🎙️ Creativity as a Way of Life with Elsie Larson

Scratch That: Parenting & ReParenting Off Script

Do you ever long to explore a totally new creative outlet or try something brand new? Like, I don't know, write a novel? Open a cute little boutique? Or try your hand at jumpstarting an art career? Our guest today has the trickster energy to try it all, throwing off scripts about being too inexperienced or too old to explore, try, and play. Elsie Larson is a mother of two and co-founder of A Beautiful Mess empire she's built with her sister Emma. The two are creative makers to their core, from their vintage clothing boutique Red Velvet (RIP) where they sold their originally designed dresses to their outrageously successful blog where they share original recipes, DIY projects, and home renovation ideas. They've written books, co-host a podcast, and showcase their ideas on their Instagram account. Today we truly talk about it all with Elsie, from her journey as a creative to her role as an adoptive parent, from her earliest years to her plans for her 50s.

Tune in to hear us talk about:

🤸 The way Elsie's childhood fostered her creative trickster energy.

⚠️ Where she gets her boldness, willingness to take risks, and try something new.

🏆 Jealousy as a manifesting tool.

🧭 How Elsie pivoted when she lost her sense of self in early parenthood.

📅 Making choices for yourself 10 years from now & feeling excited to get old.

📝 The common scripts about adoption that strangers repeat to Elsie & how she's narrating a different story in front of her daughters.

💞Ridding ourselves of the assumption that we understand our kids' experiences of the world & generating more curiosity within a family ecosystem.

🐣 Rebekah and Elsie's shared stories of getting married and divorced really young.

🙏 How our particular evangelical upbringings influence how we show up as adults/parents & what Caitlin misses most about church.

Mentioned In Today's Episode:

We talk about "trickster energy" a lot on Scratch That! The idea comes from Elizabeth Gilbert's book Big Magic💫

Martha Beck's book The Way of Integrity

Elsie's podcast is called A Beautiful Mess, and the episode Rebekah mentioned on goal setting is #246 "Setting Goals for 2025"

As Always:

Check out Caitlin and Rebekah's Book Shop! Here you can find every book mentioned in our episodes, as well as a few additional faves.

Use this link to get a 25% discount on a PokPok subcription! And if you haven't listened yet, check out our interview with PokPok creators, Esther and Melissa.

We would love to hear from you! How are you coping (or not!) with all the demands the domestic world? Are there ways you are forced out of the traditional scripts around care work? Or do you long to break out of them, but find it difficult to actually do?

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🟢 Spotify

Find Rebekah on Substack & Caitlin on Instagram ✨