Paper Snowflakes

I saw a post recently about making these wonderful 3-D paper snowflakes.


Here is the tutorial. It was very easy (just read the initial cutting directions ;)
We made 2 huge flakes that are hanging in our school room. We may do a few smaller ones to compliment them. Have fun!

Waldorf Math- King Equals

Introducing- King Equals!

I finished embroidering him last night. I think he is really sweet. Brooke wanted an extra long cloak for him :)

I liked the look of this king here at this wonderful Etsy shop

so I sorted modeled ours after him with supplies we had. Here is the tutorial I used to create him, though I had to adjust his cape much longer and give him that rolled collar. The other four process gnomes, I will follow the tutorial exactly, all the pieces are the correct size and it is really easy. I just viewed youtube to remind me how to do a blanket stitch.

Sweet felt snails

Our handwork project this week was these adorable felt snails from Living Crafts magazine.

I had to help needle felt a bit, but the girls helped wrap the wool and choose the colors.

Turns out, they are finger puppets! So cute

Beeswax Forms

This morning I told a folk tale while the girls warmed the beeswax in their hands. Then we all shaped it into our forms for the week. I used the plant dyed beeswax from A Little Garden Flower It is fantastic! We haven't done much with the beeswax in the past, but this has changed my mind. More creations to come...

Felt Playmat

After receiving the Fall issueof Living Crafts magazine, I wanted to make this beautiful playmat.
I was inspired after another mom made one, so here it is! It has taken awhile, but the girls love it! They are hiding their animals in the cave already.

We wet felted the base part.

Then I needle felted it to make it stronger and added the cave

Next came some trees... quite a challenge as I broke a needle on the pipe cleaner.

Making the boulders and rocks for the waterfall/pond was easy and fun!




I added the waterfall and some plants around the rocks.

Then I added the large gnarly tree and garden. The big tree took some doing. I think I may use as a seasonal tree and add different color leaves or bare in the winter. Whew!

Handwork- Felt Cats

We handcrafted a few kittys from the book Making Fairy-tale Wool animals

Here are step-by-step pictures of their creation! I think they came out great. Oh, and the small gray one was made by my 6 1/2 yr old! I only helped a bit..Felting really isn't hard once you get the hang of it. Just need patience and a few days.. was very therapeutic during rainy days here in Coastal SC.

Step 1) Bend pipe cleaners for body form. Tie on legs with thread (tightly)

2)Wrap tips of head, tail and paws with wool

3) Start wrapping thin strips of wool on head, criss cross to shoulders and legs. Keep taught and smooth. The key is many light layers.

4) Keep wrapping to thicken body and wrap tail..make back legs wider at top, criss crossing onto trunk to keep smooth.

5)When body looks the right size, add decorative markings and needle felt where you need to make it stronger and smoother. It gives extra durability.

6) Needle felt on small wisps of wool for ears. Eyes can be sewn on with embroidery floss and/or a small bead (see top pictures we used beads only) Nose and mouth are sewn on with light pink floss going through the neck. Needle felt in any excess thread to cover. Your done!

Fixing Felt Toys

We took a good look at some half finished projects and some toys that had been really "loved"
I got out my huge bag of felt roving and my felting needle and I began to repair. New eyes sewn on, ears re-created and for that poor family- new hair!!
I even made a Pinto Horse out of the felt horses the girls received for the holidays many years ago. They had holes in them, so I patched with dark brown felt and they loved it!

I am inspired now to make another felt cat.. I will keep you updated!

Making Knitting Needles

I knew the girls would be learning to knit with two needles this year (1st grade) I was going to buy some, but I saw a pattern to make them! It was really easy and fun. This will take the better part of a morning to do so allow time or do in stages.

I got a 3/4" dowel and some dowel caps (have holes to fit dowel) You may go s bit smaller. We measured and sawed off how long we wanted them to be..I just eyed up and made them about 7" before the caps.

Then the fun began! What to paint on the caps?! Everyone designed their own unique ones and we made a few extra pair for gifts.

While the paint was drying, the sanding started. Even with very coarse sandpaper it did take a bit to get them going. Brooke found out if you laid the paper down and held the dowel and "scrubbed" it , it worked! Once the first one was done, they tired a bit, so I cheated and brought out the sander. I held it while they twisted their dowels into needles. After, they used fine sandpaper to smooth it all out.

The other end of the dowel had to be lightly sanded to fit the cap. Then we glued the caps on and let them dry.

Later, I sprayed the painted tops with glossy lacquer to protect and make them shiny. I also found some wood wax I use on my table and rubbed on the needles to make a beautiful color and finish! I think they came out great!

We may have to sand them pointier when its time to knit...

Making play dough

We spent an hour making homemade playdough. The girls measured out the ingredients and stirred until thick, but the best part- mixing the colors! It was like chemistry class wondering what a drop of blue would turn it to. What fun!

Wind Chimes

We learned about the March winds this week. Our craft was to make a nature wind chime. These came out so great! Here are some pictures with Lily & Brooke holding theirs. They are so proud, they hung them in the outside nature "house" (3 hugh privet bushes they play in)

I was outside in the yard and they actually do clank around so nicely!

Sunflower seed necklaces

We dried these large sunflower heads from the garden last fall. I found them sitting in the garage just looking for something to do. We took nylon string, soaked the seeds for 15 min and then strung them to make necklaces for the birds!

Tip: Use thin needle to avoid breaking the seeds and sticking little fingers.

Handwork

We made some lovely hand-sewn valentine cookies and the girls made valentine felt suckers. I didn't get a picture before they were given away to grandma! Here is the tutorial for the suckers.

From the same site I made these cute valentine's cookies! Look good enough to eat and so easy.

Here is the tutorial for the cookies.

Gnomes in my home!

We did our first ever Waldorf Gnome project. This was so much fun! It takes a bit of trial and error, but once you figure it out, it goes fast. I used this tutorial that was very helpful. My girls did their own King and Queen Gnomes out of wooden clothespins. They were a bit harder to do than my Valentine Gnome, due to the smaller head and taller dimensions, but they were determined to make them out of the clothespins! Isn't she sweet! She is on our nature table already to spread her love for Valentine's Day.

Warm as Wool

We are reading "Warm as Wool"
It is a wonderful book, but out of print. I get it from our library. We are talking about wool, learning to spin wool into yarn, finger knit, braid and begin to knit with two needles. Cold winter days seem to lend themselves to cozy handwork. We decorated our nature table with yummy yarns and knitting notions.

Sewing Mittens

Here is our Mitten Tree. It was a great pattern from the Sew Mama Sew! blog. Here is the link.
We placed the finished mittens on a branch and had guests take one on Christmas Eve.

Lily & Brooke were careful sewers. I can't believe how well they have come along just by doing a few Holiday projects. They can thread a needle, sew a button and tie it off.

Fabric Gifting Bags

I decided to add a little eco-friendliness to our Holidays this year by sewing fabric gift bags. I used fabric I already had around the house. They come together quickly and can be tailored to fit any size gift! Next year, the bags can be re-used and cut down on waste in our landfill.

Giving

The girls spent many hours sewing, baking and

decorating gifts to pass out to friends, dance and cello

teachers. They sewed those scissor covers by hand themselves.

It is a pattern from Living Crafts magazine's website.

Crayon decorated cookie bags were a big hit!