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Sesame Seed Designs

Felted Wool Covered Rocks

Feb 20th, 2012 by

Thanks to an awesome tutorial by Lil Fish Studios Sairshe and I made some felted rocks today. It was the perfect easy project for this school-free day. It was really fun and our finished rocks feel so soft and fuzzy and lend an air of springtime to our table.

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We started by wrapping our rocks in a couple layers of wool roving. I just happened to have these Easter-y colors sitting around. (The roving is from a drop-spindle class I took forever ago!) I needle felted the ends a little so the roving would stay in place during the felting process.

Sairshe is patiently waiting to felt her purple rock.

We swished and squeezed the rocks in warm, soapy water. This was Sairshe’s favorite part but it wasn’t without a small mishap.

There’s bound to be spilling when a bowl of water and a 4 1/2 year old get together, though I’m not sure how the nutcracker got there.

When the wool seemed firm and dense we rubbed them with a plastic bag to smooth them off, thanks to the great tip in the tutorial. I needle felted an S onto Sairshe’s rock (you can see it in the 1st photo) and left the rest plain. I love how they turned out. Sairshe is pretty proud too.  I thought she might get frustrated with this project but she was totally into it and did a great job with her rock! She even made a second one- the pink and green one in the picture at the top of the post.

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    Posted in Crafting with Kids, Create | 3 Comments »

    Eating Local in the Winter

    Feb 18th, 2012 by

    We are faced with so many produce choices at the supermarket even in the winter. Asparagus, pineapples, blueberries and avocados are just some of the out-of-season and/or non-local foods I saw yesterday at my favorite grocery store. Some of that food traveled over 6,000 miles from Chile to get to my store in Portland, OR!

    How do we navigate the myriad choices we have? How do we make smart buying choices for ourselves and the environment when tempted by South American grapes in the middle of February?

    I have a guest post up on EcoEtsy’s blog today answering some of those questions. Stop on over and let me know about the food choices you make.

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      Posted in Eat Well, Local Eating | No Comments »

      A Handmade Heart Day

      Feb 15th, 2012 by

      Valentines with the kids was so much fun this year. With the exception of the really pretty orchid plant Mike gave me, none of us bought anything and it was fabulous. Sairshe was so excited to give her seed paper valentines and I hope the other parents appreciated the lack of candy that accompanied it. Her valentine’s bag from school looked like she’d been trick-or-treating!

      In the early morning I  realized I’d been so busy making things with her that I hadn’t made her anything for Valentine’s Day so in the few minutes before she woke up I whipped up these super simple heart hair clips. She was thrilled with them and put them right in her hair.

      But the best part? It was when she wanted another present and I didn’t have one. Instead of being upset or asking me to buy her something else she very sweetly asked, “Will you sew me something while I’m at school?” I love this on so many levels. I love that she likes the things I make, that she’s confident that I can whip something awesome up at a moment’s notice, but mostly I love that she values handmade things over store-bought stuff. It’s so awesome.

      We made heart cookies with last summer’s homemade loganberry jam.

      I turned leftover seed paper hearts into the garland at the top of the post.

      The kids got handmade doily valentines and cuddly bears from Grandma.

      We had family time, gave lots of hugs and kisses and enjoyed each other’s company. What did you do to celebrate the day?

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        Handmade Seed Paper Valentines

        Feb 9th, 2012 by

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        Sairshe and I made some handmade seed paper hearts last weekend for her to give to her pre-k classmates. It was so fun and easy and I hope the kids really plant them and grow flowers!  Here’s a tutorial to inspire you to make your own paper. It’s the best way to use up what would otherwise fill your recycling bin.

        Here’s what you’ll need:

        • paper (junk mail, computer paper, construction paper, etc.)
        • hot water
        • a blender (preferably not one you use for food)
        • papermaking screen (I used a piece of metal window screen stapled to a simple wooden frame)
        • absorbent towels
        • heart shaped cookie cutter (optional)

        1. Start by tearing your paper into smallish pieces. This is a great job for a youngster. Don’t worry if your paper has printing or color on it. It’ll likely all turn to a light gray color. You can add colored paper to make it whatever color you want.

        2. Add hot water. I heated water in my kettle and added almost enough to cover the paper.

        3. Blend until your paper turns to mushy pulp. This took only a few seconds.

        After this photo was taken, I added scraps of colored construction paper to the blender and mixed again. It only took a small handful of red scraps to turn it a pretty pink color.

        4. Pour your paper pulp into a large bowl or other container and admire the pretty colors you’ve created.

         

        5. Mix in your flower seeds of choice. I used marigolds because they’re easy to grow and I want the little 4 and 5 year olds to have success growing their flowers.

        6. I did the next steps outside so I didn’t have to worry about dripping all over. Place the heart cookie cutter on the screen and spoon in some of the paper pulp. Press it with your fingers or the back of the spoon to squish out some of the water.

        7.  Carefully remove the cookie cutter, leaving behind your heart-shaped paper.

        8. Carefully flip your screen over, placing it upside down onto a towel. This sounds scary but my experience was that the paper pulp really gripped the screen and stayed in place, even upside down. Your paper is now sandwiched between the screen and the towel.

        9. Take a second towel and press on top of the screen to absorb excess water.

        10. Lift up the screen, revealing your flattened paper. Carefully lift it up and place on a cookie sheet to dry. You’ll see that one side has a screen pattern imprinted into it. This will be the flatter of the two sides. The other side will likely be a little more textured.

        11. Depending on the thickness of your paper they make up to a day to dry fully. Give to your Valentine, along with planting instructions. Sairshe glued hers to cardstock and added a little poem we made up.

        I have another Valentine’s Day tutorial here and would’t these be a pretty and pink sweet treat?

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          Posted in Crafting with Kids, Kids' Crafts, Paper Crafts, Paper Crafts, Patterns & Tutorials, Upcycling, Valentine's Day | 5 Comments »

          Natural Toys for Children

          Feb 2nd, 2012 by

          My wool and cashmere hats, teething toys and flower hair clips are included in a gorgeous Natural Kid’s spring gift guide chock full of all sorts of beautiful things for children made from wool, wood, cotton and other natural materials. If that’s not awesome enough, they’re all handmade by fantastic artists committed to creating beautiful, quality gifts- artists who are part of the Natural Kids Etsy Team.

          I especially love these items and want to snatch them up for my girls.

          This Fern Elf House made by Willodel has amazing detail!

          This basket full of gnomes by FeeVertalaine would be perfect for Easter.

          This Waldorf doll by NobbyOrganics has the sweetest face and I love her bobbed haircut.

          I can picture my kids coloring with these all-natural woodland bunny crayons made by Earth Grown Crayons.

          Take a look at the Natural Kid’s Gift Guide and I think you’ll be impressed. I’m honored to be included with such beautiful things!

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            Posted in Green Living, Natural Toys | 3 Comments »

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