With advent calendars ticking down the final few days until Christmas and Ottawa’s kids on the eve of their Christmas break, some parents might be forgiven for being a little frantic. Pushed to their holiday limits so to speak. So where can harried and creatively exhausted parents turn when they’re desperate for ideas to keep the Yuletide spirit alive or just to entertain the kids during their two weeks of mayhem filled Christmas vacation?
Fear not, Crafty Motherhood has you covered. Founded in 2017 by Amy Chambers, Crafty Motherhood is a buffet of advice, art tips and helpful insight for today’s overworked, hyper-stressed parents. Topics range from cleaning up after busy families to useful school supplies to holiday ideas that provide the genuine Christmas experience on a reasonable budget.
Amy is the first to admit that parenthood is not one size fits all, and a big part of Crafty Motherhood is providing tips and wisdom from other sources, often linking to other blogs and news stories. Using that same approach allows Amy to constantly provide craft ideas as well, often using them to fill her Etsy store; Beetle Bug Baby (which specializes in crafts for busy mothers and active toddlers). But Crafty Motherhood’s mission statement remains inspiring and supporting young parents, especially ones with fragile confidence in their parenting abilities.
“I know as a new mama how people can make you doubt yourself and stomp on your boundaries and how important it is to know there are people in your corner.” It seems a labour of love, wearing the numerous hats it takes to run a blog (balancing content generation, promotion and social media), running her online store and being a mom to her very active toddler (during our first conversation, Amy balanced answering questions with discussing whether or not cats like cookies with her own bundle of joy. Our follow up conversation was balanced with sewing scarves for some of said toddler’s class mates). Toss expecting a second addition to the family early next year on top of all that, and her plate is pretty full.
So why start a time consuming blog? Turns out family was her biggest inspirations. While she credits her husband, she also heaps plenty of praise on her young son. “It was him (my son) really. That’s what it comes down to! I wanted to fill his world with art, creativity, outside-the-box ideas, and show him there’s more out there to explore and discover then he could ever imagine! I wanted to teach him that we should never stop learning or experimenting, and that mistakes are not only a positive thing, but a welcome one! I’ve always loved that creative world but prior to him my career always took up so much of my time and headspace I couldn’t make it a priority. Having my son completely changed my mindset and gave me the chance to really jump in!”
“Now, I’m first to say having a child is 100% is the hardest, most time consuming thing imaginable. But the reward? It’s immeasurable. You’ll do anything for your kids. Having my little sidekick along for the ride through this journey is incredible. He gets to see how amazing exploring and learning and creating can be and I’m constantly inspired by him and his mind. Toddlers aren’t constricted, they’re amazing scientists and they absorb everything! They are truly magical!”
But as Amy searched for ways to help her little one explore and expand his imagination every day, she realized there were countless others in the same boat. And many were at their wits end, on the verge of just surrendering.
In my pursuit to learn all things crafty I found out I wasn’t alone! There’s SO MANY OTHERS out there who want to learn but they just get stuck or aren’t sure where to find the resources or information to make something a reality. That’s where the site came into it. I have spent time researching, learning, watching tutorials, following amazing makers in social media and I just wanted somewhere I could share things as I learn them to hopefully help someone else out! I have had so much inspiration around me if I can return the favour, even in a tiny way for one person, than I am happy!”
As a result, Amy has gotten pretty good at juggling time and responsibilities without missing anything. She admits her biggest task is devoting appropriate time to everything on her plate while working as hard as possible. It sounds exhausting but she’s the first to admit she wouldn’t trade her life for anything.
So if you need advice swinging at one of the million curveballs parenthood throws you or some nifty holiday ideas, keep an eye on Crafty Motherhood. It may not always have the answer, but both it and Amy will always have your back.
