nature weaving

 

july 4th: last minute patriotic flair three ways

Need and activity to keep the kiddos busy? Make friendship bracelets! You can go the usual route and use red, white, and blue embroidery floss but I like to use variegated yarn. One, because you only need to purchase one ball of yarn, and two, because yarn is a little bit easier for little hands to hold on to.

This red, white, and blue ball of yarn is made of all cotton fiber. If you do not have one handy or your local shops are not open you can make your own ball using a couple of sharpies, white yarn, and a craft stick, like this.

To create this lumpy bumpy bracelet I knotted three strands of yarn around one strand using the basic friendship knot. Click here for a video demo I made a few years ago.

This bracelet uses the same basic knot. To make it knot one strand of yarn around the other two and switch to use the next color. The way my yarn was dyed I had to use three separate strands to create the blocked red, white, and blue look.

The final bracelet also uses three strands but instead of knotting them up I braided them. A safety pin is a great tool to add tension to the yarn as you knot and/or braid. You can pin it to your pant leg or a pillow.

Have a Happy Fourth, get crafty and stay safe! For more 4th of July fun, click here!

weave a little house...

 

We had a donated playhouse in our classroom that had a cloth cover in various shades of pink. We couldn't decide if we wanted to keep the house or not. I discovered the cover came off quite easily and so we whipped the cover off and then I found some yarn....

 

My thinking was two-fold. The house was now open but still houselike so that the children could play inside it and turn it into whatever kind of structure they wanted while we could still see them and what they were up to.

So I wrapped the walls of the house in yarn to give it a smidge bit more visual stability...

And added the basket of fabric scraps so that they could weave some magic into the walls.

Some children work carefully weaving the fabric in and out. Some work very hard to hang a length of fabric over a piece of yarn that rises far above their heads.

Lately I have spotted many of our scarves from the scarf basket tucked, tied, and woven into the house. It is always changing and I love it.

make a memory catcher

When ander and zaza were visiting we hit up our favorite beach for some rock collecting, climbing, creek walking, and of course...crafting.

We decided to call these mini weavings memory catchers as a cross between a dream catcher and a memory jar. To create your own all you need is a mini embroidery hoop, embroidery floss, and scissors.

Wrap a long length of embroidery floss around the inside hoop making sure to cross over multiple times. Because the hoop is round, you will want to anchor your wrappings but doing a double wrap every now and then (wrapping your floss around the rim of the hoop twice before stretching it across to the other  side), otherwise your floss will slip and your nice spider-webby pattern will just be a jumble of floss.

 

Tie on with a knot and end with a knot. Don't worry about excess thread, it kinda looks happy dangling along with your memory bits. If you prefer, use your scissors to trim the tails. Once your ending knot is secure, anchor the outside hoop over the webbed-up hoop and tighten. Now it is time for some weaving of sorts.

 

The more wrapping and webbiness you add to your hoop, the more non-linear items can be added. You can weave long strands of seaweed in and out of the crossing threads or you can poke and coax smaller pieces of wavy seaweed and pebbles in between the threads.

When you wrap your thread around the hoop, you will be wrapping on both sides creating a bit of a pocket between the threads to tuck non-weavable items into.

There you go, a little memory catcher to remind you of your day by the ocean...or in the forest...or at the lake. Try weaving flower petals and different grasses, or small ferns and happy leaves. Just make sure to stay away from poison oak and ivy and if you are in a protected area, take a picture instead and preserve the prettiness.

Don't throw that away-strawberry baskets

We don't often come by these nifty little gems these days but if you get your berries from a local stand or farmer's market, you just may be lucky enough to score some! There is much you can do with a strawberry basket. Today, we will show you how to make a Mother's Day pendant or brooch!What you need:
*green strawberry basket
*ribbon, lace and string scraps
*pom-pons, buttons, sequins, etc.
*pipe cleaners
*paper scraps
*sandpaper
*glue
*glitter
*pin-backs if making brooches
*scissorsscrumdilly-do it!

First off, this project is most easily done with a strawberry basket but can be adapted using cardboard, styrofoam, cereal boxes or other material. Use this project as a guideline and have fun experimenting!

Cut up your basket into parts. You can cut it into five or more parts, depending on how big your wee one wants his/her surface space to be. You will be setting up materials for weaving which is perfect for working those fine motor skills. If your kidlet is easily frustrated and not ready for such an activity, prep one side of a cereal box for them by cutting out areas they can implement into a weaving project of their own.If you are going to make a pendant, make sure all "pointy" bits are trimmed. If your wee one is insisting on gluing away,please sand the surface of the basket piece a bit so that the glue has something to hold onto. Otherwise, the glue will peel off. You may want to encourage your kidlet to glue after everything else is in place. Pass out the small pieces and set out all the bits and trim and let your wee ones weave away. They can use paper cut or torn into strips,ribbon, yarn, string and pipe cleaners. They can weave, twist, turn or tie. The possibilities are endless! Next up, add some sparkle, buttons, pom-pons, you name and set aside to dry.Loop a length of ribbon or string through the top of the pendant to create a necklace. Glue a pin-back to the back of the pendant with a super strong glue like E-6000 if using as a brooch. Make sure you do the super gluing yourself. Never EVER let your wee ones use the powerful glues!Wrap your giftie up in a brown paper bag decorated with your wee one's artwork and handiness and you are as good as gold! Don't forget to take pictures and send them to us to be featured on "the 'do!"