First Moon Kit

Both Shanti and myself have tween girls in the midst.  Inevitably, this means that "moon time" or "menstruation" is looming on the horizon.  

Enter the First Moon Kit!!

I remember getting my period at age 12…my mother had talked about it a little bit, about finding blood "down there", and thinking she was bleeding to death, running to her own mother to tell her, (and subsequently having her mother laugh at her).  

Still…we only had one conversation about it, and it was never spoken of again…except for what I read in Judy Bloom books.  

I got mine at a friends house, and I remember feeling such fear.  I told my friend I was sick and needed to call my mom to come and get me.  It was, (horrifyingly), my father who went out and bought me a JUMBO box of no name pads, (that came in one size…BULK)!!!  I felt so embarrassed, and the subject of this was never brought up again in my home.

For my own daughters I don't want them to feel any embarrassment or shame when their own moon time comes.  

I'd like to find a way to honour this transition into womanhood, without too much fanfare, (as my eldest is a bit private about such things).  

So, my thoughts came to making a "First Moon Kit"…

something special to have on hand for when that day arrives.

This is what I've come up with so far...

First thing…this book found HERE. 

This is the most incredible book for young girls about to enter their moontime.

Lucy speaks about menstruation in such a positive light, and offers such great wisdom.

Every mother of a tween age girl should have this book on hand.

(Lucy is also the author of "The Rainbow Way"…she's an amazing lady).

And then…the bulk of the kit…

organic pads and intimate wipes.

(these could also be reusable cloth pads…menstrual cups.)

Before getting this, have a talk with your daughter about what she might like to use and have those things on hand.

A dear friend told me that her own mother gave her bubble bath when she got her first period, 

so I added some bubble bath and organic dark chocolate.

Raspberry Leaf tea, and moonstone earrings.

The earrings will be her first piece of fine jewellery.

Some other suggestions made by friends are…

Hylands homeopathic menstrual cramp remedy

A journal and a pen

New Moon magazine

Clary Sage, Lavendar and other Essential Oils

Rice Bag

Permission slips to cry or be unreasonable

Cozy slippers

Lip Balm and other pampering items

I love that I will have all these wonderful "gifts" for whenever this day arrives.

All of the things I bought will "keep" in the closet for a year or two with no issues.

Would love to hear your stories…wisdom…or suggestions for those of us entering this phase in our mothering adventures!

With love and light

Roving Angel

Each Christmas we have a family tradition of placing an angel on our tree, to represent each of our loved ones that have passed away. There has become a real reverence for this tradition with my daughters and they never seem to forget year to year, which angel represents which one of our loved ones. I enjoy having these little angels on the tree, reminding me of the connection with those we love who are no longer with us. 

This past year my dear friend lost her mother. I decided to create an angel for her tree, in honor of her loss and as a reminder of the love that lives on.

Here is how this little roving angel is made

To create you will need:

A wooden bead

Pipe cleaner

White or flesh colored roving

Colored roving

Sparkly string

Needle felting needle (not necessary but it helps)

To Begin:

For the head and arms: fold a pipe cleaner in half.  Attach wooden bead to the kink and bend each arm in the opposite direction. 

For the arms and hands: starting at about 1/2 inch from the end of one arm, wind a thin layer of roving onto the pipe cleaner, working towards the direction away from the head.

Once your roving holds on to the pipe cleaner, fold about 3/4 inch  of pipe cleaner back towards the direction of the head. Continue winding over this fold and towards the direction of the head.  Be sure to use flat layer of roving, so your hand looks nice and even. 

For the face and body base:  Make a hole in the middle of a  flat layer  of roving and pass the angel’s head through the hole.

If you want a smooth and nice “face” be careful with arranging your roving flatly and tightly on the wooden bead  Take two small strips of roving, tightly tie at the neck and the waist.

For the sleeves: wind a flat, thin layer  of roving starting at the cuffs and work in the direction towards the head on both sides.

To dress your angel: take new piece of roving about 7″ long. Make a hole in the middle and pass the angel’s head through the hole.  Fold the roving tightly over the shoulders and down around the body.

Use a small thin piece of roving to wrap around the angel’s waist. Spread the roving evenly around the white skirt.

For the hair: fold a piece of roving in half that is twice as long as you wish the angel’s hair to be and place on the angel’s head and needle felt it a bit to hold in place.

You may also want to braid three pieces of thin roving to create a braid and then needle felt that onto the hair. 

For the halo: twist a piece of pipe cleaner into a halo shape and wrap with a thin layer of roving.

Tuck it into the back of the hair and needle felt the hair around it to hold in place.

For the wings: take a 5 inch piece of white roving and lay flat. Tie a thin piece of white roving in the middle and then "fluff" out your wings to the shape you want. 

To tie on your wings: wrap the string around the waist, cross over in the back, come over the shoulders and cross in front. Then tie at the waist. Take the ends of your string and go behind the waist once again. Tie a knot and then use the remaining ends to create a loop to hang it with.

That's it! You now have an angel.

I found creating this with my dear friend and her loss in mind the whole time, felt like a special way to connect with her grief and to offer my love. 

May you have many angels around you in this season and always! 

With love

Celebrating Santa Lucia

Santa Lucia Day is on December 13th and celebrates the life of Saint Lucy and light for the longest night of the year (under the old Gregorian calendar this was the Winter Solstice). This day usually begins before dawn, the tradition is that the youngest girl in the family shall wake the others, walking from bedroom to bedroom singing a special Santa Lucia song and offering lucy cat  buns (also known as Lussekatter).

Our St. Lucy for today

This is a family tradition I remember with such fondness.... slowly waking up in the dark of dawn to my mother's sweet soft voice and her guitar... my sister, Lucy glowing in candle light, dressed in a white dress and a felt crown of candles. In my half asleep state I would listen to the beautiful song  and then Lucy would place a warm lucy cat into my hand and they would quietly move on. I would usually fall back asleep, warm lucy cat on my chest and the soothing sounds of singing in the wee hours of the early morn.

The felt crown made by my mother and used when we were children

I asked my mother to share her memories and she wrote this...

I have such warm and tender memories of celebrating this feast day each year. It is a beautiful feast to celebrate at this darkest time of the year, as St. Lucy's name means "light" and is such an apt preparation to celebrate the birth of the Light of the World. 

Your Dad said it was his very favourite celebration, and it would bring tears to his eyes each year. 

Preparing the Lucy cats the day before with you kids and touching your excitement and anticipation fueled my own. We rose early on the morning of the 13th, while all was dark, trying to be so quiet so as not to wake everyone before we were ready - making hot chocolate, warming the buns, dressing our "St. Lucy" in a white dress with a red sash. The child who was St. Lucy would carry the Lucy Cats in a basket, and she would wear the "candle" headdress. Until Lucy was born, this was the youngest child (who could walk!) - as soon as our Lucy could toddle, she took on the role with awe and determination. I would pin the words and chords to the song "Santa Lucia" to her back. If someone else was up, they would carry a votive candle, and I would play guitar as we all sang and processed to each sleeping person's bed, stopping to wake them by singing them a verse, and then giving them a Lucy Cat and a cup of hot chocolate. 

My biggest problem, besides trying to see the words and chords on the little excited Lucy's back in dim candlelight, was the lump in my throat and tears which kept coming unbidden, and making it hard to sing. The lump and the tears were just overflowing love and awe at this wonderful gift of motherhood, the precious family I had been given, and great gratitude for the gift of faith which had been bestowed on me by such a loving God.

Thank you mom for sharing your memories... brought tears to my eyes.

I wanted to share some great links with you for celebrating.

Free St. Lucia paper dolls

Create a felt candle crown

Santa Lucia peg dolls

Beautiful Santa Lucia Doll

Here is the song my mother would sing


Santa Lucia

(English translation)


 Night walks with heavy tread
round farm and byre, 
dark sun-forsaken earth
shadows attire.
Then in our winter gloom
candlelight fills the room:
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

 Silent and dark the night
now hear descending
rustle of wings in flight,
all darkness ending. 
Then she comes, dressed in white, 
head wreathed in candles bright: 
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

Shadows will soon be gone
from earth’s dark valley
wonderful words anon
us cheer and rally. 
Day will soon dawn anew
in skies of rosy hue: 
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

(I have the chords if anyone would like.)

Swedish Sankta Lucia

With Light & Love

~ Shanti ~ 

Celebrating Advent...

This is the first season where we will be trying to celebrate a traditional advent.  I was raised Catholic and I remember this tradition with fondness...the lighting of the candles week after week leading up to Christmas, the nativity slowly coming to life, and the magic of this season.

Yesterday we had our last craft class at my house.  Beautiful mama Leslie brought along the advent calendar she used for her own children.  There are 25 pockets, and each felt piece lives in the pocket and emerges day by day.  I think this is just one of the loveliest Advent calendars I've seen.

on December 6th, there is St Nicholas...

and the Christ child for Christmas day!  

Here is our own Advent stick all wrapped up and ready to go...each package contains a sweet little present, lovingly handcrafted by mamma friends.   If you want to see some of the treasures inside you can head over to 

the Knitty Gritty Homestead

Embracing the Now

  and Wabi-Sabi Wanderings

I think this was the BEST Advent Stick yet...as our craft skills continue to grow, and we share in our creativity...our children LOVE this Advent tradition, and it is our gift as friends to each other.  Each day one package gets ripped off the stick until Christmas day.

And lastly...mrs Knitty Gritty and I hosted our last craft class.  The choises were Rainbow Gnomes or a Nativity set.  Here are a few pictures of "works in progress"...to be honest I was so busy crafting my own Nativity set, I didn't have time to take many pictures...

Here are my wise men...one more headpiece to go!  They were simple to make...peg people covered in colourful cloth, a cape and then crown or head wrap.

And here is Mary, Joseph and a shepherd.  Essentially made the same way as above, but with a longer headdress.  The head dress is made from a large oval of fabric,  do a gathering stitch in the shape of a circle and then gather it up...glue it on the head and that's it.  Hair and beard are wool roving.

I'm excited at the prospect of having a little Nativity set that is mama made!

If you require some guidance with your own Advent celebration, I'm going to direct you over to 

the Parenting Passageway...there are some great posts there to help get you started on your own Advent celebration.

'this the season of celebration and creating tradition!

xo maureen

PS...don't forget about our giveaway!!!   We will close comments tomorrow night at midnight, so go and enter now.  You can enter once daily, the only thing you have to do is tell us your favourite item in our big cartel shop.  And from now until December 8th you can get 15% off in our shop with the code "toadstool".  Good luck to all who enter.  We'll announce the winner on Wednesday morning!

Advent Sticks...

Many years ago while perusing the internet for great Advent ideas, I came across the "Advent Stick".  I don't remember the original source, but the idea was to gather friends and gifts and create an advent stick together.  I put the idea out there and gathered up some of my crafty friends, (some folks have dropped out and some have stayed.).   This will be our 4th year we're still crafting these sticks together.  It is a tradition that we all love and that our children look forward to.  Every year you smile as these treasures come out of the Christmas box, and some are just so much fun they stay out year round!

Each friend crafts 5 items times 5 people.  We always give people an "out" if life gets too busy...up to 2 items can be store bought, or a food treat.  Here are my contributions for this year...it's a little "set" of Christmas gnomes gathering around a fire.   I got the great idea for the fire pit from woman wife momma.  The gnomes were made using the pattern from Wee Folk Art.

Here's a close up of the back of their capes...I simply cut out some holly leaves and berries and glue gunned them on...I must say, they do look rather festive!

We were supposed to put our sticks together last night, but hailing ice pellets got in the way of our fun.  My friend over at Wabi Sabi Wanderings posted a picture of last years stick, (we were hoping to do a rainbow stick this year, but may just have to settle for getting the darn thing together.

Other participating friends are

the Knitty Gritty Homestead, Embracing the Now, and of course my lovely co-blogger Shanti!

This is another fabulous way to get your crafting community to come together in the JOY of creativity!

Now off to gather the other folks contributions and get this stick together!  Hope to post some pictures of the finished product after the weekend!

xo maureen

ps...don't forget about our fabulous giveaway!  You can win a lovely little gnome house with gnome and a peacock blue playsilk.  The giveaway closes on Tuesday Nov 30th.  You can enter once daily.  Please just tell us what your favourite item in our shop is.  We're also offering 15% off of everything in our store until December 8th.  Just type in the discount code "toadstool"!

Good luck to all who enter.  

It's Party Week...You're Invited to our Splendid 7th Celebration!!!

Ruby is making her birthday wish...it's very serious business!!!

So...yesterday we celebrated Ruby Maude's Splendid 7th birthday!! 

We have another birthday tradition that we do every year with our children.  I was inspired by an old edition of Martha Stewart's "Baby" magazine.  The idea is so lovely...every year get your child to hold a picture of what age they are...on their birthday.  We've been doing this every year since Ruby was one, and now we have a beautiful memory of every special birthday, (this is great for us homeschoolers who miss out on the yearly school pictures)!   I like to display these past photos at her party, so we can all see how our sweet girl has grown...in honor of the rainbow theme, we did some rainbow frames...

I also wanted to share a picture or two of the gift I worked on all week long for miss Ruby.  A toadstool house and family of rainbow gnomes...

Sorry...I just had to show it off...I hope to get a tutorial together, but you may have to be patient on this one. 

We also always do a group picture at Ruby's birthday.  Then, we send every family a picture as a Thank You, and a reminder of the fun day we had together!!

Some of you may think me a bit insane for hosting a party this big...we did potluck lunch, so it was no sweat, and all the moms stayed and socialized and had a grand ol time.  Even though it rained and we have a very small house, we did it all with a smile on our face, totally stress free!  I didn't even plan any party games...you would be amazed how easily children organize into games when they're in a group...there was duck duck goose, hide and seek, driveway hockey and one they invented called "animals".  I love seeing children able to just be free and play to their hearts delight, (now that makes my heart sing)!

*I need to thank the mammas in my life for making this party a success...thank you for the tent, food you left here for us, and all the clean up help!  How blessed are we to have you as our friends!!

Happy celebrating everyone!  Remember...do it with style and simplicity!!

hugs

Maureen

It's Party Week!!!! Start your own birthday traditions!!

Today is my BIRTHDAY, (insert applause, hoots and joyous laughter here)!!!!  My 34th year of life here on this glorious planet of ours!  This will be a short and sweet post because I've got some serious celebrating to do, but I wanted to share with you a wonderful birthday tradition that we started here at the Toadstool.  Our birthday morning always begins with a warm croissant and a cup of hot chocolate for breakfast, (served in bed of course), for every member of our family!  So simple, and yet we all SO look forward to our turn in bed being served by our loved ones.  

Ruby and Matilda, of course they had breakfast in bed with me!!!

My beautiful breakfast tray...Ruby picked the flowers and drew me a picture...it says, "My heart, My home" on it!!!

 I think it's so nice to start a birthday tradition that is your families little secret...something that you, and only you know about, beyond the birthday party routine!  (oh, and now you know my families little secret...shhhhh...it's between you and me)!

Do you have any special birthday traditions of your own...please share them with us!!

This week is going to be filled with party inspiration and ideas...Thursday is Ruby's birthday, (she's going to be 7), so we're in full party mode!  I'll also share with you tomorrow some pictures of our celebration and our favourite vegan chocolate cake recipe...that even the worst cook in your house can whip up successfully!

Now...grab your horn, put on your pointy party hat and make a wish for me!

Ruby took this pic of me, the birthday girl, first thing this morning!!

in full birthday bliss

Maureen xox

Here's what we did for May Day...

I wanted to share some of our May Day preparations...this was what our weekend looked like:

We tried our hand at making a Goddess inspired loaf of bread. The idea came from a fabulous book called "Circle Round" by Starhawk, Diane Baker and Anne Hill.  It's a pagan friendly book, and although we are not practicing pagans, I find that it has lots of great craft and baking ideas that translate to the Waldorf year.   It was so much fun to learn about Goddess traditions of old,  and talk about the importance of celebrating May Day, (which was a time to honour the Earths fertility and hope that the upcoming season would be fruitful).  You could use just about any bread recipe to make this loaf...the fun part is shaping it into the Goddess, (and I'm thinking this would be a great thing to do with the kids when learning about history and traditions of yesteryear). Ours ended up looking very much like the Venus of Willendorf.

This was our loaf before the rising and baking...very Goddess(y)...but, look at how fertile and yummy she looks after...

Then we painted a picture of a Goddess...this is Ruby's version

 

This picture now graces our Nature Table...where we also have fresh flowers and lots of flower fairies!

I just love the rainbow colours on the Goddess...I like to think that this lovely lady is blessing our garden with the gift of fertility for the season ahead.  

Hope your May Day was marvelous!!

-Maureen-

Create a garden goddess for May Day!!!

When Ruby was about 3 yrs old, I began the yearly tradition of making a garden goddess.  The idea comes from a fantastic book "Celebrating the Great Mother" by Cait Johnson.  We do this craft together before every May Day, so our Goddess is ready to look over our garden and take care of the seeds we are sowing!

Here is a tutorial on how to make your own garden goddess...

you will need:

a stick

face of some sort, (you could craft your own from clay), I have a mould and use fimo bake clay

scraps of fabric, ribbon, yarn

gemstones, beads, wire

crystals, feathers...

whatever tickles your fancy!!

a eye hook, (for hanging her up)

To start, we put a bead of glue on our stick and then attach the ribbon or fabric scraps to the glue, start wrapping...there is no right or wrong way, just wrap...change fabrics, add ribbon...

  Ruby is wrapping some torn fabric around her soon to be Goddess!

This is what mine looked like when it was done...

Then add beads, wrap bits of yarn around, glue gems, wrap wire around...go to town!!!

Remember...there is no right or wrong way to do this!!

On the back of my face, I like to add some feathers...

Here is Ruby's finished Goddess, hanging up in our Oak tree, looking up the hill at our garden...

(mine is at the top of the post)

Alternately, you could also use a bigger stick and just "stick" it in your garden somewhere.  I love putting our goddess in the tree and letting the wind and rain and sunshine change her over the course of the season...when harvest time is over, we go out and take her apart, save what we can, and burn the stick, (thanking Mother Earth for a job well done!).  However, these goddesses are so pretty I've also had friends hang them in their porch, so they can savour them over the course of many seasons!

May Day is a day to celebrate Mother Earth in her time of flowering...make it a day to link with our ancestral past and honour Mother Earth in all her radiant glory!