On Saying Goodbye...for now.

These past few months Shanti and I have been experiencing this on again, off again love affair with blogging.  When we started this blog we started with gusto...neither Shanti or myself had any experience with blogging, (other than reading blogs).   Our goal was to create and grow a blog, and share our creativity with other mamas.  This time last year we were posting about 5-6 times a week...I would dare say the majority of last summer was spent blogging our hearts out.   This blog is like a little creative baby that Shanti and I have nurtured together...it's hard to just "let go"...on the other hand it feels kind of refreshing to just say, "LET IT GO!!!"  Shanti and I both homeschool our kids, we both work, (at least) 25 or more hours a week outside of our homes, we garden, create and homestead.  When I think about how we found the time to blog, I have to think about what's suffered in our lives as a result.  While the blog has been a fufilling creative outlet for us both, there have also been times when we put so much pressure onto ourselves to get a post up, I fear that there were times when we both sacrificed precious moments of family time trying to manage our blog.

Recently Shanti went on a trip and returned home having really enjoyed being "unplugged"...after we talked, we realized that we're both on the same page with this, we need to get back into our lives again.  We have both loved sharing on the blog and being part of the blog world. It has inspired us, brought us to live creatively, challenged us to grow and brought us JOY!   With spring here and summer around the corner, we want to make the most of it and spend every possible moment  soaking up the beauty.  We want to turn off the "blog post" planner  part of our brain. We want to learn how to "just be" more and slow down our lives.  We want to say thank you to to all of you new found blog friends. Thank you for all the kind words you have shared, the inspiration we have received from your blogs and the opportunity to be a part of such a rich community of kindred spirits. We are so grateful.

In the meantime our blog will stay put...we don't plan on taking any of it down, and we may return sporadically, to give you little updates on our lives.  We aren't planning any craft tutorials any time soon, so please refer to our archives for craft ideas.  I think we managed to create something really special here...I hope that we will continue to be a resource for mamas out there who appreciate beautiful crafts for beautiful little people.  We wish you JOY and we thank you for supporting us. 

with all our love
xox
Maureen & Shanti

An Earth Day Craft!

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, 
we borrow it from our children.  

~Native American Proverb~

In honor of Earth Day I wanted to share
our earth lovers craft...

A globe luminary 

An opportunity to "light up the world"

taking a moment to offer a blessing of gratitude 

for our great mother earth 

and the many gifts she bestows upon us all.

To create you will need

green & blue tissue paper

mod podge

glass bowl

paint brush

To begin rip your blue tissue paper into smallish pieces.

Paint mod podge onto your glass.

Add pieces of tissue paper on top

Paint on more mod podge over your tissue paper (love that stuff!)

Once your first layer has covered your whole bowl and dried...

add another layer.

Draw out your pieces of land onto your green tissue paper.

 I used this basic outline.

Mod podge it onto your globe.

Let it dry 

and ignite your flame!

Earth teach me stillness                                                         as the grasses are stilled with light.                                                           Earth teach me suffering                                                           as old stones suffer with memory.                                                           Earth teach me humility                                                            as blossoms are humble with beginning.                                                        Earth Teach me caring                                                  as the mother who secures her young.                                                         Earth teach me courage                                                        as the tree which stands alone.                                                        Earth teach me limitation                                                            as the ant which crawls on the ground.                                                     Earth teach me freedom                                                    as the eagle which soars in the sky.                                                           Earth teach me resignation                                                             as the leaves which die in the fall.                                                          Earth teach me regeneration                                                          as the seed which rises in the spring.                                                              Earth teach me to forget myself                                                               as melted snow forgets its life.                                                                          Earth teach me to remember kindness                                                                      as dry fields weep in the rain.

Take nothing but pictures.
Leave nothing but footprints.
Kill nothing but time.
~Motto of the Baltimore Grotto

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
Khalil Gibran

Here's to celebrating our earth
and all the practical ways we can help preserve her gifts.

What ways do you teach and celebrate Earth
Day with the children in your life? 


With Love 
~ Shanti~

P.S. in honor of digital detox week (taking place right now all over the globe!) and Easter we shall be signing off for a couple of weeks.
See you again soon!
xo
Shanti & Maureen

Birch Bark Basket

Last fall I spent many an afternoon walking in the woods with my girls on the hunt for birch bark from fallen trees. I had big plans to do some serious birch bark crafting over the long winter... 

My high hopes didn't make it that far though ~ I did make a birch bark costume for halloween but that was about it!

 I decided it was time to use up some of my collection and thought attempting a basket might be just the project.

This was a quick craft with very little supplies needed

birch bark

glue gun

ruler 

pencil 

scissors 

moss

 To begin you can follow this simple patten I found. 

After you figure out your dimensions...

Draw out your lines.

Cut where you see here (so hard to describe these things ~ thank goodness for pictures!)

Fold your birch bark on all the lines.

Glue together.

Add moss on the edges by laying down a line of glue and squeezing it on.

Cut a strip of bark for your handle and glue on.

Fill your basket with moss, grass, straw... and there you go ~ a sweet little basket to put Easter delights in!

In the last couple of months we have been graced by a new family member...

Stella (actually now skylar as we just realized he is a male! sold to us as a female...oops)

He is a well loved little guy that Luna saved up many many allowances to buy!

We're thinking he's in with the Easter bunny and might even help him out this year ; )

 A wee wonderful pet that we have all fallen in love with.

(I actually recommend these little guys as pets... quiet, litter trainable, cuddly and just so darn cute!)

Wishing you beauty in every step

~ Shanti ~

Fern & Flower Adorned Eggs

There’s a bridge of wondrous light
Filled with colors shining bright

Red and orange, yellow, green,
The fairest colors ever seen,

Blue and violet, magic rose;
Down from heaven to earth it goes

Here we go, to and fro,
over the rainbow bridge we go.

Treading softly, treading slow,
over the rainbow bridge we go.

Gathering light from sun and star,
gathering light from heaven afar,

Down to earth all things to greet,
sharing the light with all we meet.

Here we go, to and fro,

over the rainbow bridge we go.

Treading softly, treading slow,

over the rainbow bridge we go.

After we created our Vibrant Vegetable Dyed Eggs  we decided to have some more fun with them. 

So we gathered up our pressed and dried treasures... flowers, grass, ferns, monarch wings...

Found our trusty mod podge and set out to embellish our eggs!

oh so easy..

Using a small paintbrush, apply a dab of Mod-Podge to the egg where the flower will go. Using the same brush, carefully pick up a flower, and gently decoupage it onto the egg. Apply another thin coat of Mod-Podge on top of all of your egg.

Allow the egg to dry on a skewer (I stuck mine in plants ~ seemed to work well) for about 10 minutes, or until the flowers are dry to the touch. 

I am looking for a way to hang these or display them for easter....
any good ideas?

Have a beautiful day!
~ Shanti ~

Fae Fabulous Tutu Tutorial!

Recently while shopping at our local thrift store ~ where most things can still only cost a quarter! ~ my eyes landed on a big bag of pink tulle. I almost walked away (self control Shanti, self control...) until I remembered seeing the sweetest no sew tutus on line that I had someday hoped to make. So the pink tulle came home with us and was quickly transformed into some fabulous fae wear for my youngest!

Here is a girl you will often find up in a tree with a dirty face, battered jeans and an old plaid shirt, but offer her a pink tutu and she can switch roles rather instantly ~ soon to be found spinning in graceful delight. I suppose what girl can resist the allure of fluffy tulle...

Here is a super simple way to create a tutu. 

Thinking it would make a sweet gift for Easter or as a quick great gift for a birthday party.

In the words of my eight year old "It looks complicated but really it's SO easy!" She made her own version in navy blue and dark green, almost completely on her own ~ simple it truly is!

Enjoy...

You need 

 3-6 yards of Tulle (or 2 rolls of 6" tulle)

elastic

scissors

Hows that for simple!

To begin..

Measure the recipients waist and cut your elastic to fit (with extra to overlap where you sew).

Sew your elastic together ~ zig zag on the machine or by hand

Decide how long you want your tutu to be, then double the desired length of the tutu + one inch. For example- If you want your tutu to be 12 inches long, you need to cut the tulle in 25 inch lengths. 

Then you can cut your squares that length and pile on top of one another

Next cut you pile of squares into strips of about 8 inches or so (cutting them all together makes it go a lot quicker).

I must say tulle is the MOST forgiving fabric I have ever worked with. Your lines can be a rough cut and it still looks fabulous when put all together!

Stretch your elastic around a chair, your knee or (as we used) a stool.

Fold the strips in half & loop it around the elastic by pulling the ends through the loop. Pull  tight. 

Keep tying the strips of tulle onto your elastic until it fills up full. 

This one only took about 30 minutes or so.

There it is... pretty and pink awaiting a fairy to dance in it.

We also decided to add a little extra color. 

So we tied on some grass green ribbon to swirl when twirled.

One very happy fairy discovered her new skirt and took it out to play.

Magic ensued...

and more joy!

A fitting gift for my Solana Fae!

I had so much fun creating this and loved being the photographer on the sidelines while the "new skirt" directed a whole story ~ unfolding with dragons, a wedding, tree climbing, a handsome fairy prince, dancing and best of all big grins and giggles!

May you have a "fae"bulous day!

~ Shanti ~

Fluffy Egg Chicks!!

Here's an easy egg craft that is great for chick lovers of all ages!

I was inspired by an old 1960's craft book...all about egg crafts for your home.

(yes, that's right...there is an entire book out there devoted to EGG crafts)!

You will need:

blown eggs

wool felt, (yellow, orange and black/brown)

wool roving, (yellow)

embroidery floss, (or yarn) in orange

wire

all purpose craft glue

To start take your wire and bend it into a chicken foot shape.  Mine looked like this...

Basically you want two front toes and one toe in the rear...don't be shy with the size, as it has to support the weight of the chick.  Ours were about 2-3 inches in size. 

Now cover your wire with glue and start wrapping around some orange embroidery floss or yarn.  You don't have to go all the way down to the end of the toe...it's really up to you!

Cover your egg with glue, (a side at a time), and cover with fluffy roving.  I pulled my roving apart to make it super fluffy.  Now this is where you will look at your "chick" and go..."oh goodness...what a disaster"...trust me, it will work out!

Take your egg and wrap your hands around it, pressing the roving to the egg...see...it's not so bad now!

Now cut out some wings, eyes and a beak with your wool felt.

Glue them on.

Glue on your feet...the wire will fit through the little hole you make at the bottom end of the egg when you blew it out.  Now, it may be a bit wobbly...do not fear, prop it up between 2 objects until the glue dries...then you can take it, and bend the toes and make it stand up!

Oh my...super cute if I do say so myself.

Ruby and I now have a little family of chicks in the house...there will be more made tomorrow...windowsills will be graced with fluffy chick goodness!

How "EGG"cellent!

(heehee)

xo maureen

Sugaring Time!

Today was one of those gorgeous spring days... brimming with thawing and flowing... full of sweet sunshine, gulps of fresh maple sap, puddles to jump in, lambs to kiss and a sugar shack to hang out in.

Truly Spring is here!

We were gifted with an afternoon at our friends farm where they tap trees and spend the month harvesting their first crop of the season ~ maple syrup!

It was a wonderful opportunity to spend time outside and take part in some of the maple syrup making experience...

The collecting...

Riding on the back of the four wheeler for collecting... jumping off, chasing it...

jumping back on... rosy cheeked and giggling.

The checking...

Yelling with delight when they found one full... sometimes almost overflowing... tipping their mouth up to the rim to take a sweet sip.

The pouring...

Pure fresh goodness.

The tasting...

( caught Papa indulging in some sweet sap )

The watching...

 The big boil in the cozy sweet smelling sugar shack...

After the satisfaction of "helping out" they spent the rest of the afternoon running in the woods... 

jumping on frozen puddles, climbing in hay lofts and letting their play time shout "It's Spring!!"

I must admit... I have fallen in love with the maple syrup making process.  

It leaves me in awe of how much sap it actually takes to make our beloved maple syrup and inspires me to want to make this not only an annual adventure...

but someday doing it ourselves!

Our good friends at Two Tree Farms with just the beginnings of their maple syrup harvest.

Good ol' Canadian maple syrup at its finest.

A plate of pancakes shall never taste the same!

“A sap-run is the sweet good-by of winter. 

It is the fruit of the equal marriage of the sun and frost.”
John Burroughs, Signs and Seasons, 1886

Grateful that spring is alive and flowing!

~Shanti ~

P.S. Here is a lovely sugar time circle song.