GardenMama

.:Crafting With Love: A Fabric Wreath Tutorial:.

 

.: A fabric wreath created with love :.

The children and I enjoyed some time together this weekend sifting through scraps of fabrics.  Each scrap evoked a special memory--of a doll quilt created, a beloved pair of pajama pants,  or a sweet doll outfit. The connection between these fabrics and the work of our hands is always a meaningful one.  

To be able to trace a path from the plant to the loom to the loving hand and then on to family and warm memories is an exercise in wholeness and joy that I find highly rewarding as a crafter and artisan. 

So on this day we transformed these humble strips of fabric into a crafty complement to our home. I chose some warming hues of red in celebration of the upcoming season of love!

.: Choosing strips of fabric that will soon create a fabric wreath :.

I. Cut or tear strips of fabric. It is not necessary to make them perfectly even. It adds more fullness if the width varies a bit.  My strips are roughly 2 1/2" wide x 11" in length.  I chose five patterns. (You may choose as many as you wish!)

.: One wire coat hanger which may also be cut in half for a smaller wreath :.

II. You will need a wire coat hanger.

.: Bending the coat hanger into a circle, forming the base for the fabric wreath :.

III.  Form your wire coat hanger into a circle to create a base for your fabric wreath.

.: A tube of fabric is sewn to cover the remaining wire coat hanger :.

IV. Take one of your strips and fold it in half lengthwise. Sew a seam along the edge to form a tube.

.: A circle of fabric creating a loop to hang the fabric wreath :.

V. Bend the top hanger hook into a full circle. Add your newly sewn casing around it to hide the wire.  (This forms the loop that you will use to hang your finished fabric wreath.)

 

.: Tie a simple knot with your strip of fabric along the wire until it is full :.

VI. Next tie a simple tie with your fabric strips,  making sure to remember your pattern (If you choose to follow a sequential pattern)

.: A close up of fabric that is being tied along the wire,  forming a fabric wreath :.

VII. Continue to tie each piece of fabric until the entire wire circle is full.  If you have less fabric or wish to make a smaller wreath simply cut your hanger in half with wire cutters before you begin this process.

.: A full and completed wreath :.

VIII. Once your fabric wreath looks nice and full you are finished!

.: Now to find the perfect spot to display your fabric wreath :.

IX. Let your children help you find the perfect spot in your home or studio for your craft-inspired fabric wreath or gift it to a friend this Valentines Day to let them feel the warmth of your creativity and love!

I enjoyed being featured on The Crafty Crow as well as One Pretty Thing.  A warm welcome to new friends who are visiting from these lovely sites!

.: A Meditation On Bread :.

.: Sifting the flour into a heavy vintage bowl in preparation to make the bread :.

When the rain is pouring and the skies are gray, when the woodstove is roaring we hear the call to make bread.  In appreciation of this process we center the day around the time that gives rise to freshly crafted bread.

 

.: The dough rests quietly under it's blanket waiting to rise :.

This is a  simple process involving minimal ingredients. It involves not effort but calls instead for something much more important--our time.

.: A seat in front of the woodstove proves to be a perfect spot for keeping the dough warmed :.

I appreciate slow processes like these which nourish both our spirits and our bellies.  I enjoy the introspection that attends my interaction with the dough. The children love to peek under the towel as it slowly rises and expands to crest the rim of the sturdy ceramic bowl. I guide the dough back down and tuck it back in, basking in a special moment of quietude before the demands of the day call us away once more.

.: Our rising dough on it's way to becoming baguettes :.

.: Once our dough is formed into eight baguettes, it will sit and rise just once more :.

The quiet act of sifting, mixing, and kneading keeps us ever mindful of the moment we are in. It is an ancient ritual of sustenance that is visceral and profound.  It exercises a centering influence over our day as we are thrice reminded to stop whatever we are doing to re-visit the living dough.

.: Warm and fresh right from the oven, waiting to be hollowed out to form delicious soup bowls :.

Soon the bread lightly browns, coaxing a cozy warm sweetness into the air. In our hearts we realize there is nothing quite like home made bread in the oven. It is as though it has already been thoroughly enjoyed even before it is brought forth from the oven...

.: A few to be saved, (eaten later in the week with peanut butter) :.

This Baguette recipe was given to me years ago, authored by a dear friend and wonderful cook.  We love to scoop out the center of our baguettes to be made into soup bowls.  They are also lovely for a snack with peanut butter!

Stir in three cups of flour

Two packets of yeast (4.5 teaspoons)

2.5 cups hot water together in a bowl for ten minutes

Add one teaspoon of salt dissolved in 1 teaspoon of water, stir for
thirty more seconds

Stir in three more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time until it is
kneadable, It should become elastic.

Place the dough in a bowl greased with olive oil. Cover, allow to rise for one hour.

Punch down, cover, and allow to rise again for one hour.

Shape the loaves into eight mini baguettes or four large loaves on a baking sheet.

Cover with a towel and allow to rise for forty-five minutes.

Place a pan with one inch of water on the bottom rack of a 400 degree oven.

Bake the loaves for twenty five to thirty minutes.

Check after twenty minutes. Using a wooden spoon, turn the loaves over

and tap the bottoms. When they sound hollow, they are ready!

A few of my favorite bread books you may also enjoy:

Tassajara Bread Book

The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book: A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking

Don't forget to pair a lovely homemade soup with your bread bowl:

Five fabulous soup recipes from "The Goddess Of Cake"

.: A Tutorial For Watercolor Painting Lanterns:.

In this mid-winter month of January, the sun is slowly sharing itself a bit more each day.  As it's golden rays gently stream through our windows, we follow the warming sun wherever she leads and bask in it's gentle kiss upon our faces.  Today we set out our watercolor paints. We notice the beauty of color that is laid out before us even before our brushes have even met the sturdy papers. I look forward to sharing with you this process for creating watercolor  lanterns.

 These watercolor painting lanterns are traditionally hand-held with string and carried for a most beautiful Waldorf inspired celebration called a lantern walk.  This walk happens in the fall and is one of my most favorite traditions each year.  On these gray days of Winter we are ever seeking after color. This project  proved the perfect way to satisfy that desire!

.: A Tutorial :.

As the colors now swirl, first yellow and red meet--saying hello to orange forming a warmth into the day from this new convergence of color that has been greeted.

 

Shades of blue dance upon the papers reminiscent of a cold winter's day. It shares a stories of icicles, and the hues of a snowy landscape under the sun as it disappears into the evening sky.

On this day let us set out to bring color and beauty to our hearts, and on this day we create rivers of color mixing, meeting and dancing all in synchronicity. The sun continues to stream through our windows and extends it's rays of warmth and inspiration to all of us.

When your painting is dry you may wish to add more color to form a vibrant lantern.

When you are ready and your painting is dry, gently rub the painting with cooking oil. Use a cloth, adding enough oil to soak all the way through the back of the paper. 

The oil will penetrate the paper and create a lovely translucent effect. Your painting should be allowed to sit overnight to dry. You may wish to rub some of the oil away the next day with a dry cloth.

 

You will now want to cut a fringe of about 2  1/2"  x  2 1/2" tall slits all along the long edge of your paper and next curl the entire paper into a cylinder, adding glue along the edge to hold it together.

 I used a large beeswax candle to serve as a weight to hold my edges glued into place overnight.

As your cylinder has now been successfully glued and formed, you may now flip it over to the bottom slits that you previously cut and start to fold down each piece one by one until they all fan closed.

 

This will form the bottom to your lantern.

Flip your lantern over and place it on the table.

Because we are working with paper and oil, I like to add glass mason jars into my watercolor paper lanterns that will safely hold a small beeswax candle to form a glow into our day.

This color, this day, (and the sun that continues to play a good game of hide and seek with us) brought forth from our creative hearts these lanterns that now grace our tables.  As the beeswax candle burns within, the golden glow gently filters through with outstretched arms. The warmth we feel is so reminiscent of the way the sun pours through our windows, kissing us on our faces as we paint with watercolors.

May nature inspire you in your every day!

The watercolor painting style we choose is called wet on wet painting.  To do so, you soak your watercolor paper in water until it is wet from front to back.  With tubes of watercolor paint you may mix a bit of paint into a jar with water and proceed to paint.  We appreciate using a painting board, quality paints, brushes and watercolor paper

We also appreciate telling a story along with our painting time, there are some good ideas in the book "Painting with children" which also talks about the color wheel.