Play and whimsy

I spent a good part of the weekend working on an order for another mom, creating something beautiful and whimsical for her children (i assume) to play with.

It was rewarding, but I experienced this feeling of, "but wait, what about MY kids!? I have failed in making THEM something beautiful and playful and fun, Boo!  

So in between decorating the xmas tree, grocery store runs, housecleaning and endless food production,(seriously, it never ends, the food thing) I made these animals, out of thin foam board, paint, wooden dowels and fasteners, so fast and so fun.

Then we went to the park to play with them, and then to the creek to throw rocks in :)

Malawi crying because Imani wouldn't give him back the polar bear

It was such a nice day out, in spite of the brown and dry vegetation..

sigh.

Then we sang Christmas carols around our newly decorated tree, and went to sleep.

Welcome December

Just another school morning

Handmade custom order wool pompom rug and a gorgeous baby to lie on it

I made this rug as a special order for a dear friend that had fellen in love with something similar on Pinterest.
Suffice to say i will be just fine if I never, ever see or hear about a pompom rug again!
Like many crafts and handmades I get myself into, I had no idea just how many pompoms are needed to fill out a fluffy rug, and just how much wool goes into one single pompom. 'Nuf said.
While I was sitting winding wool and shaping pompoms, I kept thinking of this baby for some reason, gorgeous little Sudanese baby Aaliya, who is 6 months old. She was my muse for it,and her  lovely mama was good enough to let me snap her laying on it.
Luckily it is going to belong to an equally lovely little girl.

Have a wonderful wednesday

Lotions and Potions

If I had to pick a very favorite flower, or plant, it would certainly be Calendula, it speaks to me, the bright vibrant sunshiney yellow,the delicate smell, the juiciness of its bright green leaves, the softness of its petals, its resilience in re-seeding itself, and not in a nuisancey kind of way.

It whispers its medicine to me, and I have always listened.

This past late summer I picked handfuls at my father and aunts gardens, then double boiler simmered them in coconut oil for hours, the result was a deep yellow healing oil, ready to be made into salve.

I finally got around to making it yesterday.

I used Imani's watercolor paintings, studies in yellow and gold for the labels,  so perfect!

and wooden block stamps

It turned out runnier then i wanted, but wonderfully rich and healing non the less

scented with oils of lemon and geranium

then, because I am crazy like that, I made pots of home made vics vaporub, with oils of rosmary, eucalyptus and peppermint, perfect for little colds and chests

Now the question is:

which one will YOU be getting for Christmas?

Happy Tuesday!