Keepin' calm.... Craftin' on......

Still knitting ugly sweaters :) It's going to be a retro-ish vest for my eldest daughter.... I kinda like it. At least my stash is shrinking!

On The Agenda....

Another ugly vest! But I have gotta get rid of my stash before I buy more yarn! And yes, that's Lil' in the picture in a disposable diaper. Only because she's leaving home. I know... Say it! Gasp!!! (:

Mr.Dragon still needs some detail but I just cant get myself to touch him because I like him the way he is

Lily is having a high time with the whale. She loves to make him "swim" in the air.

Mama is the brown bear and Papa is the black bear. The mama has a bigger fat store on her  back. I suppose I should make a few cubs too.

These 2 seem to be a favorite of many. I've already been asked for more hedgies. Please let me know what you think. I love your input. 

Today Daddy and the Girls are going to visit family. I have the house to MYSELF! (well, and this cup of coffee:) I'm going to work on a sweater vest I promised my eldest daughter for this coming fall. Yes, I'm a bit a head but I have many projects I hope to get done before fall. Before I forget, I wanted to mention that I am a toy maker.  I would be very interested in any trading or bartering if anyone else is. And not just for other toys yarn too. We are really looking for some playsilks at this point. And would absolutely love some hand dyed ones! Above photos are just a few toys I've made recently. All are pine and painted with non-toxic paint. I can make toys as requested so if you prefer poplar or something in a different color I can do that as well. I hope your having a joyous day!

The Ugliest Vest.

I have almost completed Lily's vest for next fall. It still needs to be blocked but it's my first no-pattern knit. I used up most of my stash scraps but at least she'll be warm. I think it's not the prettiest thing but, she said "I love it Mama!" and that's all that matters to me. (:

Lovely Day!

Today was lovely. We woke up to a dark and cloudy day. Perfect for outside play. Then we took a long nap because the weather was perfect for it. The girls requested a lavender cake, gingered carrots and fresh almond milk for supper. Odd combination but it worked out nicely! I decided to use it as an excuse to celebrate Tory's hard work in school this year. I'm so excited for next year in a Waldorf school. I think were all ready for it. Has anyone had experience with this? What improvements did you see in your child?

Work In Progress.....

My scrap project. A sweater vest for next fall. My first no-pattern project.

Hair clip holder: A tutorial

Tools you'll need: Needle felting brush, felting needle, and scissors.

 You will also need sheets of wool felt in your desired colors for the top and bottom of your toadstool, green for some grass and roving in white for spots and colors for a flower or two. You will also use some beads and wool yarn  later on in the tutorial.

 Cut out your mushroom top and bottom.

Felt the top of the mushroom to the bottom. Then wrap a bit of white roving around your finger to get a nice circle for making your spots. 

Then, felt on your spots! 

Cut out some green felt for grass. (you may want to shade the grass with another color or shad of green.)

Felt your grass onto the bottom of your mushroom.

Add a pretty flower .

Get your wool yarn and beads if you want to use them.

Decide how long of a string you'll need to hold all those hair clips. Divide it in half and make a loop for your holder to hang from. (Mine was longer  but as I turned around and refilled my water 2 steps away by the water purifier, Lily snipped my yarn in half!)

Add the beads and a big knot at the end to hold the beads on the string. Felt the yarn to the back of the mushroom.

Recruit a little helper to put the bows on and hang it on the wall! As you can see, the yarn is pretty short!

 My wonderful sister made my girls a fabulous bunch of little hair bows that are well loved for more than just hair but needed a home because I was finding them everywhere! I came up with this as my first tutorial. (Yes I know, my photos are not the best because I use my phone but eventually I'll figure out how to load pictures on here with our camera instead of my phone. Until then please bare with me. And I won't be mad if you laugh. ) Please let me know what you think of my first tutorial. I'd love your input! Thank you and have a fabulous day!

Rainbow Dancing!

Lily loves to wear her apron. Maybe because it's rainbow .

Relaxing in the grass

My sweet and beautiful daughter! Oh how I love her!

Lily even had to borrow rainbow sandals.

The children love the way the silk moves in the breeze. 

Enjoying some much needed sunshine. I just love how she puts her own clips in her hair.

We've been having so much fun outside enjoying the beautiful green grass and the chirping birdies and the fresh Colorado air! Running and dancing in a lavender scented silk and sprinkling bird seed about in the butterfly garden.I was happy that  I actually remembered to take a few pictures. 

Our new crayon caddy!!

I chose Lily's favorite story... 

I thought a hedgie would be cute.

And of course what project is complete without a dandelion? 

I wanted to share our new crayon caddy I made. I got the idea from Mamawestwind at http://chocoeyes.blogspot.com/. She's so very creative and I fell in love with the idea.

Natural Refresher spray recipe and insect repellent

                                                              Random but funny picture!

In case you'r wondering: yes! This is an onion! 

When I was younger I used to use Febreeze to freshen up my drapes or clothes in the closet etc.. Now that we're on a more budget friendly and natural path I've started to make my own refresher sprays. The recipe is simple! All you need is a clean squirt bottle, your favorite essential oils, and pure water. Fill your bottle with water and add some essential oils. You can add as little or as much as you want. I add a lot! Shake before each use. I love this for all kinds of things. Hair, clothes, linens. My girls love to clean with it. If you add some witch hazel, you have natural mosquito repellent. For this I use citronella oil, rosemary oil, and lavender oil. Works rather well.
Have a lovely weekend!!!

Needle Felted Picnic Blanket

Lacking detail but the shape is down.

A little snail.

This gnome home is still looking a bit rough but I like the idea.

I added a rainbow border and flower vines to the white stripes.

Had to add purple and yellow and blue blossoms too because  it has to be colorful.

Yes, I know my pictures aren't the best but I wanted to share my felting work in progress. My idea is to make this blanket as magical as possible. I found this wool blanket at a thrift store for 6$ and thought I could do something with it. I brought it home and looked at it for a few days and decided to just start felting a magical garden on it. I've just started this so it's a little bare but I'll keep posting about it and hope someone is actually interested. And maybe I should consider asking my husband to take some real photos with his real camera instead of use my phone :) Maybe someone has some helpful suggestions or ideas for this blanket? I'd really love to hear from you.
  Have a joyous day!
 Raychel

My favorite household cleaning recipes

For the past 8 or so years I have been very passionate about using earth friendly cleaning and hygiene products. Not only for the environment but for the health of my family as well. I once heard that if you rub a freshly cut piece of garlic on the bottom of your foot, at some point you'll be able to taste garlic in your mouth because your skin will absorb it's juice. So I asked myself, "why would you put anything on your skin that you would'nt eat? I've done a lot of experimenting over the last few years on making my own stuff. I'm about to give away my most favorite recipes for natural and homemade cleaners and a few recipes you can use to pamper yourself. We have been programmed to think everything we need we have to buy. Why would anyone make their own window cleaner? Or deodorant? It's safer, and way more affordable. I'm not talking about a little bit- I'm talking about 10% of what you would pay at any grocery store. Some of these recipes aren't actually measured amounts. Which is great! Just eyeball the ingredients and you'll be fine.

What you'll need:

A clean container to hold your detergent (you may also want a scoop or use a jar with a pour spout)

Borax

Baking soda

Citric acid or a few packets of lemon kool-aid powder

Lemon and or rosemary essential oil (optional)

Vinegar for the rinse cycle

A bowl and spoon for the mixing of ingredients

I like the way this stuff looks in an old glass jar. Anyway....In a bowl put in a 50/50 mix of  borax and baking soda (borax should be kept away from small children. It is natural but is not safe to eat) A few packets of  the lemon kool-aid, (0r a few tbsp. of citric acid  per cup of detergent)  a half a tsp. of lemon or rosemary essential oil. Mix well and put into your jar. Make sure you shake it before each use to break up clumps. Use it as you would any other detergent in your dishwasher. Add the vinegar into the rinse cycle cup and you have naturally clean dishes.

More to follow on the next blog.... Have a lovely day!

A few thing I've made. (with the help of my love:)

I found this hat at a thrift store. It was so nicely felted I had  to bring it home and modify it into a bunny hat. I still have yet to finish it but maybe I'll remember one of these days. 

A fully furnished gnome home. We did not want to shell out a few hundred dollars for a gnome tree house so we built one instead. We spent around 60$ but could have spent half that if we wanted to. 

These gnome slippers took all of 15 minutes and a few leftover bits of wool felt I had laying around 

Made out of a scrap of  wood  we had  in under an hour and finished with  homemade wood polish. 

The Story of The Root Children. Written and Illustrated by Sibelle VonOlfers. FANTASTIC illustrations! This is my version. 

A small cuddly Waldorf inspired doll I made for one of my darling nieces for her 2nd birthday. She has named her Ninny and apparently her older sister loves her as well.

We decided to make a bed frame for out littlest close to the ground  so that she could get in and out of bed easily. 

We built these playstands without any plans! They came out rather well and cost a fraction of what you would pay for  them!

Everything you see it the picture, we made. This barn cost me.... Seriously- $4.00!  

Okay, I had help with this one but this picture was so cute I couldn't resist! That's 100% mama milk! 

Today I just want to do a post on a few things I've made in the past few months. Now that I'm blogging, I will try and remember to take pictures and start making tutorials. If there is anyone actually reading this and would like a tutorial on anything you see please let me know.  

Our Fairy Garden!