muse-ing #32
tips for creative gathering, movies to watch, winter solstice, and more!
Wow! This is the last Muse-ing of 2025✨ Thank you for joining us in the studio, online, or in spirit, this year. Everything we do is made possible by all of YOU, who follow along, and come to class, and read these cozy little newsletters. It is a wonderful gift to spend our time with you all :) Cheers to another year of crafting, art making, connection building, and so! much! more!
Creative Holiday Gathering Ideas
We are in the season of gathering (at-home gathering, in particular). It can feel like the best gift, or the most stressful chore, but, regardless, we are always fans of a good get to together. Whether you are hosting, or just your family’s own personality hire, having some unique ideas for creativity and connection to add to your holiday plans will serve you well. So, here are a few ideas of how we will be incorporating a little creativity and a little connection this season:
Paper snowflakes!
Bring back middle school art class! Recently, a few of your RecCreate Collective hosts took an evening off to make paper snowflakes at the Unruly Collective. We had a blast cutting paper, yapping, and unveiling our creation to see what it became. You could even have a little extra fun and supply some old magazines or scrapbook paper to end up with some very unique snowflake creations. In the end you have something to do, and party decor!
Maximalize your own Tablescape
There is nothing quite like a well decorated table (bonus points for an interactive one). People like Samantha Picard make table scapes look like an art practice, which we believe they are, but you don’t need to spend a million dollars on expensive dining ware and table accessories to complete the dining experience of your dreams. Collect every candle stick and tea light from your own apartment, make placemats out of recycled construction paper and sticker sheets, cover the table in brown craft paper, throw out some crayons and TADA! The perfect table. Find more ideas here!
Have Conversation Prompts on Hand!
You might think you know everything about your family and your friends, but sometimes a silly little question can add some extra delight to your table conversation. Print or write your questions on paper and sprinkle them throughout your hosting space or in bowls on your dining table. Or make grand announcements every few hours (RecCreate style) and present your questions to the group. Answer them in pairs, or if the group is small, go around the circle and hear from everyone! A prompt list here!
Incorporate easy games
Not everyone is a games girl, but I do believe an offering to play can help ease guests into a fun evening. A graph on a wall where people can categorize themselves (NY Mag Matrix Style), a quick two truths and a lie in between dinner and dessert, or a simple game of fishbowl to close out the night is low lift and usually leads to lots of laughs.
My grandmother, who is 91 years old and threw many many parties in the 70s (a heyday for gathering), shared with me her favorite game. She would cut out the words from comics and mix them up between guests. To find their seat at the dinner table guests had to match their comic image with someone else’s comic phrase. Easy, silly, and effective.
Play with your food! (Not actually)
It seems like everyone i know is going to a cookie swap this year or a cook book club or some other elaborate foodie party. Although it might seem like a pain to plan something additional amidst all the craziness, adding a food related prompt to your invite might take the stress off of you (as a host). Have everyone provide a nostalgic dish from their growing up, bake cookies to decorate with your guests, pick one ingredient that guests have to incorporate into their dishes, & the list goes on.
Our Muse-ings
something to explore: This amazing list of creative fonts! Fonts are an often overlooked, but essential, part of online design. Whether you are building a brand, logo, or just an admirer of things that are fun, these free fonts from paulina is so so satisfying!
something to watch: Sentimental Value from Joachim Trier. Trier, the director behind The Worst Person in The World (another great movie), recently released Sentimental Value — a beautiful film about family dynamics and growing up (even as grown ups). It is visually striking & the writing is thoughtful and poetic. It has a few scenes in the snow which, to me, makes it a holiday movie.
something to do: Play in the SNOW! I am writing this newsletter from the Bay Area and experiencing a severe case of FOMO as it relates to New York in the winter time. I am trying to receive, gracefully, pictures of central park coated in fluffy white powder. So, my greatest suggestion to anyone who happens to be near to snow — is to PLEASE! go PLAY! There is something so life giving about pink cheeks and a pink nose and the treat of hot coacoa at home after an afternoon in the snow.
Our Obsession: Pencil
A new creative practice I’m exploring is sketching. As an Art Class failure, sketching or drawing with pencil, was never a medium I enjoyed much. In an effort to reclaim these previously disliked hobbies, I have found myself sketching a lot more. This has led me to a new found love for well done pencil drawings. The print magazine, Pencil Magazine (that is actively accepting submissions), has caught my attention as well as art like this found on substack.
Although pencil can seem a bit drab and boring, there is something especially cool about needing only the simplest writing utensil and a piece of paper to create something with texture and shadow and dimension. Pencil is a great medium for drawing close ups and sketching the detail of metal, silver, and other metallic glints. Pencil is great for doodling, for incorporating text, and of course for making mistakes.
For more graphite art to admire, check out this piece from Cath Riley, Flesh
Notes for the Winter Solstice
This year, the winter solstice is taking place in time with the new moon. The winter solstice is the darkest time of year in the northern hemisphere and with a new moon happening congruently, we are emerging into light with both the sun and the moon. This might mean nothing to you, and that’s okay, but I think the winter solstice is a wonderful time to examine the things we are leaving behind and what we are entering into.
There are plenty of ways to honor the solstice. Here is a list of some of the celebrations (in person and not) that you can do to honor this time of year:
Solstice Tea potluck - HVK park
In The Studio
There are only a few days left before that big huge holiday… but plenty of time to get a RecCreate Gift card for your bestie, your mom, your brother (idk!!). Get more info here & have a gift card in hand well before December 25th :)
The new year is approaching and we are excitedly prepping with vision boards! Vision boarding is such a wonderful way to ring in the new year, manifest our best destiny, and set intentions for a life of creativity and connection <3 We have tons of vision boarding sessions all month, come join us!
Madison Scott of Heirloom Supper Club is coming to the studio this January for Cake Club! We are so excited to welcome Madison as our first cake artist of the new year. Check out her amazing work here & grab a ticket for this event on January 24th from 11-1.
Forever your Fans,
Zibby & Team RecCreate <3