Check Out Patricia Chamberlain’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patricia Chamberlain.  

Hi Patricia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started Not So Crafty Momma in 2018 as a way to share craft projects that I did with my daughter. I had originally just been sharing photos of our art time on my own Facebook page, but I noticed a lot of other parents leaving comments that said things like “That is so creative” or “I wish I could come up with things like that”. I am not a crafty person at all, so I wanted to create a space where I could share my ideas with other parents who also got intimidated by all things crafty. Throughout the past few years, the vision has changed a little bit. I still share easy art projects, but I also share educational ideas, travel experiences, parenting tips, disability awareness, and recipes. The goal behind everything that goes onto my blog and YouTube channel is to empower parents to ditch the idea of perfection and embrace the messiness of parenthood. I bring my experience as a parent, a disabled person, and a former early childhood educator into both my blog and my YouTube channel. The art I post may be messy at times and the travel videos jump around a bit as I balance recording and parenting, but everything is authentic. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road started off pretty smoothly, but it got a little bumpy when the pandemic started in 2020. When we sheltered in place, I lost access to both the part-time daycare program my daughter was going to and my family that would watch her so I could write. As time went on, we started to see loved ones again, but my husband and I didn’t feel comfortable sending her back into any kind of learning program until the fall of 2021. During this time, I was not able to consistently create content. Instead, I spent most of my time creating a pre-school homeschool curriculum for my daughter and just trying to maintain a sense of normalcy in uncertain times. I absolutely loved having that extra meaningful time as a family and I do not regret putting out less content during that time, but it was a bit of a setback for the growth of Not So Crafty Momma. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Not So Crafty Momma is a blog, YouTube Channel, and other associated social media that aims to help parents ditch the idea of perfection and just spend meaningful time with their children. The blog focuses on art projects for young children, travel tips, parenting content, and recipes. The YouTube channel is more of a look at the adventures my family has. The blog is most known for the easy paper crafts that I share and the YouTube channel is most known for the adventures we have at amusement parks and in small towns. 

The thing I am most proud of is that four years later, I am still able to find new things to share with my audience. I still enjoy creating content to share with others. It is a continuous learning process and I experience personal growth every day. 

I think my life experience is what sets me apart from other content creators. We each travel a unique path in life and I strive to share my experiences with others in the most authentic way possible. 

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson that I have learned is that life is about balance. Even though I do not work a traditional job, being a work-at-home mom has required me to be flexible. Somedays, I can an entire blog post written in an hour, work on several different educational lessons with my daughter and I manage to cook an amazing dinner. Other days, my daughter and I play outside all day before putting a frozen pizza in the oven. I have had to learn to give myself permission to have both of those types of days and everything in between. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.notsocraftymommablog.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notsocraftymommablog/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notsocraftymommablog
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/notsocraftymomma
• Other: https://www.shopnotsocraftymomma.com/