Rainbow Heart Transparencies

Here's a super easy way to decorate your abode for the upcoming day of LOVE…

Rainbow Heart Transparencies

To make your own you will need:

cardstock

tissue paper (rainbow colours and white)

scissors

glue stick

To begin cut out a heart shape…cut out the inside too.

Now using your glue stick, glue white tissue paper to the underside.

Then…cut out strips of rainbow coloured tissue paper…

layer it side by side in the colours of the rainbow.

Trim off all the excess and it should look like this…pretty huh?

To put up in the window I put a few dabs of glue, (with the glue stick), on the backside…

the glue washes off easily when they come down…I find it looks nicer than tape and holds really well.

And that's it!  These are so easy to whip up…and they look so pretty.

Here's to celebrating LOVE in all its glory!

Rainbow STAR Transparencies!

Today was a snow day for us here in Ontario, so in order to chase the winter doldrums away, 

(and procrastinate snow shovelling), 

we decided to bring some beautiful colour into our day.

Enter the Rainbow Star Transparency!!

To make your own you will need:

cardstock, (for the frame)

tissue paper in white and rainbow colours

gluestick

scissors

star template…

I used the one from Don't Eat the Paste…it has stars in various sizes which I like!

To start, cut out the centre of your "frame" like so:

(you will want both pieces of card stock cut out the same)

Then take your white tissue paper and glue it to the underside of your frame…

try to get it "wrinkle free"

Then using your star template, cut out stars in various sizes…

I did 6 of each colour, each in a different size.

Then start gluing them on in order…I started with red…

(then orange, yellow, green, blue and violet)

Use a gluestick for this part and be very gentle!

Here you can see them layer by layer…overlap them…don't be shy!

Then take your other piece of card stock…you will glue tissue paper to the underside of it as well…

sandwich it on top of your stars and glue the sides together.

(this is a good time to trim the sides if they are don't match)!

Then hang it up in a sunny window and revel in the colour…the simple beauty…*sigh*

And then…back to reality…time to get shovelling!

Happy Crafting!!

Rainbow Ribbon Wands

A

 RAINBOW

to dance with ... who could resist?!

We had so much fun making these rainbow ribbon wands. 

Simple and and sure to bring delight!

To create you will need

A rainbow of sharpie markers

White Ribbon (fairly thick & wide ~ we found ours at the dollar store)

A sturdy twig

A key ring

An eye screw

Rubbing alcohol (over %80 works best)

 Medicine dropper

Glue gun

A plastic table cloth (to protect your work surface)

Begin by scribbling thick lines with your sharpies along the ribbon ~ going in order of the rainbow.

Then take your medicine dropper and drop drops of the alcohol....

onto the ribbon.

You may need to coax the alcohol a bit in the blending process
(by rubbing the tip of your dropper between the colors)

Watch as the colors blend into beautiful rainbows ~ MAGIC!

We did this on both sides of the ribbon once we realized it didn't bleed through and were so pleased with the results.

Now for the wand.

Take your twig and screw your eye hook into one end.

Thread your key ring into your eye hook.

Then take your ribbon, fold two inches or so over the key ring and glue it to the ribbon.

There you have it!

Let the dancing... 

the twirling...

                          the running, 

the whirling

                                and swirling... 

Begin!

Happy trails my friends

~ Shanti ~

Leaf Spirits!

I've been dreaming of these little leaf spirits all week!  I wanted to come up with a sweet little craft that was simple, enchanting and that evoked the magic of Autumn.  Bring forth the leaf spirits.  As I was making these, Ruby says to me, "I think I've seen these falling from the trees before."  

I just think they capture the magic of this season...I know I've always been captivated by this time of year and can't help but feel the "magic" in the air as the trees change colour and the leaves shower down from the canopy overhead!

To make some leaf spirits of your own you will need:

wool felt in Autumn colours (red, orange, yellow, brown)

wool roving (in matching colours)

pipe cleaners

small wooden beads, (mine are 3/4 inch)

glue gun

acorn cap, (optional)

thread for hanging

To start...trace a leaf shape onto your felt, cut 2 of these shapes.  I cut off the stem bit and shaped it like a "u" to make a neckline.

Take your pipecleaner...about 5 inches or so long, and fold it in half.  Using hot glue, glue it down to the backside of one of your leaves. 

Using more hot glue, glue your bead onto the top of the pipecleaner and then glue the leaves together...sandwiching the pipecleaner in between.

Glue on some roving for hair and top with an acorn cap!  I tied my string to the top of the acorn cap so I could hang these lovely leaf spirits up to be enjoyed!

And there you have it...some lovely little leaf spirits.  I'm sure if you let your imagination lead you, you could come up with some delightful stories about these "spirits" and the adventures they have.  Here's a little story to get you started called The Anxious Leaf.  It's one story that captures how a leaf may "feel" when it's time to fall from the tree.  And here's another little gem of a story from Reg Down called The Life of a Leaf which follows a leaf on its journey.  I hope these offer some inspiration!

In the "spirit" of Autumn!

xo maureen 

A Waldorf Inspired Autumn!

Head on over to The Magic Onions today to check out our guest post on how to celebrate Autumn in a Waldorf inspired way with Twig and Toadstool style!

If you haven't been reading the Discovering Waldorf series over there, I urge you to go through some of the older posts...I know for myself as a Waldorf inspired homelearner, I have found loads of inspiration and good sound advice in those posts!

Happy Autumn Equinox Y'all!

xo maureen

Toadstool people!!!

If you've been following our antics here at Twig and Toadstool, you'll know that we just LOVE toadstools!  

These little people were inspired by a book of Ruby's called "Children of the Forest" by Elsa Beskow.  There are these sweet little children, and their mother, working in the forest,  all decked out in toadstool caps.  So, I decided to try to make my own version of little Toadstool people!

I had wooden peg dolls in various sizes, so I made a mama and 2 children.  I'm going to make a father, with a long white beard to go with this precious little family!  If you want to make your own, I would start by going to Wee Folk Art and print out her basic gnome pattern.  It's a great starting point to making gnomes of your own.  To make the Toadstool hats, you just trace 2 circles, (one in red & one in white), you choose the size.  Cut a little hole in the middle of your white circle, (for your peg head to fit through), sew them together, stuff loosely and glue onto the head!  Then glue on the little spots.

Here's a close up of the mama!

I can't wait to see what adventures awaits our little Toadstool people!  They were just discovered by a very excited Ruby this morning!!!

xo maureen

Leaf Crowns!

This is one of the many activities we enjoy in the summertime.  Making leaf crowns, and spending an afternoon or two pretending to be Queens of the Forest,  Roman Emperors, or Oak Leaf Fairies!

So...go out and find a tree you LOVE...you can use any kind of leaf to make these...

We have two HUGE Oak trees in our yard...so Oak leaves are our leaf of choice!

Make sure when you pick the leaves that you pull off the stems as well...

You'll want to break off all of the stems...

These are what will hold your crown together...

So now, overlap your leaves a bit, and using the stem, push it through both leaves like so...

you'll need to do this leaf by leaf, until your crown is big enough to fit.  Attach it together, using the same method as above...

Now, get out your imagination, and get down to doing some serious playing...and don't forget to climb a tree or two in the process!  Oh, there is nothing like a tree in the summertime...what a gift from nature!

Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embraceable You" in spats. ~Woody Allen

 May nature lead your spirit in play!

xo maureen