Ladybird Ladybird

(Beet and dandelion dyed ladybirds that have been wood burned and polished with homemade wood cream).

Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,

Your house is on fire and your children are gone,

All except for little Nan,

She crept under the baking pan.

Our 'Waiting Room'

Hello again. So many things have been going on in our cozy den. Today I want to share the big project that has been taking up a lot of our time. This is our biggest and most beautiful project yet. Our nursery. This has been a beautiful and frustrating journey. Hopefully our wait will not be much longer. My heart goes out to all the Mom's in waiting, wherever you may be. While we wait Bear and I have taken to sitting in our waiting room, dreaming of the day when we will hold our precious child.

 

In our quiet nursery there are built in shelves that make a perfect place to change diapers. I even found a little basket that fits into the space between the wall and the changing pad at GW for $0.49. Beneath the window there is a little white table purchased off of Craigslist for only a few dollars. It holds wooden sheep wrapped in wool yarn and the Wooden rocking horse that Bear made.

Here is a close up of the two pictures on the shelves. A favorite quote and verse. The frames were another GW purchase. They are the same mint green color, but my camera was being a little finicky. I used left over scrap paper to make simple borders. Martha Stewart would be proud.

These wonderful decals are available on Etsy from Simple Shapes. There are a lot of pieces in this decals set (over one hundred). Each leaf, twig, acorn, acorn cap is a separate decal, but don't let that discourage you. They are real easy to put up; and the end result is well worth it. You can't see it, bur there is a fox hiding behind the chair and another blue bird flying towards the one on the branch.

In the crib rests two sweet little dolls made by Acorn Pies. Their arms reach out in waiting for the wee one that will one day love them. As I wait in my rocking chair dreaming of our child and all the trials we have gone through I am reminded....

You can't make rainbows without the rain.
Thank you for visiting our quiet waiting room. Have a blessed day and be well.

Pretty Plant Markers

 This is a simple craft, but so pretty and helpful. I make these simple and inexpensive plant markers for my herb garden and love them. They do need to be touched up each spring but last just fine for the season. It's nice to be able to change the names if I want to plant something different the next season.

You will need, your seeds, a permanent marker or ceramic marker, and white rocks (you can also paint rocks white for this, but I prefer the more natural look).

 Just simply write your plant names on your rocks and put them out in your garden. It's that simple, inexpensive, and pretty. Have fun and Happy Early Spring!

Making Straw Hearts

Hello, today I have a fun craft that can be made with paper, straw, grass or drinking straws. This video will show you how to make a little heart out of two drinking straws and then how to make it into a necklace. This is a great craft for 10 to 14 year old girls, for a party, and for a sleep over. The little hearts also look real nice as pins or glued to the front of cards. I hope you enjoy it and have fun.

Pillowcase Dresses

Hello, I'm back into blog land. I'm sorry I've been away for a while. Various health, house, and computer issues have kept me at bay; but I'm back now. Pillowcase dresses are adorable, easy, and also inexpensive to make. This past week I helped a young friend with a community service project for school. We made pillowcase dresses for young girls in Africa. She will be sending them to an organization called Little Dresses for Africa. LDFA is a non-profit christian organization whose mission is to provide relief to children in Central Africa. I was able to buy several pillowcases for mere pennies at the thrift store and had elastic and double bias tape just laying around my home to finish the dresses. There are simple directions on how to make pillowcase dresses on their website; just click on the link above. Whether your making them for your own special little girl or for someone else's special little girl far far away have fun!

Gingerbread Cookies

There is something so incredibly peaceful about baking gingerbread at the crack of dawn. I don't mean those brown sugary cookies with a slight hint of ginger that you can buy at the store, but real soft and savory gingerbread.

There is something so incredibly joyous about the sound of the neighborhood children decorating said cookies. Such clever little fingers. Such happy little smiles. They made so many fun characters on these blank cookie canvases.

I hope this will become a new tradition for us. It hasn't felt quite like Christmas up until now; and it was nice to put aside everything to just have a bit of fun. Have a blessed and bright Christmas.

Tribute to Wooden Toys

There is something extra special about wooden toys. There is a softness, beauty, warmth, feel, and connection with nature to them. Bear and I have been filling our home with these beautiful treasures for the neighborhood children and hopefully our future child. Children seem natural drawn to them as they help promote imaginative play.We thought it would be nice to share some of our favorites with you. This is part of our kitchen. We found it on Craigslist but I have seen some similar to it on sale on Amazon. This is by far my nieces favorite toy when she visits. There are three other little girls in the neighborhood who are especially drawn to it. This is our vintage farm. The wood has a deep golden color that can only come with age and love. Bear and I are working to put wooden animals similar to this into Apple Crate Toys soon. These toy boats can be described only as 'The Worlds Greatest Bathboats' and that they are. They are so bright and cheery. The boat with the fish believe it or not is from 1985 and yet it still looks like new. I attached a link to the photo. Click on it and it will take you to their store. They even do custom name orders. A nice thought with Christmas on the way. These little boats will last a life time and then some. Bear and I will only be getting one more boat for this collection. It will be a custom order when our wee one arrives.This adorable house was purchased off of Craigslist. I added some furniture to it, but there were several pieces already in it. It came from a wonderful mother and daughter who are planning to move to another country and could not take it with. It is the newest toy in our collection and has been used and loved the most so far. I would have loved a house like this as a child. The woman we purchased it from said she bought it in Spain, but it bears a striking resemblance to Melissa and Doug doll houses if you are interested in finding one for your wee one. I first saw this little family on Waldorf Mama's blog. They were so beautiful but I could not find a justification to get them till Bear and his father surprised me this year for my birthday with the money to get them. The best part is watching children pick them up for the first time and seeing slow smiles of sheer delight spread across their faces. Bear and his father could have given me no greater gift. They are beautifully hand carved and painted by a company called Buntspechte. You can buy them at The Puppenstube.
Carved, sanded and painted with love. Wood toys will last a life time. They are a gift to pass down from generation to generation. Lets hope the tradition never ends. Have a blessed day.