Living Creatively: The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule

a review by Nicole of Designs by Lulubelle

Amanda Blake Soule, writer of the popular blog soulemama, has a new book The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections. I frequent her blog from time to time and am often inspired by the projects she creates with her three small children.

The Creative Family is a simple collection of projects, traditions, and discussions on family life centered around nurturing creativity within the family. The photography in this book is also quite beautiful. Soule states "a large part of nurturing a spirit of creativity comes from being mindful, slowing down, observing, and looking around you at the beauty and inspiration around you". Children, although small, are wonderful teachers. They use creativity and imagination in everything that they do.

In Chapter 2, Gathering Materials, I was most inspired by her tips on art supplies and storage. She provides a comprehensive list of art supplies for children and recommends using good quality supplies with them. As she puts it, "the materials we give our children to create with send them a message about how we value their creative endeavors, their time, and their work". Go for quality over quantity and high-quality doesn't necessarily mean "expensive". Other chapters include topics such as Supporting your Young Artist, Family Traditions, and Everyday Rituals.

I would hesitate to call The Creative Family a project book, rather a book about living creatively in your daily life and creating memories and traditions. It is a simple, well-designed book which is easy to pick up and read.