paper hearts

Sometimes there is nothing better than the simple marriage of paint and paper.

And a few other Valentines ideas! Click the title to be taken to the, "how to"!

Rose Bud & Straw Garland

 Little Heart Garland Kit

Lavender & Rice Pouch

tooth pick god's eye.

cake bunting

Before we left to go to the sea we had a little celebrating in order. I made some paper bunting to go on top of our favorite almond cake. Here are some simple instructions!

w h a t  y o u  w i l l  n e e d ::

2 little sticks (I used bamboo skewers)

Embroidery thread

Origami paper

Glue stick

Scissors

Cut the origami paper into small triangles and using the glue stick attach them to the embroidery thread. Just put a dab right on the top. Press down leaving a bit of space between each triangle. Tie each end of the thread to the sticks and there you have it! Now eat cake.

natural dyeing

We dyed this cloth alongside a batch of white eggs for Easter. The eggs didn't work quite as I had planned but the cloth was quite nice. For the blueberry dye, we put some frozen blueberries in a bowl, covered them with hot water and let them steep. For the tea dyes, we just put tea bags in bowls and and let them sit in hot water too. We added a bit of white vinegar to each batch to help the color set and then left the cloth in until they were dyed to a color we liked. It is always nice when mistakes become something new and exciting, isn't it? It is a good thing to remember.


P.s. THIS is a good book on natural dyeing!

match box covers

We use candles quite a bit in our little house to mark special times of our day together. I have always been drawn to these little match boxes and thought it would be nice to cheer them up a bit. Simply trace, cut and glue on some nice paper to each side of the box. We used a different pattern for each side but whatever you fancy would be wonderful!

Wishing you all the loveliest of weekends and thanks again for stopping by!

rose bud & straw valentine's garland

Here is a simple craft for Valentine's Day, or for any occasion at that. I tend to like garlands because they add just a touch of holiday cheer without being too over the top (even though that can be good too!)

You will need::

*a nice bunch of dried rose buds :: I had some in the form of loose tea so you may be able to find them at a health food store or co-op) You can also get them here.

*swedish straws from here

*needle and thread

First, decide on a pattern you like. I strung three rose buds between each piece of straw but you can do whatever you fancy! Next, cut the straw to the desired length. Although I used a sharp knife I think a razor would work best. The straw is fragile and can split easily. Finally, string your garland. Poke through the very top of the rose buds (where there is a  little raised soft spot) and then into the hollow straw. I find it is easier if the straw is cut a little bit shorter than the length of the needle so you can push it through the straw and pull it out on the other side with you hand. Make sure to leave some extra thread on each side of the garland so you can tie it some place nice. And there you have it! 

You can find my little Valentine's craft from last year here! 

The End.

drift wood & clay beads

We have had a lovely bundle of drift wood sitting in a glass jar since coming home from a week on the beach this summer. On a whim the other day I decided to pull out our paints, homemade clay beads and twine and figure out some way of putting them all together. We live in such a little house (really!) that it is always nice to reclaim even a small amount of counter space! 

Anyway, at first it felt a little funny painting the wood. It is so beautiful in its natural form and the color is always so soft and dreamy. Somehow though, adding some nice colors didn't seem to take away from seeing their true shape and it was fun to paint in all of the nooks and crannies. After letting the wood dry in the sun, my little one cut some long lengths of string which I wrapped and tied onto the main piece of wood, letting the extra hang down. Then, I strung a bead and tied a knot to keep it in place, wrapped the twine about six times around the painted drift wood, tied another knot and clipped off the extra length. 

I rather like it in all of its imperfection and haphazard twine tying. I think too that it will add a nice burst of color as our winter days grow nearer and it will fill us with memories of warm summer days in a little cabin on the beach packed full of the people we love.

Hope you all have a delightful weekend!

:::a little note:::

For you folks who subscribe (saying that makes me laugh) to this little blog, I'm just wondering if you have been getting emails when I do a new post? I'm just not sure if it is working! Okay, off I go.

walnut shell & wool pin cushion

I was so happy to walk into our market to the sight of big bags of nuts:hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds! We nibble on so many different kinds of nuts in our family and I was excited to show my little son a bit more about where they come from. We decided to bring home a bag full of walnuts and he delighted in cracking them open. Many of the shells just broke into pieces but the ones that were split perfectly in half left lots of room for the imagination. I made one half into this wee pin cushion simply by needle felting a wool ball the same size as the walnut opening and then gluing it into the bottom of the shell. I found it helpful to start the felt ball outside of the shell and then to shape the rest while the wool was in place. 

The shells would also work well for these boats. Who knew that there were so many things one could made with a simple walnut shell! And you get to snack on nuts while you work! How nice.

The other day we brought home some lovely cobs of corn from a local farm. The iridescent kernels look like the shimmering scales of a mermaids tail and never cease to amaze me. I thought it would be nice to string them into a fall harvest necklace. Maybe you would like to make one too!

1. Find some lovely corn (even all yellow kernels would be beautiful too!)

2. Take off the individual kernels. This part is fun for little hands!

3. Soak the kernels in warm water for a few hours until they are soft enough to push a needle through.

4. Thread a needle and start stringing the corn. The white part of the kernel is usually the easiest part to push the needle through.

5. When you reach the desired length tie the two ends together and there you have it! 

Oh...and the husks can be soaked in warm water too and made into a corn husk doll!

lavender & rice pouch

These lavender and rice pouches are a nice way of using up those extra pieces of fabric you have lying about the house. They are quick and easy to make much like the bean bags I shared awhile back! My little one and I found some lovely lavender in the loose herb and tea section of our local co-op. When we got home we mixed it together with a bit of rice to give the pouches some more weight which is nice when laying them atop of weary eyes or when throwing them around the house, as the case may be. It is a good idea to have the pouches sewn together (with a small opening at the top to put the lavender and rice into) and to have a piece of thread on a needle so you are ready to stitch up the pouch once it is full without having to put it down. I also find it is best to leave about a half inch at the top so the pouch can move a bit and curve over the brow. Oh, and I decided to use two different fabrics on each side. One is an open-weave linen which is nice in that the smell of the lavender can really come out! The picture above was taken while we visited relatives who live in Provence. I remember thinking right then and there that I most certainly wanted to be a lavender farmer! It was so beautiful and smelled divine. For now, these pouches will remind me of that lovely lavender filled, homemade cherry and pine nut tart filled day!

some itty bitty notes::

This is a wonderful site for finding all things local. They have a nice section on lavender so you can find out if it is grown near you. You can also order it online directly from lavender farms!

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I have been wanting to make these for awhile now and thanks to Childhood Magic for reminding me once again of the idea!

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Though I don't usually share too much about my family in this space, I did want to say that my sister has written a wonderful wiki article about my grandfather who was the founder of Creative Playthings and one of the first male nursery school teachers in the United States. He was a remarkably creative and inspiring man and you can read about him here... if you want!  

We are back from a lovely, lovely week by the ocean. It was such a gift to spend some good time with the surf and with family too. I miss it so much already that I thought I would just jump right on back into this little space of mine and see if it helps me plant my feet a bit again. So...these are some acorn necklaces I have been working on for awhile now. Really, we had the most wonderful harvest of acorns this past fall. They were a delicious shiny brown and so perfectly formed. We filled our pockets on our daily forest walks and ended up with quite a collection! I drilled some holes in a few of them and strung them on thin cotton cording with glass and stone beads. Each has a bird shell bead flying above. I am really enjoying necklace making and can't stop thinking about all of the possibilities. It is so satisfying and fun to boot! I have made a few different kinds that you can see here and here. Oh, and make sure to see this darling necklace on one of my favorite blogs!

I do hope this finds you all well and staying cool for those of you who are melting away like us!

I made this simple bunting out of some vintage cocktail napkins. They came in a lovely set of colors and I stitched them onto some rose-colored bias binding. I thought they would be nice for a new baby gift or as a birthday banner with an embroidered message on one of the napkins. They are quite joyful to look at and they blow nicely in the warm breezes of summer. Oh, and I just love the idea of using cloth cocktail napkins. It seems so elegant and old-fashioned to hold them beneath a frosted glass housing a mint julep or a fresh cup of lemonade! 

And speaking of  Mint Juleps ::

For each chilled mug or glass, crush 4 sprigs of fresh mint leaves with 1 teaspoon superfine sugar and 1 ounce club soda in a bowl. Add 3 ounces of bourbon (Kentucky bourbon is best!) and let the mixture stand for 5 minutes. Strain into the ice-filled, chilled glasses (or the classic silver mug) and stir well. Garnish each with a sprig of fresh mint and serve with a straw!