Let's make a Garden in a Shell.

I'm so excited... we've been wanting to make shell gardens for ages.

If you are like us, you are longing for Spring to arrive. We've had a number of lovely sunny days here in Southern California but then a cold front has visited, the snow has fallen on the mountains and the freezing wind has returned, driving us back indoors. We have been looking forward to gardening... looking forward to planting sweet peas, ranunculus and poppies but the cold has kept us out of the garden. Today was wonderfully sunny and as I was cleaning out our shell shell display that lives in the garden, I remembered a photo I had seen a while back of a little garden planted in a shell. Kitty and Teddy were just as excited as I was to give it a try.


We chose two of the largest shells we could find (yes, that is an earthworm in the shell... it's Teddy's new pet and he was very worried that it might escape while we were 'photoing' the shell)


He was much more comfortable 'photoing' the smaller shell while holding his earthworm in his other hand.


As our shells have no drainage holes in them, we decided to use succulents that don't need to be watered very often. It's easier to prevent the shell from becoming water logged if you plant something that doesn't require frequent watering. I took some cuttings from the succulents we have growing on our deck... cuttings work very well; simply stick the cutting in the soil, give it a little water and roots should sprout on their own.


We put a little carbon in the bottom of the shells. Carbon helps to prevent mold and other unwanted organisms from taking over your shell. It's not absolutely necessary but I had some on hand and so decided to use it.


We covered the carbon with a little soil and packed it down firmly.


Then we planted our succulents.


Our shell gardens really are amazingly beautiful. We've put them on our outside deck cupboard, where they are sheltered from wind and rain and we can watch them grow every day.

You see, you can still garden even when Spring hasn't quite arrived yet :-)

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Silent Saturday

The footsteps went up the steps, through the house and into the little boy's room.

Blessings and magic for a happy weekend,
Donni

Friday's Nature Table Link-up.

You are most welcome to share this great resource on your own blogs... (save the above Friday's Nature Table button to your desktop and then add it to your blog as a picture gadget linking to this code...

http://themagiconions.blogspot.com/search?q=Friday%27s+Nature+Table)

Welcome, Friends. I want to thank you all for the wonderfully inspiring links you share here on Friday's Nature Table. Kitty and I go through them each week and are often amazed at the super cool things you all do. You all rock!

Friday's Nature table is where we share our inspiration with each other. I can't tell you how many wonderfully fantastic ideas we have found from your links... your blogs, your creativity, your families, your loving... has touched my heart and enriched my life.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Discovering Waldorf - 'Singing Through the Day"

(Please feel free to add the above Discovering Waldorf button to your blog. You can do this by saving the above image to your desktop and then adding it to your blog as a Picture Gadget that links to this code:

http://themagiconions.blogspot.com/search/label/Discovering%20Waldorf )

Today, Melody, from Little Home Blessings, talks about song and how meaningful it can be for parents and for children. I too have been utterly amazed at how song has calmed my children and has helped them to do things they are resisting. In fact, if A Good Man wants to tease me, he often does it in a sing song voice... and I smile inwardly, knowing that Waldorf has seeped into his heart too.

* * *

Music Through the Day by Melody

Born the daughter of a dancer and musician, I didn't come by the name Melody by accident. Music has always been a large part of my life and I've come to a new relationship with it since starting a family of my own.

One of my first memories as a mother was stepping into the shower for the first time after giving birth, starting to hum a song and reaching to gently rub my tummy, as had become my habit in the last nine months, only to be startled into remembering that my tiny boy was no longer there! It's true that from the very, very beginning, I not only spoke to, but sang to all of my babies regularly. The songs that they became accustomed to in the womb are the same ones that soothed and comforted them outside.

With the birth of my second son, corresponding with my delving deeper into the Waldorf philosophy, I went from only singing lullabies at night, to singing throughout the day. By the time our third child was born, we had joined a family folk chorus and singing for the pure joy of it, with our community, had become a regular event for us. It was during this time that it became really clear to me what a vast difference there is between listening to music and making music. The music that we made spoke to us all in a way that the music we only listened to could not. I'll never forget the day that my infant babe in arms started humming “Hot Cross Buns” with amazing accuracy, after hearing his older brother practice it over and over again on the recorder (with someone's voice accompanying it, more often then not).

~Melody and two of her children, playing and singing at Family Folk Chorus, circa 2006~

Making music ourselves didn't come as easily as I felt it should have, after all, I grew up surrounded by music, but somehow this was different. I started with songs that I knew already, that were appropriate for singing with young children, which turned out to be surprisingly few! But I sang the ones I did know, starting with the songs that I could remember from my own childhood. In that way, I felt that I was passing down a little bit of family history and culture as well. Eventually, we learned many new songs through our folk chorus. I also invested in several songbook and CD sets by the talented Mary Thienes-Schunemann. These were a wonderful resource for us! Especially, “This is the Way We Wash a Day”, which added to our familial repertoire many work songs to use throughout the day. We have songs for cooking, songs for brushing teeth and hair, one for sweeping the floor. Once when an old friend came to breakfast, after watching and listening to our preparation for a while, exclaimed, “What are you, the Von Trap family?!?” But by the time the pancakes were on the table, she was singing and enjoying herself too.

Another option is to make up your own little songs. An easy way to do this is to take a verse you know and make up a little tune to go along with it, or come up with some lyrics and sing them to a tune you already know! An example of this is my daughter's bedtime song. It's a silly little thing, but it brings her comfort and the ritual of singing it, every time I lay her down to sleep, is such an important part of our day. It always makes my heart swell to hear her little two-year-old voice singing it back at me.

Sung to the tune of “Rock-a-bye Baby”:

Mama, and Mairi na-nas* in bed
So Mairi can rest her wee sleepy head
Cuddle her gently, tuck her up tight
So she will sleep soundly, all through the night

*”na-na” is our word for nursing

I know, this is nothing spectacular. No one reading this is in awe of my artistic prowess. That's exactly why I'm sharing it. Because it doesn't have to be perfect or amazing to be meaningful. Children appreciate almost all of our little creative endeavors, especially the ones that are for them! If I can make up simple little songs, then you can too. And you should! Because it's fun and a special thing that you can share between you and your child.

Songs like the one above can also be useful for difficult transitions. For one of my children who hated getting dressed for the day, I made up this silly tune, sung to the tune of “It Had to Be You” (yes, really!):

It's time to get dressed! It's time to get dressed!
Put on a shirt, pull on some pants, maybe a vest.
It's time to get dressed...it's time to get dressed.
It's time to get dressed, time to get dress, it's time to get dressed...

Simple right? Ridiculously simple, but it worked and it helped to ease a time that would have otherwise been a struggle.

One more very simple tune is the one that I sang one morning, many years ago, as some of the little ones were getting up. It was requested so many times after that that it kind of stuck. You'll have to come up with your own tune for this one, as the tune I sing it to is my own.

Good morning! Good morning! Welcome to the day!
Good morning! Good morning! Morning's here to say

(repeat 3 times)

Good morning! Good morning! Welcome to the day!
Good morning! Good morning! Let's get up and play...

Another way to personalize the music that you share with your family is to change tunes around a bit to include your child's name or some other bit of personal information. In our house, there is not vague “little one” in ten in the bed. Instead it's the name of our littlest one. And daddy, mommy, big brother and on down the line (sometimes teddy bears and dollies take a tumble as well) all fall out, resulting in much giggling, especially when some of the older kids get a bit dramatic and start calling out “Ouch!” when their time comes up. I'm really please that with 4 kids, so “Six in the Bed”, the song now feels full enough. It was a little short with only 2!

Sharing music together can also be a way to bond and connect during difficult times. I was extremely ill when my second son was a toddler. I was so ill that many days I was unable to get out of bed for any length of time. It was painful to know that his babyhood was passing by and that there was so little that I could do for him. On the days that I was well enough, when I had strength enough to sit up and breath enough to do so, we would sit together in the rocking chair next to my bed and sing. Some days, good days, we would go through a whole song book from cover to cover. That time was a ray of light for us both, during an otherwise dark and difficult period. I was so glad to be able to give him at least that one thing. And so very deeply, profoundly, thankful for having that time with him. Indeed it's one of my favorite memories from his early years. One of the few ones that isn't overshadowed by the stress of illness.

However you find a way to incorporate music and song into your life and your family time, I hope that you'll enjoy the richness that the sharing of song can bring to daily life.

* * *

I love your little songs, Melody. You show us that all we need is a tune we already know and some well thought out words, relevant to our own families. How very sweet... thank you for sharing your family memories with us.

Melody has a lovely blog, Little Home Blessings that is a treat visit. I have just spent the last hour drooling over all of the beautiful Birthday Sweaters she has made for her babies... oh, I wish I was a knitter.

Here are the other posts in the Discovering Waldorf series.

If you have a Waldorf related topic you wish to share on Discovering Waldorf. or wish to learn more about, pop me an email at vined(at)ymail(dot)com.

Blessing and magic,
Donni

Tutorial : Felted Pebbles

Fairyfolk Felting Kits   www.fairyfolk.etsy.com

Tutorial : Felted Pebbles 

 I am so excited to share this felting tutorial. You have shown interest in giving it a go and I encourage you to dive right in. Others of you who are hooked will agree, it is such a fun hobby and you'll be amazed at the things you can make. When I picked up my first needle three years ago, I was surprised at how quickly I took to it. One of the things I love most about needle felting is that you can finish a project in one sitting. You can sit down with a basket of wool and be holding a delightful toadstool in your hands an hour later. Of course, you can make wonderfully elaborate creations that take hours and hours but you can also make something in twenty minutes too. I like that.

This tutorial (and others like it) is published on my blog, The Magic Onions, in color if you'd rather follow the color, online, directions... www.themagiconions.blogspot.com (search: needle felted pebbles).

There are two felting techniques... wet felting and needle felting. This is a super project for the beginner as it requires both techniques. Needle felting requires three tools; wool roving, a felting needle and a protective foam board. Wet felting requires hot water and soap... dishwashing detergent is preferred.

Wool roving looks like cotton candy. When the sheep is sheered, the fleece is washed and dried and then it is 'carded' - brushed so that all the knots and clumps are brushed out and the fibers of the wool all run the same way. It is then dyed... any wonderful color under the sun :-) This roving can then be spun into yarn (for knitting) or it can be felted.


The protective foam board is not absolutely necessary but it is definitely recommended when you are learning to needle felt. The needle is very sharp and if you don't have a board upon which to steady your work, you will find yourself painfully stabbed more than once.


The felting needle is about 3 inches long. As I said before, it is very sharp. The tip of the needle has a number of small barbs and it is these barbs that felt the wool. It works because the outer surface of each fiber of wool has tiny, microscopic scales on it. When the fiber is agitated, the scales hook into one another, forming a tighter and tighter mass. The needle works because the barbs of the needle 'grab' the fibers as you stab it into the wool, depositing the fibers deeper into the wool. The little scales on the fibers lock together, ensuring that the fibers stay in their new place. By stabbing the wool hundreds of times with your needle, you have control over the form of your wool and can shape it as you wish. You can see the barbs if you look closely at the tip of your needle. 

Wet felting - have you ever washed your favorite wool sweater on the hot cycle by mistake? If you have, you would have been utterly disappointed to find that the hot water and detergent had shrunk your sweater... that is, the hot water, detergent and agitation of the washing machine would have acted exactly like the felting needle, interlocking the little scales on each wool fiber into tighter and tighter felt. In essence, you would have wet felted your sweater.


Felted Pebbles

We start the project by wrapping the pebble in the wool. Make sure you have two pieces of the same colored wool for each rock. Lay one piece of wool flat and set the rock in the middle of it. Wrap the wool around the rock as if you were wrapping a baby in a blanket. Do not worry that the edges of the rock are still showing.

 Use your needle to secure the wool in place around the rock by gently poking your needle into the wool where the folds overlap. Poke gently, at an angle that allows the needle to slide over the stone underneath.

 Lay the other strip of wool flat. Place your partially wrapped stone on this strip, in the opposite direction to last time you wrapped it. Tightly fold the wool over the pebble, covering the ends of the stone that were exposed.

  

Secure the wool in place by needle felting it with your needle as before.

Needle felt all around your pebble, making sure that no part of your pebble is exposed. If it is, gently pull the wool over the exposed section and needle felt it into place.





Now for the 'vein' on you pebble. Using the white 'pencil roving' that is in your kit, gently pull the fibers apart so that you separate the the 'pencil' into two strips. Divide again so that you have 4 strips of white wool.

Roll a strip between your hands, so that you have one long thread of white... this will be the 'vein'.











Place the white wool thread you have just made onto your wool covered rock and secure it in place by needle felting in into the wool. Wrap it around the pebble and secure it all in place by roughly needle felting it all around.

Your pebble is now ready to be wet felted. For this stage of the project you will need dishwashing detergent and warm water.

Put a generous blog of detergent into the palm of your hand and spread it over the whole surface of both of your hands by rubbing them together. Now, gently roll the wool covered rock in your hands, thus covering it in the detergent too. Wet your hands in the warm water and gently roll the rock in your wet hands. It will start to foam up.

Tip: don't let your pebble get too wet at first... introduce the warm water slowly by wetting your hands and rolling the pebble in your wet hands. Once it has become nice and foamy, you will be able to wet your pebble completely. Keep rolling... gentle pressure at first but getting firmer and firmer as the wool felts.

After about 5 minutes of agitating your rock by rolling it in your hands, you will feel that the wool has tightened firmly around your rock. This usually takes about 5 minutes. Rinse the felted pebble in cool water.

Voila! What a beautifully felted rock you have made - Bravo!

I hope you have enjoyed this needle felting project.
I have other felting kits available in my shop if you wish to try something new... felted pumpkins, felted balls, felted soap, felted toadstools as well as kits of lovely colored wool for you to make whatever your heart desires. Please visit my shop Fairyfolk (www.fairyfolk.etsy.com) and look under the Kits section.

Happy felting and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about needle felting.
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Blog: www.themagiconions.blogspot.com
Felting Shop: www.fairyfolk.etsy.com         Photography and Vintage Shop: www.doviemoon.etsy.com

A Day in the Snow.

Oh, it's been so cold! The warm t-shirt weather of a few weeks ago has been replaced by woolly jersey weather here in Southern California... just the perfect weather for a trip up into the snowy San Bernardino mountains.


An early start for the hour and a half journey. Ham and cheese toasties in the car for breakfast. And Starbucks. Lots of layers of clothing; undershirts, t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, sweaters, jackets.

Wild excitement to play in the snow.
Gumboots probably not the ideal footwear for snow.


Snowballs and snowmen.


Icicles.


Beauty.


Remnants of Autumn.

Getting wet. Getting cold feet. Complaining.


Sun. Snow.


Solitude.


Feeling free in the open whiteness. Together and free.


Blue skies.


Toboggan ride. Laughing. Shrieking.


Too much snow... a little cry.


But laughing still.


Learning a new camera technique... ttv.


Lunch at the ski slopes. Bad food. Great hot chocolate.


Watching the slopes. Wanting to ski.


Happy trip home.


Aah, snow. And family.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Tutorial - Needle Felted Toadstool.

I am so excited to share a tutorial on needle felting. So many of you have shown interest in giving it a go and I encourage you to dive right in. Those others of you who are hooked will agree, it is such a fun hobby and you'll be amazed at the things you can make. When I picked up my first needle three years ago, I was surprised at how quickly I took to it. One of the things I love most about needle felting is that you can finish a project in one sitting. You can sit down with a basket of wool and be holding a delightful bunny in your hands an hour later. Of course, you can make wonderfully elaborate creations that take hours and hours but you can also make something in twenty minutes too. I like that.

This is a tutorial on how to make sweet, needle felted toadstools... a simple and fast project for beginner needle felting.

Equipment - Needle felting requires three tools; wool roving, a felting needle and a protective foam board.

Wool roving looks like cotton candy. When the sheep is sheered, the fleece is washed and dried and then it is 'carded' - brushed so that all the knots and clumps are brushed out and the fibers of the wool all run the same way. It is then dyed... any wonderful color under the sun :-)
This roving can then be spun into yarn (for knitting) or it can be felted.


The protective foam board is not absolutely necessary but it is definitely recommended when you are learning to needle felt. The needle is very sharp and if you don't have a board upon which to steady your work, you will find yourself painfully stabbed more than once.


The felting needle is about 3 inches long. As I said before, it is very sharp. The tip of the needle has a number of small barbs and it is these barbs that felt the wool. It works because the outer surface of each fiber of wool has tiny, microscopic scales on it. When the fiber is agitated, the scales hook into one another, forming a tighter and tighter mass. The needle works because the barbs of the needle 'grab' the fibers as you stab it into the wool, depositing the fibers deeper into the wool. The little scales on the fibers lock together, ensuring that the fibers stay in their new place. By stabbing the wool hundreds of times with your needle, you have control over the form of your wool and can shape it as you wish. You can see the barbs clearly in this next photo...


To make a toadstool, break off a length of red wool roving about the length of your hand.


Roll it between your hands as you would roll a ball of playdough into a snake.


Roll the wool 'snake' into a tight spiral. The tighter you can get it, the easier it will be to felt.


I find that rolling is key in many of my felting projects... if I can roll the wool tightly to begin with, I can greatly reduce the time my form takes to felt.


When my red wool has been rolled into a tight spiral, I set it down on the felting board and stab it with the needle many times around the outside of the spiral. Be slow and deliberate with your stabbing in the beginning, and concentrate, please... it hurts like getting an injection when you stab yourself... it's definitely not the end of the world, but it is better avoided :-)


You will soon see that this stabbing holds the wool in place and your spiral will not unravel if you let it go.


Now for the underside of the toadstool. Set your spiral upright and stab the top gently many times so that it becomes a nice flat surface.


When your underside is nice and flat, turn your spiral over to what will be the top side of your toadstool. With your thumb and forefinger, gently pull the outside layer of wool a loose, just a little.


Fold this pulled layer over the spiral shape and needle felt it gently.


Continue needle felting it until it is a smooth round dome.


Now for the white spots. Get a small tuft of white wool roving about the size of your fingernail.


Roll it in the palms of your hands until it becomes a nice firm ball.


Place the white ball onto the red toadstool and needle felt it into the red wool.


Needle felt as many dots as you'd like onto your toadstool.


Now for the toadstool's stalk. Take a piece of white wool as long as your finger and roll it in your hands until it becomes a 'snake' (as before).


Roll it tightly into a spiral (just like you did with your red wool to start your toadstool).


Put the stalk onto the felting board and felt it around the outside until it is firmly felted and holds its shape.


Leave one end of the stalk fluffy. Gently needle felt the other end of the stalk until it is round.


Place the fluffy end of the stalk onto the underside of your toadstool (the flat side) and attach it by needle felting it into the red wool of the toadstool.


Gently felt around and around the stalk until it if firmly and neatly secured.


Voila! You have made a darling little toadstool!!


For those of you who want to give this a try, I've put together a needle felting toadstool kit and listed it in my shop. In the kit you will get two needle felting needles, a protective foam board and all the red and white wool you will need to make 10 little toadstools (or 4 bigger ones).
I also have beginner's needle felting kits with lots of gorgeously colored wool if you'd prefer to try your hand at something different now that you know how easy it is. And, I have felted rock kits and felted soap kits available too. And, and, I have also put together a kit for making your child a felted playscape which is a fantastic project. So, no excuse not to try needle felting if you aren't already hooked :-) C'mon... it'll be fun!

Happy felting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni