Eco Printing Paper with Leaves

These autumn leaves are too tempting to leave untouched on the ground; just the sound that rises when walking through them is enough to make me want to disturb them . . . we don't usually think of *causing disturbance* as a 'fun' thing or something worthwhile, but that's where context is everything . . .

Baby Beanie Tutorial

Cotton Newborn - 6 month Beanie Pattern from Farrokh Namazi Materials Set of #5 double pointed needles 1 ball of cotton yarn (will make two caps) Cast on 2 st and make an inch long icord Knit 1, make 1, k1 m1 Knit next row (after each increase row, knit one row) Knit 2, make...

homemade playdough play day

Along comes a rainy day (like today), the sort that appears out of the blue sunny sky and drops a heavy feeling of gloominess upon yourself . . . . which then vibrates outward and affects all those around you, until you all feel grey and glum . . . . well on a day...

knitted gnome doll pattern

when ella baker passed on, her daughter held an auction.  ella had been a waldorf teacher 30 or so years ago, and was also a master of the loom and mistress of the spinning wheel.  the auction was for all the items in her studio:  wheels, looms, wool, her own dyed wool samples with tags showing...

balloon craft

we're preparing for our solstice walk.  this summer we made pinatas out of balloons, so using the same technique, we made lanterns to hold our candles.  later they might make nifty baskets.  the materials involved are:  balloons strips of newspaper  elmer's white glue  a big mixing bowl, water colored tissue paper string first we blew...

pomanders, projects, and a story

today we made a pomander.  really easy to do.  all it takes is an orange, whole cloves, a screw driver or fork, ribbon, and a bag with ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves in any combination/quantity.  the first thing to do is jab holes into the orange with either the fork or screwdriver.  the...

making paper elf garlands

things you'll need: one sheet of construction paper, 9 x 12 scissors scotch tape pencil first cut the paper in half vertically, so it measures 4 1/2" x 12".  scotch tape the two pieces  together on the short ends. fold it in half once, then again, and one more time, for a total of three....

making felt

i read instructions on felting a playmat with lily pads and leaves in a recent issue of living crafts magazine.  seemed easy enough, so armed with bubble wrap, wool batting, roving, and four excited children, we were off and going early this morning.  our project was limited to the felt making part of the article.  first we laid...

Knit Purl Knit

So we've dropped out of doing lessons from x to y time, day to day.  Seems to be that five weeks of it was a novelty as we all gave it a try, but we're back to the tried and tested method, at least in our family, of learning in the moment, any time of...