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

Mr. Roboto...

So...my Creative Kids have been feeling a little left out. It seems my work schedule along with Mr CB's schedule has been more than they can handle!  To combat this we planned a Robot Day...which turned into a Robot weekend as it took a whole day just to make our shirts!

These shirts were done in phases with freezer paper stenciling, puff paint, and button sewing.

I knew this was a hit when Mr. CB came home and got THAT look on his face. You see, there is a certain reaction that I strive for...I love to get a reaction, doesn't everyone?

 And here is the Creative Princess' tee...she also put a battery cover on the back along with buttons to open and close the cover.

I love the Creative Guy's fuel gage...

 And the Creative Baby (I know he's not really a baby...any suggestions for another nickname?). He and I had some creative differences but in the end we came together.

 These shirts were fun to make with the kids and they have worn them fresh out of the wash every time since they finished them! The kids at school love pushing their buttons too! I hope they aren't too distracting!

On Sunday we watched Robots and enjoyed a Robot Meal with classics such as...

 The ever-important....

 And what would we do without...

 And a little bit of lubricant...

 And of course my favourite...

These things are important to the Creative Kids...with St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, I know they won't have to wait so long for the next time!

Enjoy!
Heather

Happy Birthday Mr. CB!

This post is also late...I have some serious catching up to do! You see Mr. CB's birthday is one month before Christmas. Exactly ONE month. So, you do the math.  I am late, again!

The highlight of his gift...my cousin went out with us and took photos of the kids...we framed these 3 for him to enjoy. Pretty sweet eh?

Next? I told him a colleague ordered a cake from me, showed it off to him throughout the entire process and guess what? He brought his own birthday cake to work and didn't know it...

 So he enjoyed a vanilla cake with vanilla filling with his colleagues...

 Then, after we madly rushed to the mall and printed the photos and got them into the frame I bought, we picked him up from work, went out for supper and enjoyed this cake...

I apologize for the crumby photos, I forgot to take some before we left the house and restaurant photos just never seem to work. Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Filling all covered in Chocolate Ganache. Rich goodness. Yum!

The last bit of his birthday? The Money Pit. Yep, I got him the movie hoping he would share a laugh with me as we often refer to our own home as The Money Pit. We watched it together and we laughed.

Enjoy!
Heather

When you're the best of friends...

It was Friday morning...2 of 5 costumes were done. I had handed over the responsibility of Mr. CB's costume to him. I was stressed. There was no menu plan, I couldn't find any Toy Story Themed menus on line that were simple and to the point.

So, I broke the news to the kids over breakfast.  First Sarah started talking about liquorice lassos...

Then Sean started talking about mashed potatoes to represent Bo Peep's Sheep. Now, my kids don't actually eat mashed potatoes and it just didn't seem like party food so we started talking about marshmallows...and the next thing you know we had pink jello with Cool Whip and Mini-mallows! Yum!

Speaking of potatoes...who doesn't love Mr. Potato Head?

We listened to all of Jessie's Pull String phrases and Sarah suggested Animal Crackers...lovin' it!

This is when I got to thinking we need something a little healthier...what do cowboys eat for dinner? Chilli cooked on a fire of course!

Now, we had covered a few of the characters we would have present at the party...except for the army guy...so he brought along the biscuits!

Now for something for the kids to eat...where else would you get your pizza from?

And who doesn't love those little alien guys? Well, they were pretty punchy at the party! This was a super citrus punch with lime sherbert. Yummy!

I seem to have lost this photo somewhere along the way...but here are the Aliens that Buzz saved from the punch!

 The inspiration for our party. The loves of my life.

 Our family portrait...

 A smaller group than in previous years but we had fun none the less.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Enjoy!
Heather

Yes, I did get all the costumes finished in time. It seems that I always get by.

Fresh Air Fun!

When we decided to volunteer for the Fresh Air Fund, there was an air of excitement in the house. Sarah knew the dates and had them on her friends' calendars. Sean counted down the days until the child matched to our family would arrive. Simon watched as we cleaned and prepared the room.

Finally, the day came and then the week or so passed and now she is gone.
On the night Nyla arrived, the kids ran through the gardens, they hunted bugs and butterflies. Nyla had trouble getting to sleep that night...we talked to her until she started to yawn and show signs of fatigue.
The next day we took her to swimming lessons, she completed the last 3 days with the kids and loved it. We visited a local splash pad/park. So many firsts for our new friend.
We had a quiet day then the next we headed to Balls Falls. We discovered many Inukshuks at the top of the Upper Falls and the kids built one to join the others.
We headed to Port Dalhousie, spent a bit of time on the beach and then rode the carousel.
I later discovered that the carousel was actually carved in Brooklyn, Nyla's home turf.
We spent our next day in Niagara Falls. Enjoyed the Maid of the Mist...
And then came home to celebrate Sarah's birthday! Our last big activity with Nyla was the beach. Ahhh, the beach. We were there for 6 hours...the time just slipped by.
Thank you for visiting Beamsville Nyla. We hope you had fun!
The kids sure were worn out after you left...we spent a couple of quiet days of rest catching up...relaxing and reading.
What a girl! What a week!

Enjoy!

Heather

We were picking cherries...

The whole way to the farm we rode to (yes, we rode our bikes as part of this adventure) I was singing a modified Great Big Sea song. It's how I felt. Then we arrived at the farm (to which I had never been before) and saw this...how much more authentic could it get?

I cannot express to you how much I love this moment. I pretty much captured Simon's daily life. "Hey Guys! Wait up!"

The trees were stunning, simply beautiful and the cherries were plentiful.

We stopped at one basket...I'm not even sure what I am going to do with them! Simon wasn't happy about stopping though! He loved it out there!

And no one, but no one could put those cherries in the bag from the basket except for Simon!

What an adventure we had!

Enjoy!

Heather