the gift of creativity ...

To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted. ~George Kneller

If you've been reading awhile, then you already know about my littlest ladybug's strong imagination.  She truly has that perfect storm of intelligence and creativity combined to create a child whose mind is never (ever) at rest ... she is constantly thinking, constantly creating, and thanks to that added pinch of resolve, nothing stops her.  Her spontaneous creations often take my breath away - no joke.  She sees everyday things at a whole different level - she'll create something from nothing every. single. time.  For Valentine's Day last week, she was told to find a shoebox at home, and decorate it as a "valentine mailbox".  Most kids wrap their shoeboxes in wrapping paper or construction paper.  If that.  Not my little bug ...

Using 3 shoeboxes cut just so, she made an exact replica of our house - with smoke coming out of the chimney saying "Happy Valentine's Day!"  Every detail of our house is in place, right down to the wreaths on the doors and the potted plant on the stoop ...

Who does this?!  Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy amazing?!  She's nine years old.  Last summer, I started taking photos of the things she creates out of the blue and by now the folder contains literally hundreds of pictures of her amazing masterpieces.

For example, you might remember her homemade butterfly lure from last summer?  Or the eggshell baby carriage last Fall?  Those were among my first photos of her creations - so was this one of her birdwatching journal and gear below ...

My favorite part of this photo is her last entry: "Nothing yet, but I still have my hopes up. I think I'm going to go play football." 

And like a proud momma with a wallet stuffed full of photos, here are some more of my favorites:

No one available to come over and play today? No problem, the sock monkeys are free ...

And why would you paint your nails one simple color when you could fashion an American flag on them instead (she did this with no help, btw) ...

And, of course, no cardboard box is safe from any child - but instead of a simple fort, my little ladybug sees 4-paned windows complete with window boxes, a chimney, and a roof deck ...

Last summer she decided to make a zoo for all of her plastic animals - she used Lincoln Logs and plain white paper to create the zoo ...

Not especially remarkable but did you notice the parking ticket on the VW bug?  It's all about the details, people ...

A few months later, she perfected the "paper structure" idea and created a PetSmart store for her domesticated plastic animals - 100% from paper right out of the printer - check out the cute puppies in the front window ...

this is the interior wall of the store ...

and, of course, the carrier to take your new pet home in ...

Her most recent plain-paper masterpiece?  A working and functional jack-in-the-box ... wait, what?!  Yes, it works.  You sing the song, the "jack" pops out after 6 slow turns of the handle ...

And on days when daddy works so late they can't eat dinner together, she still finds a way to join him ...

Is anyone else impressed with the level of detail in the BACKGROUND of this self-portrait?!

Last month, little ladybug had a book report (called IRPs - independent reading project) coming due ... each IRP has a specific creative assignment to pair with your report. This one was called "story in a can" - similar to the valentine box, you decorate a coffee can with pictures or drawings and fill it with 10 items that represent some aspect of the book you read. Seems simple enough, right? 

On the left is just the lid of her can ...

Obviously, it's a duplicate of the book cover (made completely out of Crayola model magic) ... what amazes me is that she took the time to create the same wrinkles in Clementine's clothing and even rolled out super fine threads of the clay to create the same cursive writing in the title, the hair, and the shoelaces ... what the?!  Her attention to detail is unreal.  Seriously, folks, she's nine ... little ... she weighs like 50 pounds.

My final photo to share is worth a big smile, so I hope I've still got your attention (I know, nothing worse than a mom who drones on and on about her "amazing" kids, right?!  Please forgive me!).  Last month little ladybug wanted to do something special for our 18 year old neighbor and longtime babysitter. She was home from her first semester at college to have her wisdom teeth extracted. So what did my little bug deliver to her? Four of these ...

(full credit goes to dana at bungalow '56 for this photography trick!)

Don't immediately recognize what it is? Would it help if I told you that it's a molar wearing a wizard's cap and holding a wand?  Are the light bulbs going off in your head yet?  Yup, it's a "wisdom" tooth - she made 4 of them and happily delivered them to her beloved sitter.  For the last time: who does this?!

My littlest ladybug, that's who - my super genius, super creative, super awesome nine year old ladybug.  Like I said ... her mind is constantly working, constantly in gear, constantly creating ... not always an easy profile to parent (frustration is not a good look on her), and that determination of hers makes an argument awfully difficult (man that girl can dig in) ... but I'll take our little ladybug any day of the week ... exactly the way she was made ... I love you, baby :-)