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

Hello Dino!

I just found these photos loaded into my draft posts...and thought hey! This was a great party and I want to share it with you all! I always start a party with my room all tidy and organized...what happens next? Well, that depends!

Here we are getting the party started!

Next up? Let's decorate those cupcakes with dirt and dino eggs!

This birthday girl loves to ham it up for the camera...I've gotten to know her quite well since then and her crazy faces are endless along with her joy and her fun factor!

Here are the Dino Egg Cupcakes...

And our fossil necklaces!

And the grande finale! Dino Egg Soap! We've made a lot of Dino Egg Soap since these original ones were done...

I love these soaps and I really have missed blogging. I hope you all find me again!

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

Secret Agent Party

Every year we have the "Big Birthday Party" yep, that's what we call it. You see all 3 of our children are summer babies (after the first one it was a bit of an addiction...) so we have one big party for all 3 at once. And then...when I'm feeling like "SuperMum" I throw in an individual party for one of them. This year it was Sean's turn.

He is my ninja/spy/secret agent kid. So, there wasn't much choice in the matter. I set to work just days before the party was to happen and pulled together some Training Passports.

And some clues for a scavenger hunt...this was hysterical as the kids solved each clue they had to have their passports signed. A task that Mr. CB took very seriously. Sometimes there were stickers other times a sloppy signature. Always in a different colour and each task had a code word to put in the book. It made the party fun for us too! That way the kids were always stopping by to see us...

They had to pop the bombs...these were fun! I put sprinkles in a couple of them. I would put sprinkles in all of them next time because the effect was fabulous!

 They had to finish this drawing to show what the bad guy looked like...no after photo sorry!

 And there was the laser maze. Mr. CB had a hard time following what I wanted him to do until I mentioned the movie with Catherine Zeta Jones and then I lost him for a moment! Here he is trying to escape the maze while the kids zip through it! (they did this over and over again they loved it so much!)

Disguises, weapons and other important gear!

The birthday boy really wanted to give out water guns. It's the first time we've ever had them in our house...well, outside! This kept them busy while we got lunch cooked up.

The Birthday Boy with his cake. Fun and to the point right? He loved the sparkler on top!

Our Secret Agents! The chocolate moustaches were a hit with the kids too! They had to eat them before they left as they were melting from the heat. (you caught me, this party was in July!)

I made my birthday boy pretty happy with this party. We sat down and enjoyed a quiet afternoon when it was all done...whew!

Enjoy!
Heather

Wanna Pizza Me?!

The last PA Day of the year...I have been holding onto this theme for a while now...and we had SO much fun with it! I love finishing a day with a scrapbook page to remember it by!

The kids each made their own batch of dough from scratch...

And we made Pizza Cupcakes too! We bordered the cupcakes with icing, filled the centre with jam and topped it with grated white chocolate and sliced nibs!

We also decorated aprons!

And boy, were the kids ever excited to dig in! (Everyone took their pizza home...this is one of the ones that was created by my kids!)

Nothing like having Pizza and Dessert delivered by your own children!

Enjoy!
Heather