wip - skirt for a mermaid doll

:: this was an impromptu project my little one thought of, an hour before she was off to a sleepover with her grandparents. she has been engaged in play with her mermaid after our seasonal nature table changed to incorporated treasures from the sea shore. after fiddling around with her tail, she discovered the doll has legs underneath and her play has taken a new journey, full of adventure and new lands to explore.

:: my daughter drew a sketch and instructions were given in detail. the little guy was napping, we had the supplies and i could not honestly give my daughter a reason not to make a skirt for her mermaid. 

:: an hour or so went by, my little one had already left for her grandparents' house, and i was cutting out the finishing touches on the double-tiered wave pattern. and this little project taught me a valuable lesson that i needed to relearn. to take a chance. 


for years, i have wanted to make my little one a doll. and one day make clothing for my children and knit them sweaters to keep them warm. and to one day make a quilt like my grandmother used to make. i have long searched the internet for doll making kits, supplies and books, only to find a reason not to proceed forward with making a doll. afraid of failing or even worse, making a mistake and picking out the wrong yarn for hair (that darn perfectionism coming into play) and i have searched flickr for quilt patterns and inspiration, only to feel like the task was too big to take on. and i guess at times, we can put up road blocks or little speed bumps in our own path. but life, of course, is about learning to overcoming them.

:: and my first attempt at the mermaid's skirt did not work. i learned from it, adjusted the pattern and made another one. and here's the beginning of taking more chances.

summer solstice wet felted doily

:: we made our doily using the wet felting process. here are some instructions on making it, from the other day. as the piece became firm, we were able to add some details to it. we added details to each side individually, using a small amount of fairy sprinkles:) and gently rolled in the beginning. adding detail to each side gives you two different looks and our doily could even be hung on a wall or used on our nature table. smaller ones would be great for coasters. wet felting is pretty fun and i really like the end result.i am still getting the hang of it and used to the process. 


have you tried wet felting? if so, what have you made? i'd like to try something new

moments from our summer solstice

:: magical floating flowers from all year round and a silk streamer i made for my little one. i also made up a little sun decoration the same way i did for rhythm of the home. our paper flowers flattened as soon as we placed them into the water, as i ventured off the directions. (i thought the beeswax would allow them to keep their cupped shape, but they did not) they were lovely for breakfast.

:: a fairy basket filled with treasures i found around the house.

:: the little guy discovering some rainbows from our sun catcher just before he went down for his nap. my daughter was so happy celebrating and asked about a treasure hunt. how could i say no. so, i quickly came up with a handful of clues, which took her on an adventure about the house and the yard. during the treasure hunt we enjoyed some orange tea, searched our gardens for newly blooming flowers and read a seasonal book out on our swing. the last clue brought her to a basket of golden hued roving for a wet felting project ~ a sun doily.

:: we started by laying out short pieces of wool roving to create a circular shape on bubble wrap. the pieces were fluffed apart and put down in thin layers, alternating the direction of the wool. to create depth used a bunch of different colors in the same colorway. we used yellow, golden yellow, pale yellow, tangerine, and pumpkin. we then we added some fairy sprinkles of soapy, warm water before we tightly rolled up the wrap.

 ::it was gently rolled on the ground then unrolled to add more fairy sprinkles. then we wrapped up the bubble wrap in the opposite direction and repeated the process a bunch of times. i completed the last few rolls with piping hot, soapy water which really felted up the edge.

 :: zesting and juicing some oranges for our tea and muffins

my little one also loved this verse from a little verse from a child's seasonal treasury.

sunshine fairies by betty jones

we are the sunshine fairies

and with our sparks of light

we shimmer and glimmer in the air

hugging flower with colors bright

hope you having a beautiful solstice. we have a few more pictures of our sun doilie that i'll show you later. please stop by wonderment (my new community space) to share stories and pictures about your summer solstice celebration.

a rose of hope

:: i made a sweet little rose barrette for my daughter from this pattern for her school graduation. i am so looking forward to the end of the school year and for our summer... a big, endless summer where we feel the wind underneath our wings. some new rhythms are beginning to be established, some additional help and support for my son has begun and we are riding a new wave of hope. i hope you'll notice more of the old me back again. well, still me, only with new energy for adventures and challenges and creating. and more growing as a mother, woman, wife and nurturer. (more of that later)

making a crown of rose petals

:: we continued enjoying the beauty of our roses by making a crown of rose petals. this crown is very easy to create, all you need is some wire, rose petals and maybe some ribbon. we removed the petals from the flower and strung them through wire. after we filled up the wire, we twisted the wire together and covered the closure with ribbon. 

this would be great for a summer solstice celebration, in addition to these ideas, including fairy baskets filled with moss, shells, rocks and gemstones for fairy gardens, fairy wands and sun candles.

making birthday ring decorations

 

:: the new summer edition of rhythm of the home is out. i am very excited to show everyone how i made our butterfly birthday ring decoration over here. i have so many crafty mama visiting my blog. if you decide to make a decoration for your birthday ring, i'd love to get see a pic or link.

a fairy garden

:: we gathered materials around the house for the past few days for our fairy garden. she gathered some beach rocks gifted from great grandmother for our walkway, a larger shell to hold water, gems, painted mushrooms rocks, marbles, acorn caps and wind chimes. i love hearing her imagination take flight. 

we also headed to the nursery for a shade flower and an accessory (or two). lastly, we gathered some moss from around the yard and the finishing touch was some mica chips that my little one ground down. i had no idea what she was doing but i sat back. and a great lesson and experience unfolded in time. 

i originally thought i would buy a fairy house like this, or make one like this or that, but my little one really enjoys making fairy houses so leaving it open allows her more opportunity for play. another lesson for me, to sit back and let things unfold.

what things do you children put out for the fairies?

wip - old blue jeans

:: i borrowed my mother's sewing machine months ago. it sat there. i looked at it. i was afraid of it. i wondered it i would remember how to use it. i have not used a sewing machine since the 8th grade. i set out on a new adventure. i had to use the seam ripper a few times, but we're having fun.

wip

:: we have a birthday coming up - lucky number 6. 
 

making flower children

:: we wait in anticipation of each blossoms we will see unfolding around us. each day brings even more beauty into our lives ~ snowdrops, daffodils, magnolias, cherry blossoms, pear blossoms, rhododendrons, violets, dandelions, grape hyacinth, bleeding hearts and our hyacinths anyday. 

:: my daughter and i made a little snowdrop in preparation of spring. we used the pattern in feltcraft. the little snowdrop has been sleeping under my little one's pillow every night and i can tell her love for him comes from us crafting him together. i especially enjoy these days when we can look at our festival resources together and decide what we would like to create. in the background is the flower book with beautiful ida bohatta morpurgo illustrations from 1946, which my little one found in her easter basket. 

 :: i found some violets and dandelions on my walk with the baby today. i arranged them on the nature table for my little one to discover. i hope you too are enjoying the beauty that is unfolding around you.

watch vince grow

1. plant seed in dirt
2. cover with dirt
3. water seeds
4. let sun shine
5. watch sunflowers grow


our little guy is progressing each day, which is wonderful, looking at the big picture. our day to day feedings continue to be a little rough lately. it can be very frustrating and stressful, when our little guy refuses his food and drinks. it can make me feel so sad. but when he eats most of his meal or drinks well, it just makes me feel so happy, it makes me feel that he's going to grow healthy and strong. 

rainbow love

:: wet felted acorns from the other day

waldorf connection - learning handwork together

i was lucky to catch the waldorf connection webcast about handwork with heather from shivaya naturals. here are some of the notes i took from that....

benefits of handwork in Waldorf:
perseverance
patience
mindfulness
self-esteem
sustainability
accuracy
builds creative foundation
love of art
therapeutic
focus
connection for child to their whole person
connection to the whole process and their place in that process
development of character

understand the whole process from sheep to yarn: visit sheep farm, wash and card wool, watch wool be spun, creative play and expression with wool and yarn, move into finger knitting and knitting on needles

books that were mentioned:
all year round
the children's year
circle round
heaven on earth
family festivals and food

fabrics

:: my little one has been asking to learn to sew, so we had a chance the other day to head down to the fabric store. we picked up some ball point needles and some fabric. she picked out a few softly colored cotton fabrics and just when i thought we were done, she brought me to see a shimmering iridescent fabric, she thought would be great for fairy wings and then we searched for a twinkling oceany blue fabric that caught her eye. for a mermaid tail, of course. this is our first, my first stash of fabric. and we have some very ambitious projects for a little one and her mama who does not sew. well technically, i do not, but i'll be figuring it out. any tips?

this is a sneak peak another one of her projects. more to come...

making upcycled valentine wreaths

:: we made these the other day but i forgot to write an entry about them. we made these the day my little one lost her first tooth. notice the christmas ornaments still up in the background, thank goodness they are all packed away now.

to make the upcycled valentine's wreaths, i cut fabric into squares and we strung them onto wire. we filled the wire up with the fabric squares, twisted the wire ends together and formed the wire into a heart.