Mother Earth with Root Children

These year table dolls are based on the heartwarming story 

"The Root Children" by Sibylle von Olfers.

You can find a tutorial for their base here

Shared on: Frontier Dreams

DIY - Seasonal Nature Table made of Repurposed Cutting Boards

A seasonal nature table can be such a lovely element in any Waldorf or nature inspired home. For me it is a wonderful way to visualize the rhythm of the year and also to focus my toddler son during our daily walks. He loves to search items for our nature table and combined with picture books and cards it is food for the eyes and the soul. A great inspiration source and my personal favorite on the subject is the book The Nature Corner.

This seasonal nature table is very easy to make with old cutting boards. 

Mine is made of bamboo but any kind of board will do. 

                                                                                

Required Materials;

- (birch) branch of app. 40 cm and app. 7 cm thick 

- 3 cutting boards 1 large (I used app. 25x35 cm)

and 2 smaller (I used app. 15x20 cm)                

- hot glue gun

- sandpaper

- optional; plumb ruler

1 - Saw 3 equally sized parts of your branch of approx 7 cm each and make sure the top has an even surface. 

2 - Sand the boards a bit so the glue will adhere better, then place the 3 parts in a triangle form  and attach the large cutting board using the hot glue gun.

3 - Cut the remaining branch in two parts (one a bit longer than the other) and attach the first in the right corner. Make sure it makes a straight line with the part below the cutting board. 

4 - Attach the last part and cutting board. 

Now you can wax or oil (I use vegetable oil) the boards
and your new seasonal table is ready!

Now the fun part begins...to dress up the table. Everything that is somehow connected to nature and the current season will do. Make sure the child is fully involved in dressing the table, and change the table regularly together in a simple way. Sometimes simply adding a new flower, card or figurine will be enough to create a new atmosphere.

    

This simple Spring table reflects our current reading
"Lily the little princess" and "Peter William Butterblow".  

Have fun and please feel free to contact me with questions or to share your own nature/seasonal table!

Shared on;
The Magic Onions - Friday's Nature Table
Natural Suburbia - Creative Friday
Made by Joey - Sharing Creative Ideas

Felted Wee Bird Nest

Required Materials;

- (ping pong) ball

- woolroving in soft yellow or brown for the nest

- woolroving in natural or light blue for the eggs

- access to hot and cold water

- liquid olive soap or eco dish soap

- bubble wrap or a plastic bag

- a bowl

- scissors

- optional; a felting needle

and a nylon stocking

This little wee bird nest is a lovely decoration for the seasonal table and is so easy to make. You can follow the tutorial for the felted stones but instead of stones we use a ping pong ball this time. Click here for the complete tutorial.

After your felted ball is completely dry you carefully make an incision in the middle of the ball with a pair of scissors and you cut around the ball. Now you have two small bird nests. The inside of the nests can be a bit fluffy and can be smoothened with a felting needle.

For the eggs you fold the edges of a small piece of wool roving to the center 

and wrap it with a small tuft of wool roving into a small ball.

Now follow the same instructions as for the felted stones but make an egg shape by rolling the balls between your hands before you let them dry. 

 Enjoy this lovely symbol of spring!

                                                 Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

New Friend

A new friend arrived on our seasonal table this week.

It was quite a challenge to create this little fellow

due to a 2,5 years old adventurous son, a very playfull cat 

and on demand breastfeeding our baby daughter, 

Kitchen Loves Orange

Today it didn't stopped raining and M and I spend our day in the kitchen. Our kitchen is square and very small, but after removing my oven (ouch!) I managed to create some space for a corner for M.
While I did some cleaning he was busy poring tea from his teaset and chewing on his beeswax crayons (I knew I bought them too soon, but I was hoping for a lovely drawing to frame).

I store all kinds of orange coloured groceries in our kitchen like shallots, pumpkins, tangerines and autumn fruits I found during our Sunday walks. They add a lot of colour and make me feel like I'm in a rustic country kitchen.

On our dinner table I have create a small seasonal table this time to celebrate Autumn. Three times a day I light small beeswax candles before we start our meal. I just love these little rituals, they add something magical. And a bit of magic is a good complement to a meal, I'm sure of it!