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Through blogging and Instagramming, I’ve been introduced to an amazing Virtual Sisterhood of Creative Ladies.
The Oh Creative Lady series is your chance to meet these incredible, kind-hearted, inspiring <insert ALL the happy, positive adjectives HERE> women.
I’d be stoked if this Creative Lady taught my littles. Cara shares the colourful homeschooling adventures she creates for her daughter, Kinley. I’m pretty sure I’ve asked (on several occasions) if I could come and hang out in their schoolroom. Cara’s enthusiasm and passion for creating fun and engaging learning experiences is awe-inspiring. (Her Nana also sounds like a rock star too. Make sure you read on to hear Nana’s advice.) Not only would I love for Cara to teach my children, but I’d want her to be in my Mother’s Group. She is supportive, hilarious and full of joy. Okay all this gushing is getting embarrassing. Introducing Cara.
I am… Cara. A gal who never seems to have enough hours in the day to get all of the things checked off her list. A wife and momma, sometimes blogger and obsessive Instagrammer, homeschooler, wannabe chef, and one creative lady (if I do say so myself.)
I grew up in the midwestern United States, the daughter of a super-creative stay-at-home momma and an entrepreneur dad with a million different big dreams. I guess I’m kind of a perfect mix of both of them. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of getting creative side-by-side with my mom, which totally fuels my desire to spend creative time with my own daughter as often as possible.
When I graduated high school, I only applied to one college. I didn’t even visit it first, just liked the sound of its name. I told my parents that if I didn’t get in, I was moving to California with two of my guy friends to see where life would take me on the west coast. I did get in and headed up to school, but I often wonder where I’d be now if I hadn’t! Who knows, I could’ve been writing blog posts in between hanging ten and lunch and crafting with T. Swift as Mrs. Luke Perry straight outta the 90210, dudes.
I met my actual not-as-famous-but-twice-as-awesome husband at a house party. We were partners for a card game that I had no idea how to play and he was instantly hooked even though I made him lose. We dated for seven years before running off to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada to get hitched.
Two years later, sweet baby Kinley came along and turned our wild and crazy life right on its head. From boozy weekends and lazy Saturdays to nursing bras and early bedtimes, and neither one of us would change a single thing. She is our EVERYTHING!
I find inspiration… in my sleep. For real! I actually wake up sometimes to write down crazy good taglines and art ideas that appear in my wacky dreams. No rest for the creative, huh? Ha.
Also Instagram — I am a tad obsessed with the kiddo art challenges, so much so that I recently started a new one with a couple of my insta-art buddies all about inspiring grown-ups to create with the little humans in their lives. I thrive on being given a prompt and letting my imagination run wild, and luckily, so does my kiddo. The Instagram art mom community is incredibly creative and so, so supportive and encouraging!
And Pinterest, although sometimes I think all of the incredible ideas have already been thought up when I cruise around on there.
I am excited about … what’s next! Continuing on our homeschooling journey, seeing where all this Instagramming and blogging and sharing our fun leads.
Long term, I would LOVE to write funny picture books (if you follow us on Instagram, you already know we love books almost as much as we love creating together), do some guest-blogging, own a little art studio for kiddos, and travel around the world (my places-to-see bucket list is LOOOOONG and begins with Iceland )
When I’m in a creative slump, I… like to get out some paint or chalk pastels and just get my art on with no direction or desired outcome, just process art all the way. Seems to clear my clog almost every time.
Also, just taking a break from all things creative for a bit. Putting down the phone and playing with my daughter, going for a run, cleaning/organizing, eating a king-size bar of chocolate (preferably with almonds), binge-watching reality TV…pretty much anything that doesn’t involve art or thinking
Or, when all else fails, I put on some 90s jams at top volume and DANCE PARTY that slump away!
I’m really proud of… mastering the running man and my perfect-every-time molten lava cakes, but my greatest accomplishment is definitely being the best momma I can be. I’ve been babysitting and taking care of/teaching children since I was just a child myself and all of those years of practice have molded me into the momma I am today. I’m still a work in progress. I could definitely work on my patience level and my listening skills, but I always try to pause whatever I’m working on to when K wants to play and enjoy these super fun years with my girl. Whether it’s a spinning competition in the backyard, crazy dramatic popsicle stick mermaid puppet opera, kitchen dance off, or a regular old race to the swings I try to be as present as possible. I hope when Kinley is all grown up, she has endless stories to tell her kiddos at bedtime like the ones she loves hearing from me about my childhood and the ones I loved hearing from my own momma. These years fly by so fast, I wanna savor every one!
Someone once told me… “Don’t waste your time comparing yourself to others. You are different and that’s a good thing!”
My amazing nana recently had surgery to remove a cancerous kidney, and she told me that gem when I talked to her on the phone a few weeks before. She’s a-okay now, but I felt like she was dispensing a little life advice just in case, ya know?
She said even at her age, she still compares her house and clothes and accomplishments to others. It’s just a human thing she thinks, but she figures if we could get over that inner “I’m not good enough”, we would all be so much happier. It’s worth a shot, right?!
My advice to you is … slow down and don’t forget to make time for yourself.
(Okay, so that’s more like advice to MYSELF, but I’m sure you could use it, too! )
You can find me at …
My website
Instagram
Facebook
Pinterest
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