today i have the absolute pleasure and honor of guest blogging on one of my super-duper-favorite blogs, mamaroots! chris willow, of mamaroots, is a talented toymaker extraordinaire and such an inspiring writer, healer, and momma!

chris makes these beautiful wooden toys, which bless our home in just about every nook and cranny… so what on earth was i thinking when the art material i shared on her blog was WOOD when i know nearly nothing about woodworking!?? haha! perhaps it is the inspiration of chris and our lovely pacific coastline with its magical driftwood…

but i was called to post this simple driftwood mobile we created as a family. it’s a paired-down, less-is-more version of the beach treasure mobile we shared here last week. don’t you love how mobiles are all about moving in the wind and all about balance? please hop over to mamaroots to check out my guest post over there today.

so easy, so lovely. so perfect for father’s day.

*wink wink*

have you ever been addicted to making flower fairies?

oh, i’ve had this bug for way too many years, and now i’m thinking it just might be genetic…

they’re just too fun! gather up some floral wire, wooden beads, silk petals, and get busy making new little friends! OR get the kit at the bottom of this post that has all of the materials in it, along with inspirational ideas for fairies you can create.

love these springtime friends!

yes, i’ve posted this one before… and it’s because we’ve just realized that this is becoming one of our springtime rituals in our house. sure dying easter eggs is fun, but watercoloring wooden ones leaves a lasting impression.

a package was delivered to us last week from casey’s wood products. when i opened it and N saw a bunch of wooden eggs of all sizes, she started jumping up and down… “we’re painting wooden eggs again!?!? yay!!!”

because we were having a few families over for dinner, N wanted me to woodburn the names (blurred out below) of the kids onto a few of the eggs (and one for her, of course) with my trusty woodburning tool.

then she was totally absorbed in watercoloring the eggs with colors that remind her of those people.

after polishing the eggs with our homemade wood creme, we presented them in a nest to the kids at the dinner. the artiste was very proud.

i think we’ll do this every year… as gifts, and as decor for our own nature tables and baskets. what springtime rituals do you have in your home?

sharing the joy

one of N’s friends gave her a wooden birdhouse for her birthday, along with some paints. you can get these unpainted birdhouses at michaels (or make your own if you’re handy like that!) N was psyched to paint it!

it’s been a mild and comfortable “winter” here in the bay area, so we went outside to do a little painting.

N loved coming up with different color schemes for each side of the house.

she came up with fun details, like a bird’s nest with eggs, she said “so the birds know this is a safe place to sleep.”

the front is very welcoming. N even wrote “hi” on it!

N asked me to paint a rainbow on the “sky part” she made on the back. and i helped with a cherry blossom branch on the pink and red side. (i was psyched to be able to contribute… this was a fun project for momma, too!)

the red parts at the bottom are N's ladybugs that got their spots when the paint dried

when it was dry, we coated it with a weatherproof varnish. (i always prefer to brush varnish on over spraying it on – especially with kids around.)

now to find the perfect spot for it in our yard… and maaaaybe paint a few more of these beauties as gifts!

all the credit for this one goes to N’s amazing preschool teacher! the kids made these at school, and you know i’m a fan of art made from recycled materials, with a particular penchant for toilet paper rolls. (what does this say about me? i don’t know.) check out these beauties!

to make these, all you need are toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls (cut into smaller sections, if preferred,) some wooden craft sticks, and paint. i love how they used the metallic paints at the preschool. these look so cool.

the group of them that the class made created a really cool wall display for this month’s unit on transportation. i love the cotton ball smoke puffs behind them! these would look cute in a playroom or plane-themed bedroom for a kid, too.

i just had to share… since they’re tp rolls and all. ah, it is easy to be green!

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…

with the autumn equinox just behind us, my thoughts are turning to colorful leaves and acorn hunts! i thought it might be a nice time to revisit the artistic endeavors that last fall brought in our home. click on the names below to see the complete tutorial for each:

windblown trees

leaf rubbings

some felted wool acorn cuties

a leaf mask

yarn pumpkins

and one of my favorites… autumn leaf garland!

we did a lot of fun halloween crafts last year, too… but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. for now, enjoy the refreshing air, pinecones, bright leaves, and acorn treasures the season brings! crisp, fresh autumn art coming soon! stay tuned!

happy autumn!