Introducing Crafty by Nurture

~by Kendal

One day a little over a month ago, when I was ruminating on how lucky I was to know another 'crunchy' Mama who also loves to make things, I had what seemed, at the time, to be a lightbulb moment of dazzling inspiration. Excitedly, I text Emi.

Me: I think we should write a book.

Emi: Sure, it can be about cloaks, blueberries, Ryan Gosling, wine with a special chapter on how to procrastinate (which is what I am doing today)

Me: Lol. I like that idea. But I am being deadly serious.

I pulled on Ava’s cardi and practically ran to Emi’s house, which didn't take long since Emi lives thirteen doors down. Frothing with possibilities, we started to discuss doing something together that would combine the things we both love – crafting, writing and our children – and the prospect of working together and opening up our lives in this way began to seem not only like a great idea, but like a natural addition to how our time is spent anyway.

And so, 'Crafty by Nurture' was born. And here we are.

Emi and I met less than a year ago, and bonded almost instantly over our mutual love of babywearing, bedsharing and everything else crunchy you can think of. It quickly became apparent to me that this was a lady who was going to be very important in my life - someone who shared so many of my own, somewhat unusual views on parenting and life in general. I was very inspired by her dedication to leading a creative and playful life with her children, and, when she happened to find us a lovely house near to her own, ready to be moved into, at exactly the time we needed to move, we jumped at the chance.

Emi and I are both dedicated to parenting in a gentle, mindful, creative way. We would, undoubtedly, be called Attachment Parents. Although we both believe that this kind of parenting is the most natural, certainly the most instinctive, we also believe it can be extremely challenging, difficult and frustrating.

We hope that by talking openly and honestly about this path we have chosen with our families, with as much grit and grizzle as our stomachs can handle, we can explore the challenges and joys that we continue to face.

Beyond that, what we really want to focus on are the myriad ways we believe that simple acts of creating can add to our days and our relationships with our children. Every week we will share favourite recipes and crafting activities you can do with your Littles, and we will take turns to write about something that is personal and pertinent to our lives at the moment. We will have interviews with other Mamas and Papas, with artists and crafters, and once a month, we have persuaded our dear husbands to write something from their point of view too.

We will endeavour to follow the seasons as closely as possible, sharing topical tutorials to assist in celebrating the changes in the year and the various festivities and holidays we both celebrate. On the last Saturday of every month, we will do a larger, more in-depth crafty tutorial, and we will also have a related free-giveaway.

For now, we have added a little more about each of us and our families in the About Us section, and also several of our favourite parenting, crafting and seasonal books to our 'Crafty by Nurture' Amazon store, which you can find in our Book Lists section.

We so look forward to beginning this project together, and to hearing from you, too, as much as you would like to share your parenting experiences and your crafty tips.

With love,

Kendal and Emi


'Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold' - Joseph Chilton Pearce