independent comic shop or book store would be great for any young teen. We give out gift certificates to the historic movie theatre each year. 

Gift certificates for events - I love making up gift certificates for events. I recently gave my Dad a day trip to a photography museum and craft brewery. Not only did he like both, we have a great memory of a day spent together. 

Board games - A new board game (with lots of fun treats) will offer many evenings of fun to the recipient family, and maybe they will invite you over to play.

DVD of the year in pictures - My husband makes a DVD with music and photos from the year and we give it to grandparents and relatives who are far away. This is always well received.

KIVA loan gift certificate - This is such a great gift for the business man who is so hard to buy for. I gave one of these to my dad a few years ago and it was fun to hear the updates on his borrower. 

An item we already have that the recipient has been eying - My mom and husband have been gifting each other records from their collections on birthdays and "just becauses". Family heirlooms and special items make awesome gifts, especially if it is something the recipient has expressed an interest in.


Please leave your alternative gift ideas in the comments. I would love to hear them!


I am taking off the rest of the week to play with my chickens, eat, rub my belly and write. I will see you next week. 

You can follow me on twitter here.

I am on Facebook here.

I love Pinterest! You can follow me here. 

And as always, please feel free to email me any questions at amybarbo at gmail dot com.

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introducing.... 10 day Holiday Lab

I had such a great time with the first Mama Scout Family e-lab, I created another lab! 

( I am also running the Family Lab again in November.)

If you are like me, you start getting antsy about the holiday season now. I feel like I should already be organizing and scheduling through the rest of the year. 

Which events are we going to attend or host?

Which new foods might we want to make? (is this the year for the bouche de noel?)

Which gifts I should start making? (am I going to master soap making soon enough?)

Whose feelings am I going to need to tip toe around?

How can I keep my vision of the holiday clear in the midst of chaos?

How can I stay healthy and calm?

Will I be able to slow down enough to enjoy simple projects with my kids?

If you have asked yourself any of these questions, this is the lab for you. 

I am proposing a simpler way. This 10 day lab will stir up your creative juices so that you can set intentions and create the holiday that you want. The one that will enrich your family and strengthen your traditions. 

Each day, you will receive, in your mailbox, a holiday lab. They are called labs because they offer ideas, but ultimately you will need to experiment with the ideas and projects in the way that makes sense for your family. 

Each lab contains an essay to get you thinking, a writing prompt just for you, an open ended creative project for you and your family, a simple, healthy, seasonal recipe and links to additional resources. 

You can print out the labs or file them to use as you need them through out the season. 

Our group will also have a Facebook page used to support each other, share ideas and additional projects and resources. 

You can read more and register here. 

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at amybarbo@gmail.com. 

I hope you can join us!