Episode 145

What does it mean to be creative…it’s allowing yourself to be so inspired by the beauty of the world that you want to capture it in some kind of form and then having the discipline to actually carry it out.” – Ashlee Gadd

Mothers often feel guilt when they pursue something that takes time away from their children, especially when that something could be deemed less important than parenting. Writer Ashlee Gadd felt the same way when she was navigating being a first-time mother, exhausted yet yearning to be creative. Now a mother of three and the founder of Coffee + Crumbs, an online community bringing mothers together through storytelling, Gadd intentionally finds time to be creative.

Ashlee Gadd is someone I’ve followed my entire motherhood journey…for almost a decade. I’ve listened to her podcast and read her blog. Ashlee has been showing up for years through her brand Coffee + Crumbs. She’s been creating and mothering that entire time and all of those years of experience with creating and mothering are now brought together in her beautiful new book Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood.

Her book and this interview inspired me so much and I know they will inspire you. In a world that tells moms they are too busy to go to the bathroom by themselves let alone create anything, Ashlee is a voice of compassion and practicality that says “yes you can be a mom and create. Yes you can take matters into your own hands and make the time. Your ideas matter. Your creations have great purpose in this world. You’re not alone in your desire to want to create and bring more beauty into your life and the lives of your family and community.”

Ashlee’s Bio: Ashlee Gadd is author of Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood and the founder of Coffee + Crumbs—a beautiful online space where motherhood and storytelling intersect. As a writer and photographer, Ashlee has spent her entire motherhood creating in the margins. When she’s not writing or vacuuming Cheerios out of the carpet, she loves making friends on the internet, eating cereal for dinner, and rearranging bookshelves. She and her husband have three kids and live in Northern California.

In this Episode, Ashlee and I Talk About:

• Ashlee’s beautiful new book Create Anyway
• The intersection of motherhood and storytelling
• Her creation Coffee + Crumbs
• Lifelong learning
• How Ashlee has been living out the message of her book over the last 10 years
• Our society is obsessed with creating for profit
• Creating for the sake of creating
• Creating things that no one sees
• Creating just for ourselves
• Ashlee is an enneagram 3, Lori Beth is an enneagram 7
• Cooking as creating
• Blessing our family with our creations
• Feeling guilty about taking time to create
• Making time for creating
• Keeping our expectations in check
• No season is going to last forever
• Creating a flexible routine and rhythm
• Having a constant expectation interview with yourself
• Acknowledge the season you’re in
• Micro-seasons inside of larger seasons
• What it takes to be a creator
• The dance between inspiration and discipline
• Notice what is going on around us and be outside and captivated
• What does it mean to be creative
• Charlotte Mason education philosophy
• Creating in community
• Creating as a way to satisfy a need for independence
• Creating a mastermind community
• Tips for moms who want to find a creative community
• Take matters into your own hands—create what you want
• Being vulnerable
• “Start it and they will come”
• You’re not the only who wants to create
• “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11
• We can shine in our creating and shining in our encouragement of others
• Creating as God the Creator has set the example for us to do
• How Coffee + Crumbs came to be
• How Create Anyway came to be
• Being in God and not coincidences
• Giving purpose to our work
• In person community, online community, and online networks
• Finding the balance between consumption and creation
• Create more than you consume
• How we can show up better as mothers
• Taking a holistic approach to filling ourselves up as mothers
• Being surrounded by secular culture and suffering because of it
• The influence of social media on our health and ability to create
• The life changing habit of regularly deleting social media
• Start small…every minute you spend creating is not wasted
• Everything is a learning opportunity
• Your efforts matter
• Put your butt in the chair and get words on the page
• JUST START

Ashlee’s Links: Website, Instagram, Pinterst, and Substack

Follow us on Instagram, @loribethauldridge and @elevatingmotherhood! Like, comment, and share that you’re listening to the podcast!

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE so you never miss an episode!

Like the show? Leave me a review! Your feedback lets me know what you like, want, and need in your #momlife. I’m here to serve you, open up conversations, tackle topics, and encourage connection. Reviews help me do that! Thank you so much!

SPONSOR

Homeschool Explained. Today’s episode is sponsored by Homeschool Explained, an online course I created to help parents find their confidence as they begin their homeschool journey. Homeschool Explained is also for families who are already homeschooling but feel they could use more resources and a confidence boost to keep going,

My course is designed to save you time; it can be really overwhelming typing “how to homeschool” into an online search engine then spending hours sorting through the results. With Homeschool Explained, there will be no more maddening online searches for how to start homeschooling—this is me, a passionate veteran homeschool mom, holding your hand and walking you through homeschool 101 in just under 3 hours. The course is outlined to be logical and easy to understand. I take over 15 years of homeschool experience and condense it into a 3 hour instructional video and include a newly updated, downloadable PDF. I’m super stoked to announce that the PDF isn’t the only new upgrade! I’m now including ongoing encouragement! So your learning doesn’t end when the tutorial video stops. At least once a month I’ll upload encouragement for you. This month I have 2…an audio for parents who are teaching their young children to read and a video about joyful journaling—how to bring joy into writing and record keeping.

I used to teach in-person workshops when I lived on Maui to help families gather all the information and resources they needed, answer all their questions, alleviate concerns, and help them get organized as they started homeschooling. Homeschool Explained is the online version of those workshops. I totally get it, starting any new journey can be really overwhelming…especially when it comes to re-thinking how your kids are going to get an education—and that you’re going to be the teacher. But don’t worry. There is so much support and freedom in homeschooling. It’s do-able. It’s fun. And it takes way less time than most people think. I put over 15 years of homeschool experience and insights into this easy to follow, easy to use online course that answers common questions, helps you work through worries, and saves you time. No more internet search overload. This is all the info you need to get started homeschooling today from a trusted, experienced source.

I show you what modern homeschool days actually look like—all while covering major topics like curriculum, homeschool styles, subjects to teach, cost, state laws, socialization and so much more. This course takes the guess work out of where and how to begin and leaves you with solid support and resources from day one. I would be honored to help you to start your homeschool journey with confidence! Find out more at www.homeschoolexplained.com

LINKS

Love the Show? Leave a review on iTunes!
Connect with Lori Beth on Instagram: @loribethauldridge and @elevatingmotherhood
Visit Today’s Sponsor: Homeschool Explained
More About Your Host: Lori Beth’s Blog