Clean.

The Weekend.

What's that you say, it's Saturday?

I hope your weekend, like ours, is filled with learning, playing, growing, and being. My tea cup is full, and my spinning wheel is waiting.

Love,
Rachel

Seeing Their Gifts.

When Sage was small it was the two of us. Everyday. From wake-up until dinner time it was the Mama-Sagie show. For more than 4 years. Reading, cooking, cleaning, sledding, swimming, playing, working. We got quite accustom to each other's company. The past five years (since Lupine was born and Pete quit his job to join me in LuSa Organics) it's been the four of us most days. What a dramatic shift. It's been nothing short of amazing to have so much time for our whole family to be together. I count that blessing everyday.

And yet, sometimes one-on-one is perfect. Sometimes I miss it.

I got three sweet Valentines from Sage. Inside of one was a coupon for "one day of Mama-Sagie time". I'm cashing it in today.

There have been days (months?) when mothering felt like so much work. And when you're mired in struggle or worry or suffering it can be difficult to see the gifts that our children bring to our lives. I've been there. But these days I can see Sage's (and Lupine's) gifts so clearly, I wonder how I could have missed their magic in the past.

As we set out on our Mama-Sagie outing today I appreciate Sage's sensitivity, his humor, his intuition, his mind, his imagination, and his softness. And I appreciate the gift of a whole day with him alone. Just like old times.

Love,
Rachel

Homeschooling Together: Making dolls.

As quiet homeschoolers, we're often doing our own thing. We love the peaceful space we've carved out. We thrive in it - all of us. Last week actually cancelled plans with our homeschooling coop two days in a row (two very fun activities - ice skating at the outdoor rink and a hike into the woods to see ice caves) because we'd had a trying week and just needed to lay low. The kids reported that those unexpected free-days were the best part of the week. Who'd have thought?

Sage does not thrive in large groups. He loves hanging with other kids, but prefers them one family at a time. (Even his birthday parties rarely consist of more than one friend.) My kids play with friends each week, but don't crave the busyness that many children are accustom to. After watching a school group walk by us on an outing one day he reported that sharing his learning space with so many children would be "horribly distracting".

So this is how we roll. It's a good match for us.

But we are hardly going it alone.

Yesterday we enjoyed a full day with another unschooling family. The three younger children wore every costume in the closet and had a picnic out in the snow while the two older kids did dozens of chemistry experiments and started working on a robot. It was wonderful to watch all of them. Learning, playing, exploring, socializing. And being with another like-minded mama means we could be there to answer their questions without meddling in their process and without second-guessing our own.

There is another family we visit with often who's children enjoy spending a day with us on occasion. Our kids are embarking on a Waldorf doll-making adventure together. Each child (ages 5 - 10) is making a doll by hand, week by week around our table. They chose their skin and hair fabric, cut out their dolls, pinned, and have now begun the sewing.

I love this so much.

To have my children with other kids who "get them"; to share what I know with my own children and our friends; and to have them share their day with this family we love. Yes, our unexpected quiet days are among our favorites, but really, these days with good friends are the ones we all love best.

P.S. Homeschooling friends, you likely know well the perpetual dialogue about socialization. I thought you would enjoy this article about it. It's fabulous and goes right to the heart of what I have seen. Don't be put off at first. She throws down some surprising statements, but follow her for a bit and I think most of you will agree. 

Love, Rachel

Making: Hair tie and bobby pins.

Well those were fun.

There is something addictive about covering buttons. And when you have bobby pins, rings, and hair ties to attach them to it's that much more obsessive.

For whatever reason it is oddly satisfying to take a tiny 1" scrap of fabric and turning it into something useful/adorable. We can't stop. I think we've made them everyday since the supplies came home.

The kids and I got our supplies from this lovely little shop on Etsy. And while yes, you can pick up covered button kits at the fabric store, Sunbeam Button's prices might even beat Hancock for the button parts, plus Sherry offers simple tutorials to go with her kits (which, believe it or not, I actually needed for our first project).

The hair-tie/bobby pin sweatshop that is our kitchen table hasn't let up for days. Lupine - with a bit of help from me to cover the button - has made pairs of ties for most of her friends (and to match most of her own outfits). Sage has been making them too, thought not wearing any of course. Too girlie. Ahem. (Ooh, unless we make some in his favorite color - camouflage.)

We've all been at it until our hands ache. It's that kind of satisfying. I expect we'll stop exactly when we run out of supplies. And then we might just need to get some more.

~ * ~ * ~

And as a postscript, I wanted to show you the matchbox babies from yesterday's craft madness at my table. (You did see my "Hey girl" on that post, right? It keeps cracking me up.) This year we made one needle felted cloud baby (Sage's), one heart baby (Lupine's), and a wee garden beet baby (for me).

The kids and I decided that they are "dream babies" this year and should live on our night stands to help us with good dreams.

I'm in.

Our Favorite Valentine Craft. (A repost.)

Yes, we're at it again. The valentine babies. Every year (after pink steamers, colored with a little beet juice) we make some sweet Valentine craft. But we keep coming back to this one.

Pete even made an emergency craft-run to the grocery store at 7:00. (It went something like, "Hey girl, I'd be happy to slam my coffee, skip breakfast, and hurry out into the cold to buy match boxes for you and the kids to decoupage. Those little heart babies you make are so cute.")

Really he did. (Okay, he didn't say it but he did run to the store for me. Best valentine ever.)

Oh, and here's a tip I learned since the last time we made these: you can make your own Mod Podge by mixing 1/2 white glue and 1/2 water. Yes, really. We tried it and it worked beautifully. And now I saved you $4. Woo hoo!

This year we're also painting the boxes with a little white paint first so that we can use light-colored fabrics without the matchbox printing showing through. And now you know.

Hope your day is filled with sweetness of your own making!

Love,
Rachel

~ * ~ * ~

Matchbox babies are one of our favorite craft projects any time of year, but these wee ones are especially sweet for Valentine's Day. As you look ahead to your weekend, perhaps you'll find time to make some of these sweeties.

P.S. If you insert a strong needle threaded with embroidery floss through the top and bottom of the box slider (not the bed) about 1/3 of the way down and tie the thread about twice as long as the box, you can make your drawer open as if by magic when you pull the string.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

We started a new tradition this morning: Jammie Craft. Smoothies, fruit, toast, scissors, glitter, and glue - all while we're still in our PJs. I know. It sounds like a disastrous mix. But it was wonderful!

With Valentine's day on the horizon we collectively came up with this project: Heart Babies.

A simple (kid-friendly) tutorial follows:

Supplies:

Wool Felt * Wooden beads * Acorn caps

Thread * Paper * Fabric scraps

Cotton or wool stuffing * Glue

Small match boxes * Glitter

Mod Podge * Paint brush * Needle *Scissors

The Box Top: Cut a strip of paper and a strip of fabric as wide as your matchbox. Cut long enough to allow 2/3" overlap. Coat matchbox cover with Mod Podge and wrap with paper. (This will keep the matchbox printing from showing through the fabric). Secure overlap area with additional Mod Podge.

Coat the papered matchbox with Mod Podge and wrap neatly with fabric. Trim edges as needed. Coat again with Mod Podge and apply glitter if desired.

The Bed: Cut the fabric lining for your matchbox bed. To do so you can sacrifice one match box to make a pattern by slitting at the corners and pressing flat, or use or method and guesstimate. Notch out corners.

Mod Podge the inside of the box and carefully press lining into place.

Baby: Cut out two identical hearts suitably sized to fit into your matchbox. Select a head-sized bead. Check if the bead will fit in the box with the lid closed. If not, select a smaller head or don't sweat it and let the box stay partially open.

Beginning at the "neck" area of the heart (top/center), use a running stitch or a blanket stitch to sew hearts together. Stuff with a bit of cotton or wool before closing. Sew bead to heart as follows: Heart, bead, scrap of felt (to secure head). Sew the head to body securely with a few stitches and tie off. Cut thread.

Select an acorn cap sized appropriately for your bead head. Coat top of head (including felt scrap) with a generous amount of glue and press acorn cap into place. Wipe off excess glue with a cotton swab or your fingertip.

 

After glue and Mod Podge has dried, tuck baby into bed.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 Note: If you think these are lovely, please check back often. We're pretty crafty around here and have lots more sweetness to share. xo Rachel

A Tiny Sweater.

This weekend was time for putting away the to-do list and finding our center again as a family. I decided to put the Man Sweater away (again) and dig into something tiny and satisfying. (I've had Pete's sweater on the needles since November. 2010. I should have probably been casting that one off, but somehow this tiny sweater seemed to take precedence.)

I'm slowly working my way through my yarn stash and this was the third quick stash-buster of the week. (The others, two very different cowls for the kids, I'll be sure to show you some day soon.)

As for this little sweater for Lupine's friend Mimi-Mama, I had help picking out the yarn. And wow. Who knew I had such punchy colors in my stash? Lupine did, evidently. In hindsight I'd have chosen something a bit more mellow, but who cares. It's a doll sweater. (Incidentally the pants Mimi Mama is sporting are made out of some sort of stretchy polyester circa 1977. They must have been for one of my dolls. Amazingly, they match the sweater perfectly. Whoa.)

I think the usual button stand-off has ended, and Mimi and Lupine have picked some bright pink buttons to sew on in the morning. And then Lupine says in a very squeaky voice (that of Mimi Mama), "I love my new sweater so much!" And the doll proceeds to kiss me like two million times.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Some Notes~

The sweater pattern: I used the Poppy Cardigan, a free pattern on Ravelry. My notes are here, the pattern is here.

The doll pattern: Mimi Mama is my own design. Her nose is made using the technique I mentioned here. (Yes, the nose makes her technically not a Waldorf Doll but I'm all about the noses.) I blogged about making here here.

Doll hair technique: Her hair is a mix of thrifted and hand-spun wool yarn, attached by a brilliant/simple method explained in this book. (And oh, my. Why that book is listed at $280 on Amazon I can not say. I paid $2 at a rummage sale for it two years ago. So sorry. If you need me to paraphrase the technique let me know. I'll save you the hundreds.)

Happy crafting, friends!