little wooden houses as waldorf classmate christmas gifts

Every year as we snuggle down during Advent and try to spend the long winter nights together with stories and baking and wholesome good work, we attempt to come up with a simple craft that we can create together for little classmate gifts for Christmas.  
(Spoiler alert, dear Waldorf friends, we've got a basket of these little houses coming your way on the day before winter break!)

This year, since we're still house hunting and living at my mum and dad's, we had access to some good tools and even better helpers.  Opa and his table saw started us off in our production by sawing a pointy edge from a regular ol' 2x4.  (Cost: about $3)

He then chopped it up into smaller pieces.

Then Naiya, Oma and I sanded down the rough edges.

Sanding can be messy business so we stood out in the 30-something degree weather smoothing down those splintery corners.

Back inside we mixed up a platter of rainbow goodness and set to work with our acrylics.

They sat on the table for a couple of days and got more and more elaborate with glitter, fancy paper and lots of painted embellishments.

We finished them off with a screw eye and bit of ribbon for simple ornaments we hope the kids will enjoy.

merry christmas to all

Why do the bells of Christmas ring?
Why do the little children sing?
Once a lovely shining star
Seen by shepherds from afar
Gently moved until its light
Made a manger's cradle bright.
There a little baby lay
Pillowed soft upon the hay
And its mother sang and smiled
This is Christ, the holy child.
Therefore bells of Christmas ring
Therefore little children sing.
                                                                         -E. Field

last minute gift that kids can make quick

Naiya got it in her head today (two days before Christmas ?!!) that she wanted to have a little gift for everyone we'd be seeing on Christmas day.  Never fear, mama crafty is here...

In about an hour we made 15 of these pretty little "stained glass" window thingys.  Originally we had talked about giving them to people as bookmarks but seeing them all lined up together in front of the window, we started to think they could just be lovely bits of art.  Maybe even hang a few together as some kind of mobile?  Whatever they end up being used for, I thought they were beautiful last minute creations that kids could put together for any occasion.  They're basically the same as the "stained glass" hearts we made for Valentine's Day a few years ago with a variation in the shape.

We started by shaving some scrappy broken crayons with a cheese grater.

We sprinkled the shavings onto a sheet of wax paper that was sitting atop a towel.

(A few shavings go a long way.  If the distribution is too dense, all the colors just melt together and make a dark glob.)

On top of this we laid another sheet of wax paper and another thin towel.

(From past experience we know it's possible that some of the colored wax will weep through the wax paper onto the towels so we chose towels with this in mind.)

We then melted the crayon bits by pressing a fairly hot iron on top of the top towel (pressing the iron, lifting and pressing again) until the  shavings had melted and the wax paper sheets had stuck together.

Using our handy roller paper cutter, we cut some card stock down to about 2 1/4" x 6". 

Leaving about 1/2" frame around the edge, we cut out the center. 

We used two of these frames for each book mark, one on either side of the wax piece.

We cut our wax stained glass slightly smaller than the frames and then assembled them using glue sticks.

Naiya helped with every step and only needed some guidance with the paper cutter and, of course, the iron.

Kinda pretty, eh?  Who doesn't need a super fancy bookmark?

fanciful gift tags

Inspired by some gift tags I saw online (which I cannot seem to find again), Naiya and I have been making some fanciful labels for our Christmas givings.

The version I saw online started with little fingerprint sized pieces of fabric glued onto card stock. 

I set these in front of us and (much like we have sometimes made critters and people from our own fingerprints) we came up with some interesting and silly little pictures to display on our tags.

My favorite of Naiya's is the one with the mama bird feeding a worm to the baby bird in the nest that sits on the ground.

Not the most winter-y scenes but Naiya fixated on birds and they're super simple for kids to make.

clothespin snowflakes - another advent craft

Back in Summer we were making suns and stars out of clothespins and all the while I was thinking they'd make much better snowflakes come winter.  So, basically, I'm re-posting those instructions and throwing a little cool colored glitter on in place of the warm tones we used before.


All that's needed are a bunch of clothespins and glue (and some glitter, if you're into that).  I've made them with both quick drying craft glue and a glue gun.  Actually, I'd say the glue gun works better.  Wood glue would probably work better than the craft glue as well.  (A few of our craft-glued creations fell apart a few weeks after making.)












Begin by taking all the clothespins apart.

(Depending on the specific size and shape of the pins used, the number needed for a complete circle will vary from about 22 to 30.)














 Glue the two separated pieces back together back to back.


(I have no idea what to do with the discarded metal springs.  If you think up a good use for them, let me know.)

(Wait! Note added Dec. 2013: I just found a great use for those leftover metal bits!  Check it out here.)





  

After they had dried, I glued the smaller ends together to form the snowflake shape.


To make an even, smooth inside edge, it helped to use a form to push the pins against.  For this circle, I found the perfect sized lid as a kind of mold.

They can be decorated with paint and/or glitter  or, of course, left in their natural state.



Since the sun is coming back (hurray!), perhaps we'll use one on our Nature Table to celebrate the return of the light as well.

the third week of advent

Advent Advent a candle glows

Advent Advent a candle glows

First one then two then three then four

Then stands the Child of Light at the door

The third week of Advent

Is the light of beasts

Who all await the coming

In the greatest and the least

As I mentioned last week, I was frantically making an animal a night to fill Naiya's Advent treasure bag in the mornings for this, the week of animals. We aren't able to place the animals on our Advent wreath for fear that some actual animal (read crazy savage cats) will rip the critters to shreds.  Instead they make their way to the manger on our mantel and await the arrival of the shepherds, wise men and holy family.

I think I could use some instruction in animal anatomy.  (This is supposed to be a camel.  There were camels right?  "The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum....  The camel hummed a tune, pa rum pum pum pum...")

When I looked up ox on the internet I found a lot of pictures of something that looked a lot more like a buffalo than a cow.  I was going for the draft animals with the yokes.  You know, with the big shoulders and horns?  Hmm...

All these fellows are built with an armature of floral wire wrapped in many layers of wool roving.   They're needle felted into shape and were sculpted while I sat looking at a number of actual photographs of real animals. 

I have a lot of un-carded, un-dyed wool which worked really well to create realistic coloration, especially in the sheep (which are, you know, made from sheep).



Tomorrow the shepherds should arrive to watch over the flock...

winter terrarium

One of our simplest Advent crafts this year was a new one we came up with after failed attempts to fill those round glass Christmas bulbs with different varieties of sparkly goodness.  (They just looked trashy and we never put them up.)  Instead, we found this cool hanging glass terrarium (with a much larger opening that small hands can reach into) on sale at our local craft store.  Whereas the bulbs were just filled with texture and color, in the terrarium, we were able to build a small world and Naiya loved it!

We filled the bottom with white sand mixed with a fair amount of glitter (the closest we could get to snow) then our dear daughter found mini ornaments we weren't using and some bits of natural-ness to brighten up the tiny winter world. 
It's hanging in front of a window and Ryan says it's his favorite craft of the season.  Perhaps we'll have to gather more miniature goodies and make a couple more...

(I took about 40 pictures in various kinds of light trying to minimize glare and maintain focus.  This, which doesn't do it justice, is the best pic I could get.  As you can see, I was none too successful. )

the second light of advent

Advent Advent a candle glows

Advent Advent a candle glows

First one then two then three then four

Then stands the Child of Light at my door

The second light of Advent 
Is the light of plants
Plants that reach up to the sun
And in the breezes dance

   We moved the stones to the wreath's perimeter and this week welcomed a eucalyptus branch and pods, star anise, a tillandsia from a local nursery, a sprig of lavender and some aralia from our yard, nutmeg nuts and a felted poinsettia flower...which Naiya wouldn't allow on the wreath because "it wasn't real".  The juniper berries and pine cones are permanently attached.
   I had hoped to felt little animals for next week and add them to last year's Nativity Scene of felted people.  I'm still working on the first sheep.  We shall see...

advent crafts

We're a pretty crafty house and, at this time of year, when the cold, wet weather keeps us from enjoying many of our outdoor activities, our craftiness bumps up a notch.  For this Advent season, we've got a fun list of crafts old and new.  We even made ourselves a handy little calendar.

It isn't actually a schedule.  The crafts have moved dates already at least four times.  We do whatever inspires us each day and then rearrange what's left over for the days still to come.

We rolled these from sheets of beeswax purchased from Ruhl Bee Supply and decorated them with decorating beeswax from Stockmar.  A few months ago we found some great mini cookie cutters that come in themes for each season.

Our gingerbread house was a store bought kit.  (This one came from Trader Joe's.)  One of these years we're going to have a go at making one from scratch.

We've made a few more felted trees since we started and Naiya's had fun changing the decorations as the little people celebrate with festive parties on her Nature Table.









Advent crafts still to come:

beeswax ornaments

felt wreaths

paper snowflakes

winter terrarium

transparency silhouettes

clothespin snowflakes

salt and watercolor paintings

pomander oranges

sparkly pine cones

What are your favorite natural winter and holiday crafts?  We'd love to add them to our list!

little trees from felted sweater scraps

We make all manner of crafts from felted sweaters all year long and I have this bag of small scrap that I just didn't know what to do with (but couldn't bring myself to throw away).  And then we needed some trees on our Nature Table...

These are so super simple!  I just cut different sized circles and stacked them.  I tied a knot in my green embroidery floss and ran it down through the center of each one then tied it off at the bottom.  On a few, I glue gunned on a short trunk made of branch bits we'd lopped off of our hedge laurel. 

They can be decorated for Christmas or left plain to provide a forest for the critters and folks out enjoying a winter picnic in the woods.  So many possibilities...

the first light of advent

Advent Advent a candle glows

Advent Advent a candle glows

First one then two then three then four

Then stands the Child of Light at my door

 The first Light of Advent

Is the Light of Stones

Stones that live in crystals

In seashells and in bones

Each morning Naiya finds a special treasure in her Advent bags and places them on our wreath.  We lit one candle this week and sang our Advent song as she marveled at all the beautiful colors and textures of crystals, shells, geodes and fossils.

winter crafting festival

Every year, sometime near the Advent season, the parents at our Waldorf school hold a little gathering for the adults in our community to enjoy a cozy and festive day together sharing our crafting skills.  We call it Heart of Advent. 

For the past few years, I've helped organize this event and this year, although attendance was not high, those who came to share their holiday stories and traditions and chat over tea with needles, scissors, paper and wool seemed to have a wonderful afternoon.

We ended up with a really delightful collection of natural crafts made of a variety of materials.

Transparency stars are always a favorite.  There are at least a few books that provide instructions for these and, I'm sure, a number of online guides as well.   They're great for all seasons but especially nice for brightening up the dark days of winter I think.

Transparency silhouettes were a new hit.  I hosted this table and provided a few samples and patterns but some very enterprising folks came up with really lovely images of their own as well.  These can be displayed in front of a bright window or propped up before a covered candle.  The difficulty is in the fiddly cutting but, if one has the patience, they're worth the time and can provide lovely visual accompaniment for seasonal stories and themes.  I'll try to post a tutorial within the next couple of days.

Of course we had to have some kind of candle craft.  Not only did the beeswax offer olfactory bliss but the theme of bringing light into darkness is so prevalent in stories at this time of year that it just seemed perfect for the occasion.  These are Treasure Candles made in waxed paper cups.  The wick is attached to a wick button in the bottom of the cup with its upper end looped around a wooden skewer.  The wax is poured in a bit at a time.  Treasures like small shells, marbles and beads are added before another layer is poured to hold them in place.  The different colors were made by mixing in old crayon bits.  When the wax is dry, the paper is pealed away leaving a votive type candle.  When burned, the secrets inside are slowly revealed.  Oh so magical for the wee ones.

At the Recycled Sweater Table such a great number of interesting things were made.  It's hard to tell in this photo but that grey elephant was one of the softest, most adorable critters I've ever seen.  There were also hats, mittens, felted flowers, purses and, I think, a few of other stuffed critters as well.

Additionally, folks made little Pocket People, Magical Wool Stars and 3-D Paper Snowflakes.  We  gave away sachets of deliciously fragrant Mulling Spices and our amazing Preschool and Parent/Child teacher was on hand helping many of her parents make the sweetest little Sleepy Dollies.  Sadly I didn't get a photo of any of the lovelies those mamas made.  Some things were trickier than others but I think challenges were overcome and everyone took a hand in helping out where needed.

Finally, tucked away against one wall we had a collection of Seasonal Traditions shared by various families.  It's always so interesting to learn how others celebrate all manner of winter celebrations including The Day of St. Nicholas, Martinmas, Santa Lucia, Hanukkah and, of course Advent itself.

It's what our day was really about - our little village coming together to exchange our holiday traditions and gifts of friendship, stories, skills, patience, laughter and beauty in a relaxed and welcoming joy filled room.

A gift of light
I thankfully hold
And pass to my neighbor
Its shining gold
That everyone may
Feel its glow

Receiving and giving
  We watch love grow

merry christmas

Happy Christmas to all!

(The best Christmas present ever!)