for the love of gnomes...

gnomes. we love them. in fact, my second post (almost a year ago) here on my brand new waldorfmama blog was about gnomes. wondrous little wintery creatures from folklore. that spark our imagination, from which we can weave magical tales as they help us with our crafts, mine for gems deep within the earth or stop to take shelter under a toadstool. yes, gnomes are little treasures. and you can see a few of ours here and here and here and here. don't they just make you smile?

knitted waldorf gnome by orit dotan

two evi gnome girls that maya received in her christmas stocking

yours from gnomeland,

shelley

around the house...

felted mamas by haddy2dogs

ostheimer shepherd boy and hen house

small felted tapestry by orit dotan

felted artwork...

i have always loved felted tapestries. there is something so magical and captivating about them to me. here are three of my favorite felted creations made by three amazing artists who are fellow etsians and good friends...

this one hangs on maya's bedroom door and was a custom piece made for me by crazymomma productions

this one hangs in our bedroom and was also a custom piece made for me by orit dotan

this one hangs in my hall and was made by haddy2dogs

yours in appreciation of some very talented fellow etsy artists,

shelley

felted ornaments...

i realized today that i hadn't put any photos of my felted christmas ornaments from my waldorfmama shop here on my blog, so here are a couple of my favorites. i wanted to make a lot more this year, but because of an abundance of custom orders for my hats...i didn't get as many ornaments made as i would have liked. oh well, there is always next year.  :)

yours in the joy of a handmade christmas,

shelley

handknitting stockings...

i also wanted to showcase here a few of the handknitted christmas stockings i've made and sold in my waldorfmama shop...

yours in more knitting fun,

shelley

the stockings are hung...

although not by the chimney (since we don't have a fireplace), they are hung with care. :) i love our family christmas stockings. these were a custom order and handmade by a fellow etsian last year (although she is no longer in business now), handknitted and felted in my very favorite color combinations!

yours as we draw closer to christmas day,

shelley

second advent gift...

for maya's second week of advent gift (and in celebration of the plant kingdom), she received several sets of beautifully handknitted food. a sandwich set, a taco set, a breakfast set, a salad set and some chocolate chip cookies. what fun she has had making us yummy things to eat all week!

yours in the joy of more handmade giving,

shelley

saint lucia...

yesterday was saint lucia's day. this is a swedish tradition that is celebrated in most waldorf schools. the scandinavian legend is that of a white-clad maiden, wearing a crown of burning candles so she could be seen in the darkness, who brought food to the starving villagers on the shores of lake vanern. throughout sweden on this day...the eldest daughter in each household comes to her parents, dressed in a long white gown tied with a red sash and wearing a crown of lighted candles, and on her tray she carries coffee or tea and saffron 'lucia' buns - which are also shared with loved ones and neighbors.

saint lucia's day is another festival of light that we celebrate during this dark time of year as we usher in our christmas time festivities.

maya in her felted saint lucia crown, handmade by haddy2dogs

felted saint lucia doll, also handmade by haddy2dogs

yours in continuing the celebration of light,

shelley

advent gifts...

we have made it a tradition in our home this year to present maya with one small gift for each week of advent. each gift is handmade, either by myself or other craftspeople. and each is made using only natural, sustainable materials. this is our commitment to maya. and is a result of our pledge to purchase only handmade, one of a kind, eco-friendly toys and items for our home. i challenge you to make the same commitment. for your children, yourself and the environment. enjoy the creativity of handmaking the things you want yourself. or take the pledge! and enjoy supporting an artist or crafter directly.  :)

maya's advent week one gift - a handknitted kitten from fuzzy mitten

yours in making the handmade pledge,

shelley

giving thanks...

happy thanksgiving to all!

around our home...

a few more little things from around our home today...

yours in happy hominess,

shelley

credit where credit is due...

i just received my winter 09 issue of living crafts in the mail yesterday. and i must say, it's quite a thrill to see something you've created in print (my ornaments are in the 'good finds' section, and my doll sweater is in the 'ready to wear' section, as a companion to the girl's red holiday cardigan). i just love this magazine and eagerly await each issue. i was a charter subscriber and definitely feel a special bond to it. and now it holds an even more special place in my heart.

and i also want to give credit where credit is due. to a very special person who inspired me to make the two things that are featured in the magazine - my twin sister, shannon. she is the one who taught me how to make the ornaments. and also inspired my doll sweater pattern when she made this lovely little sweater for maya's special baby. thank you, shannon! you are an inspiration in more ways than you can imagine and i love you very much!

yours in thankfulness and inspiration,

shelley

martinmas...

yesterday was martinmas and we enjoyed a lovely little lantern walk just after the sun set. this festival has always been a favorite of mine. it's magical seeing the lanterns all candlelit in the darkness. and it always brings about a feeling of cherishing and protecting the light, in preparation for the coming season of darkness. this celebration of martinmas is a special one, as it is truly about sharing our own inner light and being of service to others...

the story of saint martin is a simple one. he was a roman soldier who, on one cold november night, saw a beggar man by the side of the road. the man was freezing and begging for help, but everyone was passing him by. however martin, feeling great compassion for the man, chose to stop and help him. he removed his cloak, cut it in half, and shared one half of it with the beggar...who was no doubt grateful. that night, martin dreamed the beggar was the christ. and he came to realize that by helping this man...he had been in service to god and, indeed, to all mankind.

in honor of this selfless act, we began our martinmas celebration by first telling the story of saint martin amid glowing candles in our living room. then we lit our lanterns and carried them out into the darkness to walk our neighborhood and share some special gifts with friends. we offered our gifts of beeswax candles to our neighbors, along with some lovely artwork maya had created for them. we also plan on donating some warm clothing this week to those who are in need.

yours in celebration of this very special festival of light,

shelley

p.s.  i've just created a new waldorf festivals flickr group, a place to share our photos of all of the wonderful waldorf festivals throughout the year. please come and join me there!

living crafts...

today is the day that the winter issue of living crafts magazine should be out in stores. i haven't received my issue yet, but i'll be so excited to see it. i have the honor of having a two of my waldorfmama shop handmade items featured in this issue. my felted christmas ornaments are scheduled to be in the 'good finds' section. and my handknitted doll sweater pattern will be featured, as well. it will be fun to see these in print!

in honor of being featured, i've listed a few felted christmas ornaments in the shop. i certainly intended on making more of these before the issue came out - but you all know how that goes. i'll be listing many more in the coming days, so if they disappear fast...please check back often! i also plan to have more handknitted doll sweaters and dresses available as soon as possible. and remember, you can always request a custom order.

yours in loving living crafts,

shelley

some little things...

around our home...

a favorite little handcarved wooden gnome from zooloonaturals

lighting a candle in gratitude

keeping my knitting bags close at hand

yours in enjoying the little things today,

shelley

a day of hope...

once you choose hope, anything is possible.

~ christopher reeve

yours in hope today,

shelley

peace on earth...

deepak chopra and david simon led their second 'global peace meditation' yesterday. a one-hour worldwide mediation for peace, harmony and love on the planet. hundreds of participants with deepak and david in california...were joined by thousands more meditators around the globe. with the collective intention of creating peace in the world. and peace within.

in this time of choice for our country, i hope we all look within. and unite together, as one, with the vision and intention of peace for our country and our world...

felted dove of peace and olive branch made by my dear friend, becky, over at the singing bird

yours in visualizing world peace,

shelley

elves and gnomes...

elf and rooster

gnome, mouse and felted mushrooms

(mushrooms made by haddy2dogs)

felted boxes...

a few people asked so i wanted to show you what we use the felted boxes for - our block beeswax crayons. these beautiful felted boxes were custom made for me by my friend, leah (kneek), over at spider felt. i specifically asked for these color combinations so we could separate our stockmar block crayons into these four color groupings - reds/oranges, yellows, greens/blues, purples/violets. they are quite a handy way to store the crayons and make clean up a breeze. and didn't leah do a wonderful job?  thanks, leah!

yours in felted goodness,

shelley

beanbags...

we've been enjoying some play and exercises with beanbags lately. singing or saying verses as we toss the bags back and forth. they are perfect for encouraging rhythm, hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. our movements being a mixture of purposeful large and small gestures to develop fine and gross motor skills. which, in the waldorf pedagogy, are considered the foundation for writing and reading. balance is also an important pre-literary skill, and maya is especially loving the challenge of balancing a beanbag on her head while walking.

i made these little bean bags years ago using some cloth we had dyed in the kindergarten. i used dried navy beans to fill them.  and then colorful embroidery thread, using the blanket stitch, to sew the seams. i loved the way they turned out and they are still holding up just fine after years of play.

yours in beanbag fun,

shelley