And The Winner Is . . .

Rebekah and I had so much fun making out little ladybug rocks.  But I think she had even more fun hearing all the wonderful comments from those who were hoping a few little lady bugs would come to live with them.  Thank you to everyone who entered for making this such a wonderful experience for my little girl.

Of course she had to be the one to pick the winner.  And so without further ado, the winner is . . .

Nicole Spring of Frontier Dreams!  Congratulations Nicole.  I have sent you an email so we can figure out where to send your little ladybugs.

Lady Bug Rocks & A Giveaway

With the arrival of the sun, we are also blessed with the arrival of the bugs.  Now don't get me wrong I love all of God's creatures.  However, when it comes to the biting and stinging kind of bug I often do wonder wheat He was thinking.  Luckily my girls are really into bugs, at least for girls.  Rebekah is always bringing me some sort of bug wanting to know what it is.  I do my best but really bugs just aren't my thing. So to meet her need for bugs and my need for crafting we came up with these cute little lady bugs.

First we headed to the river to collect some smooth roundish rocks.  Sorry no pictures of that.  I was busy looking for rocks while Hannah and Rebekah were busy throwing the rocks in the river.  No worries, we all had fun.  And really that is what it is all about.

A few simple supplies we had on had.  Red, black and white paint and a few paintbrushes.  The big white paper is off the end rolls from the local newspaper.  I just love this stuff.  The newspaper gives it away when there isn't enough left for it to work on their printers.  Lucky for us there is a good 2-3 inches of paper left on the roll.  Great stuff for using as drop cloth, tracing bodies, making gift wrap, drawing pads and so much more. Really I suggest you head to your local newspaper and get yourself a roll or two or three.  You will find tons of uses.  Sorry for the interruption, now back to our regular blog post.

Once you've assembled all your supplies, it is time to paint.  We painted the entire rock red.  Once that dried we added the black head, stripe and spots.

After the black dried we added two white eyes to the black head.  And once dry added smaller black pupils.  You can see them in the top picture.  That's it.  Now we have lots of friendly bugs of the non-biting variety.  I plan to add magnets to the back of a few of them to use a magnets on our fridge.  And I have a few more that are looking for a new home. Rebekah is really excited to send them off.  the giveaway was her idea.  I'm sure she will even include a picture for the lucky winner.

So if you would like some lady bugs to come and live with you please leave a comment on this post.  I'll close the giveaway on Friday, June 15th and will announce the winner on Saturday.  CLOSED  Winner will be announced shortly.  Thanks to all who entered!

Linking up with Creative Friday and Friday's Nature Table.

Handmade Holiday 2011

Can you believe it is that time again? The holidays will be here before you know it. So now is the time, if you haven't already, to start making that list and checking it twice. For the last few years we have been making many of our gifts for family and friends. There is such joy in both the making and the giving. This year we will be joining in the fun of Handmade Holiday hosted by Tonya over at Plain and Joyful Living.

I don't have much to share in the way of projects today. But my notebook is full of ideas and patterns for those on my list. I have also begun collecting supplies. I am also trying to figure out how to share what we are making without spoiling the surprise.

So for now I will leave you with some delicious yarns that are destine to become beautiful gifts for someone.


So there will be knitting, and sewing, concocting and cooking. Lots of handmade goodness for those I love this year. I hope you'll consider making at least of few of your gifts this year.

Fall Match Box - Tutorial

As we have worked to establish rhythms to our day, we have used the lighting and extinguishing of candles to signify the beginning and end of many activities. Candles at meal times, candles at circle time, candles at bedtime. There is just something magical about candles, don't you agree?

Well with all the matches we have been using I had to come up with a way to make the ugly match box a little more presentable. So the quick and easy solution was to make a wool felt cover.


You will need:

• a piece of felt the same size as the top of the match box


• Scraps of felt to make your decoration - we chose leave as it is autumn now


• templates for you decorations - clip art is great for this


• scissor


• fabric glue
  

First trace the side of the match box you want to cover onto the large piece of felt. Cut out.

Next glue the felt to the match box.

Next pin the templates onto your scraps of felt. Cut out. Arrange on top of the felt covered box. Once you like the arrangement, glue the pieces in place.

All finished. Now the matches can sit out and not be an eye sore. The bees wax candle was made by Bekah as part of our Michaelmas Celebration.

Matching Game

I've been trying to get a little bit of crafting done for the girls' Easter Baskets. I'm not big on a ton of candy, although I'm sure the girls wish I was.

Rebekah has been very excited about games lately. She loves to play secret door which is a co-operative matching game So I thought a little matching game would be perfect for her. It was so easy to put together and everything I needed I was able to collect from around the house. Another plus for this frugal mom.

I stamped two of ten different images on some wooden disks. Let them dry and gave them a quick rub with some bees wax polish. The draw string bag was a quick sew following this tutorial.

Quick and easy matching game that will be easy to take with us.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~~~~~

~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• Family coloring
• Snow, lots of beautiful white snow
• An extra day off for hubby
• A finished sewing project
• Little girl giggles

Wishing you all a glorious weekend!

A Simple Family Christmas Tradition

One of our family's favorite traditions is making the yearly Christmas tree memory disk. We started this the year we moved into our house and have been making one every year since. It is simply a disk cut off the bottom of the Christmas tree. We then sand it smooth and add the year. Some are simple written with marker others have little drawings, and some are stamped with year and design.
Each one holds special memories and it always amazes me what the children remember about the specific trees. Most of them we have cut down ourselves. But a few, the ones with the holes in them, came from the local cider mill. Those years we weren't able to cut our own tree as mu husband had major back surgery. Those trees remind me of how blessed we are and how amazing God is and that his provision is always more than enough. A great thing to be reminded of this time of year when so many seem to want to much not even realizing how rich they really are.

These simple ornament hang in the windows of our living room. They are a daily reminder of Christmas's past and those still to come. They are definitely one of my favorite Christmas decorations.

A Sweet Package

This season I joined the Seasonal Handmade Swap & Exchange sponsored by Jen of SewnNatural and Rae of MommaRae. It was so much fun getting to know my swap family through their blog and then crafting for them.

Then their sweet swap package arrived. Oh look at all the goodies. An eco friendly dyed silk in the most amazing shade of blue. A beautiful bowl thrown and glazed by my swap partner's two daughters. How did they know my favorite color is purple. Everyone in the house was amazed at the Magnolia see pod. None of us had ever seen one. It is so much bigger than I would have expected. The three pecans were collected in their neighborhood. How cool would it be to have pecans in your neighborhood. And of course there was a sweet card.

Thank you so much to my lovely swap family. You made our day a little brighter. Hoping you enjoyed your swap gifts as well.

Christmas Crafting - Pomanders

We are all having so much fun with our Christmas count down. The girls want to open the bag first thing in the morning. Of course they aren't thrilled when they have to wait to make the craft until after school work and chores are done. Bu that's part of the fun - the anticipation.

We made pomander balls a few days ago. They smell divine. Every morning when I walk into the kitchen the smell of clove and orange greets me and I think I must remember to post this simple craft for all of you. I love crafts like this because everyone from mom down to Rebekah could participate (without help) and totally enjoy the process.

You will need

• citrus fruit - we used oranges and clementines, but I have seen lemons used as well
• whole cloves
• tooth pick
• ribbon
• pins
• embroidery floss
  

Simply begin by using the tooth pick to make holes in the peel where you want to place the cloves. Your designs can be as simple or elaborate as you choose. They can even be the random pokings of a three year old. They all turn out beautifully.

Next push a clove into the holes.

At this point, you could display your pomanders in a bowl. We chose to hand ours so we added a ribbon bow to the top which we held in place with a pin. To hand them we wrapped embroidery floss around the orange about three or four times making sure we crossed the floss at the top and bottom. Tied it in a knot close to the fruit and then another a few inches higher to create a loop. The bow hides the knot.



Here the girls are showing off their finished pomanders. I love their different expressions - so typical of their ages.

Here is a close up of the one I made. Sorry about the awful picture, my camera is not the best and I am no photographer.

Here they are hanging above the kitchen table. Oh how they make the kitchen smell lovely. We may have to make a few more of these for the rest of the house.

Handmade Holiday 2010

There has been so much holiday crafting going on around here, unfortunately most of it I have not been able to share because I don't want to spoil the surprise. However, I did want to give you a peek at a few.

A wet felted candle in a birch holder. These were fun to make. I even got out the power tools myself! We are thinking of making more to hang on the tree. Just need to dye some more yellow roving or find some locally. I really need a sheep or two. Ok not a need, but wouldn't it be fun?

These little felt trees look so adorable. We used the wonderful tutorial by the extremely creative Linda of Natural Suburbia. These are already on their way to a special someone. I think I will be making a set for our house soon. Just need to find a good supplier for wool felt - any suggestions?

This is one of my favorite gifts so far. Sarah is making a play mat for Rebekah to go with her collection of Ostheimer Farm and Family Figures. She has decorated the green felt mat with pathways, a garden, and a pond. She has even made a couple sections of rock wall. I can't wait to see Rebekah's face when she open it.

I've made quite a bit of progress on the quilt for Rebekah's doll bed. All that is left to machine quilt it and sew on the binding. I think it is coming along well for a non quilter. And it matches the blanket I knit quite well. Now Rosie (Rebekah's doll) will be warm all winter.

There is still a lot of projects left on our list, but we are having so much fun crafting together and praying for the recipient as we do so. Making our gifts adds so much to our Christmas preparations.

If you would like to see more handmade gift ideas please visit Handmade Holiday 2010 sponsored by the lovely Tonya over at Plain and Joyful Living.

Autumn Leaves Garland

This simple craft is a beautiful addition to your nature table or just to bring a little of the autumn colors inside.

You'll need:

• felt in autumn colors - red, yellow, orange, brown (we really love wool felt)
• embroidery floss in similar colors
• leaf templates - maple, oak, dogwood (we used clip art images)
• pins
• fabric scissors
• embroidery needle

First, pin the template to the felt and carefully cut out the leaf. Make as many leaves as you would like. We cut out 12 leaves., three of each shape and color.

Next select a coordinating color of embroidery floss and stitch the veins of the leaf.

When all the leaves have been embroidered tie them to a length of embroidery floss or yarn appropriate for the size of your leaves.


Hang your leaf garland and enjoy.

Looking for more crafty ideas? Hop on over to Crafty Friday and Natural Suburbia's Creative Friday to see what everyone else is up to.

It's Raining ~ Let's Make Play Dough

We woke this morning to chilly temps and rain. Good thing we worked in the garden and hung the laundry out to dry yesterday. I find it hard to stay inside when the weather is so nice, so a day of rain is good for getting inside projects done.

The first project: Make some play dough for the kids. Easy, fun and even allows mama some time to get other projects done with the kids are playing.

You will need

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tsp cream of tarter
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/4 cup salt
• coloring
• scents (optional)

Mix the first five ingredients in a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it clumps together forming a soft dough. This should take just a couple of minutes. Once the dough is cool enough to handle kneed it until it is smooth.

Now you are ready to add color and scents. We divided ours into four pieces. We like to use Wilton concentrated paste coloring and essential oils for scent. Kneed the color and scent in to your liking. That's it except for the best part . . .

PLAY!

WIP Wednesday

WARNING: If you are not ready to get hooked on another crafting project STOP reading NOW!

FREEZER PAPER STENCILING

I have been wanting to try this for a while now and just didn't have the push I needed to buy supplies and get started. That all changed when I had to make shirts for Doug to take to school. Just the motivation I needed and I didn't even feel guilty about spending the money because this was a need. And now I have some leftover supplies to play with.

The concept is simple. Cut a stencil out of freezer paper - bold, clean shapes work best. Next place your stencil shiny side down on your prepared fabric. Place another piece of freezer paper shiny side up under the fabric. Iron the stencil, this will gently adhere the freezer paper to your fabric. Next using high quality fabric paint, fill in your stencil. Let the paint dry over night. Pull up the freezer paper and whoa la! Follow the directions on the fabric paint to set the design. This usually includes ironing the design to heat set it.

It was so simple! It was so much fun! The designs came out crisp and clear! I would love to show you what I made, but it's top secret. But you can rest assured that I will be freezer paper stenciling soon. And those I will share.

Someone made a great suggestion to stencil over the stains on clothing to give the article new life. I can already think of some shirts that will be reborn with cute stencils covering the stains.

PS: A big thanks to Cori who let me borrow her Cricut to make my stencils! What a cool toy!

WIP Wednesday

This adorable little bunny is some of the Easter crafting going on. This was so easy to make following Betz White's tutorial here. The body is made from a merino wool sweater that was free from one of the local church thrift stores. I felted it in the washing machine. The fabric in the ears is scraps left over from Rebekah's birthday banner. The buttons came out of the button basket, a collection of extra and rescued buttons from everywhere. The pom pom is cotton made using this tutorial. The yarn was left from another project.

I love making things for family and friends, especially the kids. And it is always a plus when I can repurpose items and create frugally.

What are you crafting this Spring? I'd love to hear. And don't forget to include your tips for repuropsing materials. I am always on the look out for new ideas.

4H Pinewood Derby

There's a new 4H group in the area and the girls were lucky enough to be asked to be part of it. Oh of the first event was a Pinewood Derby. The girls had a great time designing and building their cars.

Sarah was very creative and made her car to look like a pencil. She was hoping that the aerodynamics would help her speed. Hannah made a limo!

In the first race the girls had to race each other!

Then there were more heats . . . and race offs until finally there were winners in three age groups.


Here are a few more of the cars waiting to be weighed in before the start.

You can see more of the fun and some of the winners at the Kelley Family blog.

Wooden Book Marks

We are a family of bibliophiles! Books are a passion for all of us. They are all over the house, actually taking over the house, but I don't mine.

Today, Doug surprised us all with wooden book marks. All of us personalized our own book mark. Dad's with a big "D". Mom's with a little inspiration and flower. Bekah with her name and a bird. Sarah made hers to look like a snowboard. Hannah's has a purple "H" and flowers.

Of course when I went to take pictures I couldn't find Sarah's and Hannah's book marks. Would you believe they had already found their way into the books the girls are reading.

And if you are wondering what we are reading now as a family - the answer.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart

This is the third book in The Mysterious Benedict Society series. We have loved them all.

WIP Wednesday

WIP = work in progress

Here is a little peek into my WIP basket.

Knitting a pair of socks - one's done one to go

Flat Quarters for a quilt for Rebekah's doll bed

Handmade cards for Garden Mama's Valentine Swap

It has been so much fun receiving handmade cards with handwritten note from around the world. I had almost forgotten how much fun it is to get real mail. I think writing letters will become a regular part of life.

Who would you send a real handwritten snail mail letter to? What's stopping you?

Rolling Pins for All the Little Ones

As mentioned in an earlier post Doug received a new toy for his birthday - a mini lathe. So he was at it again making some beautiful rolling pins just the right size for Rebekah and her doll Rosie.

The first one was a French rolling pin just like mine.

The next one is more traditional. For this one he used an antique rolling pin that was first my mothers, then mine and all my girls have used it as well. While I love my French pin, Rebekah prefers this one. I think it is easier for her to hold the handles.

Rebekah's doll Rosie goes everywhere and does everything that Rebekah does, so it only seemed fitting that she too would have a rolling pin for her own. Girl and doll have had a wonderful time making pies, cookies and more.

You'll soon be able to see these as well as some more items in our ETSY shop. We are working hard to get it open. If however you just need to have one or both of these little rolling pins please leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Waldorf Inspired Window Stars

I have long admired these beautiful window decorations, but was always intimidated by what I though would be an impossible task. Then I stumbled upon this wonderful tutorial at Garden Mama's blog. It was so easy I couldn't resist giving them a try. I ordered the kite paper from here.

Don't you just love the bright colors? Just what we needed to brighten up the grey winter days we have been having.

The folds were really very easy. The tutorial is great! the kids caught on fast and had all their pieces ready in no time.

Lined up and ready for glue.

The star magically appeared as the pieces were fit together.



All done!

This pictured doesn't do the star justice. It was getting dark out. When the sun is out the star really glows. They add so much merriment to our kitchen. I can't wait to make more. We will be searching for other tutorials and patterns. If we don't find any, we may have to break down and purchase Magical Window Stars.

See what other fun nature inspired activities others are up to at The Magic Onions Friday's Nature Table.