“Zillions of Ideas for Things to Squish, Wonder About, Play, Squint At, Invent, Decorate, Do, Smell, Imagine, Investigate, Paint, Make, Puzzle Over, and Dream!” - Courtney's Creative Adventures
Who is Courtney Watkins?
Nothing I have read about her ". . . teacher, author, artist, mom, TV personality and creative guru . . ." adequately describes the energy and inspiration this upbeat mom portrays in The Possibility Shop or in real life. She's one of those people you like automatically -- the girl-next-door type, or in this case, the tomboy-next-door.
On the day I visited the set of this Internet-only series from Disney Family.com, Courtney's brother and childhood best friend were visiting. I think I held my breath for the whole shoot while she breezed through filming how to create a homemade Father's Day gift for Dad. I was kinda touched by the way she stopped the show to say her goodbyes when her family left the set. She focused only on them. That's how you feel when you watch her webisodes . . . like she's talking only to you.
Courtney is the creator and host of The Possibility Shop. After performing her rehearsed lines for the camera, she stepped out of the spotlight and gave an impromptu talk about how her life so far has led to this point. You cannot slow this woman down. She's on a mission to get everyone she meets in touch with their creative side.
In the show, Courtney faces creative challenges, introduces new ideas, demonstrates how-to-techniques, seeks answers to befuddling questions and all the while unearths the “Aha!” moments hidden in a child’s every day. Revealing creative ideas for art, games, conversations, experiments, inventions, decorations and explorations, Courtney energizes viewers to pursue limitless fun, with on-your-own, at-home activities. (Just my style!)
So where does The Jim Henson Company come in? Well, it's "Jim Henson's The Possibility Shop." Of course! “We're known for fostering imagination at The Jim Henson Company and Courtney Watkins’ irreverence, whimsy and ability to inspire creativity make her a perfect partner in bringing The Possibility Shop to DisneyFamily.com,” said Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company.
After my brief glimpse into Courtney's world, I came home and ordered her Courtney's Creative Adventures book. The subtitle says it all: "Zillions of Ideas for Things to Squish, Wonder About, Play, Squint At, Invent, Decorate, Do, Smell, Imagine, Investigate, Paint, Make, Puzzle Over, and Dream!" I believe the book is out-of-print, but her show is packed with all the same fun stuff!
More good stuff from The Jim Henson Company
- Short 4-5 minute webisodes feature Cat Cora and The Muppets Kitchen featured on Disney.com and Family.com will get the whole family laughing and ready to play in the kitchen. I wrote more about it on OCFamily.com "Playful, Messy Cooking with Kids."
- Where in the world are Wilson & Ditch? Or I should say - where in the U.S.? Those lovable little gophers have taken quite the journey since the last time we checked in with them on PBSKidsGo! They're in Sleepy Hollow for Halloween.
- Did you know Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train characters are puppets? I got to see the filming in action earlier this year! Each character is run by two people: 1) for the voices and facial expressions, and 2) for the body. The puppeteers perform digital puppetry to make the characters spontaneously come to life in animated form. It's amazing to watch in action.
(Giveaway closed.)
*I learned about these shows from attending PR events. Read my full disclosure policy here.
