Digital Delight ⋆˚☾⭒.˚

Written By Lucia Sirota

Three Apps that

Transformed my

Creative Practice

As mothers navigating busier, fuller lives than ever before, we need creative tools that don't require extensive setup or long stretches of time - tools that let us access creative joy in whatever moments we can find.

I've discovered three digital mediums that have brought me tremendous satisfaction, ease, and flow: PicCollage, Canva, and Procreate. Each has played a crucial role not just in being creative, but in having a space to process and shift my emotional state when physical art-making felt impossible.

 

PicCollage:

My Postpartum Lifeline

I stumbled upon PicCollage during those early, difficult postpartum days. Nursing was painful and uncomfortable, and I'd find myself awake throughout the day and night with my phone as my constant companion. This simple collaging app became a literal lifeline.

While nursing Río, I could create little collages of the photos I was taking - using just one hand, shifting my focus to something fulfilling and fun. The app offers everything you need for simple, joyful collaging: different backgrounds, stickers, shapes for your photos, and pre-made templates when you want something easeful.

The magic extended beyond creating. As I always say about creative practice, it's not meant to be experienced in isolation - our creative voice is meant to be shared. I could share these collages with people in my life, bringing joy to both them and me. It became a practice I've continued, and I still reach for PicCollage when I want to capture golden moments or create something silly and sweet.

Canva: From

Buddhist

Meetings

to Creative Coaching

A couple years into motherhood, I discovered Canva while creating presentations for my Buddhist meetings. As I explored this tool and built my creative coaching practice, I recognized its potential for the busy, creative mothers I was working with.

Before introducing it to my coaching practice, I spent months exploring it myself - creating little squares and images, compiling messages from card pulls or inspiring phrases. I discovered that Canva is essentially infinite in its graphics, colors, textures, and creative possibilities. It's an incredibly abundant tool for play.

I began encouraging the mothers in my Community Creativity Circle to use Canva for personal play rather than just as a productivity tool - treating it like a digital art box. Later, when we embarked on a hundred-day creative challenge where participants committed to daily creative practice in any form, all of us regularly turned to Canva in moments when we had little energy or time but still wanted to honor our creative commitment.

It's amazing how Canva democratizes design, allowing us to create things that once required entire teams of graphic designers. But I love that it can also be as simple as having your own notebook, stickers, and markers. It's still my go-to for capturing significant moments or crystallizing important energy, and it consistently helps me reset and refresh my mood.

Procreate:

Rediscovering

Mixed

Media Magic

Procreate was actually the first of these three apps I downloaded, years ago on my iPad, but I found myself frustrated with it. While intuitive in some ways, it definitely requires training and understanding. It felt overwhelming, and since our creative process is delicate - easily swayed by challenge or resistance - I abandoned it.

I believe in tools that offer "minimum skill, maximum play," and Procreate felt like it required medium to maximum skill. So I set it aside for years.

Recently, I rediscovered it through Substack creators who shared beautiful Procreate art along with generous freebies - brushes and color palettes that completely transformed my experience. These creators focused on mixed media play, which calls to my heart so strongly but can be extensive in setup and cleanup with physical materials.

With these new tools, Procreate became exactly what I'd hoped for: accessible digital mixed media play where there are truly no mistakes. The flexibility, compassion, and forgiveness built into the mixed media process is key for me, and now I can access that creative joy and flow at any moment.

There's something beautifully full circle about this timing. I'm just about 10 weeks from giving birth, so close to returning to another postpartum season. I feel excited about having Procreate as a digital medium I'm now deeply connected to. I'll be entering a season of tremendous outpour while still needing creative inpour - but this time, I have a more evolved digital toolbox, with tools that can be shifted and adjusted appropriately for whatever this next season brings.

The Gift of

Creative

Accessibility

These digital tools can transform how we access creative expression. For mothers juggling demanding schedules who still need ways to honor their creative nature, technology can become an ally rather than a distraction. When physical art-making feels impossible, these apps offer genuine fulfillment and emotional renewal - proving that meaningful creativity doesn't require perfect conditions or extensive setup.

What creative tools have become unexpected allies in your daily life? I'm always curious about how we each find our way back to creative joy.

Resources

Con amor y cariño,

Lucia

Lucia Sirota
Next

Mini Altars of the Heart ♡°❀⋆