Our snowflakes became a little more detailed and fanciful this year. Inspired by our very favorite place to visit in Brooklyn, Acorn Toy Shop, I made these thematic snowflakes for their Winter window display. Created in the same method as we have done in the past { Snowflake Tutorial } but this year with reindeer, […]
I have long admired the collages of artist Amy Grantham, who you will find on instagram under the happy and aptly choosen name woodstockings. Dappled between her collages are unique, era specific vintage photos, that tie ever so well with her art and confirm your thoughts that she is a flowerchild. Over and over I […]
When you find yourself by magical waters it may lead you to daydreams of mermaids. It seems all of us are enchanted by the idea of being able to breath under water and explore that underwater world with such freedom. Mermaids make for beautiful make-believe play and a lovely way to include that collection of found shells […]
Maya has been working with Stockmar Modeling Beeswax for a few years and I have seen how beneficial this is for her nature. Patiently she warms the wax with her fingers and with attention to detail she sculpts away. Made from all natural 100% beeswax it requires an understanding of how temperature alters the consistency. […]
Add beauty to the garden, and help the pollinators by being a seed saver! Make and illustrate seed packets that hold collected dried seeds from the previous season and gift them to friends. A thoughtful craft, that encourages family and friends to be seed conscious and will lead to hours gardening together. Plant Milkweed for […]
Block printing is a great seasonal celebration craft, as once you have made the blocks, you can use them year after year to make decorations, gift cards, or gift wrap. This year the girls were printing independently with their own ideas taking hold! They carved and printed with a self directed interest along side of […]
Oh sleeping dreams, a place where the mind can be free, where the subconscious can put any little thing into place and give us visions to inspire us on our path, affirm our deepest desires, release fears, or simply teach us a lesson. I had a sleeping dream recently that did all of that. From […]
Sunprints are 70’s goodness at it’s best! A wonderful easy and effective activity that floats somewhere between art and craft. Any age can enjoy this project, and the creative possibilities seem endless. Established as a company in 1975, Sunprints are one of those things that almost everyone says, “Oh yes I have done that” or […]
Widely celebrated as one of the world’s leading sculpture parks, Storm King Art Center has welcomed visitors from across the globe for fifty years. It is located only one hour north of New York City, in the lower Hudson Valley, where its pristine 500-acre landscape of fields, hills, and woodlands provides the setting for a collection of […]
As a follow on from my last post – about trying not to buy, buy, buy, and being inventive and creative instead, I came up with this little project for the girls. Despite my knowing that catalogues are produced with the purpose of making purchases happen, I still subscribe to numerous catalogues. I intend on […]
Happy Valentine’s Day! What a sweet day! This year we made bookmarks for Maya’s class as a Valentine gift. 1st grade is all about learning to read and so I thought it appropriate that we make “I love Reading” bookmarks. Useful and cute, and not too lovey dovey to give out to friends. Maya also […]
I finished this painting today…Bountiful Peacock…the third painting in what seems to be a series. He looks like a story book Character don’t you think? “The bountiful peacock was a proud fellow, blessed with so much beauty…but silly him thought he needed more…”
This week I have found some quiet time to sit and paint…well actually it was not really that quiet around here, always talkative girls with me…but maybe it was quiet within… painting seems to brings a clam to my mind – regardless of what is going on around me, and I really do need that. I […]
As is our annual tradition, we make Christmas cards over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It seems to be the perfect time to make Christmas cards as we then have 10 days to write in the cards and get them to Australia before the Christmas postal cut off date. Last year I did not have a […]
A while ago now our family friend Nicole inspired me when she said that I should print Maya’s drawings onto t-shirts. I loved this idea, and it has sat with me as a really fun thing to do since she suggested it. My first visualisation was of a multi colour detailed print like you would see […]
Here is one of the ways we are celebrating Spring…with a painted window garden. Painting on the windows is one of my favorite ways to personalise our home. You might recall the painted toadstools on our dining room windows I did for Elle’s Birthday party last year, or the Seasons Trees I painted on Maya’s […]
After making the easter block prints, I had used up my last block of speedy-cut and was down to a pile of odd shaped cut offs. Not wanting to waste these small bits and pieces I was inspired to make a few tiny random shaped stamps…and a little bird too. I had so much fun […]
The week before last we were busy printing and I showed you the Easter basket tags we made for Maya’s class, but that was only part of our printing production. We also made Easter cards for friends and family and Easter invitations for the street Easter Egg Hunt we are hosting on Easter Saturday. Our […]
To celebrate vernal equinox I organized a spring planting project for Maya’s class. I was inspired by the wheat grass baskets the teachers from Maya’s Waldorf Playgroup had done in the past and decided I wanted to carry on this tradition with Maya’s Montessori Kindergarten class. It is a lovely project to do with young […]
Sometimes I question my life direction…I think we all do. One question that comes up for me, is “Why do we live here?”. Mostly this question arises from being on the other side of the world to our family, but sometime it comes up because of other personal values. For example, I like rural country, […]