At Make Local Habit
Fairy Crafts are back at Make Local Habit in Grass Valley. We brought kits and finished fairies to the shop this week. Of course, while in the shop, I find dozens of treasures that I my kids and I want as well. Make Local Habit carries local artists along with natural toys, beautiful books, and creative games.
Our fairy is having fun playing with unicorns handmade by Kiya's Naturals Childhood Treasures. At least until he gets to go home with a new friend.
I know that we will be going here for holiday shopping. From the carved wood toys to Nevada County stickers, all sorts of treasures are waiting to be found. Asia and I are bringing new things every couple of weeks. If you have a special order, let us know. We're excited to be back on the shelves at this special store!
In addition to the other goodies, Kiya sews clothing for children and adults by upcycling quality clothing. Her styes are eclectic and fun.
Not all of the toys featured here are Fairy Crafts- I love the little soft star babies, knitting kits, and pegs for birthday rings. We are constantly inspired by new ideas. The little knitting kit is a brilliant way to inspire a young knitter.
We look enjoy being part of this a community of local artisans!
Wishing Stars
We start a journey with expectations. And children are often told "don't do this," or "don't do that," as they start an adventure (like a new school year). Think of all the rules, the rules, the rules :)
So I like to think of the things we do want for our adventure. What do we want to create? How do we want to feel? What should we bring to this journey?
Children often wish for things. Things like ponies or candy. I want to wish for things we cannot touch. Kindness. Friends. Creativity. Beauty. Hope. Love.
And, every once in awhile, a child cracks my heart wide open with a wish. Like this one.
Something about crafting allows us to feel deeply. To share deeply. Creating a space where we can express ideas that are big and mighty. They connect us. As we sew or bead or knit, we create together. We create community.
The stars can be very simple or made fancier.
Optional: Children can watercolor or decorate their own paper. We have painted squares on both sides, then we cut into stars. For time's sake, I watercolored and cut these stars.
Supplies:
- Stiff paper
- Needle and thread (I used friendly blunt needles and crochet thread)
- Beads and sequins
- Hole punch
Prep:
Watercolor paper on both sides and punched a hole. Double the thread and tie a knot. Go through the hole, then back through the loop in the thread. The thread is now attached to the star and ready for decorating.
Ages: 5-7
For children:
Write name on one side of the star and a wish on the other side. If a wish is hard to choose, add a few beads while thinking. Wishes can take time. Decorating the star is also lovely. Thread sequins and beads. Hang in a sunny place to see the sun shine on your wishing star.
Helper: When tying off, be sure to tie around the last bead, or else they can all slide right off the thread. I loop the needle through the last bead a couple of times to secure all the other beads on the thread.
Enjoy! One class hung them on a branch. Another hung them from the ceiling over their gathering space. All those wishes watching over the children. Beautiful! These inspire a lot of discussion and create a lovely space where children celebrate wishes coming true :)
This wish? To read. May all your wishes come true :)
Thankful
This year brings so much gratitude. We are thankful for our book and sharing our book.
We are thankful for seeing our crafts made around the world.
We are thankful for the photos of fairies and owls and critters sewn by children (and adults).
We are thankful for activities. We loved hearing about the scavenger hunt with hidden fairies.
And giveaways. We are thankful for great reviews (so many!). Thank you thank you!
We are thankful for supportive friends. And family. And new friends! We meet so many lovely people into the forest. We appreciate you.
We are thankful for creative children. And creative grown-ups.
We are thankful for our agent and the wonderful people at C&T Publishing who helped make our ideas into a beautiful book.
We are thankful for the bloggers who post reviews and projects. We love the photos of your crafts!
We are grateful for our community.
We are so grateful for our children. Thank you, Anika, for staging these scenes with me yesterday with the fairies!
We are thankful for dreams, because the Forest started as a dream. We are thankful for dreamers.
And we are thankful for magic. The magic of turning felt and ribbons into little treasured stories. The magic of spending time together making cute things.
The magic that makes me smile. Every time. Every time the glue dries, I hold the finished craft. And I smile. So thankful.
We are grateful for good health. Asia and I have both had challenges in our families this year (better now) that remind us how this time together is so very precious. We are grateful for good mornings. And afternoons. And evenings.
I asked my girl and her first answer was Family. Grateful for family. Love and acceptance and growing together.
And of course we are grateful for you. For your reading. And your crafting. And your support of our little journey. You make this possible. And we appreciate you each and every day.
Thank you!
Wishing you a delightful day!
Win a Signed Forest Fairy Book
Thank you for helping us create a magical forest! Our book officially releases today! Happy book birthday to the Forest! The fairies and friends are so excited! We are hearing from you that the book has clear (and pretty) directions! Which makes us happy-dance!
Thank you for sharing the fairies and friends that you are sewing at home. We love seeing them come alive for crafters!
Thank you for the many wonderful reviews! At Amazon, we already have 5 star reviews, yay! I was so nervous!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
To celebrate, we want to give back to you, our community. We want to give a signed book. And since our friends in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and all over the world, were the among the first to buy our little patterns on Etsy, we will ship internationally. Hurrah! The book will be signed by Lenka and Asia. We are happy to write a personalized dedication.
We haven't offered a giveaway in awhile (busy creating the book) so let us know if you have ideas or questions for us. Copy and paste this link into your HTML code if you would like to embed this widget on your site: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NjU5MTYyNTYxNjZmNGY3ZDMzOGEwZDQ3Mjc5M2FjOjM=/
Welcome to the Forest :)
Congralutions Sadie! Your book is on the way! :) Thank you everyone for entering!
Maker Faire Favorites
I had a fantastic time discovering Maker Faire this year! We had never been to this event before. I was blown away. So much creativity and talent. I am inspired. And maybe, just maybe, we can bring Forest Fairy Crafts to the faire next year. I think we would have a fun time sharing our crafts with all of the Maker-Families :)
I did want to share a couple of my favorite makers. I found this wonderful yarn from Ceallach Yarns. Her color combinations were dreamy.
I am not sure what I will create with this yarn yet, but I have lots of ideas!
Also for my project-plate, I found Georgie Monster, a soft animal pattern by Claire Sanders.
We fell in love with his little wings. We can't wait to make a few this summer! Her Etsy Shop is Fluff Engine. She was a lovely maker and I hope to make more of her fun patterns. Her owl pattern is free! Yay!
I wished I could add a few of Laurel Begley's ceramics to my collection. She catches a sweet whimset in her little mushrooms and critters. I may need to order one for taking photos of fairies beside it. Just so I can have one of these in my home :)
Her website is here and her Etsy Shop is Laurel Begley's Ceramics.
I loved OddFauna for her quirky, lovely art and critters. She had so much fun imagining these little beasts. And every print made me smile.
I especially wanted her little totems. I could have brought home a monster-zoo.
Her website is here and her store is here.
I learned that I need to save for next year, so I won't come home thinking, I really should have... Because these are incredible artists, however they express their vision.
I found a few artists who inspired me. One was Erica Sirotich. Her prints are here. I want a few for my children's room (and my room :))
These are just a few of the many amazing artists that I got to meet at Maker Faire. If you don't know about the faire, and you can get to San Mateo next spring, you should come! It's a festival celebrating creative passions!
Which is joyful fun! I hope you are inspired, too :)