The Mindful Maker

Lose yourself in the creative process with 35 meditative makes. In today’s busy world, it can be difficult to find time to slow down and make time for the simple joy of making, so Clare Youngs has designed a wide range of beautiful and tempting projects to help you experience the pleasure and satisfaction that making something with your own hands can bring. The best thing about practicing mindfulness through craft is that you have something tangible to show at the end, and you can start small with the coral reef-inspired embroidery hoops, or just by making pompoms and tassels to be added to the edge of a pillow or blanket. You can learn techniques such as block printing, punch needling, shibori dyeing, weaving, macramé, and quilting, all of which encourage a mindful approach, and a way to experience a feeling of “flow”. Make unique things for yourself and your home, using natural materials such as wool, cotton, linen, and leather. Clare is a believer in making new things from old, using what you have, and adapting old fabrics to counteract a throwaway society, and all her designs have a Scandinavian-inspired, modern esthetic.

Mindful Thoughts for Makers is a lovingly-crafted little book celebrating the meditative beauty and nature of making. In it, Ellie Beck reveals why creating with our hands is uplifting, rewarding and soothing for the mind, body, and soul. Honoring rituals, noticing the internal quiet, creating time, and finding your flow are all explored in this charmingly-illustrated collection of reflections. The importance of making mistakes, respecting your creativity, appreciating dirty hands, and noticing the mundane moments, together form a meaningful tool every maker will cherish.

Apart from the sheer enjoyment of using our hands to create something new, crafting helps us to connect with who we are. Mindful Crafting explores our relationship with our creativity and self-expression, and reveals how the act of making is the beautiful epitome of conscious living. Sarah Samuel casts fresh light on how the basic human need to create is often forgotten as mass-consumerism grows, and how we can all still find our unique path, craft and our own means of individual, joyful self-expression. Through personal anecdote and expert insight, this book unearths the true value of craft, and how we can meet our soul’s yearning to be creative and open ourselves up to infinite possibilities.

Craft Your Own Happy is a collection of mindful craft projects to make you smile! Perfect for those moments when you need a bit of self-care and relaxation time. Do you ever feel like you spend too much of your day staring at screens, feeling anxious or stressed out? If the answer is yes - then you need this book! The cute colorful projects have all been designed with the feel-good-factor in mind. Crafting can help to take you away from the worries and pressures of your daily life, and give you back those moments of slowness and focus which can help to reduce anxiety. Unlike other craft books, this is a book that you can dip into and find projects based upon how you are feeling. So you can craft to suit your mood! There are 25 beginner friendly projects to choose from including cross stitching, embroidery, paper craft and more... Why worry when you can craft happy!

"The beautiful new book from Salon bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud ... explores how reading mindfully enhances our lives and asks, if reading is our daily nourishment, how best should it be consumed?" - Damian Barr The Art of Mindful Reading embraces the joy of absorbing words on a page, encouraging a state of mind as deeply therapeutic and vital to our wellbeing as breathing. The healing power of reading has been renowned since Aristotle; focus, flow and enlightenment can all be discovered through this universal act. Bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud explores how reading mindfully can shape the person you are, teach empathy with others and give you your moral backbone. Through meditative exercises, engaging anecdote and expert insight, discover the enriching potential of reading for mindfulness. Learn: • How to use reading to develop your emotional intelligence • Different ways of reading • Reading like a child – without preconceptions and in exciting places • The benefits of reading with others • How to find yourself in a book – remembering what you have read If you like this, you might also be interested in Writer’s Creative Workbook, Mindful Thoughts for Walkers and Mindfulness & the Art of Drawing. . .

The act of creating the treasures you use to adorn your home takes the space to a deeper level; it goes beyond collecting, beyond decorating. The Maker is a gorgeously illustrated love letter to creating an intimate, well-designed, and handmade home. With sections on wall art, textiles, ceramics, lighting, and furniture, designer Tamara Maynes presents beautiful homes that showcase the per­sonality and warmth that a cozy, quilted wall hang­ing or an organically shaped piece of stoneware can add to a room. Each chapter closes with a simple DIY project, plus an interview with a high-profile maker. Projects like a metalwork wall hanging, a woven table runner, and a no-fire clay bowl expose readers to the fundamentals of making—and will inspire them to create exciting works of their own.

"Mindful by Design is a guide to well-being, a practical resource, and a creative call-to-action, as Caitlin Krause helps readers to bridge the gap between prioritizing true connection and achieving it." – Leah Weiss, author of How We Work: Live Your Purpose, Reclaim Your Sanity, and Embrace the Daily Grind; Lecturer, Stanford Graduate School of Business "Krause shares valuable strategies that will help any educator, coach, manager, or learning professional bring out the best in those they serve." —Dorie Clark, adjunct professor at Duke University′s Fuqua School of Business and author, Entrepreneurial You and Stand Out "Mindful by Design is a valuable and inspiring guide, offering generous insights and practical advice for those seeking to center, strengthen, and clarify their efforts both in and outside of the classroom." —Dinty Moore, author, The Mindful Writer Take mindfulness beyond the buzzword and spark powerful learning environments! As we navigate complex changes in our professional and personal lives, Mindful by Design is a resource that provides ways to infuse meaningful connection into remote learning, so that learners, teachers, and leaders can flourish. If you′re experiencing "zoom burnout," or just looking for ways to connect more deeply and integrate SEL and mindfulness into the context of your teaching practices, this book is for you! In a busy world full of challenges and distractions, mindfulness is about increasing a sense of presence and intention in everything we do. This must-have resource explores how mindfulness can improve teaching and learning, promoting the development of future-forward skills including creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation, and communication. Readers will learn how to cultivate a personal mindfulness practice that reflects their individuality, and how to create a community of care and respect through mindfulness, inviting learners to seek more authentic interactions with the curriculum, with themselves, and with each other. Mindful by Design provides 24 detailed exercises, including step-by-step mindfulness lessons embedded into specific curriculum areas, ready to implement immediately. Filled with practical, accessible explanations and applications that are adaptive and engaging, this book demystifies mindfulness and empowers each individual to embrace a personal mindfulness practice and inspire powerful learning environments.

Mindful Thoughts for Makers explores how the making process can be used as a tool for meditation, and not just a means to an end. Part of the Mindful Thoughts series, this lovingly illustrated little book muses on all aspects of making, including: Motivation Experimenting Making mistakes Monotony Perfectionism The making community The environment . . . and many more Making can be much more than a business or hobby, it can be a spiritually enriching activity, slowing us down, and connecting our hands to our heart. Textile artist Ellie Beck reveals, through 25 focused reflections, why creating with our hands is uplifting, rewarding, and soothing for the mind, body, and soul. This book offers meaningful insights to all makers from artists and bakers to tailors and woodworkers—the list is endless. If you like this, you might also be interested in Mindful Thoughts for Cooks . . .