In Kinship - for makers who crave a vibrant life

Tina VanDenburg
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We love to make things with our own two hands, things like clothes, book illustrations, delicious meals...and a vibrant, mindful life!  To be fully lit up!    This is the In Kinship Podcast, and I am your host, Tina VanDenburg. I'm a maker and I imagine you might be a maker too, and you stumbled upon this podcast because maybe you want to elevate your life as a maker. In this podcast, we're gonna explore the idea of living a vibrant, fully awake life as a person who loves to create things. 

  1. FEB 19

    #47 - The Notebook I'm Going to Burn

    — Morning Pages, Sacred Practices, and Making Space for Joy In this episode, I'm sharing what's been filling my days in the in-between season of late winter and early spring — from winter camping in the woods to planning a rustic cabin adventure with my 10-year-old, hauling gear a mile and a half through the snow. I open up about the creative tension of not sewing as much as I'd like, and how building furniture and developing my Embodied Joy workbook have become the creative outlets calling me right now. (Sound familiar? You can't do all the things — just not all at once.) The heart of this episode is about bringing sacredness into your everyday life. I talk about my morning ritual practice — including my experience with Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way and how the concept of truly disposable morning pages changed everything for me. No preciousness. No posterity. Just a beautiful, honest conversation with yourself that you can burn in a celebratory fire when the notebook is full. I also share a simple but powerful idea: giving yourself a creative practice that is completely throw-away — whether that's a wonky quilt square, a sample stitch, or three pages of stream-of-consciousness — and how that kind of creative freedom can actually deepen the work that does matter. Plus: dancing to three songs every morning, the sacred act of shoveling a path, and the small practices that connect us to what matters. 🌿 Get the free Vibrant Life Work workbook: https://kinshiphandwork.com/in-kinship-a-podcast/ 🎧 Join Embodied Joy: kinshiphandwork.com/embodiedjoy tina@kinshiphandwork.com

    23 min

  2. JAN 30

    #46 - What's Stirring Beneath the Surface?

    In this episode, I welcome you to a new season of the podcast by exploring Imbolc—the Celtic celebration marking the first stirrings of spring—and the Snow Full Moon occurring together on February 1st, 2026. I share how I'm emerging into 2026 differently, having chosen "Honor" as my word for the year. I talk about resisting the pressure to sprint into New Year's resolutions and instead spending the first weeks of January simply creating—making garments, tending my home, and trusting the process. I share the magical download that came from this patient approach and how it revealed the direction for my business and life. This episode is an invitation to notice what's stirring beneath the surface in your own life, to tend the small flames, and to trust that gentle emergence is enough. At the end, I introduce my new Embodied Joy membership—a monthly gathering space for those ready to actually live a joy-filled life, not just talk about it. tina@kinshiphandwork.com

    26 min

  3. 03/20/2025

    #45 - Finding Spring in Winter's Grip

    In this episode of the In Kinship Podcast, I share my journey of embracing the unexpected as winter stubbornly refuses to release its grip on northern Michigan. With warmth and humor, I take you along on an impromptu adventure with my nine-year-old son when we found ourselves "lost" on country roads—transforming what could have been a stressful situation into a memorable bonding experience. I explore how shifting our mindset from fighting circumstances to embracing them creates space for joy, whether we're dealing with surprise snowstorms or life's bigger challenges. From learning to ice skate (badly!) with my hockey-playing nephew to knitting a cape with unexpected golden flecks, this episode reminds us that manifesting isn't just about envisioning a perfect future—it's about finding ways to feel exactly how we want right now, no matter what season we're in. Join me for a heartfelt conversation about bringing spring energy into our lives even when our surroundings don't match our expectations! tina@kinshiphandwork.com

    27 min

  4. 03/11/2025

    #44 The Joy in the Struggle

    In this light and candid episode of the In Kinship Podcast, I unpack the ups and downs of the creative process through the lens of a dress gone wrong.  With laughter and insight, I share how a see-through fabric mishap and a fiddly neckband led to valuable lessons about embracing failure, stepping away when frustrated, and finding the balance between perfectionism and joy.  Whether you're sewing garments or building camping cabinets (or raising my perfectionist 9-year-old!), this episode reminds us that the magic happens when we approach our creative hurdles with curiosity instead of scarcity.  Come along for a conversation about finding vibrant joy in your making process, even when your fabric choices leave a little too much to the imagination! tina@kinshiphandwork.com

    16 min

  5. 12/09/2024

    #43 - Using stitches to journal your state of being

    With guest Tamanna Rahman, a textile artist, clothes maker, and psychiatric nurse practitioner who integrates holistic mental health practices into her craft. Tamanna shares her journey, from her early love for textiles inspired by her grandmother to how COVID sparked her passion for sewing and embroidery and drove home that life doesn't have to look like it always has. She discusses her work, Slow Work Sewing, and where she teaches embroidery workshops that guide students in translating daily experiences and emotions into abstract mark-making and stitch . The conversation touches on the therapeutic benefits of repetitive, bilateral motions in craft, the importance of aligning lifestyle with seasonal and personal cycles, and the concept of living a life that honors one's creative soul. Tamanna also share her exciting future workshop ideas and tips on self-care, creativity, and the freedom to live a fulfilling life on one’s own terms. Tamanna studied literature and social movements at Williams College, and completed her graduate training at Yale University. She is originally from Los Angeles, and currently splits her time between New Haven, CT and Newfoundland, Canada. Find her online on Instagram @slow.work.sewing or www.slowworksewing.com. tina@kinshiphandwork.com

    1h 5m

  6. 11/26/2024

    #42 - Take the next right step...sometimes all you can do is begin

    Join me as I tell you about my day at the coffee shop and how I went from frustratingly staring at a blank canvas to figuring out exactly what I wanted to do...simply by trusting in the process and taking the next step. tina@kinshiphandwork.com

    22 min

  7. 11/22/2024

    #41 - when you avoid a thing by doing the thing you were already avoiding!

    So, tell me if you know this story. This week I shopped for way too many groceries and then in an epic showing of avoiding what I SHOULD have been doing, I pulled everything out of the pantry, fridge and freezer. Yes all of it. Washed everything down and reorganized all food items in my life. I donated the "no-longer-what-I-want-to-be-eating-but-still-good", purged the outdated, composted the pickles that were gifted back in 2018 and scraped the gunk out from underneath the crisper draw. Then and only then could I put away my massive grocery haul, full of the ingredients for no less than the 3 intensive meals to be made THIS week and meats to be turned into pressure canned meals. Yes, an activity that will take no less than 6,000 hours to complete. Because, you know, it's the perfect time for that. In the midst of a growing Christmas-gifts-to-make list, more work than I can accomplish and a fairly persistent case of the "mehs" (the sneaky kind that dull you down, but don't knock you out). Why do we unearth the big, dirty project that we've been avoiding for months and do it, in a desperate frenzy, the moment we have other things that are arguably more important? To be fair, I found the big organization and clean-up to be like a giant, soothing exhale in my soul, aside from the guilt tucked in my belly that said, yes but what about the important and timely things? You have to do this RIGHT now? This is actually one of my tips for life...when you're avoiding doing something important, simply drum up something even more important and in your frenzy to avoid that, you'll happily do the first one! You're welcome. (but don't tell me you're not already using this tip!) Gah! But honestly, it was the soothing I was after, wasn't it? The feeling of having things in order and well-tended...and under control. Maybe that's where the "meh's" came in. I believe we do things for a reason. Not simply because we lack discipline (although I like to berate myself from time to time with the best of them, I mean honestly what was I thinking with the canning project right now?) but because we are out of balance or out of sorts and we're trying to right ourselves. And that, that I can have empathy for. That pantry/canning project took my time and added stress to be sure, but it also gave me something. The soothing I mentioned earlier, the feeling of order and control, but also the satisfaction of a job started and completed and the security that comes from ready-to-eat meals in the (sparkly clean) pantry. And while I didn't consciously choose to overload my compact shopping cart so much so that I had to swap it out for a larger one at the checkout, I was, after all, looking out for myself. Aren't we amazing creatures!?! Now to sit with those feelings I was trying to sooth and see where I can bring balance back into my life in a non-time consuming, frenzied way. Again and again and again... https://kinshiphandwork.com/ tina@kinshiphandwork.com

    27 min

  8. 11/08/2024

    #40 - Making sense of the world through illustration!​

    With guest Elina Puaohiniemi. I met Elina 5 or 6 years ago in an online community and have had the pleasure of watching her share her illustrations, books and so much love with the world.  from Elina’s website:  (this delightful bit is exactly why I want to have Elina on the podcast!) “Elina Puohiniemi aka elinap is an artist, life coach and the creator of Mira(cle)Doodles series. She has been illustrating her spiritual path with doodles since 2010. At first she doodled lizards while trying to solve her struggles and cope with daily blunders in parenting, self-love and other areas of life – The lizards did bring her answers, but not deep enough, she thought, barely scratching the surface. Onward she went on her quest to understand life and studied to become a life coach, and then a Master Coach. Maybe that would bring her the depth she desired from life, she thought… While studying she made observations on different personality types, and the bigger picture of life, and finally came to the conclusion that it was the ego that she had been drawing. Lizards weren’t enough!!!”   read more Elina lives in Finland with her husband, their two teenage sons, and a poodle.    http://www.doodlingmiracles.com  http://www.elinap.me/books  tina@kinshiphandwork.com

    1h 2m
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About

We love to make things with our own two hands, things like clothes, book illustrations, delicious meals...and a vibrant, mindful life!  To be fully lit up!    This is the In Kinship Podcast, and I am your host, Tina VanDenburg. I'm a maker and I imagine you might be a maker too, and you stumbled upon this podcast because maybe you want to elevate your life as a maker. In this podcast, we're gonna explore the idea of living a vibrant, fully awake life as a person who loves to create things. 

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