Willow Whistle

I have a very special guest artist today. My Father. When we were little he would make us willow whistles in the spring and early summer when the sap was still flowing. It has been years since he made one but he came out of willow whistle retirement just to teach me how he made those wonderful whistles. I have great memories of watching him whittle away the wood and of running barefoot through the grass whistling as loudly as I could on my new whistle once he was done. While Dad worked on this whistle he told me about how his Grandfather had taught him how to make the whistles. Thank you Dad for passing this knowledge on to me so I can share this with my future children. First you need to find your stick. It needs to be cut fresh while the sap is still flowing. Choose a branch that is about the width of an adult thumb, fairly straight, a minimum of 6 inches, and has few knots. We chose a branch that was rubbing against another branch and would have been taken out anyway. Next using a sharp knife cut a mouth piece at an angle and then blunt the end. Then cut a small rectangle opposite of the side of the mouth piece. Just cut deep enough to remove the bark (just think of how a recorder looks). About 6 inches from the mouth piece cut a straight line all the way around the branch. Cut just deep enough to go though the bark. Then gently tap the twig along its length and all around. Be careful not to tap so hard that you crack the bark. Once the bark is cracked it will not work properly. Finally, twist and pull along the bark till it slips off of the branch. Hold the bark carefully so it does not crack.
For this next part I needed my Father's help. My hand is still in a splint from Mother's day so I was unable to use the strength I needed to whittle away the wood. On the wood part he cut a thin line along the top of the mouth piece and a long groove. I used a red line in the second picture to indicate where to cut. When I was younger he would make the groove longer and put holes along the bark above the grove to create finger holes. Once you are done; carefully slip the bark back over and line it up to where it was before you slipped it off. Your done! This may take a few practice attempts to get it right. As the sap dries out your whistle may stop working, if you re-wet with water it may start working again. You can also use Maple or any other wood that the bark slips freely from. Thank you for reading, good luck and have fun! I leave you with something my Father used to say, and said again while teaching me how to make this willow whistle.

"I once made a wood whistle, but it wooden whistle.
Then I made a steel whistle, and it steel would not whistle.
Then I made a tin whistle, now I tin whistle."

Straw Hat Floral Sticks

Happy Mother's Day! I write about the things I do with my Mum often in my blogs. She is an amazing woman. A Master Gardener, Tree inspector, and a fierce protector of her children. I don't know when or if Bear and I will have any children, but I'm glad that I have such a wonderful Mum to teach me everything a mother should be and so much more. Thank you Mum and Happy Mothers day! Today is a day to honor our Mothers and many of us do that with flowers. This craft is how to make an inexpensive and beautiful floral stick to tuck into a floral arrangement.




1. You will need: Bamboo skewers, Ribbon, small decorations, hot glue, and small straw hats. I bought everything here at Michaels Craft store except the skewers; those I bought at a grocery store.
2. Using hot glue secure a piece of ribbon around the straw hat.
3. Glue the little ornaments that you choose to use around the ribbon on the brim of the hat. I used little ribbon roses but any number of small objects will work like beads, feathers, moss, shells and so forth.
4. Finally glue the Bamboo skewer to the back of the straw bonnet. It is now ready to tuck into an arrangement.
5. One last thing... Happy Mothers day and Have Fun!

Teacup Candle

This is a simple fast craft that works well as a last minute gift idea. You will need candle wax, a wick, a teacup or pretty mug, candle fragrance is optional. I used microwaveable wax and pre-waxed candle wicks. I also used some vanilla candle fragrance. I've been holding on to this teacup for a while. The inside of the cup is crazed and heavily stained, but I could not bear to throw it out.. Turning it into a candle gives it new life.
Once you have your supplies together slowly warm the teacup on a hot water bottle. If the cup is to cold the wax will not stick to the cup properly. While the cup is warming melt the wax for the candle. I chose soy because it burns slower and cleaner than paraffin wax; it is also cheaper. I added half a teaspoon of vanilla candle fragrance. Soy can be difficult taking the sent properly so you might have to experiment a little. The wax melted in about 45 seconds in the microwave.
Use some of your melted wax, or wax from another candle to secure the wick in place. Next slowly pour the melted wax into the teacup till it is filled. I like to leave a little bit of room at the top. Put the teacup somewhere it will not be disturbed. It will take an hour to an hour and a half to set. Once it's set the wax will be a frosty white. Trim the wick to one fourth of an inch and your candle is done. Have fun!

Favorites Party

I wanted to join in on the fun. Chrissie Grace is throwing a Favorites Party. I spent most of the day re-potting my seedlings into larger pots so I almost missed out on the fun (at the moment, NOT a favorite thing). You don't have to miss out on the fun either, head on over to her blog and join in and take a look around while you are there she is an amazing artist.I'll start with my favorite chair. I don't like pink, but this chair is so comfortable. Bear did not like it and I put it upstairs in plain view as a joke. It worked perfectly in the room and is never leaving. It is positioned in such a way that I can see out of six different windows. Right now there is a spectacular view of my ornamental crab-apples in full blossom. I love to sit in the morning and watch the sun come up with a cup of tea. Which brings us to my second favorite thing..... Chocolate Pecan Swirl Tea from the Mad Hatter Tea Room is my favorite tea. I love coffee but am deathly allergic to it. I had to give it up after going into shock the last time I had a small cup. *Sigh. This tea has a flavor and smoothness to it that is reminiscent of coffee. Bear and I enjoy having a cup and watching the sun come up on weekends together. I also like to have a cup while I am reading a book....Can you guess what the third things will be? My favorite author is Mary Roach. If you are a redhead "Roots of Desire" is an absolute must read. It also happens to be one of my favorite books. It is about the history and mythology of redheads. Recently we shut the TV off and every night Bear and I read a little together. I love Mary Roach's ability to make you laugh, educate you, disgust you completely, and make you laugh till your blue in the face....... BLUE! These are my favorite shoes. They are made by Haflinger with felt tops and cork soles. They are the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned. I am horribly guilty of running outside barefoot and then stepping on bees (another thing I am deathly allergic to). Bear is constantly telling me to put something on my feet. I love being able to slip these on while on the move. Oh, it helps that they are super cute and comfortable too. My last favorite, has to be my first and foremost favorite. My super cute and comfortable Husband. I would run out of room If I listed all my favorite things about him. He is my love and my joy. And my very foremost Favorite. What's yours?

faux stained glass

This is a very simple yet fun craft. I used to use canning jars and paint them this way to use as candle holders/decorative lanterns. Recently a young woman I know blessed me with several beautiful vases and two of these lovely glass olive oil bottles. I mentioned that they would make lovely vases and some how or other the faux stained glass came up. She said she would love it if I would do a blog to show her how it was done. Nikki, this one is for you :) Start with a jar, any kind will do. Use black fabric paint to make the outline of your picture. Go slow, it will want to blob up. Once it is dry use transparent glass paint to fill in the picture. Let them dry in between colors or you can end up with some blending. That's all there is to it. This jar (not including drying time) took about half an hour to paint. Have fun!

Washcloth Bunny

On Easter my Mum presented me with a little washcloth bunny she used as an Easter/Spring decoration when I was little. My sister and I would take turns holding him and making him hop along the dinner table. From now on he will hop along on my nature table every spring. It's a very simple craft and I hope that your family enjoys the one you make as much as we loved ours.

First you need a washcloth the color that you want your bunny to be. Snip off the tag and any stray threads. Fold the washcloth in half so it's a triangle; then tightly roll the triangle up from the point.
Fold the rolled up washcloth in half. Then fold the two halves over the top of the roll. Put a rubber band around the middle of the washcloth. Place it about where my index finger and thumb are in the second picture. This separates the head from the body and gives it it's bunny shape. For a nose I cut a piece of light pink felt and needle felted it in place. The one Mum gave me had a circle glued on. I'm sure a bead would look cute as well. For a tail I needle felted a tiny piece of cotton to the back. The one Mum gave me has a small pom pom. Tie a ribbon around the neck to hide the rubber band and you are done.

Here is my new bunny playing with the little bunny from my child hood. They look like they are having fun; now it's your turn. There are endless ways to decorate your bunnies. I hope you enjoy making your own and Have fun!

Bottlecap Ladybug Magnets

Happy first day of spring everyone! To celebrate today I thought it would be fun to make some ladybug magnets out of bottle caps. I seem to have a healthy supply of them. People found out I craft and now they save them just for me (Thank you).




For this project you will need glue (super gel glue works and so does high temp hot glue). 1" wood disks (the ones I used are made by Lara's craft found at craft stores), craft magnets ( I used .75" craft magnets made by Artminds (also found at craft stores), and of course bottle caps.



The first step is to take a nail or sharp object and scratch or remove the rubbery surface on the inside of the bottle cap. This make is easy for the glue to stick.






Next glue the wood circle inside the bottle cap. This will raise the magnet up so that the bottle cap does not rest directly on your refrigerator and scratch it. You can use anything for this step, but I think that wood works best.




Place the magnet on top of the wood disk to make sure that the magnet is higher than the rim of the bottle cap. If it's not high enough add another wood layer before gluing the magnet on. Then glue the magnet to the wood disk.




Finally paint the bottle caps to look like ladybugs. Let the red layer dry before painting the head and spots. Some bottle caps are real interesting and would be fun to leave unpainted.




There you have it. Adorable ladybug magnets just in time for the first day of spring. I wish that I had some googly eyes on hand for this project but I think they turned out cute enough without them. Happy First Day of Spring and Have Fun!



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