Let's Make Beaded Moblies (and conquer our inner Smeegles)

We have been doing a little Spring cleaning... I know, I know... I'm a little late for Spring! But, it does feel so very good to purge the cluttered spaces. I find that not only does it clean the space out, it cleanses the soul too. And, there's nothing like knowing that ones Mom and Dad are coming to visit all the way from South Africa to give one the motivation to get to that 'uncluttering' task one has been meaning to get to since, um, Spring.

So, in cleaning out our craft cupboard, we came across my boxes of beads. Are you like me? Do you also often get excited about a craft (obsessed could easily replace the word 'excited' in this sentence), buy all there is to buy relating to that craft and then never get around to actually making the craft? Well, my beautiful beads have been waiting for me for about three years. As soon as Kitty saw them she suggested enthusiastically, 'Lets make beautiful bead mobiles!' My reaction was somewhat akin to that Smeegle from Lord of the Rings... 'They're MINE, all MINE!!' I thought. But, I am proud to say, after a deep breath and a subconscious pushing of my inner Smeegle back into his little corner of my soul, I said a happy 'OK!'

We found some hemp string and got to work making pretty beaded mobiles.

My precious beads were a fair price for the beauty of concentration on the faces of my children.

Our beaded mobiles are proudly hanging in the living room.

Little hands reach up to touch them admiringly from time to time, and ring their little brass bells.

And, to be honest, I am so very happy I banished my Smeegle as I experience a rush of pure joy every time I see what my creative kids have created. My precious beads look SO much better hanging freely than they did lost under piles of other craft paraphernalia in the craft cupboard!

Blessings and magic, 

Donni

Love Bug!

To all the bugs we've loved before...

Blessings and magic,
Donni

How to Needle Felt an Adorable Pumpkin.

How to needle felt... so many of you have asked me to share my needle felting techniques with you and I am excited to offer this tutorial on felting a cute little orange pumpkin. If you are at all interested in giving needle felting a try, 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 gorgeous 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 pumpkin in your hands half 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 will show you how to make a sweet, needle felted pumpkin... a simple and fast project for beginner needle felting and will leave you with a super cute little treasure to display for the upcoming Fall season.

I have made up a few kits for those of you who want to give this project a try but don't have the equipment on hand. They have all the equipment you will need to make three medium sized (or 6 smaller) pumpkins in different shades of orange. They are available at Fairyfolk.

 

Needle Felting Kit available at Fairyfolk

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 if you look closely at the tip of your needle.

Making A Pumpkin:

For the pumpkin, we will start by making an orange ball. Break off a length of orange 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, fat, spiral. The tighter you can get it, the easier it will be to felt. The fatter your spiral, the rounder your ball will be.

Tip: 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 orange wool has been rolled into a tight, fat, 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 a shot when you stab yourself... it's 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, to clean up the tops of your orange ball and make it round, gently, with your thumb and forefinger,  pull the outside layer of wool a loose, just a little. Fold this pulled layer over the spiraled wool and needle felt it gently. Duplicate with the other 'spiral' end of your ball and needle felting it until it is a smooth round ball.




To make the 'segments' of your pumpkin, we are going to use a needle and thread. Thread your needle with an appropriately colored, strong, thread... I use embroidery thread. Tie a knot in the end of the thread and 'catch' the thread in the base of your pumpkin by using a simple catch stitch (through a little roving at the base of your pumpkin, and through again, catching the roving in the stitch firmly).


Now, holding your 'pumpkin ball' horizontally, pass the needle through the ball from the base of the pumpkin to the top middle of the pumpkin, where the stalk will go.


With your thumb and forefinger, pinch the pumpkin ball tightly and pull the thread tight. Still pinching the ball tightly between your thumb and forefinger, pass the thread over the outside of the ball and then through the ball again, as above. Pull tightly and you will see that the thread on the outside of the pumpkin ball will make a perfect pumpkin indentation around the outside of the ball. Still pinching the ball between you thumb and forefinger, and spacing the next thread 'segment' a little distance apart from the first thread 'segment', repeat, passing the thread around the outside of the ball again and back through the center, pulling tight when it comes out at the stalk end of the pumpkin ball... you will see a that you have made a perfect little pumpkin segment.

Continue making thread segments the whole way around the pumpkin ball, spacing the segments roughly equal distance apart. Voila... your orange ball will now look wonderfully pumpkin like.

When all of your segments are completed, you can either tie a knot in your thread, again using a simple catch stitch in the wool at the base of the pumpkin and trim the thread. Or, if want to hang your pumpkin, pass the thread back through your pumpkin middle again after making your catch thread. make a loop for hanging, pass the thread back through the middle of the pumpkin again, leaving the loop for hanging and tie another catch stitch. Trim the thread short.


All this working with your orange pumpkin ball will have made it quite fuzzy. With your felting needle, clean up the fuzz buy needle felting it gently back into place. Play particular attention to the pumpkin segment indentations, making them lovely clean lines.





Now we will make the green stalk and little leaf and twirly vine. Break of a little piece of green wool about the size of your little finger, about half an inch long. Roll it in your hands as you would a ball of playdough into a snake.





Tightly roll this 'snake' up into a tight, thin, spiral. Still holding onto your small green spiral tightly, place it on the felting board and needle felt it along the outside of the spiral... all around until it is a tight stalk. Leave one end fluffy. Carefully needle felt the other end flat.





To attach the stalk to your pumpkin, needle felt the fluffy end into the orange, indented, top of your pumpkin, trying to avoid the thread that has made the segments.






To make the leaf, take baby-fingernail sized piece of green wool into a small ball. Needle felt it onto your orange pumpkin.







To make the twirly vine, take an even smaller piece of green wool, roll it between the palms of your hands, pulling it longways, until it is a long thread-like length. Needle felt it onto your pumpkin.







Voila! You have made a darling little pumpkin!!

I hope you have enjoyed this needle felting project. You have enough wool in your kit to make three little pumpkins :-)

A kit including everything you'll need to make three pumpkins in different shades of orange is available in my shop, Fairyfolk.

I have other needle felting kits available in my shop if you wish to try something new... felted pebbles for lovely home decor, felted toadstools, felted balls as well as kits of lovely colored wool for you to make whatever your heart desires. Please visit Fairyfolk and look under the "How to Needle Felt - Kits" section.


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

Inspiration

                        Photograph: DovieMoon

Piano

  Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
  Taking me back down the vista of years, till i see
  A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
  And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.
  
  In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
  Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
  To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
  And Hymns in the cozy parlor, the tinkling piano our guide.
  
  So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamor
  With the great black piano appassionato.  The glamour
  Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
  Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

D. H. Lawrence

Blessings and magic, 

Donni 

New in the shop...

New in the shop this week... needle felted pumpkins from Fairyfolk! Yes, Autumn and Fall decorating is almost upon us. How exciting!!!!!

Blessings and magic, 

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 - 'Waldorf and Reading'

(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 )

Discovering Waldorf is a weekly series of articles written by 'everyday' Waldorf families. The contributors to this series share their 'real-life' insights and inspirations on all kinds of Waldorf topics. This series is not meant to be Waldorf philosophy in its purest form, but rather a snapshot of how we can all incorporate Waldorf ideas into our lives to help nurture and encourage the magic that is in our children. If you have a topic you wish to learn more about (or want to share) on Discovering Waldorf, send me an email at vined(at)ymail(dot)com.

Following on from Shayne Jackman's beautifully written article from last week, about learning to read the Waldorf way, I thought it would be nice to reprint this article on Waldorf and reading from Why Waldorf Works.

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Is it true that Waldorf students are not taught to read until second grade? (reprinted from Why Waldorf Works.)
 
No! Learning to read is an entire process with many contributory facets, and Waldorf Education undertakes reading instruction in almost the opposite way that it is introduced in most schools across the nation Indeed, the foundation for reading instruction is laid already in the kindergarten.

In the United States, the mainstream approach to reading has been to introduce decoding skills as the first step in the reading process. This entails memorizing the alphabet and its corresponding sounds through repetitive drills and then linking these sounds together to read simple words and sentences. This is the approach that is built into early readers. You probably remember: "See Dick run. Run, Dick, run. Run, run, run.", or some similar type of reading material when you were in school. Because the content of these early readers must be very simple to restrict words to those that can be easily sounded out, teachers are forced to wait until the middle and upper elementary years to work on more sophisticated texts. Then teachers must work hard to improve comprehension since the pupils at this age have already moved beyond the phase of where imaginative thinking is at its peak.

There is a second concern about teaching reading skills in this sequence. This approach is difficult for many young children because, in many cases, their eye muscles have not matured to the point where they can track properly on a page. Thus, a number of children will be labeled as slow or remedial readers simply because their eyes may not have matured as early as other children.

Waldorf Education approaches reading instruction from an almost opposite direction specifically so that instruction is synchronous with the development of children. Reading is much more than recognizing sound/symbol relationships. For true reading to occur, there must be a corresponding inner activity that takes place as the child decodes words: that is, the child must form an inner picture of what he or she is reading so that comprehension develops. The rich life of the imagination is most potent in a child during kindergarten and early elementary years and is present at the same time that the child's sense for the sound and rhythm of language is at its peak.

To capture these capacities at the time that they are most present in the child is the rationale for a foundation of reading that begins first with spoken language. The rich language of fairy tales, the pictorial imagery of songs and poems and the desire of the young child to listen to stories and repeat rhymes and sing songs all become the basis for a language arts curriculum through which a child may come to love "the word". Imagine how much more complex and imaginative are the stories to which a child may be introduced if they are orally presented rather than through the simplistic language of a reader. Imagine how much a child's vocabulary can develop from listening to the content that the teacher brings. Imagine also how much more sophisticated a child's understanding (comprehension) of the world can become through hearing the rich and complex language in the teacher's presentations and stories.

For all of these reasons, Waldorf students will be given a strong foundation in comprehension, vocabulary and in the sounds and meanings of their native tongue. Then students will be introduced to writing and spelling the letters and words that are part of their stories. And, as a final step, the students will read from their own texts describing the stories that they have heard. In this way, students have the proper time to develop all of the skills that are part of the complex skill of reading at the time when it is most appropriate for them to do so. When reading is approached in this way, children become voracious readers who love and understand what they choose to read.

(This article was first printed by the Detroit Waldorf School - www.detroitwaldorf.com).

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Here are the other inspiring posts in the Discovering Waldorf series.

Blessings and magic to you!

Donni

Fairy Gardens

Morning All!

Click here to see all of the TOTALLY enchanting gardens in our Fairy Garden Competition.

Enjoy!
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Words of Light from Softearth's World

 From time to time, my dear friend, Marie, will bring us Words of Light and share her needle felting with us. Marie is a wife, a Mother and a full time needle felt artist with two online shops. She lives the peaceful life in New Zealand, surrounded by green organic gardens and beautiful trees. Being surrounded by Mother Nature gives her the creative energy to put light into her works of art. Her wish is to warm peoples hearts and ignite in them a stirring of their spirits. Please visit Marie's Etsy shop, SoftEarthArt and her Blog, Softearth's World.

 Returning Home

The day had turned cooler

The sky was a darker blue

The trees had lost their leaves

Mother wrapped her babe tightly in a green shawl

She knew it was warm and snug

She hurried through the meadow

Eager to get home before night fell

She would be happy when she reached her own hearth

I am always so happy when returning home

Where all is familiar and safe

Love and light  Marie

Inspiration

Photograph by DovieMoon on Etsy

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

Nelson Mandela 

DovieMoon is hosting another giveaway on one of my favorite blogs, Frontier Dreams... pop on over for another chance to win two DovieMoon photographs.

Blessings and magic, 
Donni 

DovieMoon Giveaway!

My photography shop, DovieMoon, is hosting a giveaway on this lovely blog... pop on over for your chance to win.

Good luck,
Blessings and magic,
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 - 'Learning To Read The Waldorf Way (and a Giveaway!) '

(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 )

Discovering Waldorf is a weekly series of articles written by 'everyday' Waldorf families. The contributors to this series share their 'real-life' insights and inspirations on all kinds of Waldorf topics. This series is not meant to be Waldorf philosophy in its purest form, but rather a snapshot of how we can all incorporate Waldorf ideas into our lives to help nurture and encourage the magic that is in our children. If you have a topic you wish to learn more about (or want to share) on Discovering Waldorf, send me an email at vined(at)ymail(dot)com.

Kitty and Teddy have the most delightful book. It's called Old Freedom Train by Shayne Jackman. They pour over it's beautiful drawings. It is a pictorial journey through a the alphabet, Waldorf style, enriched with special words from songs, nursery rhymes and poetry. The softness of the drawings enchant them and the beautiful words that go with each drawing enchant me too. At first, we read the book over and over again, the drawings coming alive as the words gave them special meaning. Then, one day, Kitty exclaimed... 'The skin of the orange makes an O!' And suddenly, every drawing became a letter for her. I was amazed and totally awed by the pure organic learning experience I had just witnessed. And, I was so VERY pleased with myself that I had allowed it to unfold the way it had. I had, I realized, by not showing her what I wanted her to see (it took discipline, I promise) let her have a truly original learning experience. It was magic!

Wall Frieze from Old Freedom Train

So, Lucky Friends, I am honored to introduce Shayne Jackman as today's Discovering Waldorf guest. She's here to explain a little about the way the alphabet and reading is introduced to children in Waldorf inspired education. And, she's offering a set of her wall friezes to one lucky reader!

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Learning To Read The Waldorf Way by Shayne Jackman

In a nut shell, human language progressed from spoken form, to pictures/pictograms, then to a written form.   This progression is mirrored in Waldorf education, which is why the development of spoken (not written) language is emphasised up to the age of seven.

Spoken stories nourish the soul and invite the child’s heart and mind to partake in linguistic development.  Children are immersed in a world of oral storytelling and then, in class one, children are introduced to letters as pictograms that bridge from the picture consciousness of childhood to the abstract symbols which make up our alphabet. 

When you think about it, each letter of our alphabet is, in itself, quite meaningless.  Each has a corresponding sound or group of sounds that it “represents”, but no richer meaning.  A picture, on the other hand, is alive with meaning.  So whilst in a mainstream context ‘A’ may be for ‘Angel’, in the Waldorf method ‘A’ is the ‘Angel.

The idea that thinking and feeling are inextricably linked, and that by reinforcing this link, both are more deeply experienced, strikes me as one of perfect symmetry and sense.  The idea of enlivening each letter – giving it characterisation – and allowing a child to experience each letter with his or her mind and heart plays more wholly into the imaginative nature of children.  The child’s imagination is engaged rather than dryly striving to commit a context-less symbol to memory – and so a deeper, richer and more joyful learning experience is had.  

And, to me, that’s really the crux of it – the lucky child who learns to write and read this way is fully immersed, engaged and delighted by the journey of learning, which means that not only do they learn, they learn to love learning.    It just makes sense, doesn’t it?

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It makes sense to me too! What a wonderful way to learn. Thank you for explaining the Waldorf journey to reading in such a great way, Shayne.

Dear Friends, I am sure you are all wondering where you can get a copy of Shayne's beautiful book. You can find a copy here or in Shayne's Etsy shop Old Freedom Train.

We have Shayne's wall frieze too and my my kids love to stare at the beautiful pictures and make up stories about them. Where can you get a set... well, lucky you! Shayne is offering a full set to one lucky reader. Enter for a chance to win by visiting Shayne's sites and letting us know you have by leaving a comment at the end of this post. Additional entries count too... if you Facebook, Tweet or Blog about this Giveaway or Old Freedom Train, come back and let us know with a new comment for each extra entry.

Good luck to all!

If you just can't wait, you can purchase a set here.

Here are the other inspiring posts in the Discovering Waldorf series.

Blessings and magic to you!

Donni

Commenting has closed. This giveaway has been won by Mama Forest Dweller... Congrats!!! This is what she wrote: "I visited the site ~ how lovely and gentle the little hand-drawn pictures are. My girl would love these! :) Thanks for this post!"

Thanks so much to Shayne for offering such a super giveaway.

Living the Millionaire Life

The Enchanted Cupboard was one of my very first sponsors and I am very happy that Beccijo has been with me for almost two years. It was love at first sight when I first saw her magical wooden toys. I have so enjoyed watching her shop grow and her creativity explode... oh my... her shop is so aptly named... it is An Enchanted Cupboard for sure!!

Today, Beccijo has written a guest post for us. It's a story of how we can do anything!

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Living the Millionaire Life

I am sure this post’s title sparked your interest! This is more about living a dream, than it is about a fat bank account, though, more about finding joy. Years before my etsy shop, when my house was full of little boys, I had a dream to live my best life. I wanted to be thriving, not just surviving. Most days it was hard to find joy as all 3 of my boys were under 5 and my house and life showed it. While I spent many hours watching my boys grow and learn, I needed something to do for myself. So I started a dream journal, “What I would do if I won the Lottery.”

Being an at-home homeschooling mom with a husband who worked long hours gave me a lot of time to think. I was starting to feel like I was losing myself in a world of plastic toys and boy stuff. My journal was fun and gave my brain something to do. Now something you must know about me, if I am going to do something, I do it well!  Even my daydreams - I did them well. I planned and made a list, well several hundred lists (but who’s counting)? I planned crazy extended family vacations and made green living camping villages. Over time, my list came down to what I would truly do, how I would live with no obstacle.

I found the real me while doing this fun game, and one day, I thought, ‘the only thing keeping me from this dream life is not the lottery but ME’. Before, I had decided that to have this BEST life I needed money, but I didn’t, I just needed a plan! My journal had now become a dream board.  I collaged what I saw my life being, and everyday I prayed and meditated about it. I found pictures on the internet that gave the feel of what I truly wanted and I tacked them on my board. Slowly my dream was mapped out before me, and I placed it on the wall and I looked at it everyday! I envisioned myself there, and soon, I realized I could have what I wanted as long as I was open to how it came to me.

Being open was probably the hardest part... accepting that things could just come to me because I wanted them. Like I wanted a great pair of jeans that fit just right, but maybe, I had to be open that they might be hand–me-down and not a great bargain at the mall.  As I was given each gift from my board, the picture it represented was taken down. Soon, I could see spaces opening, and as they did I reworked and added new things.

My husband and I had given up hope of having a little girl or at least that is what we/I said. I had a tiny picture of a baby tied up in a pink ribbon on my board, and the day we got our ultrasounds showing her, I kissed it, took it down and put it in my journal. She is perfectly what I wanted!! She was very girly and sweet! She also brought me my desire to make things. I wanted to fill her world with pretty things, things I made for her. Out of that came my shop full of lovely girly things to treasure and adore. This brought a new chapter to my life and ETSY into my world.

Slowly each picture came down: a house in the country, in Pennsylvania, to be exact, with room for the boys to run; a new job for the hubby, with a short commute and more time for the family, to name a few. We got like-minded friends for me and the kids, and a great homeschooling community. My business is booming and I opened a brick and mortar store in town. All things that we have been blessed with have been taken down, one by one.

We keep dreaming; it is the best part of being human. We have now made a new board focusing on our family and the mini farm we will have one day. The greatest lesson I learned is that our hearts’ desires are just waiting like tiny seeds, just under the ground, to be able to grow and bring us joy.

What would you put on your dream board?

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Oh, yes we can!!

Thanks for sharing your inspiring story, Beccijo. 

Please have a look at all of the truly enchanting wooden goodies in The Enchanted Cupboard...

Wooden Play Set From The Enchanted Cupboard

 Blessings and magic,
Donni