B.Inspired by Wendy: Scrapbook Designer & Creative Mama of 8

One thing’s for sure: being a creative mama is hard work!  No mama knows that better than my friend, scrapbook designer and mama of 8, Wendy.  I know that I could probably learn a thing or two from her.  And I’m totally inspired by her ability to juggle her creative endeavors while raising such a wonderful bunch!  So, let’s hear from her how she handles it all.  Read on and B.Inspired by Wendy of Busy Mama Designs.

Q: Tell us about yourself and your family.

A: I am a Christian SAHM of 8 wonderful kids! Aaron-22 Autumn-17, Josiah-16, Jordan-14, Rebah-12, Ryan-4, Vanita-3 and Volesya-1 year. The Lord has blessed us to be able to homeschool them. I have been married to the most wonderful husband and father I could ever dream of, Dan, for 23 years. We are dairy farmers in beautiful Lancaster County, PA, home of the Amish.
I have always enjoyed all kinds of crafts but shortly after our oldest was born, I was introduced to traditional scrapbooking. I totally fell in love with it and began working on pages a little at a time. As time went on I started to love all kinds of paper crafting and also developed a love of computers. It was only naturalto get involved in digital scrapbooking and that has developed into designing. I just started designing my own kits in December and I am totally loving it. I have been accepted into Faith Sisters, a digital and hybrid scrapbooking store as a designer. I am so excited about this new journey. You can see some of my designs here.

Q: What inspires you?

A: First off, my family. It seems one of them are always into something new, whether it is a new book or some new music video or game. I love to look at other designers and get inspiration from them. I also just love to look in magazines, books, even advertisements to stores for some of the latest color palettes and designs.
Q: How do you nurture your own creativity?

A: I have found over the years that if a few days go by and I am not able to do some sort of designing or crafting I just NEED to sit and work on something. So, I have made it a priority for me to have time, maybe not a big chunk but many little slivers of time, to just sit and create. Or I will just take a few minutes and look at some of the latest styles or colors.

Q: How do you inspire creativity in your children?

A: I have always encouraged them to try something new. Someone will never know if they are the next greatest artist if they don’t first pick up a paintbrush or pencil. With us homeschooling, I have had the opportunity to help them learn many different crafts, and use many different mediums. They have all gotten to see what they like and don’t like. In our family we have some that love to do anything art related. Others don’t care for art in form of paper, paints, or pencils, but would rather build something, or make music. But, all of them are creating in some way. 

Q: What is your favorite creative project or activity that you do or have done with your children?

A: We have worked on scrapbook pages together, worked on learning musical instruments, love to work in the garden, but like to put it together in a creative way, not just straight rows. We also have done lots of drawing, painting, woodworking stuff.

Q:  What is your favorite creative product that you use or have used with your children?

A: I think we enjoy paper crafts the most, whether it’s cards, making boxes, scrapbook pages, or just coloring.