To ask about ways you remember your parents being creative

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(And other adults in your family, such as aunts/uncles/grandparents.)
Both my parents were good at making up stories, in different ways. When we were little, my mum used to write stories about us, often based on places we had been to; she drew pictures in them as well. She was also keen on diary writing, and tried to encourage us to do the same, but none of us did it as much as she did.

My dad didn't draw so much, but he enjoyed making up bedtime stories.

Were there creative things your parents did?

My mum is very musical, she used to make us clothes and costumes, she knits and embroiders too. And a keen gardener. My dad used to read us stories and do all the voices. He did DIY and made us toys. He even used to write simple computer games for us. I think they had secret Good Life leanings.

I am also pretty creative (as is my DB) but my DH isn’t really at all. However he is significantly more organised than me which provides a good balance.

I remember when DBro and I were little (infant school age), we found a toadstool in the garden. It was one of the fairytale ones, red with white spots, so we immediately claimed that a fairy lived there and wrote them tiny letters on slips of paper. My mum used Honesty seed pods and a gold gel pen to write notes back to us "from the fairy". We loved it and would run out to the toadstool every morning to check for fairy post.

This Is such a nice idea for a thread OP!

My dad painted wonderful themed paintings for Christmas... and framed them in tinsel. Beatrix potter one year, winnie the pooh another, the muppets another. We never knew what it would be till we came down and saw them. He also did advent calenders with a tiny painting behind each door for a while. My mum was an excellent seamstress and made lovely clothes.

I initially thought hmm not that a creative family... but my mum painted, drew and knitted. My Dad played guitar, did woodwork and enjoys cooking. They did it for fun, they weren't winning prizes in fayres or anything

Gardening, staying up into the middle of the night making carnival costumes - even made a mini one of same theme for my doll one year.

She always did painting and decorating herself too.

Both my parents were at St Martins and Chelsea art schools (60s) when i was conceived
Dad went on to be one of the designers of the big Biba when Barbara Hulanicki moved it to Kensington high st.
I would sit and watch him draw the plans most nights, and my brother and i would play in the Bibas most days before and when it opened.
Really happy crazy creative times, surrounded by beautiful clothes and amazing surroundings! Their friends were known painters, photographers and designers, it was all very bohemian.
Mum went on to become an artist on her own right, and still sells work.
I always said when little, i'd go to Art school and i did.

Mum really good artist/embroidery and seamstress.

My dad, good artist and practical, made my Sindy wardrobe for Christmas.

Sister took after mum and had her own business, me more after my dad.

Love this thread.
My mam made a lot of clothes & costumes for me as a child. She had a sewing machine & a knitting machine so winter & summer, she always made me something.
She's an excellent baker & makes the best pastries. She's always baking something!
She's also a great storyteller. She had a few of her own stories she'd tell us & now she tells her grandkids.

My dad is fantastic at woodwork. He's made a lot of furniture in his own house & mine. Myself & all my siblings all have at least one of his pieces in our homes. He's also built extensions by himself over the years plus he's built the apartment in the their garden. He's also done all architect drawings for the council for planning for more than one project over the years despite having no training.
He's a brilliant painter too. Particularly portraits but he doesn't do it that often.

Both my parents love singing. My mam was in a band when they met & now they are in a local choir for OAP's. Over lockdown they spent a lot of time recording themselves doing covers of songs. Got themselves proper microphones & all lol.

My mum was amazing. She used to paint, make puppets, collage, pottery, poetry, write stories, draw, make jewellery, knit, sew, oil pastel. Some of her pottery work went into a local art gallery in our town. It was a beautiful thing because her entire life was mired by hellish mental torment but she remained gentle, kind funny and creative despite being treated like a failure.

My dad made (still does) amazing meals, wooden sculptures, wrote songs, played guitar, oil paintings, made candle stick holders from scrap metal with cogs and amazing springs and sprayed them black. He now makes candles from his bee hive wax, soaps, hand creams, turns wood on a lathe and has made lots of beautiful wooden bowls/ egg cups walking sticks. He makes incredible fudge and is such a genius with his hands despite being written off by his stupid school and being a single dad to my sister and I from when we were both under three.

My granny painted, designed board games, wrote poetry and children’s books, made rugs/ tapestries, spun wool and made beautiful clothes and knitted stunning cardigans. She made a rockery herself in her sixties and was still drawing every day until she died sharp minded at 101.

It’s been so wonderful to teach my daughter the healing powers of creativity. All of our time together is spent sewing, crafting, clay, writing poems, drawing and painting and it’s just so lovely to be able to pass this wonder down to her.

My Mum was a Queen of creativity. She was an infant school teacher (an excellent one). She made many things for work- lots of puppets (which we also got to enjoy at home). She made a Mrs Pepperpot puppet (there were several over the years) which she used as a prop while reading the stories. Many of her ex pupils (most now in their 40s) still remember Mrs Pepperpot very fondly. (Just outed myself to anyone who was taught by my mum 😂)

Outside of work, she embroidered, made collages and painted. My brother and I had homemade Christmas stockings, homemade car organisers (a genius idea for keeping kids busy on long journeys) and a collage/embroidery each with our names and birth details on. She made amazing personalised collages for friends when they retired. She made wedding crackers for people getting married. She loved making things and was pretty skilled at most of it. Most importantly, the recipients of her gifts were always touched as they were so personal.

When she became a grandma, Mum made more Christmas stockings, puppets, story sacks, fabric advent calendars with pockets, playmats… She even wrote little personalised story books for the grandchildren, illustrated them, laminated them and put them in cloth bags with little wooden figures representing the characters in the stories. She was amazing, and my goodness I miss her.

Dad was not artistic in that way. Overall he had a more logic/maths type of brain rather than creative. But he was musically talented. He played the guitar, had a lovely singing voice, was a great whistler and just had all-round ‘musicality’. I miss him too.

In turn, my brother and I are both quite musical but neither of us are arty like Mum- but DB and I both have daughters who are really artistic so it skipped a generation!

both used to help me with projects. They had books of photos and would cut out any ones I wanted to use and always place them perfectly! Ah god op thanks for this thread, it’s just lovely remembering little things like this!

I’ve just remember though that my Dad who I said wasn’t artistic actually was good at woodwork, and when we were little, helped us make things for mum for Mother’s Day or her birthday. ❤️

Oh you've just given me a lovely memory
My dad when he read to us used to say the characters in the books were the neighbours 😂 he would also try and miss a page but we would know cos we always wanted the same story and then he'd fall asleep in the chair 😂❤️🤗
Mum and nan make and made the best cakes and food
Our birthday cakes were amazing I had a sindy doll one which was my favourite ❤️

Mum knits to this day, dad can fix things, make things eg with wood

My mum was great at making up stories. In fact one of hers seems to have become local folklore! We lived on the edge of a small hamlet, down a tiny lane. One year we had a Halloween party attended by the other children in the hamlet and my mum made up a story about a witch who lived down this lane and used to turn lambs tails into the catkins hanging from the trees. Many years later I was reading an article about local traditions and legends, and lo and behold, mum's story got a mention!

My dad especially was very resourceful and often made things rather than buying (sometimes for budget reasons, sometimes for the purpose of reusing and recycling) I have to admit as a child/teen not all the "home made" items were appreciated!

He made us nice clothes, often as a surprise but the best ever thing he made (I'm smiling as I think about it!) was a tent for my sindy dolls, out of coat hangers, thick fabric and some clear plastic window. It was great, we took it on holiday with us.

My mum made the most amazing birthday cakes, the best was a fairy castle. Neither had creative jobs, or did any creative hobbies for themselves.