Inspiring My Son to Create

micro origami crane by Dwayne

I was hanging out on Pinterest one night and had a chance to show my oldest son some of the cool origami creations I found there. He's been into origami for years and has come up with his own dragon design. First I showed him some really complicated origami creations, but it was some miniature paper cranes in a glass bottle that ended up catching his eye.  That brought on our first ever mother and son trip to the craft store.

This is not the son I usually pal around with. He's very geeky (even more than me) and is into Magic the Gathering rather than beadwork and crafting. Going to the craft store was fun and he soon gathered the supplies he needed. He got right to work as soon as we got home. In order to fit the cranes in the glass bottle, he had to make them micro sized. Yes, that's a real penny underneath that teeny tiny crane.

He filled the glass bottle with six miniature cranes and then hung the bottle from a necklace cord. It was cute to see him work so hard on it and then anxiously wait for me to add it to our Etsy shop. Interestingly enough, his necklace was viewed 13 times in the first 45 minutes and it was listed in a new treasury within two minutes of being listed.

Origami Cranes in Glass Bottle

Today I saw a great article about how your kids can help you with your Etsy business. Getting your whole family involved in the business can prevent you from burning out. Having the support without feeling separated from your family will keep you going strong. I've also found that fun new ideas can come from all over, even from your kids.

Have you involved your kids in your creating yet?