Hello!

I'm Amanda. Mama to three little ones - Calvin, Ezra and Adelaide - and partner to Steve (who shares his own words from time to time). We live near my much-loved hometown of Portland, Maine. There's lots of play, many visits to the beach, and in the best of moments - peace and creativity in our family of five. The other moments are filled with chaos and craziness, but we love those too.

I started this blog in February of 2005 (if you dare to read those early entries you can do so here). My book The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections will be available on April 1st. You can find more information about that here.

I read all of my comments and do my best to reply to any questions within the comments at the end of that day. You can also reach me at soulemama@gmail.com. I love, love, love hearing from you! The emails you send bring me such joy, laughter, comfort, encouragement and fun. They're beautiful and they inspire me. And very often, they lift my spirits and make my day. I only wish that I had a few more hours in my day so that I could respond properly, but as it is, I'm sorry that I am unable to reply to nearly as many emails as I would like.

And if you'd prefer the old-fashioned way, you can reach us at:

SouleMama
PO Box 8190
Portland, ME 04104

Below, you'll find some answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Peace,
Amanda

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the things you make your own design?
I use some patterns, and some of my own designs. If I've used a pattern, I'll always reference it in the post. I hope the things I make of my own design are inspiring - and I welcome you to use them as such. I respectfully ask, however, that you use them as just that - inspiration for your own ideas, rather than copying them to sell yourself. That's no fun for you, and it's a bummer to me when I stumble upon one of my original designs on Etsy - made by someone other than me.

Where do you sell your things? Why is your shop empty?
You can find some of my work for sale locally at Edith & Edna (a fabulous crafty shop on Exchange Street in Portland, Maine), and from time to time - online at my Shop. I'll always let you know on the blog at least a week in advance before I update the shop.

What kind of sewing machine do you use?
I use a Bernina Aurora 430 with the BSR for free-motion quilting. I can't say enough good things about my machine - I adore it. Having a good machine has really changed the way I sew, and was worth the investment for me. My suggestion would be to find your local sewing machine shop and try some out as well as asking other sewers what they use. I bought my machine locally in Auburn, Maine at Cote Brothers. I also use a Janome serger, which I find very helpful to have when sewing garments.

Can I link to your blog? Can I use your photos?
Sure, you're more than welcome to link to something you find on my blog - I'm honored that you would want to do so. However, please do not take images or content to use on your own site or project, without my permission. Thank you.

When can I buy your book?
My book, The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections, will be published on April 1st, 2008 with Trumpeter Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications. It is available for Amazon preorder now. You can read a bit more about the book and how it came to be in this post. I've just begun work on a second book, which will make it's way to the shelves in early 2009.

What kind of camera do you use?
I recently switched from a Nikon D50 to a Nikon D80, a digital SLR, with a few different lenses - my favorite being the 18-200 VR (love that lens!). The photographs with a 'blurred' edge are taken with a Lensbaby 2.0. My film photographs are shot with an old Nikkormat FT with several different lenses, and I usually use 200 ISO fujifilm.

How do you do it all?
I don't. There are many things that I don't do, in order to do the things that I love. I work a lot at night when my children are asleep, and now I have a few days dedicated as my work time. My studio space is fairly organized, so that when I do have time to craft, I can get right to it, rather than hunt around for things I need. And because my actual crafting time is so small, I've generally thought about what I'm going to do throughout my day, and when the time comes, I can bust it out. Kind of the less time = more productivity theory. But beyond that - I think it's really about the seemingly small, but time-consuming choices we make. Having a super clean house isn't important to me. Making things is. I'd rather spend an hour in front of my sewing machine than the television. And so forth. And please do remember that what you see on a blog is not 'all' of a person's life. For me, my blog is a place of daily peace, a reminder of family joys, and a celebration of creativity.

Can you tell me more about homeschooling? What is unschooling?
(I have such respect for all the many choices in education that we make as parents - be that homeschool, public school, private school or anywhere in between.) Though we take inspiration from many different educational theories, our homeschooling approach most fits under the 'unschooling' umbrella. Our learning happens organically, everywhere and anywhere. Sound vague? I'm sorry. Let me refer you to my favorite experts - they can tell you much better than I.
---BOOKS---
Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto.
Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling by John Holt, revised edition by Patrick Farenga
How Children Learn by John Holt
And the Skylark Sings with Me: Adventures in Homeschooling and Community Based Education by David Albert
Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School by Grace Llewellyn
---WEBSITES---
Unschooling Info
Unschooling Blogs Webring
Unschooling on Flickr
Waldorf Homeschoolers
---PUBLICATIONS---
Home Education Magazine
Live Free Learn Free

Do you have ideas for craft projects I can do with my kids?
Why, yes! I hope you'll find plenty of ideas in my book, though I hope it will also show you that creativity doesn't necessarily translate into glue sticks and scisors, and it's quite likely that you're already living a bit of a creative life with your little ones. There are lots of ways we can be creative with our children throughout or day and lives together as a family - and art and craft projects are just one tiny piece of that. Browse through the Creating With Children category of my blog for some ideas of things that we do. And be sure to visit the archives of Kiddley, and sign up for KidsCraftWeekly for more ideas.
My biggest piece of advice? Play more. Get messy, dirty, wild and free - as much as you can.

I'm coming to Maine for a visit - can you tell me where to go? 
Jen Judd-McGee put together a wonderful weeks' worth of guides and blog posts dedicated to Portland - chock full of resources. You can find that here. And readers shared some wonderful tips in this post from 2007.

Can you tell me more about the way your family celebrates Solstice and the changing of the seasons? 
Our family traditions include elements from many different traditions, as a way to incorporate and celebrate the natural world in the rhythm of our year. Some of my favorite (parent) resources for celebrating the seasons with children are as follows. (You can find a list of our favorite Winter children's book here).
Celebrating the Great Mother: A Handbook of Earth-Honoring Activities for Children and Parents - by Cait Johnson
Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions - by Starhawk
The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas - by John Matthews
All Year Round - by Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes - Clinton, and Marije Rowling
Festivals, Family and Food - by Diana Carey