This week, we’re talking about creative failures, and man… do we have some to share. Sometimes you have to laugh or cry, and this episode, we may have done a little of both as each of us revisited some of our most notable creative failures, from empty journals, to very earnest infant portraits, to melted wedding cakes.

In the end, though, Katie said it best: “The real failure is never letting yourself get started because you're too afraid of being bad at something.”

So let’s hear it for failures! Because that means you succeeded at trying a thing, and that is hard!

GOOD FIGHT SPOTLIGHT: Go check out Mary Huggins of Mary Huggins Art — she’s a landscape painter from Rome, Georgia, who started painting as personal catharsis to fill her own home with original art and turned it into a successful career.

LEAVE SNACK: The homework this week is to make a brave attempt. Try something you might fail at, sign up for a class where you might be the worst in the room, or revisit a failure you've buried and ask whether it's worth trying again.

This week, our Good Fight Spotlight features our friend (and member of Melissa and Brynn’s former writing group), Christy Petterson, who has done a million creative things and has recently launched daytimemooncreativity.com. She’s currently got registration open for some creativity workshops in the Atlanta area. She’s amazing, encouraging, and smart, and attending one of her workshops could help you make the creative connections we are advocating for in this episode. Go check her out!

Leave snack: Connect with another adult human about art this week. Bronze = leave a comment or review; Silver = share your own creative goals with a friend; Gold = make an actual date (in-person or virtual) to create or talk about art together.

You can do it! We believe in you! You’re not alone in this. <3

The short answer? Just be more intentional and less impulsive. Easy, right? 😅

We definitely don’t have it all figured out, but we’ve got some good ideas worth trying.

This week’s Good Fight Spotlight: Neeli Brisky , a very talented photographer and videographer Katie’s used for years to capture precious family moments.

This week’s leave snack: Where and when do you normally get sucked into social media? Make a plan for an analog activity or a more intentional use of social media during that time.

In this episode, we compile a bunch of actual road-tested strategies to squeeze creativity into the nooks and crannies of our busy lives.

We hope some of what we share will be helpful to you, and we would love to hear your ideas!

This week’s Good Fight Spotlight highlights Callie Murray whose debut novel The Brunswick comes out today. Today also happens to be our very own Brynn Barineau’s release date for Jungle of Ashes so go out and support these moms who are doing the dang thing, y’all!

Leave Snack for this week: Look for one part of your day where you can take something you already have to do and make it a little less mundane and a little more creative. Whether it's packing lunches, listening to music, making up stories or songs with your kids — where is an opportunity to notice and add some creation? Maybe make yourself a creativity first aid kit to take to ball practice, for example.

Here’s a little excerpt from our discussion:

Melissa: What does it mean to be a woman? To be an ambitious woman? To have hopes and dreams and goals in addition to loving being a mom?

Brynn: Just being a mom does not fully satisfy me. I want to do things other than raising my child. And I feel terrible admitting that.

Katie: Or is pursuing other things inversely related to the quality of my kids’ lives? Is every moment I spend on anything else somehow hurting them? And of course — your creative moments process things and help you, which can only make you better as a mom. Not just on the surface level of your kids seeing you do something creative, but if you can sort your brain out, you don’t blow up as much.

Melissa: You don’t lose your temper and then feel guilty about it. I am 100% a better mom when I’m writing and have a creative project going — that’s how I process what I need to process.

Katie: It lengthens the rope, so you’re not so short in the moments when you need a little extra patience.

Leave Snack: Keep noticing the art-worthy moments in your day. And also, in the spirit of our mom guilt episode, spend a little time — journaling, talking to a friend, drawing, making a cartoon, whatever works for you — pondering this: What kind of experience do you want your child to have one day, if they choose to become a parent? What advice would you give them if they came to you with their own parental guilt? And then ask yourself: could I offer myself that same advice?

At the same time, if we wait until “things calm down” to start prioritizing our creative selves… it might never happen.

So where does that leave us?

Basically, we argue that it’s going to look different at different stages of life, but no matter how busy you are, you can find ways to affirm and stretch your creative spirit. We offer practical, low-effort ways to intentionally preserve that part of yourself.

Even if you don’t have time to make art, you can be training your artist’s eye.

Leave snack:

Choose at least one day this week to be intentionally observant — look for one art-worthy moment, sight, interaction, experience.

Capture it quickly: write it down, voice-memo it, or text a friend.

Bonus: Spend five minutes with it — doodle it, write about it, or express it in any form that feels natural.

The homework for this week is to think about and write down specific, attainable goals for your own creative endeavors.

Good-Fight Spotlight: Check out Hannah Miller’s embroidery on instagram

Check back later this week for some goal-setting worksheets/templates/resources.

Homework: Make a list of ways you’ve used your smart brain to make things better. Consider how you’ve already woven creativity into your life. You’re probably doing it more than you think.

Extra credit: Share some of that list here in the comments here so other folks can be inspired!

Double Extra Credit: Go buy Brynn’s book.

Triple Extra credit: Find out if Publix will give the moms a free cookie, too.

The three of us definitely agree with the importance of having those creative outlets, but lament how hard it is to prioritize that when there are so many other demands on our time.

Homework: Reconnect with your creative self. What would you like to be doing creatively? If it’s been a while since you’ve had a chance to nurture that part of yourself, think back about the last time you enjoyed a creative activity. Or what kind of project could you get excited about, if you had sufficient time, materials, and childcare? Journal about it, tell a friend, or post it here! We genuinely care about your creative ambitions and want to encourage you.