As the autumn weather calls us outdoors more, we are enjoying an assortment of nature-inspired crafts. We began a couple of weeks ago with simple, small pine needle baskets. We used the instructions from this site, but there are a few other sites out there with directions and some beautiful examples of this art. They make mine look like the clumsy first effort that it is. :-)
Amelia made one into a petite sewing basket! I desperately want to learn other forms of basketry and we have found the book Handmade Baskets from Nature's Colorful Materials quite helpful in getting us started. Hopefully I will have other examples to show you soon.
I have also been harvesting job's tears again. I grew them for years but haven't intentionally grown any in a while. Job's tears are in the grass family and I learned the hard way to never plant them where you don't want them forever! The plants I am gathering from right now are growing in my unruly, pathetic excuse for a flower bed. Every year I try to pull all the sprouts in the spring, but every year a few get by me.
I do find it so amazing that God created a plant that grows perfect beads. They have been used for making rosaries (and jewelry, etc.) for hundreds of years! (I actually started out in rosary making by creating rosaries from my homegrown "tears".) After letting the seeds air dry in the house for about a week, the tiny center "sprout" can be easily pulled out leaving a perfect hole for stringing.
The above photo shows them in various stages of ripening. When they turn dark to light gray and the little "sprout" turns brown, they are ready to be picked. Actually, at this point they are ready to fall off and if you don't pick them (very often, as they ripen) they escape into the tangle of weeds below and grow into new plants next spring.
Hand dipped beeswax candles, with wax from a nearby bee keeper, is on the agenda soon. The ones above were made by my mom last year. I love the smell and the glow given off by pure beeswax.
By far, the most nature-craft fun we have been enjoying lately has come from this book. The Little Book of Whittling: Passing Time on the Trail, on the Porch, and Under the Stars
Anyway, all this is to say, that in this house, whittling is something enjoyed by both girls (me too!) and boys. When I ordered this little book I was hoping for a few ideas for the kids, what I got was an amazing little book that has kept them busy for days. Above is a fork that Amelia recently made and James has an assortment of wooden knives and letter openers to his credit, so far.
Not only are the ideas and photos terrific, but all throughout the book are small gray boxes with such treasures as "Know Your Knots","How to Bait a Hook" and "Avoiding Poisonous Plants". There are also recipes for such tempting lovelies as "Old-Fashioned Mustard", "Sun-Dried Tomato Mayonnaise", "Ultimate Peanut Butter S'mores", and much, much more!
This wonderful book, coupled with a small pocket knife, would make a great Christmas gift. With projects such as a knife, spoon, animals, a canoe, slingshot and whistle, I am not kidding when I tell you that it makes me want to grab my little Swiss army knife (yep, I've had one since I was a kid), and a pile of sticks, and whittle away the day.
