paint cut paste

does your little one gather thousands of leaves and twigs every time s/he’s outside? mine does! from nature walks to playgrounds to the preschool sandbox, N is constantly in search of treasures. when i saw the framework for this idea on moment to moment, i thought it would make a sweet storage space for seasonal findings.

i like how on moment to moment, the kids made beaded strands and various things to add to their fairy loom (which we’ll likely do later,) but mostly i wanted to make one where we could store natural objects… a fairy loom for all seasons! first, we needed a sturdy stick in the shape of the letter Y. last week we went on a nature walk with gwee, and hunted for said stick with no luck. we did find plenty of leaves and things, so N saved the things she gathered in anticipation of making a fairy loom.

over the weekend on a hike with her daddy, N found the perfect Y shaped stick for her loom. it was a bit bigger than i’d imagined it being (i was envisioning a 1-2 foot stick) but it turned out to be perfect.

N and i chose some variegated ribbon to thread the loom. you could use any ribbon, yarn, twine, or string you like. i wound the ribbon around the forked part of the stick. in hindsight, i should have created a loop around each side of the branch on each pass to make the weaving tighter. eh, next time.

weaving ribbon in a figure 8 pattern

we wove the found objects into it… leaves, feathers, pine needles with tiny pinecones on them, lavender, flowers, etc. N said “over, under, over, under…” as she wove.

when it was finished, N was so enthralled with it. she asked with wonder, “do you think a fairy would land on this?” (i think she’s hoping for tinkerbell to visit her, like in the new tink movie that just came out.)

we brought it into the house and put it in the corner of our den, kind of near the seasonal altar (though not in this photo.) it seems like a good place to store some of the little beautiful treats that N brings inside for us, and perhaps we’ll string some beads and shells to add to it, as well. i’m excited for the leaves to turn reds and oranges and yellows so we can add them to the loom — the color change happens later (and less vibrantly than i’m used to) in the bay area.

the loom can be cleaned out and redesigned with each season. i also think smaller (and bigger!) ones would be pretty hung from trees, hung on porches, or placed around the yard…  oooo…

Related posts:

1. fairy houses with natural materials
2. fairy herb garden
3. magical fairy wands
4. gratitude garland
5. flower fairies