mamaroots

little local love

My best friend, my partner, my love made another full circle around the sun yesterday and the boys and I wanted to give him a little local love!  I got up at 5:30 in the morning to make some mini-pie jars, blackberry flavor to go with an omelet for breakfast.  We had to sneak out and pick some quick flowers and then woke him up by pouncing on him in bed!

Among his other presents we got him a signed copy of a fabulous book done by a local fiddle favorite Howard Marshall.  Not only is this book a fabulous chronicle of old time fiddle music in Missouri, but it is also wonderful for storytelling.  It comes complete with a CD and I think is going to be much enjoyed by my music playing and loving husband.

I can't say enough great things also about our local letterpress 1Canoe2 that makes amazing goods.  It is so great to see them become so successful and also to have them local so I can get their wares in our downtown shops.  

So big happy birthday to my fella that is the truely the pickin to my grinin!

tap tap tap

I don't believe we have a drop of Irish blood in us, but . . . my husband comes from a long line of shoemakers- so much that his last name is that (with quite a funky spelling though!)  So we are inclined to read about the shoemaker of the fairy world- yep that cute little fella that also is a bit of a miser that hides his pot of gold that he earns from making all of those shoes!

This year we decided to try and set a leprechaun snare!  Jasper finger knitted a rainbow, we were sure that he would think it was a real rainbow after our rain shower yesterday.  We even left a big marble thinking that he would be friends with Elias and want to take it for him!  But alas, we did not catch him. He left us a treat for trying though! This is a wonderful book that I enjoyed for the shoemaker aspect!

Here is to hoping you find some lucky shamrocks or 4 leaf clovers today!  Me lucky?  Well luck did come my way yesterday when I was crafty and lucky enough win the auction for this incredible woven table runner at the annual Silent Film/Silent Art auction held by my kiddo's art based school.  Jasper's class all worked together finger knitting the individual strands that were then sewn together by one of his classmates mama, who happens to be an amazing fiber artist and spinner!

A beautiful piece of art made with lots of 4th grade hands and good energy!  Worth more than a pot o'gold I tell ya!  Have a great rest of your weekend!  Enjoy the many colors of the rainbow that are popping up all over!  And if you happen to hear a tap tap tap, you just might be in the presence of a little fella wearing green and making some shoes- be extra nice and he just might grant you a wish, or at least make you a pair of shoes!

pom pom critters- all natural

Have you seen those vintage pom pom critters out and about as we get closer to Valentines?  For some reason I also loved these little buggers when I was little.  I saw them at Target recently too as a kit for kids to make and picked it up and did my normal groan when I saw all the "foam, plastic, and nylon" materials inside.

I thought it really can be made all natural and even cuter!  So I rummaged through my supplies and put together a little fella.  It is pretty quick and would be a super cute little friend to Valentine friends!

Supplies:

natural material yarn- I used a varigated cotton yarn

wood heart

pom pom discs

glue

wool roving in white and black

1-Create a yarn pom pom, I used the largest disc set in the Clover pom pom making kit- but you could adjust this depending on the size of your hearts.

2- After you have your pom pom all trimmed up, glue to the heart so that the upper part of the heart creates the feet.

3- Take some white wool roving and wet felt in between your fingers to create to small wool balls.  Dry in a towel, the take a small bit of black wool roving and needle felt this on the white ball to create eyes.

4- Glue the eyes in place and your critter is all set to keep your Valentine company!

it worked

Seems like we just needed to make our little elf jar to bring some snow, it was really just a dusting but I will take what I can get!  I was born in the mountains, raised on the midwest plains, a brief stint back in the mountains to return to the midwest plains to be near my family.  But to be honest I really miss the mountains!  Snow takes me back there!  

Now, onto a welcomed 3 day weekend!  Maybe some toymaking, maybe some thrifting, maybe some valentine planning!  How about you?

plan b

Like many other folks out there in DIY crafty netuniverse, I saw the Mason Jar snow globes around Christmas time.  Smitten- oh yes, and deteremined to make.  I read, gatherered my 3-g's:

glycerine, glitter, and glue

I even sent hubby to the store for a gallon of distilled water!  I tracked down some complete kitsch little elf figurines!  I had a repoduction hoosier jar that I thought would be perfect.  We glued, let the glue set up, added the other g's and sat back with our ahhs!  That last about half a day because the second round of said shaking that is required to make snow swirl set the elves and subsiquent wee deer free from their glue.  

Shew- glad we splurged for the glycerine as they just gracefully landed with no damage.  I got some good recommendations on new glue to use and went looking for it among the Beta fish to no avail and decided to go waterless.  More of a terrarium type feel!

Tracked down a vintage jar that did not have to be quite a waterproof, added a tree, and I am even more smitten!  Now even though the Christmas decor is packed away we can have a simple little winter treasure out for a bit.  I am convinced this will finally bring us snow!

Could you not just see this with a little leprechaun or rabbit for spring with green glitter!  Good grief!

So, my tips- go for the cool jars at the fleas/antique shop.  This older Ball jar was $4- not too shabby.  Also look for the kitsch little ceramic figurines, I migrate towards the 1960's era Japanese made for some reason.  I did a simple "ceramic elf" search in the vintage part of Etsy.  The little tree came from Hobby Lobby- go the the doll house section for oodles of neat options.

Now I am wondering how these would look with little wood toys inside hmmmm . . . 

on not being sticks in the mud

The allure of squishy mud has always been a bit hard for kiddos to resist.  And though at times I may grit my teeth a little when the boys create big muddy messes, there is something about a summer day and hose that lends itself to some muddy play today.

A little inspiration from this great book, and an idea planted in our minds from Jasper's former teacher's husband, today we painted with mud.  Give it a shot, I recommend using some watercolor paper probably not a white shirt as I learned today!  A good reminder for this mama that it always cleans up with a little water!

Give a shot and see what your "mudcasso" or "mudnet" can create!  Sometimes the canvas might even move beyond the paper!  Enjoy some muddy days as you are having to water all your plants like us!  I have a little mud spirit in the shop too, I think I might need to make one for myself to remind me to keep a good humor when my muddy boys make a mess or two, or three or four!

a monday moment

just a moment this Monday- you never know what you will find when you are adventuring!  Hope you have a wonderful start to your week, be sure to watch for another fun guest post this week!

simple driftwood mobile – guest post by jen of paintcutpaste.com

Happy Friday!  My days of family time have been wonderful so far and I am happy to pop back into the blog world this morning as my fellas are still sleeping, tired from many fun adventures so far.  As we are drifting in and out of our first days post school I wanted to share my guest blogger for this week.  I love her inspiring ideas she does with children and art and enjoy her wonderful blog Paint Cut Paste.  I am sure you will enjoy this post she has done special for you here.  It combine 2 of my most favorite things in the world- wood and holey rocks!  Welcome Jen, thank you so much for guest blogging for me!

 Jen Berlingo is an art psychotherapist, and mom to a radiant four-year-old little lady. Her blog, Paint Cut Paste aims to inspire parents, teachers, and caregivers by sharing developmentally appropriate ideas to elicit creative expression, mostly with materials you likely have at home. You can follow Jen’s art-ventures on facebook and on twitter.

i am so honored to share this natural creation with all of you mamaroots readers, as this is one of the most inspiring blogs by one of our favorite toy makers! while chris is such a master of the woodworking arts, i (sadly) am not, which is why it is strange for me that wood is the primary material for the art i happen to be featuring here. maybe chris just brings out the wood nymph in all of us. 

 

over memorial day weekend, my family enjoyed a stay-cation in our lovely neck of the woods – the sf bay area. we took a long and glorious drive along the pacific coast down highway 1, stopping at various beaches along the way. for me, this is way better than visiting the art store, as natural materials are plentiful, gorgeous, and speak to me the most. one beach we visited was abound with driftwood, and we spent time playing in a lovely driftwood hut.

 we brought a few pieces of driftwood home with us, as well as some smooth, flat stones from another nearby beach. my daughter and i spent some time in the backyard, examining these treasures, and ‘listening’ to them. in this process of engaging with raw materials, especially those given of the earth, i am reminded of the words of one of my art therapist mentors, mimi farrelly-hansen, who wrote, “the more i drew from nature, the more i felt a loving, empathic connection to the natural world. i literally fell in love and found myself spontaneously thanking the rose or the twig which had posed for me that day.” 

 

together we decided to create a simple driftwood mobile. we chose four short pieces of driftwood and one stone with a large hole in it for the mobile. after braving the power drill (yes, even this is novel to me) to make holes through the center of each piece of wood, our plans were laid out.

 

 my 4-year-old little artist got to work stringing twine through the drilled holes.

i tied triple-knots at each rung to support the pieces of wood.

after all items were threaded, we tied a loop at the top, and our mobile was finished. uncomplicated beauty.

and such a hit with the cat! yikes!

i hope this inspires many to spend time outside, making friends with natural materials and finding the art in them. much gratitude to you, chris, for this opportunity to share our artful weekend creation on your wonderful blog.

 

in the shopping cart

quick stop by the grocery last night:

1 dozen eggs, vinegar, purple cabbage, beets, turmeric, and panty hose!  Yep we did some natural egg dyeing last night.  I had seen the idea in Country Living magazine and on the Rhythm of the Home blog for doing the plant resists this year and had to give it a shot.  I loved it!

When I read the directions in Country Living it seemed a little odd to boil the eggs so long in the dye- we like to eat our hardboiled eggs each year so that just did not sound too tasty.  So I did a cold soak method. 

First I hardboiled my eggs and then cold shocked them.  In 3 separate other pots on the stove top I boiled 1 quart water, and my produce.  I boiled that for about 20 minutes.  Strained off the beets and cabbage and gave that to hubby to transform into the dinner vege dish (quite tasty with butter, salt, pepper, fresh parsley, and spot of red wine vinegar!)  I then added 3 T white vinegar to each jar of dye.

Followed the instructions of taking the plant I wanted to resist, I found violet, fern, and marigold in the yard.  Layed that on the egg, secured some panty hose around and tied it up tight.  We then dropped the eggs in the jars and dye and ended up just leaving them in the dye overnight in the fridge.

Took them out this morning, removed the hose, and I love them!  Now we are almost set for egg hunting tomorrow!  Wool eggs, naturally dyed eggs, and 2 special wood story eggs I am finishing up tonight while they slumber! 

I have loved seeing all the story eggs popping up in the blogs this spring, I am so happy the tutorial has helped provide so many beautiful eggs and can only imagine what stories will bloom.  I am inspired to do some story egg swaps and barters after Easter- if you are game leave a comment!

I hope you are enjoying your Easter weekend and hoping you and your kiddos have lovely stained hands today from dyeing eggs!

Deck the Halls

I wanted to share some of the simple ideas we have around our house for decorating during the holidays, a snip-it here and there if you don't mind!  For long time readers of Soulemama, you may remember her sharing the idea of knitting for her tree.  I was inspired by her that year to make our garland that has graced our tree for a few years now.  I crocheted ours instead of knitting- remember my lack of knitting skills!  This year I actually had to add to it since we got a slightly bigger tree.  But it really is such a simple lovely decoration that you can add to each year and your kiddos can participate as well.  You can knit, crochet, finger knit, even use the knitting tower to create a lovely garland for your tree or to hang some holiday cards on!  Heck you can even hang some kiddo art work on knit garlands too!

 

I really like it each year it comes out of the decoration box.  We are crocheting up a storm of garlands tonight at my monthly Crafty Mama gatherings that I host at The Womb Room.  The basket it packed!  By the way the sweet little house ornament is from Amber at Woodmouse- they are one of our favorites!

So the new item to deck our halls this year is a tree skirt.  I have never had one and was determined to get one.  First I glanced at the stores- seriously about $30-$60 dollars for made in China skirts- really!  So I went to my local Fair Trade store and found a hippie tapestry for $14 and then cut and serged myself a hippified tree skirt that I love!  I found a pattern with a circle motif in the center.  My mama-in-law helped me and we first folded in half then quarter and measured out a pie slice that we cut with a rotary cutter.  She happened to have a serger so I just serged the edges and in about 15 minutes start to finish I had my skirt!  It also has some great scrap side pieces that I can use as table runners too! 

 
Easy as pie and I really love how it fits with the style of our house.  In case you want to try this I used a single size tapestry.  And the sweetest little bird ornament was made by my pal Rae, we were both able to participate in the Living Crafts ornament project last year together- it is a cutie pie!

Any deck the halls secrets you want to share?