herbal roots - january 2010 is ready!

it's all about ginger! go to herbal roots zine to read all about it and purchase a copy.

the illustrated garden

these garden journal sketch pages are simply gorgeous, don't you agree?! be sure to check out her sketchbooks!

our solstice morning

everybody sat quietly, digging through their stockings...

greg took the opportunity to take a little nap on all the pillows and blankets piled up...

then the presents were passed out and the ripping commenced...








sage dressed in his costume and greg knighted him...
he was quite unsure how to act or what to do...
then, he looked over and saw nina's new baby doll...
he threw down the sword and shield, stripped off his costume and ran over to snatch up her baby...
he was not happy when she held the doll at bay and managed to wrestle it from her hands...
then went back to daddy so he could cuddle with it...
upset that his son preferred dolls over armoury, greg donned the outfit and took off on a rampaged after the children...
first up was claudia...

next, he took out sage, then turned...

and took out nina...
caleb thought it was a joke...

poor jaden didn't know what hit her...

and finally ridge...

looking quite smug after conquering the masses...
i'm glad the toys i make span all the age groups in our house!

happy solstice everyone!

handmade holidays - progress update 3

i ended up buying a few of the gifts because it is hard to make for the older kids. more about all that tomorrow. we celebrated solstice this am due to scheduling issues with the older 4 kids but today, i'm only going to post the pictures of what i made.

i don't think my step daughter liked her clothes i made for her which was a little depressing as i thought she'd LOVE the fabric but, with teenagers, it's always hard to gauge. more than anything, i feel bad that she didn't like it. i would have come up with something else if i really believed she wouldn't.

the skull/crossbone sparkly shirt:the 3-d skull/poetry skirt:
both together (although not intended to be worn together):

i made jaden a doctor's kit. i started out planning on making felt instruments but then when talking to a friend, decided to go with real items whenever possible. i made the bag from felt with a velcro closure:
i still need to add the stethoscope. i purchased it from a midwifery supply shop and am waiting for it to arrive (a couple friends and ordered a huge lot of stuff to save on shipping). the kit includes an eye chart, bandaids, an ace bandage, a percussion hammer, a thermometer, an otoscope, a syringe and a tongue depresser:

the only faux item was the blood pressure cuff. i made it from felt and filled the bulb with a crinkly plastic bag for effects:
i didn't get a chance to finish adelena's owl bookmark so i threw together a kit for her to make it. i copied the directions from the website, added a picture of the finished product plus all the thread and felt parts and viola!:all packaged nicely in a ziploc bag:

i made jaden's faux kirsten doll clothes: a short sleeved dress...
(back of dress and apron):
apron:

and my most proud accomplishment: tights (made from a real pair of girl's tights that had a run in them) and moccasins. i embroidered flowers on the shoes but forgot to photograph that:

calm down!

i noticed that i was very testy and irritable today so after facebooking my mood and intent to self medicate with lemon balm and motherwort, a few friends gave me their own formulas for the same experience: catnip and borage.

borage! i had forgotten i tinctured up a half gallon of it a few months back. i decided to whip up 2 oz. with: borage, catnip, lemon balm and motherwort. when i poured off the borage i had to play with it as the color was an amazing jewel green. i would have taken a picture but the lighting was bad due to our (seemingly) permanently placed cloud cover. i'll try again tomorrow if the clouds decide to shift away from the sun.

premilinary reports from this mama: feeling better! what did i name this lovely mixture? why, calm down! of course. i think my kids will be happy that i'm taking it tomorrow.

giveaway blog listings

go here for a list of blogs who are hosting giveaways.

handmade holidays - progress update 2

the fleur de lys for sage's knight tunic.

sage's gifts are just about done. i'm still waiting for a shield but i've sewn all i can for him at this point. jaden happily modeled for me.

the knight's chain mail hood. tabitha graciously drew the pattern up for me and i enlarged it and cut it out on architectural trash paper. i used a t-shirt i bought at the thrift shop just for this purpose. the hem became the hem of the hood.

side view of the hood. jaden loves to draw on her face with markers so notice the lovely designs on her face.

i'm very pleased with how it turned out!

in between trying to work out jaden's doctor's kit gift, i found some cute ideas for stocking stuffers.

a turtle and frog (i have an idea for a frog pattern in my head) for sage

an owl bookmark for nina

mermaids for jaden

so much fun! i also got my step-daughter's skirt finished. i made it a bit bigger than i thought necessary with the ability to make it larger still or smaller depending on how it fits her. i'm still waiting on the shirt pattern to arrive so i can sew it.

i also found ideas for the equinox for jaden and sage.