The Magic Onions

Tutorial :: Needle Felted Spring Wreath

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to share this Spring Wreath Needle Felting tutorial with you. A wonderful woodland project for fun home decorating.

Pin It

Here's a little info on Needle felting - 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.

This tutorial will show how to make a gorgeous woodland Spring toadstool wreath... a simple and fast project for beginner needle felting.

These are the things you'll need:
(I have a kit including everything you'll need to make this wreath available in my shop Fairyfolk)

* a vine wreath (found at craft stores)
* red, white and mossy green wool roving
* a needle felting needle
* a needle felting board
* glue (a hot glue gun works very well but any glue will do)

To make the two cute little toadstools, please visit this previous needle felting tutorial I shared a little white ago: Tutorial :: Needle Felted Toadstools.

When you have made two toadstools, it's time to make the moss. Break off some of the green wool roving. The size depends on how much moss you want on your wreath... a dime sized bit for a little moss, a golf ball sized bit for a lot. Roll the wool in your hands to make a ball.

Then, gently pull the wool apart with your fingers... try to make a tufty, random shape as you want the moss to look as natural on the wreath as possible.

Place the green wool on your felting board and stab at it gently to flatten it and make it look like real moss. When it is looking like moss, pry it off the board and flatten it between your hands again.

Next, we will stick the wool toadstools and moss onto the wreath. I used my hot glue gun but regular glue will work well also... you'll just have to hold it in place for longer until the glue dries a little and sticks your wool goodies in place.

Dab a blob of glue onto the bottom end of a toadstool and stick it in place on the wreath.

Do the same with the second toadstool and then the moss.

When the toadstools and moss have dried in place, find a pretty ribbon and hang your gorgeous woodland wreath.

I guarantee, you'll smile with delight each time you see it :-)

Just a reminder that I have this kit available for purchase in my shop Fairyfolk, including everything you'll need to make a toadstool wreath just like this one.

I have other needle felting kits available in my shop too if you wish to try something else... felted pebbles for lovely home decor, felted pumpkins, felted hearts, felted Spring nests, felted balls as well as kits of lovely colored wool for you to make whatever your heart desires. Please visit my shop Fairyfolk to see them all and look under the 'Needle Felting Kits' section.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any felting questions.

Happy Spring crafting,

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Tutorial :: Neelde Felted Robin's Nest

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to share this Spring robin's nest needle felting tutorial with you. With Spring coming up, there is so much to inspire our creativity. For me, there's nothing quite as indicative of my favorite season as a robin's nest filled with sweet little blue eggs... just like this nest I've made. Even if you've never needle felted before, you'll be amazed at how quickly and easily you can make this little treasure too.

Pin It

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 if you look closely at the tip of your needle.

This tutorial will show how to make this sweet robins nest... a simple and fast project for beginner needle felting.

These are the things you'll need:
(I have a kit including everything you'll need to make this nest available in my shop Fairyfolk)

* a vine nest (found at craft stores)
* blue and mossy green wool roving
* a needle felting needle
* a needle felting board
* natural twine

Start by breaking the blue wool into three strips of roughly the same size... as you can see from the photo, the lengths should be about double the width of your hand.

Roll each strip between your hands as you would if you were rolling a ball of playdough into a snake.

With your forefinger and thumb, roll the wool 'snake' into a tight spiral. The tighter you can get it, the easier it will be to felt.

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 the blue 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 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 the spiral will not unravel if you let it go.

To round the ends so that your creation starts to look like an egg, gently loosen the the outside layer of wool around the spiral by pulling it with your thumb and forefinger. Fold this pulled layer over the spiral edge and needle felt it gently. Needle felt the edges until your shape becomes a smooth round ball.

Roll your ball in your hands as if you were rolling a marble in your hands... this will help shape your ball. Then needle felt it again into the egg shape you want. Continue with the other strips of blue wool, following the same technique for each egg.

Now that your eggs are ready, they need a mossy nest to nestle comfortably in. First, we need to tie our twine onto the edge of the nest so that it will hang nicely. Thread the twine through a strand of vine and fasten it with a knot. Do the same for the other side, making sure that your nest hangs straight before making the second knot.

Now we need to line the nest with moss. Take about a handful of mossy green wool and gently pull it so that it makes a rough circle. Gently flatten it between your hands.

Place this green wool over the nest and push it into the hollow of the nest.

Needle felt the wool gently into the nest. Remember to keep your nest on the protective foam board as your needle will sometimes go all the way through the nest and you don't want the nest to be sitting on your lap when the needle pokes through the bottom! Ouch!

You will see that as you gently needle felt the wool into the strands of the nest, the nest indent will become more and more pronounced, making a lovely hollow for the sweet little eggs to nestle in.

In go the three little robins eggs and Voila! What a sweet Spring nest you have made. Just perfect for hanging from your chandelier, twig tree on your nature table or anywhere else in your home that is ready to welcome in the Spring.

Just a reminder that I have this kit available for purchase in my shop Fairyfolk, including everything you'll need to make a robins nest just like this one.

I have other needle felting kits available in my shop too if you wish to try something else... felted pebbles for lovely home decor, felted pumpkins, felted hearts, felted wreaths, felted balls as well as kits of lovely colored wool for you to make whatever your heart desires. Please visit my shop Fairyfolk to see them all and look under the 'Needle Felting Kits' section.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any felting questions.

Happy Spring crafting,

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Inspiration

2012-01-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by Dovie Moon

"Anytime we catch a glimpse of soul, beauty is there; anytime we catch our breath and feel 'how beautiful!' The soul is present."

- Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

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 :: Reading in a Waldorf School

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Please enjoy this great article from Sarah Baldwin of Bella Luna Toys on how reading is taught in Waldorf Schools... Myth Busting: How Reading is Taught in a Waldorf School.

Thank you Sarah :)

Have a look at the Discovering Waldorf Page above for the other Waldorf articles.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Love Tree for Valentine's Day

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Kitty is on a glitter kick... everything we do lately gets a little glitter. Combine this with Valentine's Day and you'll get a house that's starting to look wonderfully 'bling bling'!

So, it's glitter trees for Valentine's Day!

We found a few pine cones, some glue and a little pink glitter.

We painted the pine cones with glue.

Gave them a liberal dose of glitter.

And, Voila! Pretty pink glittery trees.

Happy Valentine crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Love Words for Valentines Day

2012-01-23T10:02:00.000-08:00

I've become quite addicted to Pinterest (you can follow my boards by clicking here).
But by the looks of things, I'm not the only one ;-) Oh my... what beautiful things people do!

Pin It

So, having seen these 'LOVE' signs all over Pinterest, Kitty and Teddy and I couldn't resist making our own.

All we needed was a few pipe cleaners (wire will do just as well) and pretty yarn (embroidery thread will work too)

We connected three pipe cleaners together by twisting their ends around each other. Then we twisted the pretty pink yarn around the pipe cleaners. Around and around and around. Kitty finished covering her pipe cleaners in no time at all, but it proved to be a labor of love for Teddy. Great hand-eye co-ordination practice for my little boy and not to mention a test of concentration as he stuck at his task.

When their pipe cleaners were all pretty in pink, we shaped them into a heart for Teddy's and the word 'LOVE' for Kitty's

Kitty's LOVE word is sitting in pride of place on her dressing table and look so soft and gentle in it's fuzzy pinkness.

Teddy has kept his heart to give to his Valentine (I've very interested to see who that might be).

Happy Valentine's Day crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Inspiration

2012-01-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by Dovie Moon

"One night a father overheard his son pray : Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is. Later that night, the Father prayed : Dear God, Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be"

- Anon

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

Discovering Waldorf :: 'Stop, don't and NO!'

2012-01-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

Today, Discovering Waldorf links to an article I found insightful on how to stop saying 'Stop, don't and NO.'

Thank you to the author Faith Baldwin of Joyful Toddlers.

To read the other articles in the series, please visit the Discovering Waldorf Page at the top of the blog.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Make a Whitewashed Star for Valentine's Day

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today we put the finishing touches on a vine star we have been working on. We whitewashed it and added a bright red bow and it goes wonderfully with the pretty RED Valentine's Day Wreath we made yesterday.

Pin It

Our star has been a work in progress.

First, we collected long strands of Morning Glory. We have Morning Glory growing on our fence and, boy, does it grow!

We stripped the leaves off each strand.

Then, we found an old piece of plank.

Drew out the shape of our star on a piece of paper.

With the paper star in the center of the plank, Teddy did a great job of nailing nails into each corner of our star.

Do you see how each corner has a nail?

Then, Teddy and I wound the vine around the nails... many, many times.

Every now and then, we looped the vine around our work so that it would remain firmly in place once it dried. When a strand of vine ended, we looped it through another, already wound, strand. Then started a new strand by looping it firmly into the star.

When we felt our star was done, I knotted the last piece of vine around the star and pulled tight.

We trimmed off all the loose ends to neaten it up.

And then we set it in the sun to dry for a few days. It's been hot and sunny here in Southern California (yes, 80 degree days!) but if your weather is still a little damp, set your star in a cool, dry spot in your home.

After about a week, it had dried well enough so that when Kitty took it off the nails, it kept it's shape nicely.

Then we whitewashed it. We watered down a little white paint and painted ti roughly.

Then wiped off some of the paint for that rustic limed look.

When the paint had dried, I strung it from a loop of bright red ribbon left over from Christmas and Voila! Look how pretty it looks hanging on our armoire.

Happy Valentine's Crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

A Simple Red Valentine's Day Wreath

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

We made a simple red wreath to decorate our home for Valentine's Day.

Pin It

All we needed was a wreath form (I have a few straw ones lying about from a previous project) and bright red ribbon that was left over from Christmas.

We hot glued the ribbon onto the straw wreath and simply wound it around and around the wreath until all the straw was covered. Then we hot glued the ribbon in place. For the finishing touches, we tied our ribbon into a nice big bow and hot glued it in place and Voial! A wonderfully simple Valentine's Day wreath.

Happy Valentine's Crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Inspiration

2012-01-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by Dovie Moon

How much of the human life is lost in waiting" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Blessings and magic for a Sunday with no waiting,
Donni

A Needle Felted Valentine's Day

2012-01-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

Fairyfolk has new needle felted goodies for Valentine's Day!

Pin It

Needle Felted Hearts

Pin It

Love Toadstools

Pin It

Felted Valentine Garland

Pin It

Love Nest

Pin It

Love Owl

Please click on this link to go straight to my Valentine's Day Section.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

Sparkly Valentine's Votives

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

One thing we love about the shorter days of winter, is that it can be fun to eat our dinner by candlelight. We get fill our dinner table with all the candles we have. It feels so festive and pretty as the light dances on our faces. And then, of course, it's super fun to sing 'Happy Birthday' 1000 times as we blow them out at the end of the meal... or at least it's super fun for Teddy as 'Happy Birthday' is one of his favorite games.

We thought it would be fun to add some Valentine sparkle to our candle collection. So, we got out our mason jar collection, our glitter and some glue and look what we made... pretty pink Valentine's Day Candle Votives!

Pin It

All we needed was old jars, glue, glitter, paintbrushes and some pretty pink ribbon.

With the glue, we painted hearts on the outside of our jars... all around them.

Then we set our jars in a bowl and sprinkled them with pink glitter.

The glitter sticks only to the glue hearts.

Cut a length of ribbon.

Add a dab of glue and glue it around the top of your pretty, glittery jar... tie a pretty pink bow to stick onto the ribbon.

And Voila! Valentine's Day Candle Votives that sparkle so prettily in the candlelight.

Happy Valentine's Crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

What Santa Brought.

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Meet the new additions to our family... Snowflake and Black Mane.

Kitty and Snowflake

Teddy and Black Mane

Santa brought them. Oh my goodness, my children can't believe how lucky they are... they are utterly in love. They have never seen such beautiful horses before! Nor have I! They can't even decide whose is prettier; Snowflake with her snow white mane or Black Mane with his voluptuous dapples and white blaze?

They groom their horses endlessly, and kiss them. They plait their manes. They put flowers in their hair.

They gallop them and make jumps in the garden from forgotten planks and gumboots.

They play 'horse show'.

Sometimes Black Mane gets frisky and bucks and Teddy nearly falls off.

Kitty and Teddy have discovered that their horses love the beach too.

They love to gallop freely in the sand with the wind in their mane and they even don't mind getting their feet wet.

The funny thing is that although our kids are clearly loving their horses, Daddy doesn't know who is loving them more, them or me? It's true... my heart brims over with joy as I watch their equestrian antics. And I remember so many hours spent just the same way. My childhood was pony-mad. I played all these pony games and more... day in and day out. My horse was a broomstick and a stuffed sock for a head and, you know, I loved him just as if he were a champion Arabian like Snowflake and Black Mane. And it's true that it was me who built the first jumping course in our garden with Teddy and Kitty... and me who jumped the first round. And it was me who helped them make stables for them and gave them carrots to give as treats. And yes, it was also me who suggested they take them to the beach. But, although I admit to having a hand in this new horse love, their own imaginations are now driving their games. They have made rosettes and trophy's. They have clipped hay. They have had foals, won races and bandaged injured legs. All that was needed was a little flame to ignite this world of fun... I am glad that I can sometimes be that flame for them.

Oh, the happiness a horse can bring.

For those of you who are wondering where Santa found these beautiful horses, I'm almost sure it mush have been MJM Ranch. Thank you to the little elf who made such treasured gifts.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Tutorial :: Needle Felted Hearts for Valentine's Day

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Pin It

With Valentines Day coming up fast and furious, I'm sure we are not the only ones who are making lots of hearts! There's something so magical about hearts... their voluptuous shape, their romantic colors. Kitty and Teddy are making all sorts of Valentine crafts that we are going to share with you in the coming days.

But I too, have been making hearts and I am so excited to share another tutorial on needle felting with you. 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 a needle be holding a few beautiful felted hearts 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 on how to make needle felted hearts for Valentines Day. We use a cookie cutter for the heart shape, making this a simple and fast project for beginner needle felting. It's the perfect beginners project as the cookie cutter protects nervous fingers from the sharp needle and will build confidence in the whole needle felting process.

Equipment - Needle felting requires three tools; wool roving, a felting needle and a protective foam board. And, for the hearts, we use a cookie cutter.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.

Break off a piece of wool about three times the size of the cookie cutter.

Set the cookie cutter on the protective foam mat.

Starting at the center too of the heart shape, line the heart cookie cutter with wool.

Prod the wool until it is all inside the cookie cutter.

When the wool is inside the cookie cutter, use your needle to gently and evenly poke at the wool. Hold the cookie cutter with the thumb and forefinger of your left hand and needle felt with your right hand. You will see that the wool becomes compacted the more you poke at it. Poke evenly, giving particular attention to the outline of the heart.

As you poke close to the outline of the cookie cutter, be sure to move your fingers to the other side so that if your needle jumps outside the mold, you do not poke your fingers. Try to poke with even controlled strokes. You do not need to lift the needle very high, especially when working around the outside of your woolly heart.

Once the wool has become nicely compacted inside the heart cookie cutter, gently pry your heart from the foam board, making sure it remains inside the heart cookie cutter.

Flip the cookie cutter over so that you can now work on the underside of your heart, needle felting it just as before until it too becomes nicely compacted and smooth.

Again, pay particular attention to the outside shape of your heart... the more you can needle felt it inside the cookie cutter, the better your wool will hold it's heart shape once we take it out of the heart mold.

When you feel you wool heart is well felted, gently slip it out from the cookie cutter mold. You might need to neaten up the edges by needle felting your heart some more.

If you want to add a loop of ribbon to hang your heart, use a pair of small, sharp scissors to make a small hole in the top of your heart.

Tie a knot in the ribbon to make a loop.

Use the blunt edge of your felting needle to poke the ribbon knot into the hole. Then, needle felt the hole shut so that your ribbon is firmly felted into the wool.

Voila! You have just made a delightful felted heart to hang somewhere special in your home.

I hope you have enjoyed this needle felting project.

If you would like to give this project a try but don't know where to start finding the needle felting equipment, I have make up a few kits for sale over at Fairyfolk. The kits include all you will need to make three large hearts, one red, one pink and one white.

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 and pumpkins, felted balls as well as kits of lovely colored wool for you to make whatever your heart desires. Please visit my shop
www.fairyfolk.etsy.com and look under the Kits section.

Don't forget that you can also find wonderful needle felting equipment at A Child's Dream Come True too.

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

Inspirtation

2012-01-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Pin It

Photo by Dovie Moon on Etsy

"At the heart of each of us, whatever our imperfections, there exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm, which is absolutely individual and unique, and yet which connects us to everything else."

George Leonard

Blessings and magic for a very happy Sunday,

Donni

Firday's Nature Table

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

Thirtysomething.

2012-01-05T15:09:00.000-08:00

Today's my birthday :-)
I'm 39. And I am very happy with this new age of mine. I feel like this is a special one to be... who would have thought? This cool feeling has snuck (yes, this is a word... I've just checked) up on me unsuspectingly. I have always known 40 is a big one, one that demands a big party, but I didn't quite expect 39 to feel this monumental. Huh! Amazing!

I feel a strong desire to make this a wonderful year... to tie up all the loose ends that are floating about, to 'really' do all those things I've been meaning to do... to round off the rough edges I've been neglecting so that I can move into 40 next year with a clean slate, a fresh start, an uncluttered mind. Hmmm, wouldn't that be nice!

I know I've posted this poem before, but I feel like it's begging to be heard again today... enjoy!

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck(written after she found out she was dying from cancer).

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love You's''s More 'I'm sorry's.'

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every

Minute. Look at it and really see it . Live it and never give it back.

STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!!!

Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what. Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.

* * *

Yes... I'm not going to sweat the small stuff this year.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Thank you!

2012-01-01T06:00:00.001-08:00

I recently re-read my very first blog post. It was written on New Year's Day 2009. It was written to my extended family. Re-reading it brought tears to my eyes... I needed this space with all my heart. I am so proud of that girl back then who was brave enough to let go of something she had been clinging to all her married life in order embrace a gift that was waiting for her to accept... the gift of the now, the here, the us. What a huge difference that gift has made in our lives and I thank her from the bottom of my heart.

Here is a link to that first post.

Thank you to all of you who have shared this space with me. I had a small inkling back then of how powerful this sharing would be for me but I had no idea of the magnitude of the good we could all bring to each others lives. I have not felt 'alone' for a very long time.

Happy New Year to all of you. May 2012 be filled with love, laughter and lots of magic!
Donni

Words of Light for the New Year

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

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.

* * *

The Little Moon Child

The little Moon child looked at the twinkling stars and smiled.

She loved their white light.

It shone out over the earth and she knew that people were gazing at her and making wishes.

The new year would soon be here, the wonder of Christmas was over.

People were wondering what the new year was going to bring.

If one takes the time to look at the stars at night , or early in the morning, before the sun is up.

One can see the little moon child smiling at you and you will know that your wishes will come true.

Love and light Marie

* * *

Thank you, Marie... may all your wishes for 2012 come true.
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-12-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

Discovering Waldorf :: Dressing Children Simply

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Why do Waldorf Schools insist on 'logo-free' clothing? Here is a lovely article from Cara of Natural Family Crafts about Dressings Children Simply.
Thank you for your gentle words, Cara,

I also want to share this lovely article about Waldorf Inspired Real Play.

If you want to read the other articles in the Discovering Waldorf Series, please visit the Discovering Waldorf Page at the top of the blog.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

2011-12-25T06:00:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas to All!

Our little family is having a superb Christmas with my darling little brother and his beautiful wife who are visiting us from London. Aren't we lucky. We had a sweet family Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve last night, complete with real mince pies and Christmas pudding alight with brandy! The highlight for the kids was being able to choose one gift from under the tree to open. Kitty chose her smallest and Teddy chose his biggest! Funny that.

Today, we travel down the coast to have a huge Christmas lunch with our wonderful friends. We miss, like mad, our loved-ones who are so far away... but we are happy and grateful for what we have.

Here are a few photos of my favorite ornaments decorating our tree this year.

Happy Christmas, Happy Christmas!
Blessings and magic,
Donni

The Fort Under The Table

2011-12-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Kitty and Teddy have been on winter break from school this week. On Monday, they built a gorgeous fort under the dining room table using all of my table cloths so that the whole table is closed in. It has remained like this since and they have played endlessly in 'The Fort Under The Table'. They have eaten their meals together in there, they have played games in there, they have read to each other in there and of course, they have examined their gifts in there... many times.

They have comfy eiderdowns on the floor, a set of Christmas lights up and an old telephone in case someone rings?

So much sibling love has happened in the 'Fort Under The Table' that A Good Man and I haven't minded eating our dinners on our laps at all :-)

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

Handmade Christmas Gifts :: Crazy Crayons

2011-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Teddy and Kitty will be giving handmade Crazy Crayon Christmas gifts to their friends this year. Not only do these make super cute gifts, they are a wonderful way to get rid of all of those broken crayons lying around. Although the kids don't know this yet, Santa will be bringing them lovely new crayons and so I was eager to recycle the old ones to make space for the new.

Use a fun mold for your Crazy Crayons and make sure it is oven safe.

Your kids will love the breaking part if this project... when else are the encouraged to break their crayons into tiny little bits? Mix all the colors together to make a kaleidoscope of color.

Set them in the oven at a very low temperature (150 F) for about 20 minutes or until they are gently melted.

allow them to cool and then gently pop them out of the molds.

The colors meld together making a crayon of many colors.

Kitty remarked that she'd like to take one along the next time we go to a restaurant as she will have all the colors she needs to keep her busy for ages :-)

Happy Christmas Crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Handmade Chirstmas Gifts :: Painted Peg People

2011-12-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Pin It

Kitty and Teddy are each getting a set of themselves for Christmas this year. It's sweet (and funny) how they often play 'brother and sister' and now they can play 'brother and sister' with their new peg gnomes.

I made them using the little peg people forms you can get at any craft store... mine came from Michaels.

I used a wood burning tool I've been dying to use to draw the outlines onto the little wooden peg people and write the children's names on the bottom of each but a black fine tipped permanent marker will work just as well. I colored in the details with colored permanent markers and then sealed them with a coat of hodgepodge.

I tried to make them look like themselves... Teddy with his golden hair and blue eyes and Kitty with her new short hair and long eyelashes.

And then I put each set in a little box, wrapped them sweetly and put them under the tree. Under the tree is getting fuller and fuller and brother and sister are having an exciting time trying to guess what's inside each gift. This one is about the size of a Rubik's Cube and Teddy thinks it might contain a pair of rain boots for him. I love how Kitty, who of course knows that rain boots would never fit into a package that small, smiles with him and agrees that rain boots would be nice.

Happy Christmas crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Handmade Christmas Gifts : God's Eyes

2011-12-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

I know I am not alone in thinking that handmade gifts are by far the best. All gifts are nice when they are given with love, of course, but to be honest, I'd rather receive a roughly sewn 'kitchen towel' with a red potato stamped heart on it (clearly made by a 7 year old) than a perfect store bought one. I'd rather get a mismatched wooden beaded necklace (clearly made by a 4 year old) than a diamond encrusted one... really, I would!

So, with our tight budget this year, we have endeavored to make all of our Christmas gifts.

The ones we have been working on today are God's Eyes. They are made from sticks picked up in the garden and yarn. God's Eyes are a craft from the Huichol tribe of Mexico. We think they are just beautiful with their wonderful color and rich texture.

To make them, find two sticks the same length.

Tie them together with yarn to form a cross.

Tie your first yarn color to the stick close to the center of the cross. Loop it over a stick, pull to the next stick and loop over it in the same direction as the first loop... pull to the next stick and loop the same way again.

You will see a wonderful pattern start to develop.

When you feel like it's time to change the color of your yarn, cut the one you have been using and tie the end to the beginning of your new color. Continue looping as before. You can stick to two matching colors, or add as many as you like.

When you come to the tops of the sticks, cut your yarn leaving a length for a hanging loop. Tie it onto the stick and your God's Eye is ready to hang.

We have a few lovely God's Eyes as ornaments on our tree.

But these two are going to my brother and sister in law. We chose colors that we knew would compliment their home and there's nothing like a little handmade goodness to bring magic to any space.

Happy Christmas crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Folded Paper Christmas Origami Stars

2011-12-20T08:20:00.000-08:00

We spent the first day of our Christmas holidays making and hanging our folded paper Christmas origami stars. I love this Waldorf craftThis year we used the Waldorf watercolor paintings that Kitty brought home from school. They are a gorgeous mix of warm colors... yellows, oranges and reds. Perfect for Christmas.

And, we made a huge one to hang on or front door.

Although these stars look hard to make, they are amazingly easy. Both Kitty and Teddy loved making them. Kitty can make them all on her own but Teddy needs help getting the folds just right. Here is a link to a previous tutorial on how to make folded paper Christmas origami stars with step by step directions.

Happy Christmas crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Inspiration

2011-12-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by DovieMoon on Etsy

"A star falls from the sky and into your hands. Then it seeps through your veins and swims inside your blood and becomes every part of you. And then you have to put it back into the sky. And it's the most painful thing you'll ever have to do and that you've ever done. But what's yours is yours. Whether it’s up in the sky or here in your hands. And one day, it'll fall from the sky and hit you in the head real hard and that time, you won't have to put it back in the sky again.”
― C. JoyBell C.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

Learning Math with Gumnuts :: Second Grade

2011-12-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

I love Waldorf education so! Kitty is in Second Grade. One day a week, her class has 'outside school'. The children and their wonderful teachers start the day with a 20 minute walk to a local park. The rest of their school day is spent having their lessons under the sky, amongst the trees, squirrels and fresh air. On 'outside school' days, when I'm going about my business, I can't help making a little detour past the park to get a glimpse of them. It warms my heart to see them playing freely as part of their Second Grade Curriculum.

Today, after 'outside school', Kitty and I had a little special time together at our local cafe. Over our hot chocolate, we talk about all kinds of lovely things. One of our threads of conversation went like this...

Me: I saw you playing under the big tree in the park today as I drove past.

Kitty: No Mom, we weren't playing.

Me: Oh. What were you doing under the big tree then?

Kitty: We were collecting Gumnuts for our Math Lesson.

If I had learned Math with Gumnuts that I had collected, perhaps I wouldn't be so scared of it today!

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Discovering Waldorf : : Waldorf Curriculum

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am often asked about the Waldorf Curriculum throughout The Grades. Here is a link to a Grade by Grade Waldorf Curriculum list from the website Waldorf Answers.

To read the other articles in the series, please visit the Discovering Waldorf Page at the top of the blog.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Last Minute Christmas Gifts

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

If you are anything like me, you are still frantically trying to find Christmas gifts! I leave so much to the last minute and then it's so hard to find the perfect gift. But don't worry friends... if you still have special gifts to find, look no further than my wonderful sponsors...

The Enchanted Cupboard - magical wooden toys and silks.

Skipping Stones - intricate handmade jewelry.

And, welcome Natural Kids - a collective of artisans, creating heirloom quality and natural products for children and their families.

Periwinkle Sky - utterly enchanting signed prints, original prints and signed original paintings.

Laleebu Toys - Sewn and needle felted dolls, puppets, costumes and toys.

Felt On The Fly - an abundance of pure wool felt in an amazing selection of 96 colors. Heirloom quality felt - the felt of choice for Waldorf crafts, fine needlework, paper crafting projects and more.

A Child's Dream Come True ... Natural crafts, toys and more to nurture the child's sense of life and imagination.

A Little Garden Flower and Waldorf Essentials - Waldorf inspired mentoring and homeschooling essentials.

Stubby Pencil Studio - Stubby Pencil Studio offers eco friendly kids art materials and school supplies like crayons made from soy - not petroleum; stationery, greeting cards, sketchbooks and journals made from 100% post consumer recycled paper - not virgin trees; pencils made from sustainably harvested wood and recycled newspapers - not dying forests.

Thank you ALL for your continued support :-)

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Handmade Christmas Ornaments :: Dried Oranges

2011-12-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

The kids and I are loving making Christmas ornaments this year from simple everyday things. Today, pretty ornaments made from dried orange slices.

When we dried our apples to make these ornaments, we also dried some gorgeously orange orange slices too.

We hung them outside to dry for a few days.

Our Southern California winter is great for drying fruit as it's cool and dry and we've had a fair share of Santa Anna's to help us along. But, if your climate is a little moist to dry fruit outdoors, a cool dry spot in your house will work just as well.

When they were nice and dry, we squeezed a little glue around the white rind of the orange.

And then sprinkled a little of our vintage glitter onto the glue...

Tied a little festive Christmas ribbon onto our dried and glittered oranges and marveled at what a pretty ornament something as simple as a slice of orange can make.

Now, we just have to stop the baby bunny from trying to eat all of our edible ornaments!

Happy Christmas Crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

,,,

Inspiration

2011-12-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by DovieMoon on Etsy

"There is such a place as fairyland - but only children can find the way to it. And they do not know that it is fairyland until they have grown so old that they forget the way. One bitter day, when they seek it and cannot find it, they realize what they have lost; and that is the tragedy of life. On that day the gates of Eden are shut behind them and the age of gold is over. Henceforth they must dwell in the common light of common day. Only a few, who remain children at heart, can ever find that fair, lost path again; and blessed are they above mortals. They, and only they, can bring us tidings from that dear country where we once sojourned and from which we must evermore be exiles. The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and story-tellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland.”
― L.M. Montgomery, The Story Girl

***********

Thank you to our singers and poets and artists and story-tellers.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

Discovering Waldorf : : The Wisdom of Waldorf

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today, Discovering Waldorf links to an article by Rahima Baldwin Dancy called 'The Wisdom of Waldorf: Education for the Future'.

To read the other articles in the Discovering Waldorf Series, please visit the Discovering Waldorf Page at the top of the page.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Handmade Christmas Ornaments :: Dried Apples and Cinnamon

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

When I was 22, I spent a winter working in the delightful Austrian village called Kitzbuhel. I worked in a little family run pension. My job was to help prepare the food for breakfast and lunch for the hotel guests. In the afternoons, I was off, off to the ski slopes until well after the sun had set. Life was so much fun!

On Christmas Eve, the few of us who worked in the pension, were invited to the owners home for drinks. The owner was a wealthy Austrian and it was quite a posh affair. His house was magnificent but what has stayed with me for all these years, is the sight of his Christmas tree. It was the most spectacular Christmas tree I have ever seen. It was at least 10 feet tall and was decorated from top to bottom in edible ornaments... white marshmallow garlands, golden walnuts, pink frosted snowflake cookies. I had never imagined a Christmas tree to be so softly beautiful. I have thought of it often since then and have come to the conclusion that the reason why I found it so lovely was because every single ornament was handmade.

Some of the prettiest ornaments were made with dried fruit. Dried orange and apple slices. So, in a effort to give our tree some Austrian loveliness, the children and I made dried apple ornaments just like the ones I remember.

We cut apple slices and designed a little drying rack that we left outside for a couple of days. The weather has been cold and dry here, perfect for drying fruit, but if your outdoors is too moist, you can set up your drying rack in a cool and dry spot in your home.

When our apple slices were nice and dry, we strung them with a little raffia and added a stick of cinnamon.

They are so pretty, just as I remember from my magical time on the Alps.

Happy Christmas crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Fall in the Apple Orchard

2011-12-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

It is amazing to me that we have lived in California for 10 years. My grandmother used to say that the days are long but the years are short. But for me, it seems like even the days are short.

It took me so many of these years to realize that most of what I want from life is right here on my doorstep. At first, I begrudged Los Angeles for the metropolis it is. I had always expected that we'd live our lives in a country setting, surrounded by open spaces and animals. I wanted trees and rivers and wild spaces. But sometimes we have to accept that life can take us on a different path than we thought it would. We have to make peace that it is not EXACTLY the way we had envisioned it to be. We have to let go of all that it is not, and celebrate what it is. Sometimes, this does not come easily for us and we have to actively find the places where we belong. It may take effort and thought and planning, but I promise you that if you look for what you want, you'll find it wherever you are.

Our weekends are when we find these places. Our family packs into our car and off we set for the day, an adventure in the making. A Good Man and I know how precious these times are for us and we smile at the thought that Kitty and Teddy will remember these weekend journeys as the fondest of memories of our happy family together.

Last weekend, we set off with our good friends and their little boy to find Southern California's Apple Country. The Fall scenery was magnificent, with yellow, orange and red trees and rolling hills.

We caught falling leaves and made wishes.

We collected chestnuts from the 200 year-old Chestnut tree.

We ate fresh apples with woolly fingers.

We collected bark.

And ate apple pie.

And delicious pastries.

We bought homemade jam.

Candy apples.

We climbed trees.

Drank hot apple cider.

And came home with a baby bunny.

We are truly blessed to live here.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Inspiration

2011-12-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Words of Light :: Letting Go.

2011-12-03T07:31:00.001-08:00

Today, Marie's 'Words of Light' are to help us let go. Letting go can be one of the hardest things to do, it can be terrifying. But be brave, my friends, it's a necessary part of living our happy lives.

* * *

Letting Go

When you no longer feel the love for something, you must let it go

When you no longer can be bothered with something, you must let it go

By holding on tight to something that you are no longer interested in

Only creates disharmony in your life

You start resenting the person, the people, the group, the space etc

By holding on just in case you might miss out on something is silly

That something never may happen

Why waste your energy on an unhappy situation

By letting go, you are inviting new things into your life

It is not easy to let things go, but you are stronger than you think

Change is never easy, but it can bring new direction and hope.

Love and light Marie

* * *

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.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

Discovering Waldorf :: Creating A Christmas Mood

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today, discovering Waldorf links to an article about Creating a Christmas Mood in your home and family. I found this gentle and loving approach to the deeper meaning of Christmas to be especially lovely.

Thank you to the athor, Esther Leisher whose article is from Waldorf In The Home.

To read the other articles in the series, visit the Discovering Waldorf Page at the top of the blog.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

How to make Playdough Christmas Ornaments

2011-11-28T10:23:00.001-08:00

On the day before Thanksgiving, when I had so much to get done for our massive FEAST and my children desperately wanted to play with me too, we brought out the beloved playdough recipe. Together, we made such lovely colored playdough and then they played with it for hours and hours, making all sorts of fun little goodies. You can see our recipe and the cute little guys we made in this post here.

Yesterday, we used a little of this playdough (which we store for ages in the fridge) to make some pretty little Christmas Ornaments.

We rolled each color out flat with a rolling pin.

Then we cut out Christmassy shapes using my Christmas cookie cutters.

Poked a hole in the top of each using a skewer and sprinkled them with glitter.

We used my special vintage glitter that I found at an Estate Sale a while ago... can you see the store price sticker that says that a bottle of glitter costs 19c! Those were the days.

Teddy made a Christmas Tree.

We popped them onto wax paper and then into the oven for an hour at a low temperature of 250 F.

When they came out of the over, we let them cool and then tied a little Christmassy ribbon to hang them with, They are waiting to decorate our Christmas tree :-)

We love their colors and that the glitter sparkles in the winter sun.

Just a reminder that Fairyfolk is having a Black Friday / Cyber Monday Sale... 10% off everything. Enter the code BLACKFRIDAY11 in the coupon box at Etsy checkout and Etsy will compute your discount for you.

Happy Christmas crafting.
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Thanksgiving Sale at Fairyfolk

2011-11-24T12:25:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL! Thank you for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me and my family. We are eternally grateful for all we have.

In celebration of the fantastic year Fairyfolk has had, we are having a Black Friday Sale! Everything in the shop is 10% off... everything, everything, everything :-)

To redeem your 10% discount, enter the coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY11 at Etsy Checkout and 10% will automatically be taken off your total.

BLACKFRIDAY11 coupon code is valid for the whole weekend through Monday 28th November 2011.

Here's a small sampling of what you might find at Fairyfolk...

Happy Thanksgiving from Fairyfolk, my Friends :-)
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Homemade Playdough

2011-11-23T08:57:00.001-08:00

It's one of those Murphy's Law things (and totally true) that when we have the most to do, that's when our children want us the most. I find that if I spend a little while with them, setting them up in an activity, they'll forget all about needing me and play happily for ages on their own and let me get to all those important things I so desperately need to do. The trick is in spending the time with them first, before trying to get to my other things. Patience, Mother, patience!

Homemade playdough is one of my fall back activities. We spend half an hour making the playdough and by the time it's ready, they are so invested in it that they play with it for at least an hour or two... good return, I'd say!

So, if you have stuffing to cook, yam to bake and and an apple pie to make, make some playdough with your kiddies first and you'll be able to get all of you Thanksgiving trimmings ready without their needy cries holding you back.

Tips: I put an old table cloth on the floor for us to work on. Playing with the flour is part of the cool part for our kids and it won't be nearly as fun for them (or us) if we are insanely worried that it will spill all over the kitchen. When we are done, I just bunch it up and shake it out outside - no mess at all :-)

This is our favorite (never fail) playdough recipe. I often double it up and keep half in the fridge.

* 3 cups of flour
* 1/2 cups of salt
* 2 tbs cream of Tartar
* 2 tbs vegetable oil
* 2 cups of boiling water

Add the flour, salt and cream of Tartar to a bowl and let your children play 'snow'... ooooo, they love this game. The flour feels so wonderfully soft falling through their hands.

Cream of Tartar can be found with all the other spices at your local grocery store.

Next, add the oil and boiling water. The kids watch as I do this part. I always keep a little of the boiling water aside and add it if I feel like a the dough needs it... when the children have played 'snow' a little of the flour ends up outside the bowl and the dough might not need as much as 2 full cups of boiling water. Stir dough with a wooden spoon until it is cool enough to knead. As the dough cools with kneading, let your children kneed too... working with the warm dough is wonderfully soothing and pleasurable for them.

When the dough is well kneaded, it's ready for playing with. If you would like to add some color to your playdough, now is the time to add a little food coloring.

We divided our dough into 4 and added 4 different colors.

We used a neon color set we found in our local grocery store... blue, yellow, pink and green.

Homemade playdough is such fun to play with, quite different from the store-bought kind. It smells wholesome and just feel so much more natural, really... you'll be amazed.

We often fill a bowl with assorted beans and dried pasta to play with too.

Teddy's little duck.

Kitty's hedgehog that Teddy fell in love with.

Happy playing.
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Glittered, Wax Dipped, Pinecone Christmas Ornaments

2011-11-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

With Christmas coming, our crafting has gone into overdrive. We love finding goodies from nature and turning them into handmade Christmas gifts and ornaments.

Four of our very favorite things all in one craft... beeswax, pine cones, glitter and Christmas. This weekend we made some wax-dipped and glittered pine cones to keep for our Christmas tree. Are they not the cutest little pine cones you've seen yet!

So, what we needed to make these little beauties is...

* Beeswax
* Pinecones
*Giltter
* Thread (for hanging your pine cones)
* A Glue Gun

In this post from last year, when we made beeswax leaf ornaments to celebrate Autumn, you can read about how to safely melt beeswax in a homemade bain-marie. As you will see, there's nothing to it.

But, as we work with beeswax often, I have dedicated a small crock-pot (found for next to nothing at a garage sale) especially for melting our beeswax. I don't think you could find an easier way to melt your beeswax... just break it up into small bits, pop it into the crock and set on medium to high heat and wait for your wax to melt. We put down an old drop-sheet to work on so that a few drips of wax won't worry us.

While the beeswax is melting, we used our glue gun to glue hanging thread loops onto the tops of our pine cones.

When the wax was melted, the fun dipping began. Holding then hanging loop we had just stuck onto our pine cones, Teddy and Kitty dipped their pine cones into the hot wax.

In and out, in and out, until we had a few layers of golden wax on our pine cone. We didn't let the pine cones rest in the hot wax for very long as this melts the layer from the previous dipping.

It's wonderful to watch the wax drips dry.

After the last dipping, when the wax is still warm on the pine cone, we set it in a container and sprinkle it with glitter. The glitter sinks into the warm wax and sticks fast.

Oh, isn't glitter glorious!

Green, pink and white for us this year.

Sparkly prettiness from our resident pine tree.

Here are some variations on this craft from previous years...
wax dipped pine cones

pine cone Christmas ornaments

Happy Christmas crafting,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Inspiration

2011-11-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

"Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have"

Norman Vincent Peale

Blessing and magic,
Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

Discovering Waldorf :: Corporate Influences On Children

2011-11-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today, Discovering Waldorf links to another New York Times article... 'Corporate Influences on Children'. I found the letters to the Editor especially encouraging.

To read the other articles in the series, go to the Discovering Waldorf Page at the top of the page.

And, if you haven't already entered our SUPER $50 Giveaway from A Child's Dream Come True, please visit this post to have a chance to enter.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

A Child's Dream Come True GIVEAWAY!

2011-11-15T08:07:00.000-08:00

We have our winner... it's Lauren! Congrats :-)
And if you were wondering what Lauren thinks she'll get with her $50 spending spree, this is what she wrote in her comments...
"Hi... I found your awesome Giveaway through Hybrid Rasta Mama's tweet... I would love to enter:) if I win I would probably get the "Tidy Up Kitchen Set", the Wax Candle Rolling kit, and some roving... My daughter would love your shop...',

Thanks again to Debbie and A Child's Dream Come true for offering such a super giveaway! For all of us who weren't lucky enough to win this one, don't forget that Debbie has offered all Magic Onions Readers 10% off their entire purchase until the end of November. So, Friends, now's the time to get those goodies you need from A Child's Dream Come True. Enter the word 'MAGIC' to redeem your discount.

* * *

Three years ago I discovered the wonderful art of needle felting and a whole universe opened up for me. I had always known that I was creative... I had, from a very young age, held a deep yearning to create, yet nothing I tried in the artistic realm seemed to work. Painting was not it no matter how hard I painted. I failed miserably in my pottery phase, I dabbled at making jewelry but could never master the intricacies of working with the different materials, and the list goes on and on.

But, friends, this is the truth... the very first time I picked up a felting needle, I KNEW I had found my medium. It was love at first sight. I made the cutest little toadstool on that first day and I was hooked. I have been a needle felting addict ever since, creating little woolen treasures at every available moment.

A few days after making my first toadstool, I realized that I needed my very own library of wool... I needed every color ever made. I called my expert felting friend and asked her where I could buy my own stash... her answer was A CHILD'S DREAM COME TRUE. Oh my gosh, I was totally blown away by what I could find in this gorgeous shop... any color roving my heart desired... moss green, fuschia pink, turquoise blue. I loved that I could purchase just a few colors at a time... I could pick and choose, getting just a few ounces or a pound.

I waited anxiously for my first order to arrive and sat with my new colors arranged carefully in my lap, gazing at them for the longest time. I was almost too nervous to actually use my new beautiful wool but soon I was away, making all manner of magical gnomes and mossy lands.

I discovered that I could buy braided wool for wild fairy hair.

I could buy curly sheep's fleece, IN RAINBOW COLORS!

I could buy felting needles when mine broke.

I could get my own felting board too.

So, when Debbie from A CHILD'S DREAM COME TRUE contacted me a while back asking about sponsoring The Magic Onions I was truly delighted. As I browsed through her shop all these years later, the excitement of my first needle felting adventures came flooding back to me... the flutter of my heart when my new package of wool arrived from her shop, the delight I felt when I first saw the gorgeous colors in person, when I held my roving in my own hand, the amazement I felt at the treasures I could create with this beautiful wool.

So friends, I'm so excited to present my new sponsor, A CHILD'S DREAM COME TRUE.

In Debbie's words, we offer a mouth-watering selection of natural wool felt, felting wool, kits and creative supplies for all ages. You'll also find some little wood toys, soft treasures and favorite books for children and families. We're Waldorf-inspired, family-owned and operated and thankful to work, live and play in beautiful, rural North Idaho

I enjoyed reading about how Debbie and her family found a way to work their love of Waldorf into their everyday lives, here. An inspiration to all of us who want to work what we love.

Please have a browse through this amazing Waldorf inspired shop, A CHILD'S DREAM COME TRUE. I have always loved giving my friends and family Christmas gifts that can ignite a whole new creative adventure for them. And, for yourself, if you have been wanting to give needle felting a try, now you know where you can find the best of everything.

GIVEAWAY!

Debbie has generously offered a $50 spending spree gift certificate to one lucky reader. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post, telling me what you would (perhaps) get with your $50 from A CHILD'S DREAM COME TRUE?

You can enter 4 additional times by...
* 'liking' A Childs Dream Come True on Facebook
*blogging about this Giveaway so that others may have a chance to win too.
*tweeting about this Giveaway
* 'liking' The Magic Onions on Facebook

Please come back and add your additional entries by leaving an additional comment for each extra entry.

Winner will be chosen on Sunday, 20 November 2011.

And, if you just can't wait and need to get something from this gorgeous shop right away, remember that Debbie has offered all Magic Onions readers a %10 discount until the end of November... just enter the code MAGIC at checkout for your discount to take effect.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!

Thank you, Debbie,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Sorry, this draw is closed. Lauren won but A Child's Dream Come True is offering all Magic Onions Readers 10% off their entire purchase until the end of November 2011... enter the word 'MAGIC' to redeem your discount.

The Joys of Parenting.

2011-11-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

The littlest things can make us feel so proud. We work very hard to be good parents; to try to teach, to give, to encourage. We nurse, we feed, we cloth our kids. We love them unconditionally, we nurture their spirits, we give them nature. We discipline, we scold, we model. We go without so that they can have. We show them freedom, we draw the line. We do all of these things and so much more, knowing that most of our work goes unnoticed. Not very often is someone going to say to us, 'Well done!', 'you handled that right', 'You get an A+'.

But, if you look closely, we are rewarded all the time... all the time! And our rewards are so much better than words... they are rewards of the soul... they are the sparkles in the eyes of our children, they are in the little offerings of a daisy chain they have made especially for us. They are given to us freely, with no strings attached and all we have to do is see them for the gifts they are.

Kitty rewarded me today.

She came to me and said, 'Mom, can I have this box?'. I said 'Yes.'

She set it on the table, got out her paints and spent the next two hours making a 'Woodland Scene'. All of her own accord, letting her own creativity sing.

She searched in our draw of wooden bits and found trees to paint.

And toadstools.

And a river and grass and a gnome home.

She painted gnomes and fairies and even a little dog.

She painted a campfire.

And then she played with her creations for several happy hours.

Watching her create this intricate toy, starting with a cardboard box and finishing with a seriously beautiful handmade plaything, all on her very own, without a single suggestion from me, was a reward of great significance. I work so hard to let my children know that they are creative beings. They can make beautiful things, from nothing but what we already have and their own imaginations. Watching Kitty believe in herself today was a beautiful thing.

I won a trophy today ;-)

How lucky we are to be who we are.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Inspiration

2011-11-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

'And through and over everything, a sense of glad awakening.' Edna St. Vincent Millay

Photo by DovieMoon on Etsy.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

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

Discovering Waldorf :: Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Painting with Sarah Baldwin

2011-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Please enjoy this wet-on-wet Waldorf watercolor painting video by Sarah Baldwin.

To read the other articles in the Discovering Waldorf Series, have a look here.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Tutorial for making a Quite Book for your child.

2011-11-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Melisa from A Little Garden Flower and Waldorf Essentials has created a project especially for us here at The Magic Onions. It is a 3 part video tutorial on making a 'quiet book' for your child. A quite book is an interactive book made from wool felt that your child can play with and is especially useful for when your child has to sit still for long periods of time like in the car or at church. A quite book is a labor of love for your child and, if you are looking for just the right handmade Christmas gift for your little one, a quiet book might be just what you have been searching for.

Thank you, Melisa for creating this 3 part tutorial for us (I can't seem to get the html code to go away for the link of Part 1... if you click on it, it will take you to the video :-)

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/embed/m0TmO3-SwaI?rel=0"

PART 2

PART 3

Please visit Melisa's website for more of her wonderful work, especially her new project, Thinking, Feeling, Willing.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Have you had a browse through the shops of my Sponsors recently? Oh my, if you haven't yet... you are in for a treat... they have so many gorgeous and unique goodies for sale; from needle felted treasures, to natural wooden toys, from playsilks to woolen felts to E-books to help you on your Waldorf journey... if you are starting to think about Christmas gifts, please have a look at the gorgeous goodies available in these awesome shops...

I have two new Sponsors to introduce this month.

Welcome Debbie from A Child's Dream Come True - offering natural supplies for felting, art, paper and wax crafts, toys, doll making, knitting, handwork and more. A Child's Dream Come True is offering The Magic Onions readers 10% off their online order, (no minimum order required, valid through November 30)! To redeem this 10% discount, enter the code MAGIC at checkout.

And, welcome Natural Kids - a collective of artisans, creating heirloom quality and natural products for children and their families.

And welcome back to the wonderful people who have supported me for so many months...

Skipping Stones - intricate handmade jewelry.

Woolies - home of heirloom quality knitted and sewn animals and dolls. Using all natural materials, always.

The Enchanted Cupboard - magical wooden toys and silks.

Periwinkle Sky - utterly enchanting signed prints, original prints and signed original paintings.

Laleebu Toys - Sewn and needle felted dolls, puppets, costumes and toys.

A Little Garden Flower and Waldorf Essentials - Waldorf inspired mentoring and homeschooling essentials.

With Christmas coming up fast and furious, there are so many wonderful gift ideas in these shops.

Thank you for your continued support :-)

Blessings and magic,
Donni

How to Make a Pine Cone Garland

2011-11-07T06:59:00.000-08:00

We had a cold front come to visit from Alaska this weekend. She shed her white cloak of snow all over our mountains and her frozen breath still sits heavy in our Southern Californian air. It's so cold we've had to turn on our central heating in our home which is a drastic step for me, who dreads those first central heating days with their funky, dusty, smell and their drying, itching, air.

So, the long and short of it all, is that Winter has arrived to our sunny part of the world and we can at last lose ourselves in her awesome crafts.

Time for the pine cone garland to go up!

Here is our version.

Collect a basket of pine cones. Find some festive ribbon, some eye hooks and your drill.

Drill little holes just the right size for your eye hooks into the tops of your pine cones.

Twist in the eye hooks.

Each pine cone gets an eye hook.

String your pine cones evenly along the festive ribbon, knotting the eye hooks in place as you thread and, Voila! Suddenly your home will start to look a lot like Winter!

Pretty and pretty easy!
Blessings and magic,
Donni

New in the Shop.

2011-11-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

There have been a lot of toadstools springing up all over Fairyfolk for the holiday season...

Toadstool Terrarium Necklace

Driftwood Toadstools

Needle Felted Toadstool Ornament Kit

Toadstool Christmas Tree Ornaments

Felted Toadstool Terrarium

Visit Fairyfolk to see more toadstool love.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

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

Discovering Waldorf :: TV Free Paytime

2011-11-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have just found a new favorite blog... Sunmaiden's Stories and today I want to share her article on how she and her family embrace a media free home... TV Free Playtime.

Please have a look at the Discovering Waldorf Page to read the other guest articles.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Late Autumn Camping

2011-11-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to live in Southern California where the weather is perfect for most of the year. This means that we can go camping just about all year round. Speaking of camping, I wanted to share ths post from a few years ago...

: : :

Our little family of 4 live in Los Angeles, surrounded by miles upon miles of urban metropolis. My husband and I have struggled enormously with living such an urban existence. He grew up in the pristine beauty of New Zealand's forests and I spent my childhood on the dusty plains of Africa. Both of us feel more comfortable in a country setting and yet, our life's path has brought us to settle in one of the worlds largest cities. I fought this path vehemently in the beginning. I wanted to bring my children up with the wind in their hair, the fresh scent of open spaces in their hearts. I pleaded and begged with destiny to take us to the forest, the mountains, the meadows. But, alas, it seemed she had other plans for us. It was only when I stopped fighting her, stopped focussing on what I 'didn't have', that I could see that what I did have was so much more important. And, can you believe, it was then that she gave me my hearts desire!

Two years ago, on New Years Day, we passed a campervan parked on the side of the road with a 'For Sale' sign on it. Although we hadn't even entertained the thought of buying an RV until that very moment, we stopped our car, called the number on the sign, scrounged together the asking price of $6000 and, on utter impulse, bought her there and then!

Oh boy, has she changed our lives! She has given us the open spaces, the meadows, the mountains, the forests. She has given us memories and happy times. She has strengthened our family love, our marital love, our Earthly love. She is a blessing in our lives.

Often, on Friday afternoons, the kids and I pack her with what we'll need for the weekend. We put our food in her fridge and fresh linens on her beds. A Good Man knocks off work early, hitches her up to his truck and off we set, excited for the adventures ahead.

She has a place for everything - our jackets hang on the hooks at the door...

K makes sure she doesn't forget her comfy pillow...

Sometimes, she is our little home in the big woods, sometimes our little house on the prairie and, just last weekend, she was our cabin in the mountains.

First thing I do when we arrive, is set out our pretty table cloth...

My Teddy Bear goes straight to play in the dirt...

A Good Man "unhitches" and "hooks up" while I make us some coffee...

Kitty goes off in search of new friends... We make new friends too... We light the fire...

and cook our dinner...

Wholesome food, with the flavor of fresh air...

We pop popcorn...

We roast marshmallows... We have late nights...

Sometimes, we sleep well. Sometimes, the children wake up in the night and we all end up in the same bed. Often, we wake up at dawn, ready to explore our new surroundings.

We walk in the woods...

We feel the texture of grasses in our hands...

Sometimes, it rains. But we don't care... we get wet. We let the raindrops splash on our faces. We notice how clean and vibrant the rain makes everything look and feel...

We spot our favorite things...

We discover magic...

I have found that when you let go, that when you take a deep breath into your very soul and quieten those rumbling of discontent, that when you truly accept that you will make the most of what you have, you find that what you have been wanting so badly all along, is actually right there in your hands.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

How To Make A Corn Cob Doll

2011-11-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Granny helped Teddy make Kitty a Corn Cob Doll. The boy is now a Little House On The Prairie convert... and Granny too!

We started with some old corn cobs that we had cleaned and set out in the warm Fall sun to dry.

Teddy then used a little saw to cut the cobs to the right size...

Then, he trimmed the edges so that they were nice and rounded.

These are the segments he cut for Kitty's doll... a small section for the head, a large one for her torso, two segments each for two legs.

I used a permanent marker to mark where he was to drill holes into each segment so that we could connect them with wire.

He LOVED this part of the project.

He drilled holes through each corn cob segment.

Then he threaded wire through the holes.

Don't you just love his dirty little boy hands?

He twisted the wire pieces together to connect the head to the torso and the legs to the torso.

We cut lengths of rope into threes fro the dolls arms, tied them together with a simple knot.

And braided the rope to make arms.

We measured some pretty fabric for her dress against our corn cob doll and folded it into 4.

Rounded the bottom edges.

And cut a small hole in the top corner for her neck.

With the dress on her, we cut small holes for her arms.

Some hot glue from my gun fastened her corn silk hair.

And a pretty little fabric bow...

Voila!! The prettiest little corn cob doll you ever did see...

Kitty was DELIGHTED! And Teddy was even more so to realize that we can make our own toys. Ha! Thanks Granny... Your sweet doll still sits in pride of place on Kitty's 'SPECIALS' shelf... she say's she will keep her forever. We miss you more than you can know.

Happy November Friends!
Blessings and magic,
Donni

Inspiration

2011-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Photograph by Dovie Moon on Etsy

No one has a right to consume happiness without producing it.

Helen Keller

Blessings and magic,
Donni

New in the Shop.

2011-10-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have made some new Christmas Ornaments for Fairyfolk...

Rainbow Christmas Gifts

Needle Felted Peas in a Pod

Woodland Owls

Pastel Toadstools

Visit Fairyfolk to see more Needle Felted Christmas Ornaments.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-10-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

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

Discovering Waldorf :: Schools That Don't Compute

2011-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

Have you read this super article first published this week in the The New York Times Technology section...

A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute

Hmmm... Makes you think, doesn't it!

Thank you to Waldorf Today for giving us a more simple page to read it from :-)

Visit the 'Discovering Waldorf' Page (just below the header of my blog) to read other great Waldorf articles.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Fall Pomegranate Salad

2011-10-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

Speaking of pomegranates, Ingrid from Spain is here to tell us about her pomegranate adventures...

: : :

One of our favorite fruits of autumn are the pomegranate. We cut them in half and get out the sweet red balls.

This weekend we decided to prepare a nuts and pomegranate salad with lettuce varied to give a touch of color. My assistant was caught red-handed, eating up part of the salad we were preparing together ;P

You dare to make one like this? is very tasty! :)

: : :

I do dare, Ingrid! And I bet the kids will love to help prepare this dinner AND even eat some, if any of the ingredients actually get into the salad, that is!

Ingrid writes a beautiful blog called Idniama and has an utterly gorgeous shop on Etsy by the same name, Idniama. Please pop over for a visit... you'll fall in LOVE with her utterly unique crocheted jewelry.

Blessings and magic and happy pomegranate eating,

Donni

Pomegranates for Dinner!

2011-10-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sure we aren't the only ones enjoying lovely RED juicy pomegranates...

Yum!!!!

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Inspiration

2011-10-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Photo by DovieMoon on Etsy

"Growth demands a temporary surrender of security" (Gail Sheehy)

Blessings and magic,

Donni

New in the Shop

2011-10-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

This might sound totally crazy... like when you walk into Target and see snowflakes and Christmas trees all over the place and think, 'Come on... it's not even November yet!', but, I have to tell you all that Fairyfolk is getting very busy and I can see that the Holiday/Christmas Season will be FRANTIC busy for me. So, if you are at all thinking of getting your little loved ones any felted goodies from Fairyfolk, please do your Christmas shopping sooner rather than later. I have tried to build up stock but can never quite get enough to see my through the Christmas Season. Just a heads up from a last minute person, not to leave it until the last minute :-)

Fairyfolk

So, if you have a little boy who needs a little sheep to love...

Or a dragon and his playscape to play with...

Or you have a little girl who needs a sweet little mouse...

Or a needs a magical toadstool terrarium necklace full magic...

Or you have a Grandma who would love some cute colorful acorns to get her through the cold winter months...

Or you want to make your Christmas tree magical this year...

Or ALL red!

Or, you have a man who needs a little textured coolness in his office study...

Don't leave your Fairyfolk shopping until the last minute... just saying ;-)

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-10-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

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

Discovering Waldorf : : : Waldorf Reading List

2011-10-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

So many of you who read this Discovering Waldorf Series have asked for an extended Waldorf reading list. Here is a super list I have found from the New Amsterdam Early Childhood Center.

Waldorf Reading List.

I would like to add my very favorite Waldorf book of all... Seven Times The Sun by Shea Darian.

Click on this link to read the other Discovering Waldorf Articles.

Happy Reading,
Blessings and magic,
Donni

How To Make Beautiful Butterfly Rocks

2011-10-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

With the pretty transferables that were left over from making our school lunch containers yesterday, we decided to make, as Kitty calls them, 'Beautiful Butterfly Rocks'

We chose some wonderfully smooth pebbles and made sure they were clean and dry.

Then we rubbed the butterfly transferables onto the rocks.

Voila!! 'Beautiful Butterfly Rocks!

Kitty chose her favorite wooden bowl and now has her 'Beautiful Butterfly Rocks' on her bedside table. They do look so very pretty!

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Pretty Waldorf Lunch Containers

2011-10-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Finding pretty school lunch containers and drinking bottles for a Waldorf school is always such a struggle. Most Waldorf schools ask that the kids not bring any items that have 'characters' on them... no disney, no Dora, no Star Wars. To narrow our choices even further, I am one who has bought into the 'plastic-is-dangerous' brigade in a big way too. Our containers have to be wood, glass or stainless steel. Try finding a kids size lunch container that complies! Almost impossible. And, finding a pretty or cool one IS impossible!

But don't fear, those of you who are thinking that we have made our lives far too complicated. We have come up with our own, fun, solution... we adorn the basic containers we can find with pretty transferables. We found these transferables at Michaels and I know that you can find other lovely ones online too.

Here is a before shot of a few glass jars and Teddy's Thermos. See how plain and boring they are?

We decided which transferables to put where and Teddy rubbed them onto his container with an ice cream stick.

Kitty's glass jars get pretty involved as she beautifies them with ladybirds, butterflies and bees.

Now Teddy's school lunch container is pretty cool!

And Kitty' glass jars are just beautiful!

I do not put these containers in the dishwasher, however, if I was going to put them in, I would paint over the transferrables with a layer of food safe varnish.

Now, Kitty and Teddy really do think that they have the most beautiful lunch containers around.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Spring Nest Tutorial

2011-10-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Fairyfolk Needle Felting Kit :: Spring Nest

www.fairyfolk.etsy.com

I am so excited to share this Spring robin's nest needle felting tutorial with you. Even if you've never needle felted before, you'll be amazed at how quickly and easily you can make this little treasure.

This tutorial will show how to make a sweet robins nest... a simple and fast project for beginner needle felting.

You will see that as you gently needle felt the wool into the strands of the nest, the nest indent will become more and more pronounced, making a lovely hollow for the sweet little eggs to nestle in.

I have other needle felting kits available in my shop too if you wish to try something else... felted pebbles for lovely home decor, felted pumpkins, felted hearts, felted wreaths, felted balls as well as kits of lovely colored wool for you to make whatever your heart desires. Please visit my shop Fairyfolk to see them all and look under the 'Needle Felting Kits' section.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any felting questions.

Happy Spring crafting,

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Please visit my other spaces...

Blog: www.themagiconions.blogspot.com

Fairyfolk Shop: www.fairyfolk.etsy.com

Photography Gallery: www.doviemoon.etsy.com

Fairyfolk Weddings: www.fairyfolkweddings.etsy.com

Discovering Waldorf ::: Celebrating Autumn

2011-10-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted today's Discovering Waldorf article to be a celebration of Autumn but realized that I couldn't say it any better than this post from the archives... Discovering Waldorf ::: Celebrating Autumn. Besides, I'm sure you are missing the wonderful Twig and Toadstool as much as I am and will delight in reading Maureen's words again. Please click on the link above for the guest post.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Words of Light from Softearth's World

2011-10-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some beautiful words of light from Softearth's World...

: : :

TAKING A NEW ROUTE

Once upon a time there lived in the big oak forest
An acorn family
One night there was a big storm
Thunder and lightening
and the sound of broken branches could be heard
The Acorn family ventured out and surveyed the damage
A large oak branch had fallen down
They would now need to find a new route through the forest
Sometimes one needs to find a new route to take in life
Because an obstacle has fallen in front of the path that you were taking

Love and light Marie

: : :

Thank you for sharing your gorgeous Autumn scene and your beautiful words of light with us, Marie. I so look forward to your monthly contributions here on The Magic Onions.

To see more of Marie's enchanting work, visit her Etsy Shop and her blog... Softearth's World.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Inspiration

2011-10-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Photograph by Dovie Moon on Etsy

What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt - it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else.
Hal Boyle

New in the Shop.

2011-10-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

New fairy photos in Dovie Moon...

In a Ray of Sunshine

Moon Rising

Sunning his Wings

Thinking

More fairy photos are available in Dovie Moon.

Blessings and magic,
Donni

Friday's Nature Table

2011-10-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

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

The Magic Onions

Tutorial :: Needle Felted Spring Wreath

This tutorial will show how to make a gorgeous woodland Spring toadstool wreath... a simple and fast project for beginner needle felting.

Tutorial :: Neelde Felted Robin's Nest

This tutorial will show how to make this sweet robins nest... a simple and fast project for beginner needle felting.

Inspiration

Friday's Nature Table

Discovering Waldorf :: Reading in a Waldorf School

Love Tree for Valentine's Day

Love Words for Valentines Day

Inspiration

Friday's Nature Table

Discovering Waldorf :: 'Stop, don't and NO!'

Make a Whitewashed Star for Valentine's Day

A Simple Red Valentine's Day Wreath

Inspiration

A Needle Felted Valentine's Day

Fairyfolk has new needle felted goodies for Valentine's Day!Pin It

Friday's Nature Table

Sparkly Valentine's Votives

We thought it would be fun to add some Valentine sparkle to our candle collection. So, we got out our mason jar collection, our glitter and some glue and look what we made... pretty pink Valentine's Day Candle Votives!

What Santa Brought.

Tutorial :: Needle Felted Hearts for Valentine's Day

Inspirtation

Firday's Nature Table

Thirtysomething.

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck(written after she found out she was dying from cancer).

Thank you!

Words of Light for the New Year

Friday's Nature Table

Discovering Waldorf :: Dressing Children Simply

The Fort Under The Table

Friday's Nature Table

Handmade Christmas Gifts :: Crazy Crayons

Handmade Chirstmas Gifts :: Painted Peg People

Handmade Christmas Gifts : God's Eyes

The ones we have been working on today are God's Eyes. They are made from sticks picked up in the garden and yarn. God's Eyes are a craft from the Huichol tribe of Mexico. We think they are just beautiful with their wonderful color and rich texture.

Folded Paper Christmas Origami Stars

Inspiration

Friday's Nature Table

Learning Math with Gumnuts :: Second Grade

Discovering Waldorf : : Waldorf Curriculum

Last Minute Christmas Gifts

Handmade Christmas Ornaments :: Dried Oranges

The kids and I are loving making Christmas ornaments this year from simple everyday things. Today, pretty ornaments made from dried orange slices.

Inspiration

Friday's Nature Table

Discovering Waldorf : : The Wisdom of Waldorf

Handmade Christmas Ornaments :: Dried Apples and Cinnamon

Some of the prettiest ornaments were made with dried fruit. Dried orange and apple slices. So, in a effort to give our tree some Austrian loveliness, the children and I made dried apple ornaments just like the ones I remember.

Fall in the Apple Orchard

Inspiration

Words of Light :: Letting Go.

Friday's Nature Table

Discovering Waldorf :: Creating A Christmas Mood

How to make Playdough Christmas Ornaments

Thanksgiving Sale at Fairyfolk

Homemade Playdough

Glittered, Wax Dipped, Pinecone Christmas Ornaments

Inspiration

Friday's Nature Table

Discovering Waldorf :: Corporate Influences On Children

A Child's Dream Come True GIVEAWAY!

The Joys of Parenting.

Inspiration

Friday's Nature Table

Discovering Waldorf :: Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Painting with Sarah Baldwin

Please enjoy this wet-on-wet Waldorf watercolor painting video by Sarah Baldwin.

Tutorial for making a Quite Book for your child.

Christmas Gift Ideas

How to Make a Pine Cone Garland

Time for the pine cone garland to go up!

New in the Shop.

Friday's Nature Table

Discovering Waldorf :: TV Free Paytime

I have just found a new favorite blog... Sunmaiden's Stories and today I want to share her article on how she and her family embrace a media free home... TV Free Playtime.

Late Autumn Camping

How To Make A Corn Cob Doll

Granny helped Teddy make Kitty a Corn Cob Doll. The boy is now a Little House On The Prairie convert... and Granny too!

Inspiration

Fairyfolk has new needle felted goodies for Valentine's Day!

Pin It