Welcome to Happy Place Creatives! We are the Cain family from Avon, Indiana. We are new to blogging but are very excited to share our world with you! Come along on our journey of creating our Happy Place.
Our story began 21 years ago…when a girl took a job she didn’t really think she’d want and ended up meeting her husband there. (That was Kinko’s. Some of you may only know it is FedEx Office, but it will always be Kinko’s to us!) Fast forward to 18 years of marriage, 3 kids and one adorable doggie later and we decided to start The Happy Place Creatives blog! We are so excited to share our stories and goals with you and hope to inspire you along the way.
Meet the family
Melissa – mom – artist – free spirit
I can usually be found creating art, planning our next trip or dreaming of ways to live by the beach! I have been artistic my entire life. (But wasn’t always creative! DO you know the difference? If not, click here!) I am a self taught painter. Well, I did learn a lot from Bob Ross, I only wish it was in person and not on WFYI when I was young, and Netflix and YouTube now! 😀
I did study graphic design, at a business college, for one year, as well. I worked in graphic design off and on for several years, including at Kinko’s! I soon realized that sitting at a desk 40 hours per week doing the same thing day after day was not my thing. About 10 years ago I started painting on a more regular basis, it began by painting custom cornhole boards. Then, in 2012, Max asked to have a painting birthday party for his 7th birthday. I knew I could handle such a task, so no need to hire someone. I just picked a date, sent invites, fed them cake and then the fun began! I gave each kid a canvas and paints of their own and just let them paint whatever they wanted. It was a success!
My girls, (both of whom have bdays that quickly follow his!) wanted to do the same thing! So, after doing 3 of these in 5 weeks (yes, their bdays all fall in a 5 week period!) Jan 28, Feb 12, Mar 6! YIKES, I know!) Anyway…after that, I had other parents scheduling them for their own kids… and it took off! It was around the same time that my neurologist had told me that I needed a hobby to help with stress and anxiety. (I have epilepsy and was having stress induced seizures.) Painting is a great was to relax, so of course I chose that! It just happened to also be a great way to make money!
I spent the next 2.5 years teaching paint parties for kids and adults, then opened a retail space offering the same. That was a lot of fun, but it just took more work and money to keep the place running, and was taking away from the fun of painting and what got me started in the first place (it was now opposite of being a stress reliever!). So I closed up shop and moved it all back home. I still do paint parties, but also putting my focus into other creative outlets as well.
I have always wanted to start a blog and share my art and passions so I have finally decided to dive in. I will sharing art projects, creative family time tips, creative ways to save/make money, travel ideas & tips, and of course sending positive vibes! I will also feature stories about my creative friends! SO if you’d like to be one of my subjects, please let me know! I’d love to come watch you work and share it with the world!
I’m also very excited that my kids are on board and wanting to contribute as well. I hope you will enjoy The Happy Place Creatives and will create your own happy place as well!
Micah – dad – hard worker – the money guy
Micah can usually be found sipping coffee (at any point in the day!), doing yard work, or dreaming (with me) of ways to live by the beach! He is a creative person, when he wants to be. But mostly he is very analytical and good with money & numbers, which comes in very handy, especially for a gal like me who hates to math! I’m working on getting him to use his creativity more often because I know he enjoys working with his hands and when I do ask him to build things for me or help me with something, he is great at it and always has good ideas. Micah will be my tech guy and help me with all the technical jargon that usually just confuses my noggin!
Makensie – first born – almost adult – creative, funny, organized
Taken in Danville, IN
photo by Jennifer Riddle
Makensie can usually be found working puzzles in winter, skateboarding in summer, being creative always and lately, trying to figure out what she wants to do when she graduates. She is a senior and has considered many fields such as nursing, therapy, performing arts, and cosmetology. It’s such a tough choice! She knows that we support her no matter what she chooses. (as long as she doesn’t choose to just netflix n chill! That’s a NO GO! oh wait! Unless that means she’s somehow making money at that, then it’s A-OK!) We have no doubt, whatever she chooses, she will be amazing and successful. As long as she’s happy, we will be happy too!
Some of her
favorite hobbies are photography, painting, drawing and sculpting. (Check out some pics of her work here and follow her on Instagram!)
She’s also an amazing singer! (She belongs to a State Champ Choir at the moment! Avon HS – Allegros 2018!)
Her creative contributions will include Pinterest expertise, movies, photographs, and amusement park travels.
Macy – middle child – almost 16 – creative, funny, minimalist
Macy can usually be found sketching, making slime, and of course watching YouTube videos and playing Mine craft!
She’s always creative and has a very wild imagination! (Sarcasm is one of her best talents!)
She is a freshman who sometimes struggles at school. But she has friends there, that she loves, so we’ll just say she has a love/hate relationship with the place. I’m pretty sure we can all relate to that! Right? (I just think her creative mind is always on overload and it makes it hard to focus on the ‘important stuff’. But, what do I know?)
Regardless, she is very smart and we have no doubt that she will make great things happen!
Macy and her friends 
Good times at school.
She is a passionate soul who loves music. She played percussion in band and loves to dance. Like her sis, she is an amazing singer! (Click here to hear her singing on Instagram!)
Her creative hobbies include photography, drawing, making slime (she has quite the slime lab going these days!) She also writes poetry and short stories. She plans to start a YouTube channel soon, and I know she will create some really great stuff! She hopes to write and direct movies someday. She will be helping me with music and video editing. She will also provide creative contributions on topics such as teen life, ADHD, and anxiety. Although these are serious topics, she no doubt will present them with humor and lightheartedness.
Max – the youngest- taller than mom – creative, funny, lots of energy
Max can usually be found hanging with Macy watching YouTube or playing Mine Craft, building Legos or drawing. No matter what, he’s usually talking or at least making random, obscure noises. He has endless energy and loves making people laugh. He’s always creative and his imagination is just as wild as Macy’s!
(These two get along so well. They are like two crazy peas in a crazy pod!)
Max is in 7th grade at Avon Middle School South. His favorite classes are art, industrial tech and band. (He’s a great Alto Sax player! He’s “Max on Sax”!!)
When he’s not hanging with Macy or his friends, he likes to help Micah with projects like landscaping and building things. He would like to be an engineer, (more specifically – designing roller coasters.) Or maybe a stunt double. lol We all think he should be a comedian. :))
For Max’s blog contribution, I know we will always be able to count on him for helping create hilarious video content. He’s always willing to step in when we need an actor or a strange voice, and never fails to make us laugh!