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.

miss mouse

We had a visit from this little lady. Isn't she divine? There may be nothing sweeter than a plump woodland mouse. I think her name should be Eloise or Petunia or maybe Lola. Anyway, she made us very happy indeed. 

save seed

At the start of the summer we were gifted with a bag full of mammoth sunflower seeds saved from a friends garden. We planted them in our own garden beds and they quickly grew into proud and very tall flowers. The other day we cut them down(with a saw no less!)and plucked out their plump seeds to save for next season when we will plant them again. It is such a nice thing to do, such a celebration of the cyclical nature of life and a lovely way for new little hands to work away.

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!

After a dry summer we finally had enough rain to fill up the ponds and puddles and waterfalls and to soak the earth with its newly planted spring bulbs. We brushed aside our frizzy hair made wild from the dampness and heat and pulled on our rain boots coats. Then one night the clouds broke and gave way to early morning sunshine. Just in time for a weekend of bike rides, the stacking of fire wood and another fall festival. I do love this lovely season of ours. 

There are signs of fall everywhere. One needn't look very hard to find them anymore. Even though I feel a bit wistful for the long, hot days of summer, the beauty of this season makes it so much easier to move forward. We can hear the geese overhead flying south, and the loud rustling of leaves as the busy woodland creatures ready for the cold months ahead. There are squash and pumpkins to devour, apples to pick and make into pies and sauces, there is wood to be stacked and woolens to wash. There is so much to be done during this lovely season and on this first day of celebrating the fall. 

Pine Cone Fairy.

"Then clear on a flute of purest gold

A sweet fairy played.

And wonderful fairy tales she told

and marvelous music made."

-Ida Rentoul Outhwaite

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Pierrot and Pierrette c. 1920

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 It is easy, on a still, quiet day like today, to feel as though there are elemental beings living alongside us.  It is quite a lovely and magical way to pass some time.  Maybe, it is the certain way a flame flickers in a hot burning stove, or the pale, pink wisp of an evening cloud, which catches the eye and makes one think that surely they saw something flying about with purpose and glee. 

 It is often in the presence of young children where the world of fairies comes so alive, and what a treat it is! How lucky they are to believe so purely and whole heartedly in the existence of these tiny, winged delights! 

I remember, years ago, while spending time on Monhegan Island, a place I would return to again and again, coming upon a wooded trail nestled within the island. On each side of the trail, and deep into the woods, where little fairy homes.  In the nook of a tree here, beneath a mushroom there.  My sister and I quickly found an ideal spot near a clear, babbling brook and built a home for them too! In the process, one really felt as though, as evening fell, and the sea mist swept over the woods, that a little fairy family would be making their way to their new home. Needless to say, I find it so nice and comforting to think that fairies of all sorts exist,and whenever I have doubts, I have the lucky fortune of spending time with a young child who reminds me with great honesty that indeed they do! 

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So, here is a little project that I have been working on with fairies on my mind.

To begin...

When I found these little pine cones I thought they would work quite nicely for the small, fairy body. Any size will do, really.

The most dainty acorn tops appeared in our yard this year and were the perfect size for fairy hats.  My son and I gathered them up quickly before the squirrels could get to them!

I had been thinking of these maple seedlings for sometime to be the fairy's wings.  They were no where to be found since they swirl down in the spring.  One night my fellow had a dream that he found some and a few days later proudly came home with a pocket full of them that he had found on our town common.  (That is a true story!) They were a bit large but I thought they could be cut.  Really, anything you like would be fine!  Some oragami paper or a bit of leaf would be nice too!

All of the little acorns had fallen out of their top hats and were hard to find amongst the leaves, so I thought of using these small, wood beads as the head. I picked them up at a craft store and ended up liking the contrast of color. 

I gathered up the rest of my supplies.  Some beloved Elmer's glue (I like the small sized one for this kind of work) and some curly, yellow wool for the hair that I had picked up during one of our yearly adventures to the 

NY Sheep & Wool Festival.

Okay.  Before beginning, make sure the wood bead (if that is what you are using) fits snuggly into the acorn top!

Here we go!

1. Put a small dollop of glue inside the acorn top.

2. Take a piece of the wool and press it into the glue.

3. Put a bit more glue on the wood bead or acorn and press it into the acorn top.  Wait a few minutes until all is secure.

4. Now, put some glue on the top of the pine cone.

5. Hold the pine cone together with the wood bead or acorn and again, wait a few minutes.

6. Lastly, glue the fairy wings on the back of the pine cone.  When all is dry and secure tie a piece of thread from the acorn hat and there you have it. 

 Fairies take flight!

p.s The wings of the fairy above were made out of the veins of green leaves.  

They are just noticeable in the picture. 

 This one flew home with my sister on her 28th birthday!

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