Lazing on a Sunday Crafternoon was a personal passion project that brought together my love of art, craft, design, and family connection. Co-created with my young daughter and published by Allen & Unwin, the book presents 52 simple, handmade projects – one for each week of the year – designed to help families rediscover the joy of creativity and the value of making time to make things.

Distributed internationally by Murdoch Books, including through the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Design Store in New York, the book celebrates creative curiosity and domestic making as acts of mindfulness and connection. Each project – from peg dolls and hand-sewn toys to nature crafts and paper-based play – was developed and tested in our own home, making it both accessible and deeply authentic.

The project was a response to an increasingly screen-focused, fast-paced culture and reflected my ongoing interest in art as a wellbeing practice. Lazing on a Sunday Crafternoon encouraged readers to reconnect with their own creativity, share experiences with loved ones, and rediscover the small joys of making by hand.

For me, this project was also a way to ‘practice what I preach’: to demonstrate that creativity need not be reserved for the professional artist or designer, but is a human necessity that enriches our relationships, mental health, and sense of belonging. The process of creating, photographing, and writing the book deepened my research into how everyday creative engagement supports wellbeing, particularly for children and families.

The book was warmly received by readers and reviewers alike. As Children’s Books Daily wrote:
“This book took me back to my 80s childhood when The Women’s Weekly Craft Book was my most treasured possession… I was slightly beside myself with joy to find some similar but far more stylish craft projects in Lazing on a Sunday Crafternoon. There are 52 super simple projects to complete… that’s a whole year of Sunday crafternoons!”

Lazing on a Sunday Crafternoon remains one of the projects I’m most proud of – an affirmation that art and creativity belong in every home, and that small, shared acts of making can transform how we see ourselves, our families, and our communities.

Continuing Practice

Since the book’s publication, Lazing on a Sunday Crafternoon has continued to inspire a series of community-based workshops designed to strengthen local connection, wellbeing, and creative participation. These have included Sunday Crafternoon sessions in Harden-Murrumburrah and Christmas Crafternoon workshops across Hilltops Libraries, each inviting families and individuals to take time out for slow, shared, hands-on creativity.

In 2026, I will extend this practice through a new series of children’s community Sunday Crafternoons, developed and co-facilitated with my now-grown daughter – revisiting the original spirit of the book in a community context. These sessions will continue to explore how intergenerational creative practice fosters belonging, wellbeing, and resilience, and will contribute to my ongoing research into everyday creativity as a community-building and placemaking tool.