Scrap Fabric Teepee…step one…the Teepee

So…here is a quick "how to" guide to getting up a teepee structure…I've always wanted a teepee in the yard…but they are hundreds of dollars to buy, so I figured out a way to make it for cheap.  

Firstly, I found a gent who lived on Vancouver Island, and while it may have been presumptuous of me to assume he knew how to make a teepee, it turned out he had actually made a few in his day.

To make the teepee you will need…
8 cedar poles…15 feet long
3-4 feet of rope
(you are not limited to my length of poles, you can really modify this to make it as tall as you wish)

To begin, gather some long cedar poles…ours were about 15 feet long.  If they have bark on them, you will want to at the very least strip off a few pieces of it along the length.  This is so your wood can breathe and it will help it last longer.

Take 2 poles and line them up together.  Bind them with rope about a foot from the top.

Slip in another pole…right in between the two.

Then bind it all together tightly.

Start moving it up like so…you are essentially making a tripod.

Keep going…see what you're getting at here?!

Then add your extra poles…pole by pole lean them up into your tripod and try to space them evenly apart.

Around and around you will go...

When you are done, stop and admire your work.

This is a good time to move your poles around to make it as wide, or as narrow as you wish.  

Try to keep it fairy even all around though.

Do this before you tie it all up.

Then…taking your rope, weave it in and out of all the poles…tie tightly in the middle…

Your basic structure will look like this!

As far as height goes, there are no rules…make it as high as you like…

but, try to use poles that are all the same(ish) height.

This was the first time in my life I've had a lesson in teepee making…

truly, after being shown the steps I would feel confident to do this by myself next time.

Once the structure is up it's very strong, especially if you use longer poles to make it with.

Step two will be coming soon!!

Lilac Sorbet In Lilac Bowls

Inspired by the beautiful ice bowls I have come across online and the gorgeous (edible!) lilacs that are blooming, I thought it might be nice to try making a lilac ice bowl. It was so simple and the results were quite lovely! 

After the bowl was made I realized it needed to be filled with something equally as pretty! Sorbet is a favorite around here and is actually very easy to make (even without an sorbet maker). We made some lilac blueberry sorbet and it was a hit. Delicate and delicious tasting!

To create you will need:

For the lilac ice bowl...

two bowls ~ one smaller than the other

 lilacs (unsprayed)

water

a weight (a rock works well)

For the sorbet...

water 

lilacs

honey

ice cube tray

frozen blueberries

To create the ice bowl:

Gather up two bowls, one smaller than the other.

Tuck your lilac blooms in between the two bowls.

Add water and weigh the top bowl down with a rock or anything (you can freeze) that holds it down.

 Freeze it over night.

Place warm water inside the inner bowl and around the outer bowl, until the ice bowl is able to slip out.

Isn't it gorgeous?! 

I'm in love.

Keep frozen until it until it is ready to be used.

For the sorbet:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.

Remove form the heat.

Add 1/4 cup of honey and stir.

Add 2 cups lilac blooms and let it steep for a few hours.

Strain out the lilacs and pour your lilac infused syrup into ice cube trays.

Freeze.

 Blend your lilac cubes with some frozen fruit (we choose blueberries) and there you have it!

Delicious lilac sorbet for you lilac bowls.

Wonder if these would freeze well until winter. Wouldn't it be fabulous to bring it out in the middle of winter for sweet hit of spring?

In lilac love,

Father's Day Keychain

Father's Day is just around the corner and the what to make dad dilemma had us stumped once again. It is always a bit of a challenge to find a practical, yet thoughtful to gift to give. We decided to combine our perpetual love of acorns with something he will use daily... a keychain!

Inspired by the lovely Father's day quote "From great oaks little acorns grow" this is what came to be.

To create you will need: 

A flat round of wood or a tin juice lid

oak leaf

acorns (we used two ~ one to represent each daughter) there was still some on the forest floor ~ but perhaps you are acorn-crazed like me and keep a stash at all times!

mod podge

embroidery floss

keychain ring

glue

needle

To create:

Head to a forest and hunt out an oak leaf and acorn.

Brush a layer of mod podge on your wooden round or juice lid.

Lay your oak leaf on top and brush on another layer of mod podge.

Allow it to dry.

Drill or hammer a hole in the wood round and tie it to the key ring.

Thread a needle and poke it through your acorn cap.

Tie it to your key ring as well. 

Tie a knot inside the acorn cap.

Glue your acorn back into it's cap.

 Add on as many acorns as there are children giving it as a gift.

 Write the Father's Day quote on the back.

There you have it.

Ready for gifting!

 Hope your Little Acorns enjoy creating and your Great Oak enjoys receiving.

Create Your Own Fairy Garden

Today CBC is featuring our... Create A Fairy Garden. Come over and see how we transformed an old clementine box into a fairy garden, full of miniature backyard delights!

http://www.cbc.ca/parents/play/view/create-your-own-fairy-garden

Simple with sweet results.

Have a great day!

Spring Blossom Popsicles

 Nothing is better than an icy-cold, sweet popsicle on a hot day... especially when it happens to have lovely little flowers frozen in it! 

So many of the glorious spring blossoms are edible. What a treat! We thought we would put them to good use and make some spring blossom popsicles, or as we like to call them... flowersicles!

To make:
we gathered up some edible blossoms.

Sunny dandelions and wee strawberry flowers.

Fragrant and delicate apple blossoms.

Loved this part, especially the sweet scents of these beauties. 

We thought some pink lemonade might be just the right base for these flowersicles.

We placed our blossoms into the bottom of our popsicle molds and filled them halfway with lemonade. The flowers tend to float to the top, so we froze them half full and then added more blossoms and topped them off with lemonade.

Aren't the results lovely?!

Thinking these might just be a new favorite around here.

Yummy and beautiful. A winning combination.

 Looking forward to trying some new flower and flavor combinations as summer rolls in. 

In a bit of blossom heaven,