I’m the writer and maker behind Artfully Carin and I’m so happy you’re here!
About AC
When I talk to new mum friends almost all of them say they don’t have time for themselves anymore and that they feel guilty when they do. They wish they had more time do what makes them happy. They also say they’re overwhelmed with the amount of photos and videos they have and wish they could organise them somehow. They want to keep their memories in simple, but creative ways. If you’re here I guess you do too.
That’s where I come in.
Artfully Carin helps you add more creativity into your life, keep your memories in simple, but fun ways, and find you the time to create and be you. Every so often I also share easy children’s craft projects to give you a bit of a break.
I always want to keep this site easy for you to get around, so I recently decided to get rid of pretty much everything in my archive and start over! I’ve been blogging for 16 years over 4 different blogs and the online world has changed a lot in that time, so I decided to get rid of anything that wasn’t helpful. So if the blog looks a bit sparse right now, there’s a good reason for it. I still need to update some old posts and bring them into 2023, but I hope you’ll bear with me while I do.
My story:
I have loved journaling, sketching and taking photos for as long as I can remember. I got my first journal when I was 10 and filled that thing to the brim with my thoughts and feelings, stickers, photos and drawings. I drew on almost every scrap piece of paper I could find (I didn’t have sketchbooks back then) and never grew tired of it. I couldn’t wait to finish my homework and chores every evening so I could spend the rest of my time on that.
When I grew up, got a full time job and a home to keep, I stopped doing a lot of the things I loved. But after recovering from being bedridden with a bad back for several years in my mid-twenties, then becoming a mum, I was desperate to create again. I played around with all sorts of arts and crafts, but in the end they all led me back to my childhood loves; journaling, sketching, and photography. Being a mum also made me want to keep all our family memories. Since I still had a few back problems, I had to find the simplest way to do things, then fit them into my busy life as a mum. Thankfully I love coming up with systems. I haven’t looked back since!
My kids are teens and pre-teens now and my back is a whole lot better, which means my way of memory-keeping is evolving again. It’s more about me and my interests and less about them. More memories from my hikes and travels, less sketches of toys. But that’s what good memory-keeping is all about. It goes with the flow and follows your interests.
I live in Bedfordshire, U.K., but am originally from southern Sweden.
Let’s get together on social:
You’ll mostly find me on TikTok and Instagram. Right now I’m mostly using my carinsadventures Instagram account which follows my hiking and adventures, but plan to return to my artfullycarin account soon too. And if you are interested in working with me or have any questions, please contact me here.