Pinecone Ninjas

I wanted to make something a little different this year for an ornament…

with my daughters newfound love of nunchuks, I opted to make some ninjas for the Christmas tree!

These little ornaments are super cute and can be made in any colour you could dream up.

To make your own pinecone ninja you will need:

pinecone

wooden bead "head" (about 1 inches in diameter, or larger)

black paint and brush

black glitter

embroidery floss

glue gun and glue stick

white craft glue

*you are certainly NOT limited to black…

make PINK ninjas

BLUE ninjas

or whatever colour you please!!

To begin, paint your pinecone black all over...

While it is still wet sprinkle it generously with glitter.

Now take your wooden bead head and paint it like so…

just leave a small space clear to paint on your eyes.

(use a very small brush, or toothpick to make the eyes)

Paint your bead all over with white glue, (except the "face" part)

Roll around in your black glitter!

Now take your embroidery floss and stick it through your bead head…

using your glue gun, run a dab of glue at the bottom of the bead to fasten your floss,

(I also put a bit of glue in through the top of the hole, just for extra durability)

Fasten your head to your pinecone…

and DONE!

Nature Imprint Ornaments

With the Christmas season upon us we were inspired to create some magic for the tree. Lovely to see how simple snowy white clay and bits of nature pair up so sweetly. 

These ornaments are quick to make and your natural imprint options are limitless!

Thinking these ornaments would make wonderful gift tags as well. 

Pop on over to CBC to see how how we created these. 

Wishing you peace and creativity in this season and always,

Bean Adorned Frames

Head on over to the CBC Parents site to see how to make your own bean adorned frames! 

They have magnets on the back so you can stick them on your fridge. 

Sweet, easy and totally inexpensive!

Happy Crafting

Acorn Mobile

Tis the season for acorn gathering! 

We decided to create this easy acorn mobile from our acorn harvest.  

This craft whipped up super quick and looks quite lovely hanging in the home.

Pop on over to CBC to see how to make one.

In Autumn Bliss,

Bat Luminaries

Head on over to the CBC Parents site to see how to make these super simple Bat Luminaries!

(took literally minutes to make, and are a sweet and easy decoration for Halloween).

Happy Haunting!

Pine Cone Bats

Autumn is such a wonderful time of year. There is such immense beauty and so many wonderful nature crafting supplies to be gathered. We decided use some of the bits of nature we found on a Autumn woodland walk and craft up some bats. Perfect for setting the scene for Halloween!
Pop on over to CBC to see how we created these!
Happy Autumn nature crafting!

A Thanksgiving Thanking Tree!

Head on over to the CBC Parents site for the FULL tutorial on how to make our Thanksgiving Thanking tree! This weekend in Canada is Thanksgiving… there is so very much to be thankful for!!
Gratitude to you all

Acorn Cap Necklaces

Head on over to the CBC Parents site to see how to make your own

Acorn Cap necklaces!

These would make fantastic gifts and were easy to put together.

Pinecone Owls

Happy Autumn!!

Gathering natural craft supplies is an Autumn tradition at my house.  We head outside with baskets and bags and go on a pinecone and acorn hunt.

Of course this gathering time always inspires a nature craft or two.

Today we decided to make some pinecone owls out of our bounty!

To make your own you will need:

pinecones, (various sizes, shapes)

pumpkin seeds

paint and paintbrush

glue gun and glue stick

branches

To start we painted "bellies" on our pinecones.  

(basically these were upside down triangles)

Then we added little spots to their bellies.

Paint the pumpkin seed beaks orange

Then using a glue gun glue on the pumpkin seed beaks and googly eyes.

Finally glue onto your branch and admire!  

What a simple and adorable craft to begin the Autumn craft season!

Milkweed Pod Fairies

With autumn just around the corner, we thought we would create a fairy from nature using one of our favorite crafting supplies... milkweed pods!

Pop on over to CBC to see how she came to life!
In fairy love, 

Cattail Birds

The ditches along the highway are FULL of cattails this time of year.  

It's the perfect time to harvest them before they burst open.

I remember as a child my mother would collect them and spray paint them silver…they were in vases all over our house at Christmas time.

I came across this goodie of a craft in an old nature craft book, (aptly named Nature Crafts)

To make your own you will need:

cattails

scissors

glue, (glue gun or white glue)

feathers

paint 

Enlist the help of a pint sized helper…

get on your rubber boots and go on a cattail pickin' adventure!

(oh, and be sure to show them that if you rub off the outer layer, 

the inside bursts open in a cloud of fluff)!!

We trimmed off the ends...

Painted on eyes and painted the beak orange.

If you want to paint your cattails different colours, go for it…we painted one of ours blue.

Get out your glue gun and feathers…

We put a dab of glue on the end of each feather and stuck it into our "bird".

Tie a length of string around the middle of your bird, hang and enjoy!  

My daughters thought this would also make for a really cool cat toy.

Nature crafting at its best.

 

The Allure of a Sunflower Field...

In the next town over we spotted this…

(if I had a field of my own I think I would do the very same thing.)

Of course we had to stop to take pictures…

sunflowers are, perhaps, the happiest flowers of all.

Eldest informed me that Goldenrod is a sure sign that the seasons are about to change.

Here's to celebrating the end of summer in full bloom!

Stained Glass Butterfly Crowns

Head on over to the CBC parents site to see how to make your own 

stained glass butterfly crown!

What a great craft to do to celebrate summers end.

(time to fit in all that last minute summer crafting)

Enjoy every last morsel of sun, summer and fun!

Fairy Garden Den

Deep in the hills of Killaloe, nested amongst a bountiful fairy garden... lives a fairy den. 

Come take a peek with me....

The fairy kitchen...

with the stove burning bright with bubbling delights.

All of their treasures collected from their many forest and field journeys, sitting in little acorn cap bowls on their pantry shelf. Stars from the sea, feathers and snails to adorn their home. A queen Anne's lace and maple leaf hearth rug to sit upon. 

Flowers and herbs hanging to toss into their magical brews. A shell spoon ready for the stirring. 

 Wee bark chairs and a turtle shell table atop a daffodil rug... ready to serve fellow fairies some enchanted refreshements.

A Moss covered ladder to carry them up to their bark loft.

A dragonfly sitting quietly by.

A cozy spot to drink tea and soak up the fae wonder...

while the butterflies and dragonflies flit about the flower filled walls. 

A daisy rug, a vase full of flowers, a tiny bit of knitting... all awaiting. 

A hot cup of tea and a little birch bark book with a a monarch perched upon their acorn cap basket of flowers.

The bird's nest and rose petal chair filled with dandelion fluff.

 A quiet stillness... are they here?

High up on the loft rests the fairy bed, bath and vanity.

The canopy bed is laid with silk and feathers with a rose peal pillow filled with moss. 

Lanterns hang to keep it all alit. 

A shell and bark vanity with a snail shell of flowers.

 Flowers all around.

Magic flowing freely.

 With many a fine friend to share in the beauty.

. 

Thank you for joining me. Hope you soaked up some delicious fairy magic. 

Do you think they are here?