more crafts

 A friend had a beautiful baby girl last week... Welcome Nia Grace! I made her this vest.To hide or accent the fact that the pinks are all different ( I just used what I had in my stash), I crocheted a flower to match all the colours. The buttons too, are from my stash!

 And now to share a project we have been working on for about a month: A playscape! I have been inspired by many different places. The idea I saw first in the LIVING CRafts Mag about a year ago and then recently I saw it again , although in a different form on the RYTHYM of the HOME site. 

 Together with the children I felted the mat in stages that fit the bubble wrap i had, then stitched on felted pebbles ( bought), made pumpkins and a cave.  the bushes were made by the children by making pompoms, and the grass was  crocheted with an extra row of loops n top.  There are more trees coming and then I'll stitch some hessian to the bottom for added strength and longevity!

sheep

I've been really enjoying my subscription to the living Craft s magazine ( Thanks hubby!), The children are really enjoying the story table ( see previous posts) , and enjoying playing with natural toys. I've been knitting sheep from the  spring 2010 issue. I've made two for my nephew who turned one yesterday (happy birthday Wyatt!) And i'm onto my third for my children. watch out, if you have a birthday  you may also get a sheep! Today the sheep are looking o t the window at the rain, and asking where spring has gone!

The Tomten

Today was a crafty day! A trip to Spotlight ( I wish we had a decent craft shop around here, some things I'm after it seems I'll have to  order online!), a play at the Tahunanui playground and a picnic snack and when we got home there were seven eggs , a new LIving Crafts mag and the book of the Tomten I had ordered, so we got right down to the business of making our own tomtens to tell stories with. And here they are! Maaike thought hers needed love hearts sewn on. Cute hey? Patterns for story table things mentioned on earlier post. I hadn't read the story before, and its lovely. A story about a gnome type thingy who has lived on this farm for hundreds of years and when night falls visits the inhabitants and talks in a silent tomten voice that the animals can understand, checking all is well.  A good bedtime story!
 And tonight we are to have a barbeque, with homemade burger buns and maybe sleep in the tent we have had up all week. My kids seem to be desperate for summer, swimming and adventures. Actually That sounds pretty good to me!

garden pickings

                                         Our first garden harvest here! Very slim pickings but its lovely after about 6 months to be able to wander around the garden and pick our own salad greens!  There  are  mint leaves growing wild in the back paddock, parsley brought from our old garden taken to all our various places of abode and now transplanted in the herb garden.  There is corn salad that grabbed a lift on some raspberry canes brought from the old place, and mesclun mix sown into a pop and overwintered in the plastic house, cut as baby leaves.  With a  simple dressing of home-made cider vinegar, local olive oil, fermented mustard from mum and some rapadura ( Old style evapourated  sugarcane juice), some salt and pepper. Yum!  And with it for lunch?  Baked potato hot chips with home made mayo/hollandaise ( Made with half melted butter, half olive oil). 

 
        

new "corners"

  

This week I have been creating some new "corners" and spaces in our home, trying to maintain an order that stimulates creativity and peace in our playing and tidying away. A peace that runs through the day and encourages storytelling and drama. I was inspired by this article in the online mag: Rhythm
 of the Home. Its an article about bringing books to life with props.   So by moving stuff around we now have three surfaces to create "stories" on ( One day hopefully they will be co-constructed stories, but not just yet....).

 

Another space in our home is this one,our treasres space; A little seasonal corner ( a lot of props have been absorbed by the story table!) , some of my opshop finds and family gifts, amap of the town  one of my Oma's in holland lived before she was too ill and moved to a care facility, and inside the cabinet two of her cup and saucers, from the set they had when they first got married. On the wall a painting of my husband and a young Anoushka done by his Brother, and some cards Struan and I have given each other for birthdays etc.
 This place is starting to feel like home (for now).