Day to day

“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.” ~ Paulo Coehlo
All is calm and well around here lately. The kids being sick has meant more crafting and more baking. Keeping my son out of the kitchen was nearly impossible as long as I was in it. He is such a love, wanting to participate in every step...Or, he could have just been bored out of his mind from being stuck at home with me for 5 days, he he... Crushing peppermint and melting chocolate fixed that :). We also managed to make cards, decorate paper, and play with brand new stamps that I am head over heels with. They are made by Yellow Owl Workshop, and you have to take a look!!

Okay, short but sweet, I'm off for more merry making...
much love to you friends
be happy

xoxo

"Simplicity is the glory of expression." ~ Walt Whitman

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Three more days until the giveaway :)...
Have you entered yet?

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On this day, pipe cleaners.

More often than not, rummaging will reveal some sort of buried and forgotten treasure in our closets. Though not sure what our search is for, we still know it when we see it. Thankfully, even the simplest activity can bring the easiest of smiles.

Thanks Angie at Wonderfully Crazy for this idea!

I watch intently now, as creativity brings out willingness and possibility.  The simple act of changing a thing from one to another, to give it shape, texture, and perhaps some color, draws the sense that creativity is more than just an ability, but a tone and a manner of feeling.

I turn to my own projects now and I see my newly felted nest and some tiny black words cut out for another collage.  And though they don't go together, I see that they really do.

Without too much thought, and as I fill our nest with simple, lovely truths, I can only hope magic and joy is what will emanate from our little moments of creativity.

Joining Stephanie in Saturday's Artist...

Have a wonderful weekend...

Extra post--Excited!! We are wrapping things up...

Oh we are so close aren't we! Where did the month go? Somewhere along celebrating Advent, creating and crafting, sewing, crocheting, baking, playing, blogging, and making new friends-- the winter solstice has arrived. Will you be up in the wee hours to watch this lunar eclipse? We are going to try!!

Meanwhile, we are "wrapping things up" around here as some of my handmade projects for Christmas are coming to a close. My little elf happily helped me on this one.

I was so fortunate to have my mother bring me back some handmade Japanese washi papers this past fall. They are so pretty I almost hated to use them. But my goat milk soaps (which I had so much fun making!) are naked and need to be covered, so here they go...

Hope you have a beautifully rare and momentous evening and week!!

Creative adventures

In the spirit of Handmade Holiday, we are continuing our adventures in handmaking gifts. Here is one of our most recent, adapted from Family Fun's Bowling Boys.

So I promised my friend over at Lady Cordelia, I would post my adventures in yarn. She inspired me with this hilarious post about knitting her hat, to crochet my own. So here it is C, my crocheted hat from a pattern. Unfortunately, I couldn't do without one. Maybe one day...

P.S. Thanks for the inspiration!!

"If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good." ~ Dr. Seuss

So in this year of transformation, we have become significantly more conscious of our gift giving. We question where the gifts come from, how they are made, and who sells or makes them.  In that process, we have also discovered the joy of making our own gifts. The process was not just about being more responsible, but the change that happens in a child's heart when they can feel the joy in making a gift for someone else.

On this day, we scrounged up all of our broken crayons and gave them new lives.

In any transformation, the process is the same. First, strip all of the old coverings off. Some coverings actually stick to the core a bit, especially if they have been there for a long time, so you really have to dig deep and scrape. Second, break down the matter into smaller bits. This may be tough, but with persistence and and little strength, it can be done. Third, melt the old forms into any new mold that you want. Let it cook for a little while, while it really sinks in. Four, revel in the stunning transformation. It is a beautiful thing...

The holidays in Florida

I grew up in snow. I remember the winters-- the snowflakes, the ice skating, the sledding, and the smell of pine and burning wood. I remember the comfort of being able to snuggle deep under the heavy covers, finding warmth, and never wanting to crawl out of bed in the morning.

There is so much joy and anticipation as each change of season relives family routines, rituals, and traditions. As I gander at other lives shared on the web, I realize that the togetherness so often brought about by the holidays, has a very deep and significant relationship to the change of seasons.  So how do we do that in FL when the leaves don't change, when the snow doesn't fall, or when we can plant broccoli in November (not that I can complain about that one)?

We go to the annual outdoor Christmas concert...

where the kids keep busy with their own project. The Nutcracker Suite, another holiday tradition, plays in the background.

We go ice skating, which then allows us to enjoy that lovely, sweet hot cocoa...

And we create new traditions shared with us from other web families...thanks again Stephanie for the ice lantern project. This one's a keeper :)...

You know, winter in FL is about the only time that we can do things such as have a fires in our firepit, or go camping with our friends. These are some of the traditions we look forward to every year. It's different, and I would be lying if I said that I have gotten use to it. But if there is anything else that I rely on to feel the holiday season, other than the change of seasons, it is family. Seasons do change, holidays come and go, but family is how traditions stay with us always, no matter where we are or go...

This moment ~ by candlelight.

As inspired by SouleMama:

"A Friday ritual. A single photo -no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember."

(P.S. ~  I must give a warm thank you to Wee Folk Art, who sent me to A Toy Garden, for these  beeswax candles. We had such an amazing time making them.)