Match Sitck Rockets!

In honor of the Fourth of July I thought it would be fun to make Match Stick Rockets. I made these when I was little and had a blast (if you will excuse the pun). First you will need to make a launch pad. They can be made of just about anything that wont burn and will hold a match stick at a slight angle. One of these is made with a block of scrap wood and the metal part of a curtain hanger, one used a paper clip that is duct-taped down to a piece of wood for stability. and one is just a door stop covered in aluminum foil. The launch I used as a child had a hinge nailed to a piece of wood and a small metal tube soldered to the hinge. The scrap wood raises the launch up so that you can get under the rocket to ignite it, but I'm getting ahead of myself.1. For the rockets you will need a wooden match stick, pins, and a small piece of aluminum foil.
2. Take a small piece of aluminum foil and lay the match head on an edge. Place a pin on either side of the match head.
3. Be careful not to punch a hole though the aluminum foil and wrap the match head tightly. Slowly pull out the pins. There should be tiny tunnels where the pins were. These are the exhaust ports for your rocket. Be careful when handling the rockets to not crimp the small exhaust ports the pins have made.We noticed that regular kitchen matches are now bigger and have less phosphorus on the match head then when we were children. If you can find the regular smaller boxed matched the first rockets will work, if not you can cut the kitchen match in half and continue use the first set of instructions. I've also heard that you can scrape the phosphorus off of one match and put the powder in the aluminum cover and double the strength of your rocket.Take your rockets and launch pad outside. I recommend using your driveway as a launch sight. place the rocket on the launch pad with the match head overhanging the edge slightly. Use a lighter to ignite the rocket. Hold the lighter under the aluminum tip for a few seconds. The heat from the lighter will ignite the rocket. Be careful not to burn yourself and have a happy and safe Fourth of July...
Some safe tips if you are lighting your own fireworks are:
Don't cut the wicks smaller unless the instructions say to.
Do not stand directly over a firework as you are lighting it.
Once lit, step away!
Use ear protection for small children. The loud noises can harm their little ears.
Use bug spray.. Really.
HAVE FUN!!

Store Opening and Give Away!!!

It's open! Bear and I have spent all weekend photographing and cataloging all of my crafts; today a dream has been fulfilled. Today I open my online craft store. There is a link in my side bar. There are many more things that I still have to post, but at long last my store is up and running. A special thank you to everyone who has encouraged me along the way. As a special Thank you and to celebrate this milestone I am having my first Give Away. A lot of people seemed to like my mushroom pincushions. As a special thank you I am giving away one of my test pincushions and also one of my sets of two gnomes. A drawing will be held July 31st and the winner will be announced August 1st. The rules of the drawing are as follows:

1. Leave me a comment if you would like to be entered into this drawing on any of my blogs and you will be entered once.
2. Follow number 1 and become a friend and be entered twice into the drawing (people who are already following me and wish to be part of the drawing will be automatically entered twice).
3. Follow number 1 and 2 and help me spread the word of my store opening in your blog (send me the link) and you will be entered three times.

Thank you again for all of your support and encouragement.

How to cut a Love Apple

I hope that you all had a Happy Father's day. I'm happy to have my Father as a guest artist on my blog again today. I thought that it was fitting; AND it also has to do with apples. I do love apples. This "craft" is how to cut a love apple. A love apple is a special apple that is cut so that the two halves fit together like puzzle pieces. The love apple is meant to be shared with someone you love. My Father made these for my sister and I to share when we were little girls. I mangled several hundred apples trying to figure this out as a child. It does take practice to get it right.1. First you will need an apple and a sharp knife. 2. Cut straight down from the top of the apple. 3. Stop when you are about half way though the apple. Turn the apple 90 degrees and cut from the bottom up halfway through the apple.4. Then cut straight through the side of the apple. Stop when you are about half way through.
5. Here's the trick, you cut right at the corner of one of the cuts you made on the bottom, push the knife in about half way in (to the middle of the apple). Turn the knife as you turn the apple from the cut you just made to connect to the first cut you made from the top down on step #2. Count one more line over and then repeat that last step, connecting the bottom cut to the top cut on the opposite side. Use the photos, it will help
6. If it was cut right the apple should come apart with a slight tugging.
This is what is looks like when you are done. I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial. Share an apple with someone you love and Have Fun!

The beginings

This is my craft room. It feels good to have a whole room dedicated to crafts. One day I will have to give this room up for a nursery but it looks like that is in the far future. My craft room is full of unfinished dreams. I love Sterilite containers. They make organization a snap. I have a DVD/VHS rack that my brother in law made. I turned it on it's side and it makes a perfect cubby to hide supplies and finished products in. I will be painting it white to match the Sterilite containers.This is the other side of my craft room. I put a beaded curtain across the closet to make it easier to get in and out when my hands are full.
So many crafts. One day (hopefully) soon I will open my craft shop online. Peg dolls for nature tables, mushroom pin cushions, Waldorf dolls, magic wands, necklaces, naturally dyed wood blocks. The list goes on and on. I've been a bit slow on updating this blog lately because I am trying to get things ready to launch. I wanted to open my store in January *sigh*
I've also been hindered by a myriad of medical conditions. Last night was a bad night, but being able to sit down and blog always seems to give me enough strength to go a little further. A special 'Thank you' to every one of you who has taken the time to leave a comment. You are my friends and my inspiration. It means a lot to me to log on and see that people are interested in what I have to show or say. Thank you.

Corn Husk Angel

Corn Husk Dolls have been around for a long long time. They were first made by the Native Americans. It's a fairly simple craft and once done it can be decorated with dyed husks, fabric, paint, beads, ribbon, just about anything you can come up with.To start you are going to need some corn husks. You can buy them at the grocery store dried. A little soak in water will make them flexible to work with. First tear three long skinny strips of husk. Then braid them together. This will be the dolls arms. If you are making a large doll, you may want to make two braids. Then gather a bunch of corn husks together neatly in your hand. Hold them at the tip and add a bunch of corn silk or thread. Fold the husks over the silk or thread and tie a thin strip of husk or thread around the top (where my fingers are pinching in the last photo).Next, turn the husks inside out. The silk/thread should be sticking out of the top. The thread is going to be the hair. Tie a knot a little way down around the husk like I have done in the first picture. You just made the neck. Lift up a few of the husks (two or three works just fine) and place the braid that you made earlier across the husks evenly like I have done in the second picture. The third picture shows that you pull the husks back down across the braid and tie a piece of husk or thread around the waist of the doll. You can stop here and have a corn husk doll. To make this doll into an angel keep going.Take two pieces of husk and hold them how you want them to look on your angels back. Hold them across the back of the doll and crisscross a piece of husk over the wings. Tie a piece of thread or husk around the waist of the doll to hold the wings in place. You can make a bonnet or a braid to put over the top of the hair out of husk or silk. Place the skirt of the angel over a bottle and leave it for a day or two to dry. Once done you can decorate it however you like or use it as is. Have fun.

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!