More Than Your Average Mom

Where do you discover new kid-friendly crafts?

You can often find me on this little 'ol site called Pinterest, (www.pinterest.com/mtyam) pinning everything from kid-friendly crafts, meal ideas, to tattoo inspirations. A lot of my ideas come from crafts and activities I've done in the past, as well as spins of ideas I've seen done by other creative mom bloggers.

What's one creative product you would recommend to all moms?

I'm not sure I can think of one be-all-to-end-all must have creative product... I'm not a huge fan of spending piles of money on crafting supplies as at the end of the day, the crayons are going to be snapped, the paper cut, and the glue spilled on the floor. I also strongly believe that with a little creative thinking you can reuse and re purpose many things that you might have on hand to make them serve the same function as some expensive products that you might be coveting. For example, I've been eyeing a laminator for as long as I can remember, but could never justify the cost. So, after a little (ok... a LOT) trial and error I found a way to make a simple clothing iron do the trick!

On occasion, I will subscribe to monthly craft kits for kids that come via mail. Simple, as they arrive at your door with everything (and more) needed to complete a specified craft. Such a great stress free way to keep it fun!

How do you encourage your child to explore their creativity?

I'm very lucky in that my kids are tremendously creative and love to use their imaginations. They have such open minds and feed well off each other. I try to ensure that they have access to anything and everything they might need to foster their creative juices and enable them to play, learn and explore in any way possible.

I also try to be a "yes-mom" as much as possible. Don't be afraid of paints, or glue, or plaster or messes. Stains can be washed or replaced, or better yet made into memories! Try to remember that soon, your children aren't going to want to do silly fun things with you, so when they say that they want to finger paint on the floor you just washed, or craft with sparkles near the beige colored carpet, say YES! Laugh with them as paint splashes around, and their little fingers mark up the floor and travel up cupboards, and reminisce about the cute projects you created a month from now when you're still vacuuming the glitter out of the carpet, because these are the moments that shape your kids, and these are the moments that you'll look back on, and that they'll look back on. These are the moments that matter.

What are your favorite Blog Posts?

• {RECIPE REVIEW} OMG Chicken
• {TUTORIAL} Why I'll never buy microwave popcorn ever again... Sorry Orville!
• Guest Blogging an undersea adventure over at NeverSeconds