Poppies and Milk

november :: infusions of color in the autumnal glow...

{i dont know, i just liked that title...}

we have all been so busy... not in a hectic-busy way, but in an inspired-busy way.  each and every day this week has been filled with vibrance, warmth, freshness, melody and vitality.  here are some snapshots of our days in the glow of autumn...

the last of the season... 

what she made.

giving it a try.

better with help from his sister... 

what am i and how do you use me?  (don't laugh, it came from our CSA and i just don't know...)

we have been doing this a lot lately together.

he is the best co-pilot!

eden decided she hasn't taken enough photos lately... here are some of her shots of us (and his monster face)

and his other face... 

treasures from point reyes... 

lots of crafting for the winter faire.  thanks, erin, for the lantern idea! 

lots of little things brewing... 

so many tiny things to sew, paint and knit...

golden eggs for the rainbow nests i am felting...

remember this?  I never posted an update on that... some vintage spools and patience time made for a nice and tidy ribbon rack... 

vintage hankie collection- keep thinking of doing a set of flags for eden's room with these, but it is really hard to not just leave them untouched, they are all so beautiful and delicate...

more eden photos of our jam session last night.  {thanks to nana for the tiny guitar for the recent birthday boy.  he really really loves it!}

tuning the tiny guitar... it actually sounds pretty good.

:::::

this is really the most loving little guy i have ever met.  what a sweetie.

and this morning, a tiny friend joined me for tea.  

then had to be on his way...

{hope you are relishing in the glimmer and warmth of autumn...} 

 

images of winter solstice...

star lanterns...   

E's solstice angel...

How we celebrate the solstice... with a good, muddy, nighttime soccer game!

Hope you are enjoying this longest night... 

Seasons Round Exchange :: Sent!

So here is a peek at what I sent to my wonderful partner, Cindy, for the Seasons Round Exchange.  (She received her package the same day I received mine!  What great timing! She also posted photo on her blog so you can see...)

The package at a glance... 

I loved making this tree for Cindy and her family!  Since they live on a sailboat, I thought I would add a touch of the sea with some fish, whale and seashell buttons... 

Close-up of the whale... 

Some treasures added to the package by my daughter, E... straight from her prized treasure collection.  I think it was just as much fun for her to participate in this exchange... She loved getting to know (through photos, etc.) our partner family!

First attempt at beeswax ornaments!  So glad it worked! 

I love poetry so I included a poem that I found which seemed fitting... (written on a painting by miss E)

You know how they say that creativity is sparked through necessity (OK, maybe I just say that...) so, in writing the poem, I ran out of room on the first page, so in a panic, I had to figure out what to do.  Sew two papers together!  Aha!  And, well, stitching papers together was so fun, I just had to embellish... 

This was my first vision when I started planning the projects for this package.  You will likely see one just like this above our nature table in the future... ;)

Detail.  There is something about handsewing that is just so satisfying!  I machine sew daily lately and it was just such a nice, peaceful departure from the rumbling train called my sewing machine.  I see my future in dollmaking... just you wait! :) 

And one of the star journals I made from E's watercolor paintings for all of those holiday lists that always seem to need to be written... 

I really loved participating in this and was so grateful to be given such an amazing partner!  Cant wait for the Spring exchange...  Thanks again to Kyrie for hosting this!  It has been such a great experience for our whole family...

So Much to Share...

How three days went by (four?) without a post is beyond me... E's school had their annual Winter Faire at which I attended and assisted all day and into the evening (and the evening before!) and of course, on Sunday, I just had to swing by the San Francisco Waldorf School's annual Faire as well for a bit... Needless to say, Christmas presents have been found... and then some! 

So, I am sharing with you some photos from the Winter Faire... I will wait until tomorrow to share our second week of Advent additions to the "wreath" as well as later in the week for a sneak peek at a few items that are in the mail for a different recipients including my Season's Round partner and a couple of girls whose heads will not be cold after their package arrives... 

On another note, my etsy shop/Poppies and Milk: the Business has been a great success.  You might not see in the shop, but I have sold so many items which I didn't even get a chance to list!  And some which I did list.  Thanks so much if you are supporting or spreading the word... I am diligently working on more pencil cases/rolls as well as block crayon cases (the biggest sellers) and a new design to premier this weekend if not before of a roll which includes blocks and stick crayons (thanks to a dear friend with a great idea!) Tea-Time mats (small placemats for snacks) will be up in the shop hopefully tomorrow... SO, if you are looking for something to hold your art tools of the trade or to catch your gingerbread crumbs, check into the shop later this week/weekend for some new items.  

my ornaments among some beautiful wreaths... 

my journals next to the best Healing Salve ever...

supplies.

E perfecting her beautiful candle creation

E waiting to see the Sleeping Bear... (she was a little scared and had to get out of line...shhh dont tell her I told you! So sweet!) 

Sleeping Bear spotted by e!

This little e just crawled into the Bear Cave and gave him a hug... go figure! 

See you tomorrow! 

Getting Ready for the Winter Faire...

I have been sewing, punching, painting, cutting, melting, pouring, folding, packaging and decorating... 

notepads for the faire... (almost finished in this photo, done now...)

I stitched buttons to the tops of each notepad...

melting ... first time making chocolates!  NOT the last! 

the different varieties... 

rk deep forest mint with peppermint bits

Whew!  My daughter's school is holding its annual Winter Faire tomorrow... going to crash on the pillow now to get some much needed rest before the big event!  Also just putting the finishing touches on the last bits of goodness for my Seasons Round  exchange partner!  What a joy it has been... so many more photos later... now, off to dreamland for me... 

Seasonal Crafting (Part II) :: Peek into the First Grade...

Here is a look at some of our handwork in action at Greenwood School where my E is in the first grade... 

Our Winter Faire is coming up this Saturday for anyone local.  One of my favorite events during my favorite time of year...

 

trees and gnome in a winter forest scene... 

the other side of the scene.

a peek into the castle...

the beautiful advent spiral which is lit daily by the class. 

advent wreath elements for week one.

another winter scene in the class... 

A string of light boxes I made (with a bit of help from some elves) for the first grade.  Love this craft- more on that later... maybe even a tutorial...  

Hope you enjoying these first days of December... 

Work In Progress Wednesday :: Star Lantern!

The first time I saw one of these, I just knew I had to learn how to make them... Whey I learned that they were made from watercolor paintings (which just happen to be one of the things we have in abundance!), well, that sealed the deal.  SO I searched high and low for a tutorial (seems no one really wants to give up this little secret!) and found this beautiful and very well written step by step guide to star lantern bliss...  First I oiled up the paintings.  I used olive oil because, well, that is all I had... And after I started it smelled, um, like olive oil, which is really lovely, but a bit strong for my vision of the lanterns... So, I decided to add some Tunisian Patchouli oil to the mix and the smell became heavenly... (lots of possibilities there...)

As, of course, I was so eager to start getting to the cutting and folding, I let the oil soak into the paper only for about two hours and then wiped all of the excess off with a few towels (rubbed pretty hard) and was good to go.  

I really just followed that tutorial I told you all about and it was so simple.  It did help to use a rotary cutting tool rather than scissors... And I will say that I used the lid from a gallon of gesso to trace the circle and said lid may not exactly have been a perfect circle, like one that you could get from using a compass as Lisa Anne from the Harmony Valley site suggested (as evidence in a couple of little lines that are a bit off) but I felt it was pretty forgiving... 

So now, ambitious me plans to make one of these for each child in my daughter's first grade class (shhh!) as a gift which the teachers can give to them as they leave for winter break - using their own individual watercolor paintings, of course.  Perhaps they will recognize their beautiful artwork in their own lantern...  

I think I will make a few more samples from my daughter's paintings first to work out the kinks and make sure I get more versed before cranking them out.  All in all, a great WIP... this one is done, but there are about 25 left to go!  

After that, I will be searching for a tutorial on how to make one of these... Any suggestions? 

Happy WIP Wednesday...