About

Welcome! I'm Emily Neuburger - artist, teacher, author, and freelance children's craft designer. I live with my husband and two daughters in the beautiful Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts where natural beauty, art, community, music, farmland, and amazing fresh yogurt collide. I'm a contributor to Family Fun magazine and the blogger for Family Fun magazine's blog Everyday Fun, which is on the Parents Magazine site. My book, Show Me a Story, was released by Storey Publishing in August 2012 and is a curriculum rich book meant for anyone who does creative work with children.

I have my Masters of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T) from Smith College and I've worked in the field of education for over a decade.  I happily taught in two Massachusetts high schools before becoming a local creative arts and writing educator.  Throughout my career in education, I've been especially interested in how art informs writing and how writing informs art, and how both nurture people's capacity to imagine. I now teach classes to both children and adults in my home studio/classroom as well as in libraries and schools. My curriculum is a nice balanced blend of skill-based learning, inspirational investigation, and creative encouragement. 

Small moments and unlikely treasures feel magical to me, and I find myself documenting them in my own writing and artwork. Threaded throughout my creations are simple lines, organic shapes, vibrant colors, and re-purposed materials. I'm passionate about developing imaginative  art for old and young, and my background in education fuels my passion for developing designs that encourage people to think deeply. Embedded in each carefully designed project is the hope that it will inspire imaginative thought, and at the same time, spread around a little bit of joy.

Many of my projects for children have been published across the web on popular sites such as Poppytalk, Apartment Therapy, Crafty Crow, Craftzine, and in both Family Fun and Parenting print magazines. I write regularly about creative living and unexpected treasures on my blog, www.redbirdcrafts.com.   I continue to feel thankful each day to be a part of this wondrous community of artists, educators, parents, and friends.

Thank you for visiting and please be in touch!

xo emily

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I link to your blog? Yes!  You are very welcome to link to something you find here. However, please do not reproduce images or content from this site without asking me first.

What kind of camera do you use? I use my trusty rusty Canon Rebel XTi, which is a digital SLR camera. 

Where do you teach classes?  I teach my creative expression classes in my home studio/classroom in South Amherst, MA.   Find out more by going to the Classes tab at the top of my blog. All are welcome!

Are your classes just for kids?   I teach evening and weekend classes for adults (teens are welcome too!)  I often bring a pot of tea and honey to those classes.

Where do you sell your wares?  I sell them in my Etsy shop and at select craft fairs.

What is the deal with the book writing situation?  I wrote a book!  The full title of my book is: Show Me A Story: 40 Craft Projects and Activities to Spark Children's Storytelling and it was released by Storey Publishing in August 2012.  There is more information in the above book tab, including where and how to pre-order it online. 

When did you start writing your blog?  And why? I decided to start a blog on the first day of 2009.  It was a cold, snowy day and I remember sitting by the fire with my family reminiscing about the past year.   I was trying to remember all of the crafts I had worked on during the year.  It slowly came to me that keeping a blog would be a really nice way to have a visual record of my work.  I viewed it as a little adventure.  

How do you balance your creative work with being a mama to two children? It feels important to me to feel balanced, and finding exactly what works isn’t always easy.  In the past, I’ve had some really wonderful people come to the house to play with my kids while I was in the house working. I really liked this set-up because I got to hear them buzzing around the house while I was busy in my studio.  Lately, now that the girls are a bit older, I find pockets of time when they are independently playing to squeeze in some short spurts of work.  When I need longer stretches, I find time in the evening, on the weekend, or during the day when they are at school. 

What are your favorite materials to work with? I love wood, paint, cereal box panels, brown paper bags, stones, carving blocks, ink, fabric, and watercolors.  I especially love working with found and repurposed materials. It makes me so happy to find a use for something that was going to be discarded.

Do you have sponsored posts, promotional material, or advertisements on your blog? 

From time to time, authors, artists, and companies contact me to review a product.  Please know that I will only review a product that I truly love and enjoy, and when I do, I  always offer my honest, authentic feelings about the item.  

Red Bird Crafts is part of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.  This is an affiliate advertising program which allows  sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  I only link to books, craft materials, and items that I, personally, use and enjoy. 

If you are interested in site sponsorship, please contact me.  I'd love to hear from you!