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I've been making myself a little crazy getting ready for Friday's Holiday Fair at my preschool. Knitting, stitching, stitching, knitting. I made these little santa ornaments for a swap last year and never got around to posting them. They are sweet and easy to make and there's a pattern and a how to, here.
Mine were all hand-stitched and made of new felt and sweater felt.
Last years tree (haven't put one up yet this year).
More festive creative spaces here.
Hi Friends!! At my preschool this Friday, November 30th, we are hosting our Third Annual Holiday Craft Fair. Above is a selection of some of the artists and crafters work who will be selling their handmade items. If you live in the Twin Cities, stop by for a beverage and enjoy shopping at one of the local artisans tables and support buying handmade. I'd love to see you there!
All photo credits above are mine with the exception of those borrowed from painted fish studio, minnebites, MCM and Olfactory Scents.
Thanks go to friend Jen for not only being my rock in these events (this year she'll be three for three), but for also once again coming through with this nice piece she designed to advertise the craft fair.
Hope to see you there! x
We had a lovely Thanksgiving. I hosted this year and even made my first turkey. Thanks for the recipe Martha!! It was delicious and I guess with all that butter and wine, how could it go wrong?
We had a huge temperature drop on Thanksgiving day and even saw our first snow of the season. Julen celebrated by creating this "winter garden" on his nature table...so sweet. He appropriately traded out white wool for the orange on the trees we made at the preschool.
Thanks to Abbie and Ellie for hosting the kids ATC swap. It was quite a success! We did it once before, but Julen was not old enough to partcipate...this year he was and he was thrilled!!
Julen made wet-on-wet watercolors with salt for his partners-he was grouped with six other four-year-olds.
...and here are the lovely cards he got in return.
Thanks go to Emmi, Esme, Gavin, Graham, Harper and Maya for their precious artwork.
My eight-year-old went with a patterns and flower theme using markers on gessoed cardboard.
And here are the sweet cards he got in return.
Thank you Ella, Emmett, Erin, Finn, Frankie and Harper for your beautiful artwork. Sorry to Gus whose card is not pictured...it went to school last week and didn't make it back home for the photo.
Thanks again to the sister team at bright eyes + blue eyes for hosting this swap. It was so well organized-I can just imagine how much work went in the planning.
At the preschool last week in preparation for Thanksgiving, the children made their traditional gift for the holiday table. I never tire of watching the kids make these candle centerpieces. Their small hands so carefully rolling the beeswax into a candle and their sweet and individual way of selecting all the bits from nature that they want to glue on to the base. This is a favorite craft of mine and judging by all the photos popping up on facebook of all the children holding them, I can see that it is for the parents as well.
We also made corn husk dolls. This was really a one-on-one craft-I truly did not expect three, four and five-year-olds to be able to make their own doll. It is good handwork for me to do individually with them as I get a closer look at what each child is capable of doing...how their fine motor skills are coming along-like knot tying and gently tearing pieces of corn husk apart. And with their involvement and participation, they truly make this doll their own. It is always a joy when their little faces light up at their creations.
I tie the yarn around the base of the skirt to help keep it's form until it dries, and then it can come off.
1. give thanks, 2. Thanksgiving Piece for the PlushTeam, 3. Autumn report. Detail from the tree outside my living room window, 28th November., 4. Untitled, 5. A little bit higher, 6. Panellets, 7. Needle felted Camel- wool soft sculpture, 8. Turkey Feather Garland - Thanksgiving Toddler Craft, 9. Untitled, 10. the winner anounced, 11. in a tree, 12. new collections in the shop tomorrow!
It's Thanksgiving week here in the US and instead of teaching, I've been holding parent/teacher conferences at the preschool. I'm looking forward to spending the holiday at home and with my extended family as we usually travel at this time of year and it always feels too hectic.
Happy Monday friends! xx
These are some of the guys I grew up with. We are a tight knit bunch, those of us who grew up on First Avenue. We are still connected to this day, getting together for reunions, big birthdays and a smattering of funerals. We even have a group on facebook called First Avenue Gang which is where this photo came from. When I first saw this picture, memories of our crazy summers together came flooding back. This photo is taken in the garage of the boy on the left. He is an amazing piano player and started his own band. Are garage bands a thing of the past? He also got the foosball table seen in the photo and along with a group of friends, they set a world record for the longest game of foosball. It has since been broken, but I recall how we younger kids came around to fill in while a player went to the bathroom or paused for a sandwich break. With great fascination we all hung around when the local newspaper came out to do a story about their crazy endeavour.
This photo also stirred up another memory that has forever shaped my life. When the boy, third from the left (who sadly passed away about ten years ago), along with my brother (not pictured) saved my life one summer afternoon. I remember the day so clearly, even though I was only five years old. I was playing basketball in our driveway in the alley (I was dressed in a light blue and white gingham shorts jumpsuit with a white pompom on the zipper). A man in his late twenties pulled up in a red sports car and asked me where the nearest gas station was. At five, I thought, "duh, he had to have just driven by one to get here", and pointed that out to him. He played dumb and insisted I get in his car to help him find it. But I knew the rule when it came to strangers and did not budge. But then he offered me twenty dollars and promised to bring me right back. Well, that was a heck of a lot of money and all that entered my mind was how with that much cash, I could buy my dad a really nice birthday present. So this stranger opened his car door for me and as I was about to innocently climb aboard, my brother and his friend came around the corner, saw me and started yelling. The man drove quickly away. Yup. I truly believe they saved my life that day.
I just can't imagine how different my life would be without the bond of friendships that were made in my neighborhood on First Avenue.
I’m not even sure what that means. Just so much going on that my head starts spinning. I think anytime I step away from my normal daily rhythm, I just get so buried under normal daily responsibilities.
So what's been going on? surgery for papa, pink-eye for boy, house guests-first three, then one, two birthdays at the preschool and too many late nights so not a whole lot of sleep.
There's been lots of fun too...
...like pARTy at Jen's. I loved just getting away and hanging out with girlfriends although I quickly discovered why I am more drawn to fiber. I had fun but learned glass is just not my thing.
My boys loved waking up in the morning to find these on the table. I wasn't sure what I had made but they quickly decided it was a house with a pine tree.
I found this beauty in my neighbors trash and just had to rescue it.
My house guests were participating in a local craft fair and I loved the smell of all the lavendar and buckwheat pillows in my home. This was their display.
We were gifted some of the handmade crates from reclaimed barn wood...so beautiful.
Finally...my friends treated me to one incredibly enjoyable concert. Can anyone guess who this is?
We are nearing Martinmas which is traditionally celebrated on November 11. At my preschool we always celebrate it a little early with a lantern walk by the lake just before Halloween. One of our parents said to me during the walk that he nevers feels quite ready to welcome winter until we celebrate this festival with our glowing lanterns. I loved hearing that. For me personally, it marks the beginning of the giving season. We share our spark (or light from our lanterns) as we enter these next months of thankfulness and giving.
This is the first year we used glass jars to make our lanterns. I had previously been a little timid about such young children carrying glass, but everyone did so beautifully. And the lanterns glowed so warmly as the children sang their lantern song as we walked by the lake. We were even blessed with the rising of a full moon.
We used tissue paper and glue to decorate recycled glass jars. The children strung a row of beads onto 18-gauge wire to use as a handle and I attached each handle to the lip of the jar using more wire. Each one was unique and all were so pretty.
My lantern, my lantern, shining near and far
Shining like a moon, shining like a sun shining like a silver star.
1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. ::, 4. Waiting through all eternity, 5. Tea&Water_7163727, 6. Untitled, 7. 302/365 White Pepper Berry, 8. ., 9. October 23, 10. "we shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do" Mother Teresa, 11. Blue corn tortillas, 12. VESSEL
Election day tomorrow here in the US. I feel very quiet in anticipation. I feel like I'll be holding my breath until we know who will be elected president.
Quiet is nice. I'll hold onto it until the craziness begins once the polls close.
Wishing you peace and quiet too friends. xx
I always have trouble re-entering this blog space after a crisis like Sandy. It feels strange to come here and talk about my "life as normal" when I have friends in NYC who are still without water or heat (but thankfully have electricity so are able to keep us updated on their situation). Be well friends!
Anyway. I just started Sunday Stories last week and didn't want them to die before I even began. Also, today's story is an important one.
I don't ever talk about politics here. Ever. There are just so many other forums for those important discussions, but I feel a need to write about this one. This Tuesday, we in the US will be voting for our next president and other government officials. Here in Minnesota (also in Washington, Maine and Maryland) we will also be voting on whether to constitutionally limit the freedom to marry. This one gets to me. Why? Why does anyone care? Why does it bother some, how others choose to live their lives? What, exactly, are people afraid of? Why put all this time and energy into this amendment, when if the "no's" have it, it won't matter anyway. Same sex couples will still not legally be able to marry in this state. I just don't get it. If you walk through my neighborhood the number of Vote No signs are overwhelming. It's seems like it would be impossible for this amendment to go through. The sad part is, we are a divided state. It just might pass.
It began with a post on Facebook. I wrote: Found this taped to my vote no sign in my front yard.
Friend Jenn saw it and posted I think a friend of a friend did this... Love it. Well, the story was picked up by our local newspaper and with Jenn's help connecting the dots they were able to find the woman who was tagging the signs. Two days later, this article was published in The Minneapolis StarTribune.
I work with young children and am a sworn avocate to their health, safety and well-being. How anyone feels they have the right to take away that basic and fundemental right to feel safe and loved and nutured (regardless of how their family is defined!) is beyond me. It makes me cry every time I think about it.
Why does it matter? Our children matter. Period.
