garden markers.

I must admit that at 6 & 8 the boys are not always interested in mom crafts. They LOVE watercolor painting, drawing comics, woodworking, tools, paper airplanes, building things...but 'lets make some garden markers!' Um, not really. So I usually get supplies for things that I know we need, but keep it simple and just ... start. Somebody comes over to help. Somebody picks up the supplies and starts doing it too. Every time.


I needed some garden markers. Not as much for the traditional plants that are very easy to recognize, but for the medicinal herbs that seem to always look like the odd 'weeds' growing thanks to the resident chipmunk burying all the bird seed throughout the beds. So markers keep me from pulling it all until it is big enough to recognize.


My first thoughts are *always* elaborate, but really, it is a garden marker. I found some shaped wooden sticks which had enough room to write on. Perfect. I always have indoor/outdoor acrylic paints. I always want to reach for the neutral colors but remind myself I won't find them once the plants start growing if they are not BRIGHT!!! So we painted bright cheery colors as a base layer.


Once dry, I wrote in perm. metallic marker right on the stick. And then painted over with a coat of water based varnish (test it first on your metallic marker to be sure they are OK together and don't smear). Really easy. Really quick. They look good. The boys helped happily (and giggled HYS-SOP, HYS-SOP, HYS-SOP over and over and over and over!). And they were quick and inexpensive enough that I won't care if I lose a few in the garden this summer!

And of course since the paints were out...the boys were on a roll with their own creations! That involved hiccups and other bodily sounds. ;)


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kaleidoscopes!

We love finding fun kits. We visit museum stores often, and always find some interesting robot, craft, kit or puzzle to make. One museum store stocking stuffer this year was a kaleidoscope kit. We waited for the perfect day to make them - and during our big snowstorm yesterday we felt the time was right!


The boys decorated tubes, taped and inserted triangular mirrors, added cups and secured their scopes.


They then filled them with some of the items from the kits...crystals, rocks, flower petals, marbles.


They were really cool to look through - the bright white snow outside was a great backdrop to hold up to the window and see their creations.


After a bit, the boys thought about what we might have around the house that would make even MORE colorful/beautiful/interesting patterns. Oh, we have a lot of things to try - coins, acorn tops, geode pieces, playmobil parts - you name it, they tried it! In the end, of course, they found that we have plenty of the perfect items to make hyper-colorful designs...


...LEGO! They filled their scopes with the little translucent colorful crystals, tips, bits and circles. Perfect!

We of course then had to find out more about kaleidoscopes, mirrors, fractals...all good stuff for a snowy winter day.

Note: We used a kit, but the construction was pretty simple and you could easily make one with materials at home.

light the fire.

Ever since I hurt my back in August I have felt a little off. Behind. Not 100%. Tired. Sure, my house is decent and laundry is folded (although stacked on the bed until later), I'm still canning and preserving, doing crafts and projects with the kids, going on field trips with them and working, and, and...whew. It just wears ya out! I have always had endless energy and this back business slowed.me.down. A lot. I think that can be a good thing, though.


So while I feel like I have so many recipes I haven't posted yet, or several craft projects that I haven't written about yet, or things I haven't been working on, I'm OK with that. Life is good. What is beginning to get me twitchy is the thought that Halloween is getting close and I haven't sewn the boys costumes yet. Cough, cough. Or that the holidays are coming (really) in a few months and I haven't even started making gifts yet, not to mention only having a rough idea of things and no lists or materials yet.

So this post is to light my fire. Kids costumes are sketched and I need to get my sewing machine working again (uh, yeah) and will have those out in no time.

And the holiday plans - I have an outline of ideas in my head and will be posting some gift making ideas and lists soon. For the last 3 years I have chosen a main theme for batch-work of gifts and then put it all together based on each recipient. We have made embroidered felt items (checkbooks, biz card holders, wallets, etc.), home made soap, hand poured candles, recipe boxes, scarves, sewn book bags, and this year will once again be a new direction, I think.


As the weather cools, the rain comes, and the garden beds down for the winter, I always feel rejuvenated to come inside and do more handwork and get ready for all of the holidays (and birthdays) to come. We are nearing the end of the biggest part of the canning/drying/gardening extravaganza of late summer and early fall, and things will be slowing down just in time. I'll be ready, really.

accessible craftiness.

While we love whole end-to-end crafty projects, I also love seeing kids just play and explore with materials. Something interesting always happens. We like to keep a few baskets of supplies out all the time on our dining room table - markers, pencils, beeswax crayons, kid scissors (funky edging scissors are fun too), bits of patterned/colored paper, blank notecards, glue sticks, stickers, lined notebooks, sketchbooks. This stuff is used ALL the time. I also like to keep things interesting by adding something new (rotating supplies) to the baskets every few days, so that they have something to experiment with. Things like paper clay, modeling beeswax, stamps and stamp pads, paper crimpers, decorative hole punches, blank storybooks - something different to keep it fresh. When my boys were toddlers, they had access to fewer (age-appropriate) supplies - as they get older, more items can be added to the baskets.

We tend to do a few craft based projects each week which tie into the season or what we are reading/working on that week. The boys then usually also make something every day with this pile of supplies. They write cards to family members or friends, make tickets to their shows, draw menus for their cafe, write wish lists or letters to me, make signs, create 'cartoons', or just scribble and cut and make a big fun mess.


Yesterday the boys were into a new rainbow stamp pad I found, and were using stamps on it, and soon moved on to stamping handprints...and eventually footprints (good thing it is washable stamp ink!). I like seeing how they think. Always something fun, creative and interesting!


We have a big 3-day weekend coming up - catch you all on Monday!

Heated Rice Bag.

G modeling the rice bag

Over the past two days my 4 year old has been limping and hobbling around, complaining about a leg ache. This calls for a rice bag. Rice bags are sewn from any natural fabric*, and filled with uncooked rice. Depending upon the use, a few drops of essential oil can be added to the rice in the bag. To place on a congested chest, the rice might have a drop of eucalyptus & peppermint oil. For a headache, the rice might have a drop of lavender oil. And for this achy leg, I added peppermint oil to two bags, popped them in the microwave for about a minute, and placed them on his leg.


They are easy to make and easy to use, and while you need to be careful not to overheat the rice (give the bag a good squeeze and feel temp before placing on skin), they work great and do retain heat for a good amount of time. The boys love them, and will sit patiently with one on whatever spot is in need.

*If you make one, be sure to use natural fabrics, thread, and ribbon--some funky man made stuff might melt!

Sachets.

I love seeing the pile of completed gifts getting higher - the things hanging on my craft room wall, the items lined up on my windowsill, the little bags hanging from my bookshelf - all completed. Along with the bigger coordinated things (zip wallets & library bags, etc.) I have also been making smaller items, such as door & drawer sachets. They are very easy to make, are small and work perfectly for the fabric scraps in such abundance from all the gift making, and are a nice addition to a gift box.

I have been making a few types - the most simple of which is a square bag, with a ribbon, which hangs over a door handle.


First cut two 4.75" x 5" pieces. Right sides facing in, sew 3 of the sides, leaving one of the shorter sides open.

Stuff it with your potpourri mix and some poly-fill or wool. I like to make my own scented mixes, which you can do by buying unscented base and then adding your own essential oils. Many spice and craft stores have this, or there is always the amazing San Francisco Herb Co. which has everything you could imagine to make your own. Using bagged scented potpourri would work fine too. (Essential oil on rice would also work!) I like to add some fill with the potpourri, because otherwise it sinks to the bottom or is lumpy. By using about 1/3 potpourri and 1/3 stuffing, it has a nice even shape (and is more manageable when sewing the top shut). Leave yourself some head room when you stuff, so you can sew the top shut.


After stuffing, fold the top in to make a clean edge, inserting a ribbon (about 8-9" long) in the seam. Carefully machine sew the top closed. I run it twice to keep the ribbon snug and prevent edges from opening.

It is done! It hangs over the doorknob and scents the room or closet!

It is that time again!

Can you feel it coming? The last push of crafting, sewing, creating, making (and repeating) of hand crafted gifts for the holidays?

I always try to not be *that* relative that gives crazy homemade things that no one would ever want or use. I try to be the *wow* relative that gives handmade/homemade things that look like they match each personality and that people keep and carry/use happily (or eat and really enjoy). This year I have a nice list of things to make. My biggest challenge each year is to find creative things to make for men and kids - the gals are pretty easy. I think I have some cool ideas this time - we'll see how it goes.

I have been collecting fabric all summer/fall, and have recently added to my stash. I have some specific plans for the batch shown above - I'm itching to start.

Anyone else making gifts this year? What?