GardenMama

.: Carving Twig Gnomes ~ Tutorial :.

.:Hand carved and painted twigs that soon took on the likeness of St. Nicholas!:.

Small branches were gathered, carved, and painted in the likeness of St. Nicholas and tucked into each of the children's wooden clogs that were set out on the evening of this year's St. Nicholas day celebration. 

On the morning of the celebration the children were brought such joy from discovering these sweet treasures and they soon became an important part of their play!

.: With a pocketknife I carved each twig to have a 'face' and 'hat' :.

I find it important for the little ones to witness mama or daddy creating with their hands,  as it inspires them to do the same. Today we enjoyed creating a few more carved branches that soon grew into a little family of gnomes that will be shared with others in this season of giving!

.: I like to leave the face 'blank' so that the child may imagine the emotion she wishes :.

Step One:

Gather up your branches in the thickness you wish. Cut them to 6" lengths. 

Step Two:

Carve the front piece of the branch to expose the inner wood and shape a face and beard for your new carved friend.  Then carve upwards along the sides of the branch to make a pointed hat.  Continue making slices in the branch until the tip is brought to a squared-off point.

.: Time to paint! We enjoyed painting hats and beards to bring these new friends to life! :.

Step Three:

For easy clean up a sheet of waxed paper was set out on our workspace. Two small drops of paint were used as a palette.

You and your littles will enjoy the next process of painting your hats. We themed this set to be a gnome family with red hats. For another inspiration you could try  a family with rainbow hats. It would be lovely to use throughout the year as 'Waldorf inspired math gnomes' with the respective ( - + x = ) symbols painted on their chest.

.: The finished family of gnomes! Ready to bring cheer into the day! :.

The most enjoyable step of this project for both the children and I was the finishing touch of painting on  beards for our new friends!

Now it is time to enjoy some time of play with your handmade friends!

Some of ours found their way into a wreath that sits upon the table. Others will enjoy hitching a ride on the tops of beautifully-wrapped gifts! 

Enjoy this season of giving, creating, and nurturing memories with your family!

.: Weaving Evergreens ~ A Living Ring Of Hope :.

.: Into the woods with gathering baskets in hand :.

Into the woods with gathering baskets in hand we set out to harvest Evergreens that will make up a winter wreath to greet others at our door. (As well as a second wreath made of delicate greens that sits upon the table with winter lanterns in celebration of this Advent season.)

.: Harvesting Evergreen boughs that will create a Winter wreath! :.

The woods envelopes us in its beauty and grace and grounds us to this moment and to this process of receiving these gifts from nature!
 

.: The gathering is done eagerly as we anticipate creating with these boughs! :.
 
The sun pours over our shoulders and kisses the tops of our head as we walk towards home with hands scented of pine.  The scent of moss and earth surrounds us as we walk and enjoy the beauty that is this day!

.: The wire frame can be saved each year ~ this one is from a local craft store for only a few dollars :.

With a wire frame set out and a basket full of greens I begin to weave each green bough in and out until each child gathers around me.  I hand over this loom to my eldest son who begins weaving the boughs  passing them through, over, and under, creating this pine scented tapestry.

.: With the wire frame in hand my oldest son now guides this process of wreath making :.

Now he is the teacher. He guides the process and on he passes this loom from small hands to smaller hands. While teaching each other we also teach ourselves.

.: Each child waiting their turn to weave the boughs that create this Winter wreath :.

.: I appreciate that we each take part in this process from start to finish :.

Children and nature are such rich gifts. They are creative inspirations which bring such meaning into the simple processes of life.  They make us mindful of choosing wisely and allow us to slow down to notice the details of life!

.: The scent of pine scents our hands as we weave each bough :.

We set orange peels and pine to simmer on the stove while the wreath became very full with the beauty of the trees and the energy of the creative hearts and hands that were creating with it on this day.

.: The finished wreath waiting to be trimmed :.

.: A living ring of hope! :.

Once our winter wreath was complete we trimmed  the center to create a circle.  The green boughs remind us of the life that emerges even during the darkness of winter.  The circular shape reminds us of the circularity of the seasons. Together the two form a living ring of hope!

.: Celebrating The Magic Of St. Nicholas Day! :.

.: Three sets of wooden clogs full with the gifts of St. Nicholas Day! :.

In the early morning hours as the sky was still dark, three little ones came in to wake mama and daddy exclaiming: "Saint Nicholas was here! Saint Nicholas was here!" He had paid them a visit!

Three sets of little feet ran down the winding old stairs while mama and daddy crawled out of bed into warm sweaters and into the kitchen to set out some tea.

 

.: The clogs were set out in the evening with hay for Nicholas' white horse! :.

The children had set out their wooden clogs the night before with hay for Nicholas' white horse. Now they were all full with clementines,  a symbolic gift to remind us to be sweet. Golden chocolate coins remind us of the giving nature of Nicholas, and that we too can give freely to others before thinking of ourselves.

.: I carved branches and painted them for each child's shoe to resemble St. Nicholas! :.

Wee handmade toys were wrapped in tissue papers and wool yarns--a handmade gnome girl, sweetly knitted bags for each child which held tucked within an old-fashioned game of jacks, carved branches painted in the likeness of Saint Nicholas, and chalk for three slates....

.: Hand-knit bags filled with an old-fashioned game of Jacks made by Julie! :.

On each day leading up to this magical morning we read a story of Nicholas' life and the goodness that he cultivated in the world. as we enjoyed chocolate coins and sweet clementines, we read the last story that reminded us to shine our inner lights.

.: We enjoy many artist's renditions of St. Nicholas in this St. Nicholas Day book! :.

We gave daddy a hug as he went off to work. The children and I went to gather pine tree branches in hopes of creating a winter wreath to adorn our door.  Each child took a turn weaving a pine branch into the form that was set out before them. 

The wreath was passed around with each child enjoying the weaving process that will create our winter wreath.

.: Clementines reminding us to be sweet! :.

.: Walnuts and golden coins--a traditional gift for us on this celebratory occasion! :.

The house become full with the gorgeous scent of pine as we wove the branches and the needles began to fall to the floor around us.  We continued to snack on clementines and the scents that filled our home on this celebratory morning warmed us.

.: Tucked away are beeswax walnut shell candles I created with sweet knit leaves and an acorn created by my friend Joy :.

.: Little gnome girl handmade by 'The little gnomes home' :.

The skies on this morning were white and the flurries began to swirl all around us.  Last St. Nicholas day the snow also began to fall as if on cue,  The air was full with magic adding so much joy into our day. 

As we walked back indoors the house was still scented with clementine and pine.  We decided to put all of our peels and needles to boil on top of the stove so that our house would continue to hold the warmth that was this days celebration for daddy to enjoy when he arrived home and we re-tell our adventures!

.: I look forward to sharing our magical day of wreath-making in my next post! :.