This is me...

I crash. A lot. And when I do, I get back up. Sometimes I do it on my own, sometimes Mr. CB is there to help me and sometimes it is my village that dusts me off and helps me back up.

My village includes many people. Maybe you already know but my village includes a lot of young people. They are the ones who inspire me and they are not always there when I crash but they are part of my reason for getting back up and trying again. They've taught me it's all about the recovery.

Right now, Creative Bug is recovering. We are recovering from a summer of adventure and a few hard years. So many times I almost walked away from Creative Bug but then I was reminded that this is my place, my gift. And I want you to know that.

We began around our kitchen table in Toronto on Sunday mornings just over 12 years ago. It was for my children, about my children and a fun outlet for me. Over the years I have learned to decorate cakes, sew and create with many mediums. I have learned that I am passionate about teaching and I am really passionate about learning.

My family has taught me this, the children who come in and out of my life by way of Creative Bug have taught me this and my faith has taught me this. 

So when you consider sending your budding artists to Creative Bug know that you are sending them to a place where we create community, build resilience and we create but most of all, we have fun!

This isn't for my children anymore, it is for your children and our community.

We have 2 great camps happening where they will have the chance to have fun and delight in the act of creating.

These camps will be a journey, we will begin together but each artist will have the opportunity to choose their own adventures as we go. There will be time for play, time for work and time to sit and eat together. We will become a tribe.

It's going to be incredible!

Contact me at heather@creativebug.ca or 905-359-6917 to join our adventures this summer!

Looking forward to creating with you soon!

Heather

Post Holiday Workshops!

 Everyone in the Creative Household loved that most of our time off together came after Christmas! We wish it could be like that every year! We loved celebrating Christmas in Niagara and Toronto and then spending time at home catching up and playing with our new gifts and old treasures!

It also gave us more time than usual for workshops!

We ran 3 days of workshops...our first day was a day of self expression...first shirts and then self-portrait cakes. In the case of the cakes...everyone went their own direction and that's okay too. Everyone's work was fantastic!

 Day Two was more of a sewing day...we made Go Fish Games. Our younger attendees loved making these but loved playing with them even more! They found a little extra time to play and dance while our older campers made a more complex version of the game. And then we made quilted cupcakes.

Day Three we got serious! I got the hammer out and we smashed some candies so we could make Stained Glass Cookies. We also made mosaic necklaces and puzzle tins.

As always it was great to spend time creating with my friends!

Enjoy!
Heather

You've got a Friend in Me!

 We got really scrappy at our most recent PA Day Camp! We made magnetic boards with coordinating magnets!

We had a great time scrapbooking! In fact, these girls told me this was their favourite page they have done with me so far (it may have been all the bling!)

 We made Cookie Cups and had Ice Cream Sundaes!

 And we made a Sundae for 2 package to drop off to a friend or neighbour as a random act of kindness...

As soon as this was over and everything was cleaned up we headed for the airport and took off on a vacation! It was a great day for me!

Enjoy!
Heather

The Rainbow Connection! Camp 2012

Honestly? I think this was my favourite camp! I mean they were all fun but this one? Well, a few of the little people stole my heart (I <3 a="a" and="and" dance="dance" friday.="friday." friends="friends" her="her" kids="kids" michelle="michelle" new="new" on="on" p="p" parents="parents" planned="planned" presented="presented" really="really" routine="routine" she="she" showed="showed" stuff="stuff" taught="taught" the="the" to="to" us="us" with="with">

Anyway...everything was coming up rainbows all week! Even Simon knows the colour order for the rainbow and he is just 4! We made Rainbow Cupcakes! 

 Sidewalk Chalk in Rainbow Colours! This was fun but a little tedious...I loved it but it's not for everyone...

 We tried to make Rainbow Bubbles but it didn't work. At the end of the day when you can make these awesome Bubble Snakes you really don't need them to be rainbow...do you?

 Rainbow Popsicles! These were fun to make but the best part was unwrapping them to see the lovely popsicles inside!

 Rainbow Camp Jewelry! These were fun to make and a great accessory to go with our Rainbow Tie Dye Shirts!

 Rainbow Crayon Art! This was one of my favourite activities for sure! It was SO fun watching the kids organize their crayons and create their own art!

 Finally! We ended with Fireworks! A Dance Routine second to none choreographed by my staff to Katy Perry's Firework.

It was a great way to end a great summer full of fun camps! Until next year...

Enjoy!
Heather

Sew Much More! Camp 2012

If you know me...you know I have a passion for Up-Cycling. You know? Making old things new again? SO...on this year's list of camps was a camp to do just that (and get some sewing in at the same time!)

We started off with our t-shirts...it was fun! It was like we scrapbooked on them! Everyone had a different take on the task but they were all fun and unique!

 Next up? Who doesn't need a tote bag? And a Kool Aid Jammer one? These were fun to make as the kids all created patterns and looked for just the right foil packs for their creations!

 We got ready for the sock hop with these little guys and some other fun creations including Sock Bunnies and Sock Caterpillars! Oh and Sock Water Bottle Holders!

 And old pair of jeans quickly became a new apron with some frills added.

 Dad's old dress shirt became a pillow...we used ties to make mini-totes too!

These girls were creative and spunky! We had a great time creating together!

Enjoy!
Heather

Creative Cook Camp 2012

This camp was SO fun! We spent time thinking outside of the box by making things that you might normally buy already made at the grocery store! From Pancake Mix and Instant Oatmeal to Corndogs and Pizza we enjoyed them all!

These are our chefs of the week...

 One of our days had a Fast Food Theme to it..."Would YOU like fries with that?"

And we followed this up with some scrapbooking. The scrapbooking was a highlight for everyone...it was fun for the kids to leave at the end of every week with 4 pages complete with photos!

 We made popsicles every week! What a treat! We made them with pudding, jello, cookies, whipped cream...you name it! They sure did help with the heat in July! It was a HOT summer!

 We love pizza here! Everyone designed their own pizzeria and made a pizza to take home and feed their family supper!

We ended the week by hosting a fun event! We made all sorts of snacks for sharing and dipping including Graham Cookies, Marshmallows, Truffles and then the fun dips! Some of our guests also brought along fruit, veggies and other goodies to dip!

We really loved these end of the week parties! It was fun to spend some time with the parents and watching the kids show off their creations!

Enjoy! 

Heather

Creative Cake Camp!

I am pretty embarrassed that I have fallen so far behind. I'm not really sure what's happened but I think it's time to share how much fun we had this summer!

We started out with Creative Cakes...we had fun with nature...

Learned how to pull it altogether with cakes pops!

Things got a little fishy!

 Had fun getting down with Angry Birds!

And brought home cakes to share that were Angry Birds themed! We packed so much into the week and loved every minute of it!

Enjoy!
Heather

Sew What?! Creative Camps 2012

We started our week by talking about some sewing basics...among them the expression "Measure Twice, Cut Once". Everyone enjoyed this layout and was excited to move onto their first projects of the week!

We started off our week by working on aprons and water bottle holders. We made some appliques, did some hand stitching and had fun!

 Next up? Dresses! We used already made shirts, cut them and added fabric to suit the tastes of the stylists to create custom dresses for everyone!

This project was very popular with these future artists! We made art totes and decorated them with images and personalized them all with the girls' names!

 The big winner of the week? Our monster pillows! They were SO fun to watch the girls put together!

 Boy did I ever have a great week!

Enjoy!
Heather