mamaroots

Love

I love the vintage swap!  It was my first swap that I hosted and I got my package and had so much fun opening!  Laura from Alaska was my partner and she sent me a beautiful linen hankie with delicate stitching, a fun vintage postcard that when I looked on the back was actually printed in the city where I was born- how fun is that, and the marble was had my favorite color of red and I was so touched to read Laura's note that is was from her garden- I love it!  Elias would be proud indeed!  Thanks to Laura for such a loving package!

I sent her way a green hankie that reminds me of spring, a sweet vintage Valentine postcard I picked up at the Crafty swap and just felt I should send on it's beauty touched by several women in my town, and also a vintage marble from Elias Greiner glass factory.  I hope you enjoy it Laura- I certainly had fun doing the swap!

I also love that we are closer to having February done haha!  Since we had a couple of snow days this week, we naturally found ourselves at the Antique Mall yesterday.  Silas found a little mouse treasure, Jasper a candle holder, and I found this lovely blue hankie.  It reminds me of the winter blues but also the little white flower reminds me of tulips and that spring is coming sure enough!

Just for fun I want to give this vintage hankie away as we all get ready to tell Winter goodbye!  Just leave a comment here and you will get into the drawing.  Follow the mamaroots facebook fan page and get your name in twice!

Enjoy!

dreaming green

Being snowed in for a couple of days with no school meant an awful lot of checkers, tea, and dress-up and it also found us dreaming of green spring.  I am updating some my spring goodies in the shop.  I will be bringing back the Alpha Rabbits from last year in March, it just seems like something to do when I can sit on my deck again under the budding trees!

I am updating the life-cycle card sets from last year.  I am going to be using circle cards this year pre-cut to save my hands some sanding time that I ordered from Casey's Wood I like the shape also to emphasize the cycle.  I will also be adding a critter to each set.  Coming this weekend:  life cycle sets for butterfly, plant, chicken, and frog.  This first frog set is for Silas' Montessori school where they just got a live frog to observe.  He is excited to take to school with him tomorrow if we are not still on snow days. 

 

   

Hope you have some good green dreaming too even if it is white outside where you are also!

bits on the bench

 

Just another couple of glimpses from the Ol Cobbler's Bench- hubby has been loving making us homemade bread for a few weeks and he put out the call- "and who will help me grind this wheat" I will said the Jasper, Silas, and mama and the grinder set to work!  It reminded me to also make a Little Red Hen- dubbed Little Red Como- since my little community of Columbia MO passed the Urban Chicken proposal last week.  I have been getting hubby the magazine Urban Farming and we have been talking about what our set-up would look like.  I don't think it will happen this spring, but hoping that by next spring we can have a few gals in our backyard!

 

Also on the bench is the start of the Valentines.  This is such an easy crafty- take 2 sheets of wax paper, place crayon shavings in between, iron, let cool- draw heart shapes and cut out.  We punched holes in the top, added string and Jasper wrote his to and from on them for classmates.  Held up to the window they are our poor man's stain glass!  Just a reminder to put newspaper under your paper for ironing, and also on the top to absorb the wax.  I forgot and got wax all over my iron board- I am remembering now that was probably the last time I got a fresh ironing board cover the first time we made these!

 

 

Look forward to sharing more pictures with you this week that is all about handmade love!

fortunes on the bench

We are in handmade valentine land here at the house getting ready some Valentines for school, and also to send to family and friends.  This past Friday was the monthly Crafty Mamas and with sewing machines in tow, felt and some fun paper, we made felt fortune cookies for our little Valentines and exchanged old vintage postcards over some yummy snacks and wine as a light snow fell outside of The Womb Room windows.  

 

I found a pattern that was really super well done and great for quick cute fortune cookies.  One of the mamas tweaked the pattern a bit with great success for use with a lovely heavier felted upcycled wool sweater- came out really cute.  She added another stitch in the center creating a cross which gave the cookie a bit more definition.  Definitely give these a try- you can even hand sew these.  Another easy fun little thing to remember is you can make fun little journals for your sweeties just like that by cutting heavier cardstock for your cover, cut a few pieces of paper smaller than your cover and staple together, stamp the front and bam you have a cute little Valentine journal!

 

 

 The crafty mama's and I were all deeply grounded sitting around together reading these vintage postcards from upwards of 100 years ago- one that they had been saved, the simplicity of that was how folks communicated, and lastly that we were reviving the words from people we didn't know- it was all quite special and we decided to make an effort to send each other postcards on a whim!  I think that means that I need to go antiquing tomorrow for more postcards!

 

 

Tomorrow it will be time to track down the wax paper and shave some crayons per Jasper's request for his Valentines this year.  Love that smell of melted crayons!

check

Just a small glimpse at what has been getting us by these last winter days!  What are some favorite games in your house right now?

Shadow Play

Oh heck, shadow or no shadow we are really looking forward to spring coming.  I noticed a common sentiment, even though February is the shortest month it is  that cusp month- the end of winter and yet sensing spring coming that sometimes makes it grueling!  

 

    

We enjoyed getting ready to celebrate Groundhogs/Imbolc starting on Monday night.  We practiced making shadow puppets by lamps and candlelight, which led somehow to the boys creating a magic dew drop forest that only occurs on Groundhogs Day.  Brigid the Groundhog became surrounded in glass pebbles and candlelight!  Dew Drop Forest entertained us quite well!  Even after hearing that the shadow had been seen yesterday we talked about how winter will be ending, those sleepy seeds in mama earth will start stirring, and we all came up with ideas about what we wanted to plant in our garden this year.

   

 Jasper wants blackberries, pumpkin, sugar snaps, and pretty flowers.  Silas wants sunflower, carrots, strawberries, and tomato.  Mama added elderberry, spinach, and popcorn.  Daddy said well okra and cucumber or course.  Sounds like a good start!

And just like that another day of February is done.  Brigid my groundhog had some wonderful travels and I wanted to give a shout to the wonderful folks who featured her:

Fey Handmade,  StuffbyXtine,   Green Cricket,  Cutable,  and Etsy Storque.  She loved all the love she got yesterday.  

 

 

Of course at our house we start and usually end it all in books!  Here are some we enjoyed:

Fun with Hand Shadows

Celebrating the Great Mother

How Groundhog's Garden Grew

A Seed is Sleepy

Fireside Stories- Bag of Warmth