a number of things

Hello?

Well, I seem to have forgotten all about this little corner of the interwebs. :) Life has been full and busy. You will have to excuse the not-so-crisp pics in this post as they are from Instagram, a little community that I am enjoying much more than I ever thought I would.

We are coming to the end of an unusually cool spring down here in the deep south, that has the bees a little behind last year in their honey production, but doing well.We have started participating in our local farmer's market, which has been so much fun! One of our ducks hatched out 2 ducklings of her own and two more are setting on eggs. I caught a swarm the day after Easter and brought my hive total up to three. :) And so much more!

A very happy spring & summer to you all!

two more posters

We are doing a bit of study into the fascinating world of soil life this year, especially how it is important in the practice of permaculture. I am, frankly, a complete nerd about this stuff and I could read books on the subject all day. My children, on the other hand, have a somewhat shorter attention span and so I thought a visual aid or two would help a bit with retention.

The print above illustrates the amazing symbiotic relationship that trees have with beneficial fungi, called mycorrhiza.  I drew both illustrations in pen and ink and then digitally colored them using swatches of watercolor wash that I also scanned in. The tree was digitally colored with the text of a handwritten poem done by my great great grandmother. The poster below was made to give just a small idea of all that is going on below the surface of the soil. Goodness, these were fun to do. :)

(Both are available in my Etsy shop.)

 

a recent spring field trip

We finally got around to checking out the new Palmetto Island State Park a few weeks ago (It just opened up not far from us last fall.) when our local homeschool group arranged for a guided tour.

We have been a second time now and are truly awed by the Louisiana flavored beauty these acres have to offer. The hiking trails are wonderful and there is tons of wildlife to be seen (and heard).

The fellows you see above were relaxing on the banks of two of the ponds and showed no interested in our noisy group, even though there was nothing (seriously, nothing) but about 20 - 25 yards between us and them. I'll admit this was a just bit unnerving at first sight, but the kids were absolutely thrilled! I would also really like to try to make one of their guided night hikes (I wonder if the alligators are asleep then?) to see the owls. The next trip we plan to bring the canoe try out the canoe trails (and sample the fishing too)!

Have a terrific spring week!

 

break taking

(Rosie's new doll from this pattern.)

I'll be taking a break from blogging for a bit as we plug through the beginning of this second half of the school year. That coupled with the traditional (for me anyway) January organizing and cleaning thing, trying to plan the spring garden (and early seed starting!), and working on a few sewing projects (things for the little girls mostly) has left me with little extra computer time. I had resolved (among other things) to spend less time in front of this screen this year, and uploading the new things to the Gardens of Grace site seems to be using up my self allotted time each day for now. (No doubt I'll be popping in here and there with a photo or two, however. :))

Have a wonderful day!

 

(not quite) wordless Wednesday :: mixed opinions

:)

 

wordless wednesday :: field trip

(more pics here)

 

a little nature study

This week's holiday (Mardi Gras down here in south Louisiana) along with some rare sunny days, inspired me to do a little of sewing and create something that had been bumping around in my head for quite some time. A small "wallet" of sorts to generate a bit of excitement for the coming of spring and all things outdoors. (Spring is coming...right?)

The Nature Explorer's Wallets were immediately put into action in what dry areas the kids could find. The mini leaf & flower press was an especially big hit with its 90lb watercolor paper pages along with the tiny "nature notes" book. The whole little kit was so much fun to do and received with such enthusiasm, that I made up a few extras as well as a pattern for the Etsy shop. I hope you enjoy them as much as we are!

 

where do the weeks go?

Time seems to be flying. It's February already and the days are full even though the weather is bleak. Homeschooling is rocking right along regardless of the fact I have not posted a thing (in what seems like forever) over on the schoolhouse blog.The above picture is from earlier this week when we dove into a few barn owl pellets. Great learning fun!

Among the many projects that I am currently juggling, I am switching my Tiny Shop from the blog over to Etsy. There are several reasons for this change, not the least of which is that I really would like to add more things to the shop such as prints and pdf patterns. All in good time, however. All in good time. :)

Have a fabulous February day!

   

life happens

Sorry it has been so quiet here lately, but ever since school started back up I seem to be having a hard time getting my blogging act together. Part of the reason is that I started up a learning notes blog for Chip and I to record our schoolhouse doings. I am a terrible record keeper. Truly. I am hoping that this little spot will help me to collect my thoughts better at the end of the day (or week, as it sometimes happens) and give us a better picture of what is going on with the kids' learning. It is definitely a more personal and quite rough around the edges blog, but it is a peek into our days. I am planning to get the kids involved more with posts of their own etc, but we are just starting out right now.

Also, I have been playing more with Flickr lately. You can find a bit more of us there too, if you are so inclined.

Have a fabulous weekend!

   

wordless Wednesday :: my survival kit

  

watercolor journaling

 

If you are looking for a fun answer to the ongoing "Mom, what can I paint?" question, I would like to suggest watercolor journaling. 

    

Such a simple concept, but one so filled with continuous inspiration.

 

We even ordered the DVD, because frankly, I need all the help I can get.  The kids love it and have no problem following the clear instructions and fun demonstrations.

Happy summer painting!

    

summer painting

 

It's no secret we dig watercolors around here. To such an extent, I was getting a bit tired of setting up all the necessary paraphernalia each and every time a watercoloring whim struck someone.  Then one day, while reading this inspiring post over at Bonny Glen, I had an idea.  

  

Rose's Kit

Why not take Lissa's idea of having watercolors at the ready, and combine it with the notion of a nice, compact watercolor travel kit. Now I am very aware that this is not a new idea and is done by many.  But ours are not really "travel kits", so to speak (though of course they are perfect for painting on the go also!), but more like every day individual kits to foster more artistic independence around the house.

 

Collin's Kit

These little kits have really made watercoloring something all the kids can do on their own with minimal mess and clean up.  Even the four year old takes out her own little set, mists her colors to wet them and begins painting either with a small container of water or or a waterbrush.

 

Anna's Mini-Kit (Because she loves all things mini. :))

Speaking of waterbrushes, I originally bought a couple for myself, but as it turned out they are fantastic at keeping the water-mess to a minimum for the 4 and 7 year olds.  Also, after our initial sets of cheap dollar store paints were used up (in no time flat), I followed the suggestion of Lori from Camp Creek and upgraded to Prang sets for the younger kids.  These are great (and for less than $4 a set!) and even come with a white segmented lid so that they can mix colors just like mom.

  

Anna's Full Kit

All of each kid's supplies (except their watercolor journals) fit neatly into a 97 cent zippered pencil case for easy storage at home and a quick grab for travel. So easy and organized!

File this under 'why on Earth did I not think of this before'. :)