In The Dog House....

I'm still making a few little things for this gift but I am pretty happy so far.

I thing the heart adds a little charm.

I had to add a hint of putty to some of the seams. We do most of our cutting by hand.

Lily was a bit jealous so I had to do something to keep her happy. We used her dog house and some hedgies. She was happy with that. I had to sit down and play a bit too because it looked fun to me and well, I refuse to grow up in some ways. :)

My mermaid doll. I am okay with her now.

I gave her top some ties in the back which helped me cover up of the parts I wasn't happy with.

I've still got to seal this house with beeswax polish but I am pretty happy with the results. My husband made it and I am doing the rest. He usually can only handle working with me and power tools for so long before he starts to get cranky. :) I also have been working on a small 6in. mermaid doll for my niece but I was hesitating because I just didn't feel like she was coming out the way I had expected. Everyone is telling me she looks "fine" and all I can see are little flaws. I hate to give out gifts that I'm not happy with. Am I the only one who does this? I can't be.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. 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.

Crafting Dogs.. In Progress..

These are the first dogs I have made.

Before paint...

After paint.

Sometimes my toys don't always come out the way I want them to and so I have to improvise. This terrier was supposed to be a husky but my hand slipped.

Just a simple base. I think it really does need a little something else. Any ideas?

 We have been so busy this week. I ended up getting sick last Thursday and of course it had to trickle down to all the others! It doesn't make it any easier when you have a potty learning tot but it hasn't been as bad as I anticipated. Today I decided I had better get my youngest niece's birthday gift done before her birthday Sunday or I would be trying to finish it all up in a hurry. She asked for a dog house with a dog. I'm still gluing up the dog house John built but I am happy with these dogs and the base I made so far. I think I may make a few bushes and a tree to go with. What do you think about them? Would your 4 year old like some dogs like these?

Wip Wednesday and Yarn Along...

Finally decided to make a cowl for a co-worker who will be moving to NYC at the end of summer for an entire year of charity work. Because she will be short on money I thought it would be perfect to keep her warm out there in the winter. Tory and I are reading Ida B. together. It's a story about a young girl who is used to the comforts of homeschooling who ends up having to go to public school when her mother falls ill. Good read!

My Little Mamas....

  I was reading a post on Bending Birches a few days ago and Rebecca had mentioned noticing her son tucking in his dolls after he wakes up and made me think of how my girls have been doing some similar things with their dolls. Especially Lil'! I notice her rocking and singing to them, carefully tucking them in with kisses and a story and feeding them with a wooden bowl and spoon. Then today I noticed something as she was changing their diapers. (I'm sure Big Sis had something to do with this because she was playing too) The girls had gone to my stash of roving and found some nice bits of color to make diaper changing more interesting. (If they only knew!) I couldn't help but laugh. And I have to share because it's pretty funny!

Look at them taking such good care of Piggy and Henley.

They played all afternoon when we decided to come inside because it has been just too hot.

Do you see the wool roving in the diaper?

Very funny. 

This one is a bit off topic but it was perfect timing. These girls have a way of making me laugh. Oh my heart!

 While we are on the subject, Lil' went all day with underpants and not one accident! I am so excited!

Gone Raw... Watermelon Cooler Recipe.

This is my favorite "un-cook" book! This recipe is modified a bit from this book but certainly not my recipe.

You'll need: 1/2  medium watermelon, 1 lemon, fresh ginger, about 2 cups pure water, unprocessed sea, Celtic or primordial salt, cutting board, knife, blender, pitcher . Optional: soaked dates for added sweetness and a drinking glasses (the glass is optional because you may not get that far! It's THAT good!).

Cut your melon half up into bits small enough for your blender and add them in.

add the juice of a full lemon and a coin of ginger. I used a bit more than an inch. If you are sharing this with kids make sure they like ginger before you add more than a quarter size. You can always add more later. Save the rinds for further in the recipe.

pit your dates after soaking and add them in too.

Pinch of salt.

Clean out the inside of the rinds and carve a tiny bit off of each of the bottoms so they can stand up by their own.

Add your water into the blender and give a good puree. Add more water if you need. You can strain this if ou dont want ginger bits in here but I dont. Then pour the mixture into a pitcher because your going to want to share this with everyone.

For the children as a treat after dinner, fill the rinds with a bit of  the watermelon mixture and freeze!  Pretty scrummy!

Lil' wanted Zoe to be a mermaid like her big sister's doll Coral so I whipped up this costume in about 15 minutes. She  was thrilled! Not too bad I guess for a quick outfit.

My week has been filled with preparation. Preparation for weight loss, detox,and the first anniversary of my mama's death. That is a bit stressful to think about but it's also a relief that some time has passed. I've been in a rut with my diet this past year, eating whatever I want whenever I want. I have been eating to calm my sad feelings but grief gets easier to handle and I'm to the point where I need to get back on the wagon. Sprouted foods and wheat grass, plenty of green juice and veggies herbs and some fruit. I'm going to take it slowly. I have always had more success with a high raw diet than 100% raw and that's fine with me. There is just no comparison to how I feel eating like this every day. What do you eat that makes you feel at your best?

Untitled..

I was reading the first edition copy of Taproot Magazine and stumbled upon something I thought was quite inspiring. I read this Pueblo Verse:

HOLD ONTO WHAT IS GOOD

EVEN IF IT IS A HANDFUL OF EARTH

HOLD ONTO WHAT YOU BELIEVE 

EVEN IF IT IS EVEN IF IT IS A TREE WHICH STANDS BY ITSELF

HOLD ONTO WHAT YOU MUST DO

EVEN IF IT IS A LONG WAY FROM HERE

HOLD ONTO LIFE

EVEN WHEN IT IS EASIER TO LET GO

HOLD ONTO MY HAND

EVEN WHEN I HAVE GONE AWAY FROM YOU

 

Luxury!

My new rug! Hubby got an amazing deal! It makes the living a little more relaxing and the children are enjoying  too.

Today's project: Mama Pads. Better for the environment, better for my pocket book, and better for my skin. Have you tried cloth? True luxury.  

Just the underside of the pad. They defiantly do their job!  I think I may make these  as Christmas gifts for my friends!

Yesterday, my husband surprised me with a Persian rug! It's genuine and is made of wool. I've always wanted a real rug like this.  I've been working on some new "mama pads" to save money. I purchased some and love them but, 30$ for 3 pads is out of our budget so I'm making them from now on. I really have to recommend cloth mama pads! They are the true way to pamper yourself and if you use cloth on your little ones, why wouldn't you use cloth on yourself? These pads I made today are overnight-postpartum pads and they work quite well! I spent 20$ on one a few months back and used that as my pattern. I'll post a tutorial of these at some point.(Depending on how many requests I get I suppose.) What are you working on today?

{This Moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. 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.

A Beautiful Woven Flower Mandala

I made this frame for Tory last year for her birthday and for every season since, we gather natural things that remind us of Mama Earth's beauty. All of these photos were taken by my 8 year old daughter after she carefully gathered and dried all the flowers! I think she did a fantastic job! 

Wet Wooly Goodness! A Wool Dryer Ball Tutorial.

What you'll need: Soap, old balls of wool yarn that have been sitting in your stash basket for eons, hot water,

some sort of mesh fabric to wrap the yarn in or old nylons, trays to keep the table dry and a wash board
(optional but much more fun!).

Begin by putting your wool ball into the nylon, making a tight net around  it .Tie a knot or use a rubber band to secure the ball tightly in the nylon. This will help the fibers rub together so that they stick to one another. Dunk the balls into hot water until they are completely wet all the way through. Get your ball nice and soapy! We used Dr. Bronner's Peppermint for these. Lily says it's toothpaste soap. :) 

Start soapin' those guys up until they are "fuzzy" with soap and then soap some more! Make some noises, take in the lovely smells and keep soapin'!

Your going to want to do this until you see the fibers start to stick to each other. 

Rinse those guys in hot water and then shock em' in cold water to shrink the fibers.

I repeat this process. Then we get them hot and soapy again! 

Don't forget to dump a bunch of water on to your Mama's  table and floor!

You've gotta make a mess!

If you don't make a mess, your not doin' it correctly! Now throw those guys into the washer! (No! Not the kids silly! The balls!) and then the dryer. (still inside the mesh.) 

Remove the balls from the dryer. You may want to repeat the the process  of washer or washer dryer over a few times until they are felted to your liking. I like to repeat 3 times.

Remove the balls from nylons/mesh.

Give them a quick snuggle!

Yes, we do have a few of these but we love them!

Today we decided to have a little fun and make a couple more wool dryer balls since mine are always disappearing into the rooms of little ones only making an appearance here and there when someone is playing with them. Clearly the children love them as much as I do. I love to add a few drops of lavender or rosemary essential oil to mine before putting them into the dryer. They make for excellent smelling naturally fresh laundry! I use that in combination with laundry detergent that we make at home! More affordable and does the job very nicely. Wool dryer balls will also help agitate your laundry inside the dryer making them dry faster which saves money! They are also better on Mama Earth than disposable fabric softener. We don't dry everything in the dryer, only our towels and jeans and heavy material.