Exhale: Where Motherhood + Creativity Intersect

You’re a busy mom juggling 50 things a day: snacks, laundry, work deadlines, homework, carpool, doctor appointments, ever-changing nap schedules. Rinse, repeat.

And yet. In the middle of all that chaos, there's a teeny tiny part of your soul that aches to create.

But where do you start? How do you begin? 

From the outside looking in, we might look like magicians to you. We aren't. We haven’t discovered a secret portal where our children freeze for hours on end while we write at our perfectly clean desks drinking piping hot lattes. On the contrary—we're writing next to piles of laundry drinking lukewarm coffee out of a mug that our preschooler threw some Cheerios into while we weren’t paying attention.  

In other words: being a mother and a creative is not easy, and we know this from experience.

All of us at Coffee + Crumbs have taken the gifts God has woven into our DNA, and applied them to a shared mission. What that looks like on the outside: a shiny blog, a pretty book, an entertaining podcast. What that looks like on the inside: self-doubt, fear, crippling insecurity, creative blocks, terrible first drafts (so many terrible first drafts!), editing, editing, editing, and editing some more. Five minutes here, ten minutes there. Ideas scribbled in notebooks and typed out on our phones on the floor of the bathroom while our kids are in the tub.

We work in the margins. We are interrupted constantly. We of all people know the nuanced balancing act of pursuing art and pursuing motherhood at the same time. It’s ... well … complicated.

And that’s why we made Exhale: A place for mothers to catch their breath, and breathe life into one another.

We believe women are intrinsically creative beings, but often put their artistic ambitions on the shelf when they have children. Exhale is our new monthly membership community designed to empower women to pursue creativity alongside mothering, for the enrichment of both experiences.

Exhale is for you—the mom who loves motherhood but also longs to create. This is for the mom who writes essays in her head while she waits in the carpool line. This is for the mom who takes her DSLR to the park, and for the mom who records podcasts late at night while the baby sleeps. This is for the mom running an Etsy shop in the margins of her day. This is for the mom who wants to start an Etsy shop but doesn’t think she can. This is for the mom who sings in the shower and dreams of making an EP.

This is for the mom who put her writing / music / poetry / photography / painting / weaving / insert talent here ______ on pause and desperately wants to hit start again. This is for the mom who set her guitar / camera / paintbrush / pen / knitting needle / insert tool here ______ on the shelf and longs to pick it back up.

This is for the mom who needs a nudge, a pep talk, someone to speak life and encouragement into her creative gifts.

This is for you.

We have poured everything we know about writing and creativity into a beautiful collection of lessons, interviews, podcasts, videos, creativity exercises and more. This is us—the writers of Coffee + Crumbs—coming to you with open hands and open hearts, sharing how we do what we do.

This is our secret sauce, only it’s not a secret anymore. It’s yours for the taking.

And, because we are never done learning, this is only the beginning. Every month we’ll be adding a new podcast and video to the library talking about our current creative challenges and wins. We're also working on a number of small group workshops, designed to provide even greater depth and focus for those ready to take their gifts to the next level. 

When you sign up for an Exhale membership, you are joining a community of creative women ready to cheer you on. This is a safe space to ask your questions, confess your fears, share your work, and above all else: make friends!

This might sound cheesy, but we believe in you. We believe you have creativity woven into your DNA just like we do. We believe you are fearfully and wonderfully made. We believe you are uniquely gifted and talented, and we believe it’s totally possible to pursue those gifts while you make your ninth peanut butter and jelly sandwich of the week.

We believe this because we’re doing it, too.

We might as well do it together. 

Head over to the Exhale site to join us today. We can't wait to meet you.  

Love, 
The C+C Team