How To Make Beautiful Butterfly Rocks

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our beaded mobiles are proudly hanging in the living room.

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

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

Blessings and magic, 

Donni

Finger Knitted Flowers.

I was the luckiest mom on Mothers Day. I received two very precious gifts... a hand-dyed silk scarf from Teddy that he had painted for me in school (I'm wearing it now as it's a rainy Spring day here in Southern California). From Kitty, I received an utterly gorgeous finger knitted flower that she made for me at school too. Her flower was so beautiful that I asked her to show me how to make a few more to go in my antique apothecary bottles. Oh my... I am utterly in love with them!

'It's so easy, Mom!' she enthused. 'All you do is finger knit some pretty yarn into a long rope, roll it up into a spiral and sew it onto a stick!' As I am someone who has never finger knitted before and don't sew very often, I couldn't help being skeptical at the 'easy' part. But, true to her word, Kitty showed me how to make these beautiful yarn flowers in a couple of minutes. Really... our three were made in about 20 minutes.

All that's needed is:

* prettily colored yarn (the more textured the better)
* a big needle
* sticks


To finger knit, tie the end of your yarn into a slip knot (make a loop, thread the long end of the yarn through the loop and pull tight)


A simple slip knot.


Put the slip knot over your left index finger (if you are right handed). Adjust the knot to fit snugly over your finger. The long end of the yarn is the one hanging down... the short end is the one Kitty is holding in her other fingers.



Kitty calls her left hand (the one the the slip knot attached to it) her 'needle' hand. She calls her right hand, her 'working' hand. All you have to remember is left... needle. Right... working.


So now, to finger knit, with your working hand, loop the long end of the yarn over your needle finger, in front of your slip knot.


Clinch the yarn onto your needle finger with the thumb of your 'needle' hand.


With your working hand, pick up the slip knot and pull it over the second loop.


And right off your needle finger.


You now have only your second loop on your needle finger. Start the process again... make a loop over your needle finger with the long end of your yarn, in front of the yarn loop that is already on your needle finger. Slip the first loop OVER the second loop you have just placed there and slip it right off your needle finger. Pull tight, leaving just the third loop 'knitted' onto your needle finger. Your finger knitting will form a long finger knitted loop below your needle finger. This is what it will look like...


Continue finger knitting until you have a long yarn rope about the span of your outstretched arms, finger tip to finger tip (about a yard or two). Knot it securely so that it won't unravel and cut it from your ball of yarn.

Now, because we want our yarn rope to be thicker than just one strand, we finger knit the rope we have just finger knitted... as Kitty calls this process, we 'double finger knit' it.

Again, make a slip knot. Try to get the slip knot as close to one end of your yarn rope as possible so that you have one very short end and one loooooooong end.


Thread the slip knot over your needle finger. Loop the long end over your needle finger, in front of the slip knot.


Pull the slip knot over the second loop and off your needle finger. Pull tight. Begin again... loop, first loop over second loop and off needle finger. Pull tight. Again. Again.


Again. Again. Until your whole first rope is finger knitted into a lovely thick second rope.


Roll up your lovely thick yarn rope into a spiral.


Sew your spiral into place so that it doesn't unravel when left on it's own.


Kitty is so confident at sewing because she doesn't try to sew it perfectly neatly.


In fact, the rougher the spiral is sewn, the more charming your flower looks.


Kitty sewed the sticks onto the back of the flowers.


Voila! Pretty yarn flowers!!


They look beautiful as the centerpiece on our diner table.


Happy finger knitting.
Blessings and magic,
Donni