three kings day

Our three kings have wandered about the house since Christmas day... following a star to the manger where the Christ child lays.
Naiya said, "No wonder the kings show up so late... they really got lost."  She would giggle each day that their morning location only found them further from the nativity on our Nature Table.
At last, they have arrived.

Three Kings came riding from far away,

    Melchoir and Gaspar and Baltasar;

Three Wise Men out of the East were they,

And they travelled by night and they slept by day,

    For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star.

The star was so beautiful, large, and clear,

    That all the other stars of the sky

Became a white mist in the atmosphere,

And by this they knew that the coming was near

    Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy.

Three caskets they bore on their saddlebows,

    Three caskets of gold with golden keys;

Their robes were of crimson silk with rows

Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows,

    Their turbans like blossoming almond trees.

And so the Three Kings rode into the West,

    Through the dusk of night, over hill and dell

And sometimes they nodded with beard on breast,

And sometimes talked, as they paused to rest,

    With the people they met at some wayside well.

"Of the child that is born," said Baltasar,

    "Good people, I pray you, tell us the news;

For we in the East have seen his star,

And have ridden fast, and have ridden far,

    To find and worship the King of the Jews."

And the people answered, "You ask in vain;

    We know of no king but Herod the Great!"

They thought the Wise Men were men insane,

As they spurred their horses across the plain,

    Like riders in haste, and who cannot wait.

And when they came to Jerusalem,

    Herod the Great, who had heard this thing,

Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them;

And said, "Go down unto Bethlehem,

    And bring me tidings of this new king."

So they rode away; and the star stood still,

    The only one in the gray of morn;

Yes, it stopped, it stood still of its own free will,

Right over Bethlehem on the hill,

    The city of David where Christ as born

And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard,

    Through the silent street, till their horses turned

And neighed as they entered and great inn-yard;

But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,

    And only a light in the stable burned.

And cradled there in the scented hay,

    In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,

The little child in the manger lay,

The child, that would be king one day

    Of a kingdom not human but divine.

His mother Mary of Nazareth

    Sat watching beside his place of rest,

Watching the even flow of his breath,

For the joy of life and the terror of death

    Were mingled together in her breast.

They laid their offerings at his feet;

    The gold was their tribute to a King,

The frankincense, with its odor sweet,

Was for the Priest, the Paraclete,

    The myrrh for the body’s burying.

And the mother wondered and bowed her head,

    And sat as still as a statue of stone;

Her heart was troubled yet comforted,

Remembering what the Angel had said

    Of an endless reign and of David’s throne.

Then the Kings rode out of the city gate,

    With a clatter of hoofs in proud array;

But they went not back to Herod the Great,

For they knew his malice and feared his hate,

    And returned to their homes by another way.

                                                  -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

transparency silhouettes

   Back when I had just finished up with our school's Advent crafting festival, I mentioned that I would do a little how-to post on the transparency silhouettes that were such a hit there.

   I've since discovered that directions for these can be found in the popular Waldorf calendar of celebrations book All Year Round and it's likely that instructions appear elsewhere online as well.  I'll go ahead and offer up how I put them together anyhow (because, you know, I already started).  Also, if you're looking for some images for inspiration, you can check out a collection I've gathered from crafty folks the world over on my Pinterest page.

   To make these sweet seasonal and story-telling pieces of window art you'll need card stock, a pencil, tissue in various colors, small scissors or a craft knife, a glue stick, a steady hand and a lot of patience.  The product is lovely and the principles are simple but the cutting of the image can be quite fiddly and time consuming.  (Let it not be said I gave no warning.)

   Drawing the desired scene directly onto the wrong side of the card stock is the easiest way to begin.


One can harvest images from favorite picture books or, of course, simply forge them directly from one's own imagination.

I have a hard time free-handing drawings, so I borrow those I like by pasting them onto a Pages document on my computer and then tracing the image onto a piece of paper.





Unfortunately, the heavier card stock desired for the finished product is thicker than can be easily seen through in this way so I've traced like this, cut out a pattern and then re-traced the pattern onto heavy card stock.  (This is extremely time consuming and I only did it because I needed patterns for others to use at the crafting gathering anyway.  I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing all that cutting twice!)  

So...  Working on the back side of the heavy paper, draw the chosen silhouette remembering to leave at least a 1" margin around the perimeter and to attach all figures to some edge.

(Note that silhouette figures not attached to an edge could be directly glued onto the tissue backing in later steps as seen in some of the collected inspiring examples.)

With a craft or exacto knife or small scissors (I prefer the latter), cut the design from the paper and trim the outside edges as desired.

(Remember to leave that 1" exterior frame to have something to attach your tissue to!)



(If you'd prefer to create a free standing display that can be placed in front of a candle or other light source, leave 3-4" of the card stock on each side of the image.  This excess can to be folded (on the dotted line) to a 70° - 90° angle to help the piece stand on its own instead of being taped or propped against a window.)

When the cutting is complete, prepare a piece of the lightest color tissue (in this case the lightest blue) to be placed over the entire back side of the image.  Cover the back side of the frame (and perhaps some of the larger figures) with glue stick or craft glue and gently press on that first layer of tissue.

Continue adding progressively darker tissue colors and variously shaped highlights and layers as desired to make the color effects you choose.  (Layering from lightest to darkest seems to work best.)
The subsequent layers can be kept to the edges or be carefully glued directly onto the first layer of tissue.

Even one color of tissue layered many times can create an interesting effect.  Combining colors as seen through light is an art of its own I think.

Once complete, turn the silhouette right side up and display it in a brightly lit window or in front of a protected candle.

   If the tissue outline can be seen because of strong back light (as shown above) or if your finished product is too floppy, the whole project can be "cleaned-up" and reinforced by adding an additional card stock frame piece on top of the tissue on the back side.

   I can see us producing a library of these to have for each season or even creating scenes to gift to our friends with images from their favorite stories.

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

winter solstice gift from the fairie queen

This morning the Fairie Queen left a little Solstice gift for Naiya on the back step.  The fey are gone in Winter but the Queen visits occasionally on full moons and holidays to leave a little something reminding us she's still around and will return to live in the garden sometime in Spring.

We forgot she was coming so the little box she and Naiya often exchange presents in was sitting on the kitchen counter.  Instead of using the box then, our pixie friend put the little snowman in a woolie bowl that Naiya has decided will be the perfect rabbit hole on our Winter Nature Table.

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...

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...

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.

sand castle for our michaelmas nature table

This year we found inspiration for our Michaelmas Nature Table at school in the Waldorf kindergarten next door to our own.  (For a view of the aforementioned inspiration click here.)  When I first presented the idea to Ryan he thought I was a little crazy.  A Michaelmas sandcastle in our living room?  All kinds of crises unwanted are sure to arise from such an endeavor.  (Sand everywhere, cats... child horrified at the imminent crumbling, cats... child throwing sand in the house, cats... you get the idea.)
Well, I decided to do it anyway.  So entranced by the idea I was.
After a week or so of looking up methodology on Google, I finally had the brilliant thought to ask the actual creator of my inspiration how such a thing were possible in a room full of young children.   "Cornstarch", she told me.  It's the magic that makes it all possible.  Cornstarch keeps the whole thing from just crumbling into a heap when the children bump the table or prod at the final glory.
And so I began...

All I used was:
-sand
-water
-corn starch
-old plastic cups and yogurt containers
-a palette knife (any kind of  knife or even a popsicle stick would have worked)

  

  I filled a bucket with play sand that I harvested from our summer sand box.  (I understand that fine beach sand is always better for making castles but I don't have a beach handy and after I sifted out the larger gravelly bits from the sand with a sieve, the play sand seemed to work just fine.)
  To the half bucket of sand I added the whole box of corn starch and really stirred this together before the next step.





  I then added enough water and really stirred it in to make the mixture very wet but not overly soupy.  (About a gallon?)

  Now, what does a castle look like?  The first one I started looked like a sheet cake with a strange disease and I swept it all back into the bucket and started over.  I'd suggest looking up castle images online or in children's books.  Have a plan and then proceed...  Your castle certainly doesn't have to look like mine!

  I happened to have a piece of plywood laying around that just fit my Nature Table so I used that for my base.  (I did this messy work outside and then carried the completed castle in once it was finished.)

 I started the actual castle sculpting by making turrets.  I squeezed the sand in my hands to draw out as much water as possible before dropping tennis ball sized globs into my forms.

 I then patted them down hard with the palms of my hands.

  A lot of water oozed out the bottom of the forms as I did this and that was soaked up with an old towel.

  It's important to really compact the sand and dry it as much as possible so that the sand holds when the form is removed.

  To make taller turrets, several cup forms were stacked, filled and patted.  (The lower cups should still be in place when the upper cups are put on top.)

  After the proper height was reached, the forms were gently pulled away.

  (If things start to go awry and fall apart, don't worry.  It's sand!  Just throw any disasters back in the bucket and start again.)

When all my turrets were in place, the walls were built by again dropping tennis ball sized clumps of sand in a line.  I patted them down, formed them a bit with my hands and then did more precise cutting with my palette knife.  It was kind of like slicing cake.  (Of course, not all castles will even have these kind of stark edges and lines.  The castle that inspired this all, for example, was much more organic and natural looking.)

  To make that classic castle wall edge (there's a name for this but I have no idea what it is), I again used my palette knife and sliced and lifted out the little rectangular pieces.

  For windows, I simply carved into the turret walls with my trusty knife.

(One could get really detailed and carve "bricks" or more elaborate windows into all the walls but I didn't really have it in me... with all the possible cat and child destruction on the horizon... know what I mean?)

  I added a little stairway between the lower and upper levels and then had to give a fair amount of thought to how to top the whole thing off.

  I remembered when I was a kid how at the beach we used to make these cool drip castles using very sloshy, wet water.  I thought that would make a neat pointy roof for the turrets, so I added more water to my remaining sand mixture

  I transferred some of that into a smaller cup that I could hold closer to my project and scooped up and dripped the wet, slushy water from my hand onto the tops of the towers.

  I thought it gave the classic castle a more whimsical, natural look which fits into my daughter's gentler, fanciful style of play.


  More on Michaelmas in the days to come...

the beginnings of a new play mat

  We found these cute flower buttons at a local craft store and Naiya wanted to sew them onto something.  I had an old felted wool blanket that I had stored (read hoarded) away should we ever find need for an old felted wool blanket.  (I have some ridiculous boxes and bins full of all kinds of peculiar natural crafting materials.  I'm not sure whether to be proud or ashamed of the quantity.)
Anyhow, I cut her this little odd shaped green material and she sewed to her hearts content.

 

 When it was done she started to use it as a play garden for her puppet shows and doll games.  As its novelty wore off, I decided to alter it a bit to perhaps inspire some different amusements.  I cut out some triangles from the edges, sewed them back together and turned the little mat into a hill.

 I used some wool roving to mound it up then hand stitched the hill onto a larger mat that could take on some additional elements.  A stream perhaps?  A needle felted veggie patch?  A bear's cave or some shrubberies? 

 It's a project slow in its creation as it's one Naiya and I are building on together.  At the moment she loves it just as it is and her little dolls so enjoy a good roll down the flowery hill.

summer nature table - at the beach

During the Summer our Nature Table transforms several times.  For the past couple of years, the beachy version of our nature collection and play space is often the favorite.  It is played with more than any other tableau of the year and this time around I had the idea to add actual sand.  It is messy, but Naiya just loves hiding shells and special stones in there, and the little people enjoy all kinds of adventures on the sea and shore alike.  The sand area is actually one of those rake-able decorative tabletop Zen gardens that my brother made for me many years ago.  The sand is special glass sand (that was also part of my brother's gift) and so produces no dust (but still gets scattered about the house).  One could also use regular sand and a high edged baking sheet or box for this purpose.

Hours of fun for those quiet, restful afternoons spent out of the heat of the day (and a great place to display the many shells and stones found on our outdoor Summer explorations).

a special visit to the fairie garden

We had some special visitors to our fairy garden this afternoon...