Your Calm Parenting Path

Ep32. Calm Summer Series Part 3: Embracing Creativity Over Perfection with Jess Gannoway

• Nina Visic • Episode 32

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In Part 3 of our Calm Summer Series, Nina sits down with Jess Gannaway, mum of two and founder of The Colour Club Studios in Belmont, WA. 

Together they explore how arts and crafts can help kids build autonomy, agency, and confidence, and how parents can gently lean into creativity over perfection - even if they don’t see themselves as “crafty”.

 

You’ll Learn:

  • Why creativity supports children’s emotional wellbeing
  • How arts and crafts can challenge perfectionism in kids (and parents)
  • Simple ways to set up low-pressure craft spaces at home
  • How to use recycling, “tinker boxes”, and crafty carts to keep things easy
  • Practical prompts to help children move into more self-directed play


Why This Episode Matters

School holidays can bring pressure to entertain, perform, and keep everything tidy. This conversation offers a softer, more sustainable path: embracing creativity over perfection, focusing on the process rather than the product, and setting up craft in a way that feels realistic and contained for the whole family.

 

One Small Shift

Create one simple “crafty cart” or tinker box using items from your recycling (cardboard, packaging, ribbons) plus basics like scissors, glue, tape and a few favourite materials. Make it easy to access, low-stakes, and let your child lead.


Take the Next Step

Join Nina for the Calm Summer Blueprint Masterclass on 3 December - your go-to session for planning a summer that feels lighter, calmer, and more connected.

Early-bird tickets available until 27 November.

Register here.

And don't forget - if you’re in Perth, explore The Colour Club Studios’ term classes and school holiday workshops for your kids. They look amazing!


Links and Resources 


Let’s Connect

 

About the Hosts

Nina Visic is a mindful parenting coach and mum of three, helping parents move from overwhelmed and reactive to calm and connected. Through her podcast and coaching, she shares practical, gentle tools that fit real family life, encouraging parents to embrace small shifts, curiosity, and imperfection along the way.


Jess Gannaway is a mum of two and the founder of The Colour Club Studios in Belmont, WA. With a background in design and a passion for challenging perfectionism, she creates warm, low-pressure spaces where children can explore, experiment, and grow through process-led arts and crafts — without needing perfect outcomes.

Nina: You're listening to your Calm Parenting Path. I'm your host, Nina, a mindful parenting coach and mum m here to help you go from overwhelmed and reactive to calm, confident and connected with your kids. This show is for parents who want to raise their children with more patience, less stress and a whole lot more joy. Because small shifts make a big impact and you can build the parenting life you've always wanted. If you want to see what I'm up to, follow me on Instagram mindfulparentinglifestyle. And don't forget to hit, follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode. Let's get started.

Nina: Hello, lovely listener, and welcome back to your calm Parenting path. Today I'm chatting with the amazing Jess Gannaway, the founder and creative heart behind the Colour Cub Studios, a, uh, beautiful new arts and crafts space opening right here in Belmont Walmart. Jess has this gift for helping families slow down, let go of perfection and reconnect through the simple joy of creating with their hands. And if you've been thinking ahead to the school holidays, wondering how on earth you're going to keep your little minds engaged without burning yourself out, this conversation is going to feel like a deep breath. Jess brings so much wisdom about creativity, boredom and letting go of that pressure to be the crafty parent. So settle in, lovely listener. I cannot wait for you to hear this one. Jess, thank you so much for joining me on your calm parenting path.

Jess: I'm so excited to be here. Uh, I've been listening to your podcast for a while and having met you in person, find you to be such a lovely, calming presence around me. So I'm excited to be a part of what you're doing.

Nina: Thank you. I really appreciate those words. That's really kind of. Jess, for anyone who hasn't met you yet, can you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your family?

Jess: Yeah, so I'm a mum of two little girls. Uh, one. My oldest daughter is Rose and she's seven, turning eight or 21 if you ask her. M And my youngest daughter is Zoe and she is 5 and she is also turning 21 if you ask her. She's full of sass and passion. Uh, uh, yeah. So I became a mum in my early 30s, which is obviously the path that lots of us take. And I was. Was working as a town planner or urban planner and landscape architect, and, um, was doing that for sort of 15 years. And the burnout from that corporate life was just catching up with me and I wasn't balancing my family life with My work life. And I felt like I was the one that was suffering because, uh, when you're trying to balance it all, you let go of something to keep hold of everything else. And I'd let go, I was letting go of myself. And I ended up being made redundant and using, uh, as an opportunity to rethink and, um, here I am.

Nina: Well done. So you've created this stunning new space, the Colour Club Studios in Belmont. What inspired you to bring this vision to life?

Jess: So a little bit of my background is that I have started suffered or not. Well, suffered is the right word, but not now, um, from eating disorders and undiagnosed ocd, uh, for a very, very long time. I think my first. I can. My first memory of having sort of disordered thinking around body, self and food is around four or five, so very young. And it, it came about as I had this ocd. I didn't know what was going on. Uh, at four and five years, you don't know what's going on. And the only way I could find control in my life was to control food and the bad thoughts that the OCD was causing. My head, you know, the ruminating dark thoughts in my mind, trying to use food and self thought and things like that to control those. Um, um. So with that story and with that journey through recovery, which didn't really happen for me until I had Zoe, to be honest with you. Wow. Because it was becoming a mum that made me go, hang on, there's a cycle I need to break here. This is, this is not my inheritance for my girls. So I need to heal myself first and then work, um, on making sure that I don't pass this on. Um, um. Yeah. So through that journey I realised that the, that corporate life wasn't going to work for me forever. And actually the stress and that was not worth it. And that whole, that whole need to be perfect at work, perfect at home and perfect in myself was something that I'm really passionate about challenging, um, because fundamentally that was what was at the heart of my

00:05:00

Jess: issues, the need to be perfect in every way. And, um, I've always been a really creative, crafty person and that, that I believe creativity is at the heart of challenging perfectionism.

Nina: Fantastic.

Jess: Yeah. So challenging perfectionism is really important to me, uh, because of this journey through recovery. And when I, when I look at the places where I feel most free and able to experiment and take risks, it's in crafts and, uh, arts. I'm not a perfect drawer. In fact, I'm sometimes a horrible drawer. Um, and coming from an industry like landscape architecture, where you're surrounded by these people who can do these amazing drawings, it was really hard for me to see sit there and be like, oh, my gosh, I'm not as good as you. Yeah. So taking that experience of freedom and experimentation in arts and crafts and giving it to the next generation of kids and giving them that safe space to say, I'm actually going to choose what I'm doing in here. I'm going to. I'm going to see how it changes. And, um, I'm going to. I'm going to understand that it's safe for me to experiment. It's like them practising for the outside world. So that's. That's really what's the important message. And at the heart of what I'm doing here, and every decision I'm making here is sort of working, working out and making sure that I'm giving everyone that will step through the door that opportunity.

Nina: Oh, you're giving me goosebumps, Jess. This is incredible. What a great opportunity for children to come together and challenge that perfectionism. They don't have to have a perfect piece of art. And I think there's a lot of pressure on kids these days to do everything right. I love that. My kids read the DAV Pilkey books, Dogman and Captain Underpants, and in his books, he has a lot of spelling mistakes and he has a lot of words crossed out and then rewritten. And I think it's showing kids that they don't have to be perfect. And I love the idea of coming into your space. And as we're recording, I can see Jess's video and she's got a rainbow of different coloured paint sitting behind her. And I just love that. Kids can go in and say, I want that, um, orange, or I want that blue or whatever, and they can just make what they want without that pressure to be perfect. And I think from memory, you have a quote on the outside of your studio. Can you remind me what that quote says?

Jess: So it's a little drawing and it says, how to be an artist. And the first box says, make some art. Does it look good? So ask your question. You make the, uh, art, and then you ask yourself the question, does it look good? If the answer is yes, you go to the next box and it says, congratulations, you're an artist. If the answer is no, it doesn't look good, it still goes to the same box and says, congratulations, you're an artist.

Nina: Isn't that awesome?

Jess: And then the next box is make more art.

Nina: I, uh, love that because at the.

Jess: End of the day, you actually don't have to like what you're making.

Nina: Yeah.

Jess: As long as you're doing something or getting something from the process of making it.

Nina: Yes.

Jess: I think a lot of people forget that.

Nina: Yeah, that was gonna be one of my questions. So if parents, you, uh, know, if they're listening and they feel the pressure to make. For their kids to make things beautifully or to. To have a beautiful outcome at the end, how can we help them and also in turn their kids to embrace the joy of creating something rather than the outcome.

Jess: And this, this is probably the most important thing to me and the thing that I, I as a parent struggled most when I first started doing arts and crafts with my two girls. And of the few people that have had through the doors, given we're only a new studio, but I did run it from my home, uh, my home for a little while before opening the brick and mortar store. The thing that I noticed in parents the most is we're so invested in our children having these amazing experiences and producing art that. And crafts that is beautiful and that we can be proud of as well. I feel like there's like this need for the child to reflect your own perfection ideas around what arts and crafts is. And that's not true of everybody, of course, but I find that's true of a lot of people and uh, was definitely true of me for a little while and something that I still challenge. And so I have a few. Not rules, but a few guidelines that I follow when I'm thinking about arts and crafts and what I do with kids. And the very first. First thing I always do is make it low stakes.

Nina: Y.

Jess: You will not find me buying premium product arts and craft supplies. My studio is full of cardboard. We don't do toilet rolls because it's unhygienic. But we do. We do kitchen towel rolls.

Nina: Yeah. Nice.

Jess: And milk top bottles and uh, like basically rubbish. The things that we would throw out. And that means that if a child comes in and chooses a, uh, chooses something out of the sort

00:10:00

Jess: of the wall of crafty products that we have to do, there's no pressure on them to make something wonderful because at the end of the day, if it's not great, it was rubbish in the first place, so it doesn't really matter. And that's what we do at home. My little girls. Last weekend, my husband was paving and he had all these off cuts. And my little girls went out and snuck and stole Some of the off carts and I came back in and they were sitting and they were painting them into uh, iPhones or something stupid like that. And, and that they'd been playing with them all week. And I just said, I said to my husband, like, our kids just love rubbish.

Nina: Well, you know, my boys, my boys will often say, can we make something with the recycling because we have a recycling box. And they will often take out the whole box. And last week they made crocodiles out of like a blueberry punnet and um, a toothpaste box and things like that. And then they play with it for a little while and then it just ends up in the recycling again because they don't play with it for too long. And I love that idea. And I'm thinking doesn't really look like a crocodile. But you know, I don't need to say that out loud. I could just embrace their imagination.

Jess: No, to them it's a crocodile.

Nina: Ah, yeah, exactly.

Jess: And that's probably what a recommendation I would make for any parents that, that are wanting to um, set up a few things for their kids to work with over the school holidays is put a box. I have a um, a little three tiered IKEA trolley in the kids toy room and our study. But you can just grab a little box. Don't buy anything new. It can be a box that you already have.

Nina: Yep.

Jess: And start collecting your interesting rubbish. M things like bubble wrap, interesting containers, interesting packaging. If you have birthday parties, save the ribbon, save the um, paper. Keep it all in this box so it doesn't overwhelm you and your house. And that also sets a limit on how much rubbish you're going to collect.

Nina: Yes, very good.

Jess: Um, and put some sticky tape, a stick of glue, some double sided tape and some scissors that you're comfortable. And if your kids are old enough and you're comfortable with it, even a hot glue gun, a low temp hot glue gun, they're pretty great. My, I let my 6 year old use a low temp one and she's um, learned over time. She's definitely had a few little finger burns but she's learned over time to be really careful with it. And I just have that box available for my kids at all times. I also have a little bit of paint in there because I'm comfortable with paint being inside my house and the kids know that if they want to make something they can just go to that box. It's cost me next to nothing to set up and they can just create with it.

Nina: Yeah, I really love that idea making it almost like a station in the house that they can go to when they're ready to get creative and there's no pressure to do it or to not do it.

Jess: Yeah. We call it our crafty cart. So, uh, because it's a trolley and I say. And it can wheel around the house. So if they want to create in front of the tv, because we are a screens family, they can sit and um, potter about. Or if they want to take it to their room for some quiet time or alone time.

Nina: Oh, I love that.

Jess: Or if they want to follow me into the bathroom while I'm having a shower that they bring it in there.

Nina: I take it everywhere it goes around the house.

Jess: Beautiful. Yeah.

Nina: So you talk a lot about helping children and parents reconnect through creativity. Why do you think creativity is so important in supporting children's emotional well being?

Jess: So I think creativity is a really important way for us to help our children develop three, three of the elements of a really solid emotional foundation. Because at the end of the day I'm always reminding myself that I'm not raising children forever. I'm actually raising functional adults. Yeah. M. So yeah.

Nina: Yep.

Jess: So I always try and remember what I'm doing, that at the end of the day they're going to be adults. So the first thing that it gives them is autonomy. So the whole I get to make choices. Our kids live in a world, they go to school, we are their parents, where we make so many choices for them. True creativity is one of those spaces where they can make their own choices themselves. So from as little as what colour they're using, how big should I make this circle? Uh, should I do a line here or should I do a line here? When the, uh, artwork is finished, that's all their choice. And that's a really good skill to give them that sort of intrinsic motivation.

Nina: So fantastic.

Jess: Be more curious and invested and all of that sort of thing. The second thing that it gives them is agency. So my choices that I'm making actually matter and affect the world. So yeah, a, uh, good example of that is if I mix blue and red. If I choose to mix blue and red, the outcome is going to be purple. If I put a little bit more blue in, the colour of purple is going to change. If I put a little bit more red in, it's going to be different. So yeah, I can create change and I can, can have effect on the world and the world around me, which is so cool. And I mean, who would have thought just a bit of colour Mixing can help them develop that skill set, but it does amazing.

00:15:00

Jess: And the most important thing for me is I trust myself to try. So confidence. So I, I have permission in my creativity, in my space to try things that aren't going to work. I don't always need to have a perfect outcome. I can take a risk. I can see if, if I glue this on with this glue, will it stick to my cardboard crocodile or will it fall off? And okay, if it fell off, maybe I'll try a different glue. So it gives them that, um, that knowledge that making mistakes isn't a dangerous thing. Such a normal and expected part of our life and often leads us down really beautiful paths that we weren't thinking that we were going to take. So yeah, it's, it's about messing up and realising that it's still okay.

Nina: Oh, I love that. What a great way to look at creativity.

Jess: I had this birthday party yesterday actually and uh, they, I was a little five year old birthday party, a gorgeous little girl and she had one of her friends from I think daycare come in and he was not keen on the idea of a pink fairy, um, wand, but obviously I was, you know, choose whatever colour you want. And he chose black and yellow and his beautiful mum was sitting behind him and I could see as soon as I put the black on the palette, she was going, oh my God, oh my God, what is he doing? What is he doing? Why black? And then he started to mix the black and the yellow together and it turned this putrid green colour. And she was like, I'm so sorry, I do want to choose another colour. And she was, she was a lovely mum and she was so engaged with her child but I actually said to her, just let go, like, yep, it doesn't matter. And he ended up turning his wand into a spooky wand. And he came out the back with me and we found him Halloween sparkles and black ribbons and like he put, he chose really smoky dark gems on it and he at the end of the day had the coolest one out of everyone because he had just like followed his own intuition. And he, instead of going pink and purple and blue like all the other kids had chosen to do, he went black. And I said to the mum, these are my favourite moments, like, yeah, that, that nervousness to let him try and follow his own instinct at the start and then look how proud he is, look how chuffed he is with his little spooky wand. And it was really cool.

Nina: And uh, that's just gorgeous. Letting him do what he wanted to do without interfering. And as you said, giving him that agency, that autonomy, and that, you know, trying something new. And even though it was different than what the rest of the group were doing, it was what he wanted to do, and he was allowed to do that.

Jess: Yeah.

Nina: And he will be so proud of that. And he will be talking about that wand for a long time, showing it to people, playing with it.

Jess: I'm, uh, still talking about that wand.

Nina: Yeah. So true.

Jess: I'm proud of him.

Nina: And I think that's really important for us to take a step back and to not. And, uh, we've mentioned this already. I know. But to let our kids focus and enjoy the process rather than the outcome. Yeah.

Jess: It's really hard as a parent, especially when you're going to something like a paid art, uh, class, to not sit next to them and tell them and take that agency and that choice away. But I always like to remind my parents, um, one, we talk about how to speak to your child about artwork and how we can change how we speak to them about doing artwork.

Nina: Excellent.

Jess: And that helps us sort of feel the change ourselves. And then also, too, you're actually not paying for the artwork. You're paying for the process. That is the most important part of being here today. Even if it is the most beautiful cardboard collage, you're gonna throw it away in six to 12 months anyway. Even if it makes the fridge, it will come off the fridge eventually. Uh, what won't? What won't come off the fridge is giving your child that confidence and that. That emotional development.

Nina: Jess, that's gorgeous. Are you happy to share? What are some of those things that you tell parents about talking about your child's art? Because I think that would be really interesting for listeners.

Jess: Yeah. So I. I've had to train myself to do this because. And it's really hard, and I still don't get it. Right. I'm not perfect at this. Um, but I never compliment the child's product. Yeah. So, for example, with that spooky wand, I didn't say, oh, my gosh, that is the most beautiful black wand I've ever seen, or, oh, wow, look how gorgeous your wand is. I said to him, what made you choose black? What a wonderful. How cool is that? And he said, oh, I just. Just wanted to try it. And then that engaged the conversation. And then I said, oh, uh, and what are you going to use it for? So for me, it's not. We don't. We try not to compliment or talk about how beautiful something is. Or how

00:20:00

Jess: wonderful the product is. We ask them, why did you choose that? Or m. Oh, if. If you put a bit more yellow in with that black, is it going to go greener? So push them to be a bit more risky and things like that. And don't get me wrong, I 100% also do say, oh, wow, that's really beautiful. Sometimes it comes down because I look at it and I'm like, I'm so chuffed with you. I'm chuffed with what you've made for you. But I absolutely try and focus on asking them questions about the choices that they're making, encouraging them in some way or form to experiment more. And then also, also, I love to ask them at the end what part they're the most proud of.

Nina: Oh, uh, yeah, of course.

Jess: Yeah. I love to say, oh, which. What's your favourite part? Uh, so it's not that obvious what I'm doing. What's your favourite part? What did you like doing the best? Um, you know, so that actually they decide what's the best part about their artwork. They're not looking for me to decide for them. And that's that whole listening to your own voice for permission to feel proud.

Nina: Oh, yeah. And I'm wondering, do you also. So if they've tried to make something and say it hasn't worked or they've had a bit of struggles, would you comment on the effort that they put in? Like, I saw you tried really hard when you made that.

Jess: Absolutely.

Nina: I loved seeing you work so hard. You know that kind of comments as well.

Jess: Yes, yes, absolutely. And, um, I've actually been working. This is so sad. I actually want to give it a little name in our studio and I haven't landed on the name. Some of the. I've been talking this through with friends and some of the names we've come up with are quite lame. Um, actually naming a mistake in a really positive way. So not saying it's a failure or a mistake. But it's like the one we landed on. It's a glittering. It's not going to be that. But basically identifying with the child that, hey, this hasn't worked out. Yeah, it's a positive thing. It's not a negative thing in. It's a positive thing because, one, we learned something from it. Yeah. So we learned that that glue doesn't work on that cardboard crocodile. And two, it's not the end of the world where you can keep m going. We can bounce back, Nina.

Nina: We can bounce back. Yeah. I talk a lot about Bouncing back with children.

Jess: You do. So yeah, we can bounce back and we can try again.

Nina: Yeah. Beautiful. So for parents out there that aren't crafty, we've talked about the fact that kids, we don't focus on the product, we focus on the process. And I guess it's giving ourselves permission as well. Because if we're not crafty mums or if we don't like the mess that might come with craft. Can you talk to this? What do we say to parents who feel guilty about not having a creative spark or kind of feel completely stressed and overwhelmed at the thought of letting kids go nuts with crafts in their home over the school holidays? For example.

Jess: A hundred percent. I would say every second mom I meet says, oh, I'm not a crafty mum. I'm not a slime mom, I'm not a play doh. Um, mum. I'm not a glitter um mom. And I'm like, yes, I get that. And I actually think you're uniquely placed better than those parents that are crafty parents to demonstrate this and model this behaviour.

Nina: Yeah.

Jess: In an, in a stronger way. Because by you and you don't always have to sit down with your child and craft. That's not the goal. Um, but by you sitting down and doing an arts and crafts as a of sort self declared non artsy craftsy person and doing a terrible job of it, you um, are showing your child that it's okay to have a go.

Nina: Yeah.

Jess: And you are literally embracing everything home about of. It's not about the product being perfect, it's about enjoying the process. M. So if you ask if you are able to sit down with your child and show them as this is something that I'm intimidated by or something I don't love doing or don't think that I'm good at, but I'm willing to sit down and take the risk here to have a go with you. That's such a powerful message.

Nina: So powerful.

Jess: So I think, yeah. Reframe it in your mind. But on that note, the overwhelm of craft in your house and the mess that it can make, you cannot deny that. It's like I uh, I actually don't allow glitter in my house.

Nina: Yep.

Jess: I only have it at the studio. I am a self declared non glitter mom and I, I don't love using it in the studio because it just gets on everything. But I have a few tools in my house that I use that I'd love to share with your listeners.

Nina: Please.

Jess: Okay. Made a huge difference. Um, and I've had to think about, um, obviously I'm not

00:25:00

Jess: affiliated with these, the product at all. But I use something called a crafty pod. And essentially what it is, it is a pop up play space. Uh, they have similar pop up ball pits but a smaller size. And my girls know when they're doing messy craft, they get out this pop up craft pod. It's basically just like a play pen.

Nina: Okay.

Jess: That's all covered in. What I can do is, Nina, I'll send you a photo of the state of my Playbot, my crafty pod. And you can see just how well used it gets.

Nina: We can put that in the show notes.

Jess: Yeah. And basically it contains the mess. It sets a boundary for where the craft can go in the house. It protects my floors because it's, it catches all the paint.

Nina: Perfect.

Jess: And if they're doing something with like little tiny, those like little tiny beads.

Nina: Or little pom poms, gems or spots.

Jess: Stickers or whatever, at the end of the day I lift it up and I shake it into the bin. I take out what I want to save and I shake it into the bin. So it just, uh, it has made a huge difference to how we craft in the house. So with that, with the crafty car.

Nina: I love that. Yeah.

Jess: Yeah. And I, it's like my number one recommendation for parents that want to do more craft at home. Set boundaries where we are comfortable for it to happen in the house. And that way you won't find glitter under your bed sheets and stuff or.

Nina: All over the dinner table when you're trying to eat dinner. You know, like I get frustrated when the boys have been writing comics and I go to sit down and my whole table is covered in sheets of paper with drawings on it. Which is amazing, but annoying when I want to put my plate down. Yeah. So I love that idea of having a crafty pop up space.

Jess: Yeah. Another little tool that we use, um, is those plastic tray tables from Ikea that um, fold in and out so I can pack them away. We don't have a big house so we can't afford to have lots of big, um, separate tables for craft and stuff like that. Yep. So I have, they each have a tray table that's on legs so that they can sit on the floor in the crafty pot, put their tray table down and they've got a hard surface.

Nina: Fantastic.

Jess: But if they're doing things like drawing with sharpie pens and stuff like that, it's not going to go on my table, it's going to go on their little tray. Table and it doesn't matter.

Nina: Um, and I think what we might do, Jess, if we can, is to pop some links in the show notes for some of these items so that people can really see what we're talking about.

Jess: Yeah.

Nina: Because I think that would be really helpful too.

Jess: Definitely.

Nina: Any other tips?

Jess: My only other tip is, well, we've talked already about the little sort of tinker box of rubbish.

Nina: Love it.

Jess: Having those basics available and having making sure you've got scissors, glue and sticky tape and if you can, double sided tape available for your child if you're comfortable with paint, have a little bit of paint. But um, I guess my only other tip would be because often, um, often crafting gets messy. So if your child is the kind of child that wears a lot of really nice clothes and things like that and you're worried about them getting messy.

Nina: Yeah.

Jess: I don't know if this is a really great tip for my children. Crafting the nude.

Nina: Nice.

Jess: He's too little enough to craft in the nude.

Nina: Yep.

Jess: But they also have clothes that they know that if they're doing craft stuff like we don't have aprons or anything like that because I think sometimes the process of putting on the apron, getting the craft pot out, getting the crafty cut can sometimes stop them from wanting to do that. So sometimes they know if the craft pods out and they put stuff in there that's messy, they just take their clothes off on the craft pot and jump in.

Nina: Ah, that's gold. And then they could just jump in the shower afterwards.

Jess: 100%. I, I've lost times of the amount of times I've picked a child up out of the craft pot and carried them at arm's length to the shower and said wash yourself. Um, yeah, but they also, they also just have like T shirts and stuff like that that I don't care if they get messy or painting and stuff like that. And they know that if especially the seven year old as uh, she's getting older, she's less and less likely to want to strip down to do painting.

Nina: And I guess if it is the school holidays, you can just dress them in those clothes from the get go.

Jess: A hundred percent. Yeah, a hundred percent.

Nina: So they're in those clothes in the day, you're not going out anywhere or you know, and they can get changed if you need to go out. But if they're already in the clothes, it's going to make it a lot easier.

Jess: Yeah.

Nina: To, to minimise the mess on their clothes.

Jess: Yeah, yeah. It's a lot like Actually, and I'm only just thinking this out loud now, I follow a lovely lady, Dr. Kyla and she does a lot of the kids nutrition. The whole premise around it's not your job to feed your child, it's your job as the parent to provide a plate of food that you're comfortable with them eating. It's their job to eat.

Nina: Yeah.

Jess: So I would apply that same principle to crafting. It's not your job to curate the craft. Yes. But what the important thing of what I'm trying to say is it's your job to provide the craft environment in

00:30:00

Jess: a state in a way that you're comfortable.

Nina: Yes.

Jess: And then let them craft within that. Set your, set your boundaries.

Nina: I love that parallel.

Jess: Yeah, yeah, I can. It's so I use the same sort of approach.

Nina: Yep, I love that. So we've got our craft area, we've got our craft tools, we've got our craft clothes. Can you just as to get parents going, can you give some examples of maybe one or two crafting activities that they might prompt their kids with to get them going? Because if kids aren't used to having all this autonomy, they might need a bit more like why don't you try this? Or why don't you try this? What are some things that we can help them with to get them into that self, self funded or self autonomous creativity flow if they've never done that before? Okay, let me just check my. I was worried because it's converting the previous meeting and I was worried if we started again it would actually cancel that. But it's still going, so that's good.

Jess: Did it work? Okay?

Nina: Yeah, it's still going. Yep, all good. Okay, so the question was some activities that parents can set up to help prompt, um, kids into their creativity.

Jess: Yeah, I think what we're alluding to or what we started, what we're talking about is actually quite important. I have one child that is very, very good at self directed play. I have one child that won't do it unless you pull their teeth out, like in case she is not good at self directed play. And I bet you can guess which birth order they're in. The oldest child that hates self directed play and it's the second child that is great at it.

Nina: Yep, I hear you there.

Jess: So I, Yeah, so I actually have to approach it in a certain way and it's all about scaffolding. So essentially it's about prompts and things like that. What I don't think we need to do as parents is create instagram worthy prompts for our child's story to craft too. You don't need to set up the beautiful messy trays, although they're amazing fun. You don't need to set up the beautiful curated nature crafts and stuff like that. You can keep it as simple as like doing a few little things like for example, finish the picture. I'm sitting down with you for five minutes and I'm committing myself to that five minutes and then I'm going to fade away. Once I think kids engaged enough so I might draw half a picture. It's kind of like um, you remember that old TV show, Mr. Squiggle?

Nina: Yeah. Love Mr. Squiggle.

Jess: Yeah. So squirrel. Right. So you draw half a few lines in a uh, or like a few shapes and then the child finishes it and then maybe they want to keep going and they get really engaged in drawing a more elaborate picture around that and you fade out while they finish drawing it and then they come and show you and whatnot. So you kind of. That's like a really easy prompt to do with minimal fast. Yep. Another one is giving something like a five minute challenge.

Nina: Yeah.

Jess: So again, there's not the expectation on time and set up and things like that. So maybe you get out, you get out your tinker box that you've set up with all your rubbish in it or you get out your Lego box or whatever or your blocks and you set a five minute challenge for both of you to build something that moves. Or let's do a five minute challenge. Can you build something taller than your hand? You know, just something really simple, something that they can see and touch and they understand depending on where that, how old they are and what developmental stage they are.

Nina: Yeah.

Jess: Of course you both spend the five minutes making it to see what you create. And then if you notice your child becoming more and more engaged, you then you can fade off. So it's all about that slow fade off. I used to get really stuck in creating the really beautiful prompts and I was like, oh, I've got to, you know, spend half an hour before they do this activity to set it up and then they'd play it for three minutes and then walk away. And I'd be like, oh, um, yes, walk away. Yeah. Because that's just natural for them to walk between things. So I try and do really low stakes prompts where it doesn't involve huge setup, huge time and thought. I mean they are two things that I can do on the fly with no prep. Yeah. Because I've got paper and pens in my house and I've got a box of Lego that I can. A, uh, drawer of Lego that I can open and we can do that. And if your child is the kind of child that, after you do the first challenge with the Lego, says, oh, let's do another one, let's do another one. Ask them to make you a surprise1m say, I just have to go do this thing. Can you build me something with only the blue blocks? I wonder what you can make.

Nina: Yeah.

Jess: And then go and do that thing and come back so they know that you're still engaged in the play because you're coming back to the big surprise. And also you're coming back. They're not going to be left

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Jess: alone because my child has a lot of anxiety around that. So that's kind of. That's a way. And. And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes she is like, absolutely no way. You are going to sit here with me and I'm going to draw something and you're going to colour it in. Because that's what I want to do. Yeah. And I will sometimes begrudgingly do that. Sometimes I won't.

Nina: Yeah, that's right.

Jess: Yeah. On other days, I, uh, can come back and she'll say, go away, go away. I haven't finished. And I know at that point she's. She's caught on to the. To the being really invested in what she's doing and she's happy playing by herself. Yeah. So, yeah, the whole, like, finish, play, Mr. Squiggle, do some challenges. The other thing that I really have found with my kids and some parents will cringe at this is stickers.

Nina: Yep.

Jess: Some parents hate stickers. And again, get, uh, a crafty. Get yourself something like a crafty pod. Set a boundary about how you come to. Yeah, my girls have little books and instead of. If I don't want them to paint or draw or get out the Sharpies or anything like that, I will give them stickers. And they're just little circles. They're like, from the $2 shop or even Daiso D A I S O uh, the Japanese Su supermarket. It's like Japanese red dot.

Nina: Oh, cool.

Jess: Yep. They're in all sort of regional shopping centres. They have amazing sticker supplies. Again, we can pop that in the notes of the show.

Nina: That'd be great.

Jess: Office Works, Kmart. But to be honest, my main supplies come from Daiso Office Works and Office Works, we could say just basic shapes. And so we will use those basic sort of circles and squares and stars. And love hearts to, um, make collages. We do sticker collages. I'll provide you with some picture examples of what the girls have made as stickers. I find that's a really low stakes activity that doesn't make a huge amount of mess because you might have to peel one or two off the couch. But other than that they're not going to be everywhere, hopefully.

Nina: Yeah.

Jess: But it's also something I can chuck my bag and they can do on the go. So they can do that, um, at a restaurant.

Nina: Yeah, perfect.

Jess: And stuff like that. And. And at the end of the day it's so low damage.

Nina: Yeah, I love that. Craft on the go.

Jess: And they have a special book. They will happily. If I get a sticker prompt sticker stuff out. I don't need to prompt them anymore. I sat down and did it with the first few times with them and now I don't have to. They will, they, they will just go for it.

Nina: Oh, that is gold, Jess. Thank you. I feel like this conversation has been so enriching and I feel like I've learned a lot myself because I am a self proclaimed non crafty mum. But my boys are. And I can see, you know, their creativity. They're wanting to get the recycling box out. They've always got the pencil box out, things like that.

Jess: Yeah.

Nina: And I really like your tips of the. The craft space to keep it contained and I think that's definitely something that I'm gonna put into my house. But as we get to the end of our discussion, unfortunately we can't talk all day. As lovely as it would be.

Jess: I could talk forever.

Nina: I know. Are you able to share a little bit about what people can expect from your Colour Club Studios in Belmont, how they can work with you, different programmes that you might have available. Um, and how are they booked?

Jess: Yeah, I would love to. So the studio is called the Colour Club Studios and essentially what we offer is weekly classes. We have half term classes available at the moment because there's sort of only half the term left in the year and then we move into school holiday workshops. So we've got, um, lots of Christmas themed workshops ready to book online at the moment. Great. And then I'll be posting up my January, ah, uh, school holiday stuff in the next couple of days and then moving into next year's term classes. But essentially you can either come in for a one off event. So for example, in our Christmas workshops, I've got big paper stars for the little ones that they can just. I'm going to hang and they're just going to paint them while they're hanging.

Nina: Great.

Jess: Um, and take them home or we've got the more involved stuff. So for the older children we're doing hand engraved brass ornaments and things like that. So really quite project specific where they're learning a craft skill. And then with the younger years, I'm always focused on just exposing them to the different craft mediums. So paint, glue, you know, um, all of those different things so that they, when they're a bit older they understand them and as they're, as they get older, it's about a specific skill and often I try and do something that they can replicate at home if they wanted to.

Nina: Yeah, brilliant. And other classes age, so you do different activities but can, um, can you bring older kids and younger kids to the same session or is it a session for younger kids? A session for older kids?

Jess: I do try and offer a range of sessions to, uh, provide a range of bases. But I'll tell you that, um, Paper Star class, I had a mum, um, come in and book two tickets and she's like, I've actually booked the second ticket for myself. Because she's like, I wanted to do it as well. And I was like, that is so good.

00:40:00

Jess: So yes, as long as they meet the minimum age range and it's just a guide and you think they're capable of that skill, we're happy to have them if they're a bit younger. Ah. So, uh, we do have babies classes and things like that, toddlers classes which is all focused on not necessarily making a project but experiencing arts and crafts. We ask that the parent stays with them.

Nina: Yeah.

Jess: Um, just because I can't look after 15 toddlers. Yeah. Would be my nightmare. Yes. So we, we do structure our classes in such a way that they're available to all different ages. We can join ages together and the child is supported in their developmental stages appropriately.

Nina: Uh, Jess, this is so exciting. I can't wait to bring my kids to your studios in Perth. How can people follow along on your journey? Where can they book? Tell us all your social handles and.

Jess: Websites and so my website is Colour Club Studios with an S, so www.colorclubstudios.com and that has all the information on the classes and workshops and birthday party bookings and things like that. I am on Instagram. I am learning Instagram.

Nina: Good job.

Jess: And my handle on Instagram is Colour Club Studios.

Nina: Fantastic.

Jess: And we're also on Facebook, um, as well. So if Facebook's your jam, we're on there as well.

Nina: Fantastic. Jess, thank you so much for joining us today. It's been so great to hear about you and hear your wisdom. It was such a beautiful grounding conversation and lovely listener. I hope that you're walking away feeling a little lighter, a little more inspired and maybe even a little more curious about how creativity can support your family over the summer. If you're here in Perth and your kids would adore a space to explore, play, create and just be, make sure you check out the Colour Cub Studios. Jess's new space in Belmont is absolutely gorgeous. You'll see lots of photos and videos and footage of how she set up the space on her Instagram. The classes she offers are really something special. So all the links that we've talked about will be in the show notes below. And if this episode has you thinking, yes, I need a Karma Sama this year as well, I'd love you to join me for my upcoming masterclass, the Kam summer blueprint, on the 3rd of December. And it's a gentle, practical session designed to help you prepare for the holidays so that you can feel grounded, organised and connected before the chaos begins. And they'll be in the show notes as well.

Jess: Oh, Nina, I'm actually going to be coming along to your holiday, um, workshop as well, just as a, as a custom mom, because I love what you do and I too want the tips about school holidays because we can never, uh, stop learning when we're parenting.

Nina: That's exactly right. So, look, if the masterclass isn't as much as a draw card, Jess will be there too, so you can meet her too. Thank you, Jess. So, as always, thank you, lovely listener, for spending time with me today. I see you and you're doing beautifully and I'll catch you in the next episode of your Calm Parenting path.

Nina: Thanks for Listening to youo Calm Parenting Path. I am so glad you're here and I hope this episode gave you something useful to take into your parenting journey. If you'd like to dive deeper, sign up to my mailing list@mindfulparentinglifestyle.com for more tips and insights. Or book a free chat to learn how we can work together. And don't forget to hit, follow or subscribe so you never miss the an episode. I look forward to speaking with you next time on your calm Parenting path.

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