I've moved! New blog address.


My new website + blog is emilyneuburger.com.  Please visit me there!

If you have this site bookmarked in a blog reader, you'll want to switch to emilyneuburger.com.

Thanks, and see you in my new space!

xo emily

right now


Dear friends,

I will be missing from this place in the days ahead due to a very sad and difficult situation in my family.  Please send my father love and light.  Any bits of strength and love for me and my family are most welcome too. 

Love,
Emily


Red Bird Crafts Write-Along

This is my jar of words.  One of my current big projects has me spending a lot of time with my jar of words, which is a good thing because jars of words are fun.

All of my time spent with the jar made me think that it would be fun if we all spent time together.

The plan:
1. Each week, I will choose three words from the jar.
2. I'll post the three words here and on the Red Bird Crafts Facebook page where I'll use #redbirdwritealong.
3. The challenge is to use the three randomly chosen words in some kind of short creative piece. It could be a sentence, riddle, poem, haiku, faux advertisement, slogan, blurb, love letter, fortune and more, more, more.  Anything. The words can be tweaked slightly (ie: you can change the tense or make it plural.)
4. We'll make our short pieces public.
5. You are welcome to read the comments on the Write-Along posts to see what others have shared.


I plan to share my writing in the comments, and I'd love it if you'd share yours as well.  I also encourage you to share on Instagram or Facebook (or Twitter).  If you choose to share on social media, be sure to tag it with #redbirdwritealong, so we can all read.  If you choose to post on Facebook, would you consider posting on the Red Bird Crafts Facebook Page, so we can all read?  Of course, you can keep your creation private -- maybe in your journal or taped to your fridge? You know that is ok too.

Some of the writing might not be kid appropriate, so it is important to screen the content before letting children read directly from the blog.

This will happen weekly or bi-weekly.  Anyone is welcome to join: kids , elders, teens, and even children who are pre-writers (you can write their words for them).  Hey, family and friends! You too.

Will you join me?


Some thoughts:

1. Hand write or type the three words onto a page.  This will help your brain form ideas.
2. Do some free association writing based on the words (write what comes to mind without any changes)
3. There is no expectation that this is going to be great writing.  This is all about process and delving in.
4. It takes a bit of bravery to be willing to share, but I think it will end up feeling rewarding and fun. I’m especially interested in seeing all of the different ways the three words of the week can be crafted and interpreted.

Today's three random words are:



Oh, and if you are a friend who visits my house, will you please, please add some words to the jar? That would be the best.

Check out the comments to see what others have shared! Will you write-along with me?

-Emily

PS.  If you read my blog in a reader (like Feedly or bloglovin), you might want to pop over to the real deal to see my new logo.  I feel really proud of it.  More blog changes are on the way in the coming weeks/months.


Spring Story Stones


Spring is finally in full force in our Massachusetts valley, which means my family has been in search-for-signs-of spring mode. In the past, we've collected our signs of spring, traced our signs of spring, and made non-dominant drawings of our signs of spring. This year I decided we should make spring Story Stones!

First, find signs of spring! It is easy enough to close your eyes and image some, and this is fine, but I think it really helps if you go out searching.  You'll maybe surprise yourself?  I chose robin's egg (we found one in our yard!), magnolia blossom (my favorite backyard tree), maple keys (or helicopter seeds), and a cherished spring sprout. I don't think I would have remembered the magnolia blossom if I hadn't been outside mindfully observing. Once you've gathered stones and given them a quick rinse, use a pencil to draw spring shapes.


Use acrylic paint to fill in the pencil lines and allow plenty of dry time.


Display your stones in the center of a table or give stones as little token of friendship.  They would make nice end-of-year gifts for teachers and friends!

Story + Art Tip:  Consider using a thin Sharpie marker to write words on the back of each stone.  A poem, haiku, two word pairing, or even one simple word.

Have Fun!