Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.


I am now officially in my knitting "off-season". The spring and summer tend to be my sewing seasons but I still like to have a knitting project to keep my idle hands busy. I suppose I could take this time to get ahead of the game and start on K's birthday sweater or Christmas gifts, but I am just not finding any fun in that. Instead I am knitting something for myself. This yarn will eventually become a greenfield cardigan from New England Knits. The pattern calls for DK yarn and size 6 needles. That is a bit daunting for me because it feels like it will take me forever to finish it. To hopefully save myself from having to rip out a sweater that doesn't fit, I am actually taking the time to knit a gauge swatch. There's a first time for everything, right?!

p.s - The yarn is some lovely Luna Grey Fiber Arts.

If you would like to link up and share your current works in progress (or finished works) please leave your link below. It can now be either to your specific blog post or Flickr photo. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Don't forget that there is now a KCCO Flickr group for you to share your crafting photos at anytime.

Please remember to link back here so that others who may want to join KCCO can find us.

It's as simple as that. Remember your post can be from any day of the week, it doesn't have to be today. We all love feedback so if you have a moment please leave a comment on some of the KCCO posts you may visit. I know from my own experience just how much your comments really motivate me! Now please share and inspire us all!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Spring in Oregon

.: A small grouping of the bountiful trillium in our backyard :. .: The soft glow of a full moon viewed through our tall coniferous trees :. .: I finally photographed the cherry blossoms outside our kitchen window, after three years of proclaiming every spring that I would (and then never getting around to it until it was too late and they were gone) :. .: Extraordinarily beautiful dogwood blossoms at K's school. They always make my heart skip a beat :.
.: Trying something new and loving it! I made some banana granola parfaits from the Forks Over Knives cookbook today. I added our favorite granola recipe instead of what they called for, though. This might be a new favorite treat. It's pretty versatile, too. It could work as a light breakfast or even a dessert thanks to it's natural sweetness. :.

Now I'm off to spend some much needed time with Kevin as we watch Colonial House. I am not a reality TV fan by any means, but I enjoy these PBS series (Frontier House, Texas Ranch House, etc.) and draw inspiration from them for our self-sufficient dreams. We are only two episodes in so far, but I am enjoying it.

Spring in Oregon

The world needs confident, creative, thinking people (Why Waldorf Works)

The Waldorf cirriculum. Sorry for the poor photograph. This was in a dark corner at school. You can see some close ups in my flickr photostream by clicking any of these pictures above.

Portland Waldorf School from Jesse Michener on Vimeo.

Last night I sat down and watched this video you see above. I knew about five seconds into it that I needed to share it with all of you. It's about K's school (you can even see some of her classmates in it), but also speaks of Waldorf education in general. The images, the narration and the beauty instantly got to me. I admit to shedding a few tears while watching it. It really captured the esssence of what Waldorf education is all about, why we need it, and why it really works. I feel that it captured what my words can not express nor articulate about why having this education for our children is so very important to us. This is why we would move across the country to be part of it (we had to move due to Kevin's new job, so we selected 8 potential locations based around areas that had Waldorf schools). This is also why we are willing to go without for it; for our children. Who knows, maybe the video could even help some of our family to understand and support our decision.

Please check it out and tell me what you think!

The world needs confident, creative, thinking people (Why Waldorf Works)

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.

Knitting and running go together, right?! Okay, that does seem a bit dangerous, especially with double pointed needles! That little bouquet above is from our family run/bike ride yesterday.
We took the van down to the bottom of our mountain for the run so that the little ones didn't have to deal with all of the hills in our area. It takes us maybe 8 minutes at the most to reach the bottom but I didn't let that deter me from getting a few stitches in on the ride. Oh how I love it when Kevin does the driving!
My current project is a birthday top for C baby to match C's.

What are you working on? Happy creating!

p.s - Don't forget to enter for a chance to win a great art kit from Eye Can Art here.

If you would like to link up and share your current works in progress (or finished works) please leave your link below. It can now be either to your specific blog post or Flickr photo. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Don't forget that there is now a KCCO Flickr group for you to share your crafting photos at anytime.

Please remember to link back here so that others who may want to join KCCO can find us.

It's as simple as that. Remember your post can be from any day of the week, it doesn't have to be today. We all love feedback so if you have a moment please leave a comment on some of the KCCO posts you may visit. I know from my own experience just how much your comments really motivate me! Now please share and inspire us all!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Happy Birthday sweet, spunky C!

Her new favorite book from Daddy. Kevin kept with his wolf/sled dog book theme.

C enjoyed a quiet family birthday celebration last week. We did our usual family birthday traditions(you can find them here), and C once again, for what I think might be either her second or third year in a row, chose broccoli soup for her birthday dinner. The daffodils in our front yard that usually bloom during C's birthday week (and are used to decorate her birthday table) didn't bloom this year, much to our disappointment. It just didn't get cold enough this winter. C found some peachy-pink roses to take their place.

We decided to forgo homeschooling that day and C, Little L and I spent some time at the pond across the street from K's school. We were hoping to see some goslings but apparently the feeling wasn't mutual as they never appeared. We enjoyed observing all the other geese and ducks that did make an effort to come out and wish C a happy birthday. C was quite in her element amongst them. Someday, when we have our farm, we will have to have some geese and ducks for her to tend to.

Oh, and that last photo of her? That's what I get for saying, "Can I take your picture?" (as in a posed shot instead of my usual candids) to my cute little spunky one. I hope she never loses that spark!

Project notes:

Hen with chicks

C's hen and 6 chicks were made using the Henny Penny pattern in Handmade Beginnings. I love that the chicks velcro to Mama hen's body underneath her cozy, warm wings. This project felt pretty thrifty. It was done with nothing but scraps from the folksy flannel quilt I made a few years back, and notions I already had on hand. The chicks in the pattern were made flat to sit under the hen's wings but I knew C would want them to be able to sit on their own, so I added a belly to the pattern (as you can see in the last photo).

C named the hen Patty Cake, in case you were wondering. I find that name quite amusing but very fitting for C.

Birthday skirt and top


I knew I didn't have the energy to pull off a birthday dress and sweater (my usual birthday tradition) this year so I went with a simple skirt and top. I did the same thing for K's last birthday so I think it was acceptable to C.

For C's skirt I used Heather Ross Far, Far Away II fabric (that I had left from a winter dress I made for K) and tangerine flowers from Far Far Away III for the contrasting trim. I made the skirt pattern up as I went but if you wanted a super easy free skirt pattern, my favorite one is here. It's great for learning to sew, too! Both of my girls request pockets in anything I sew for them. I somehow forgot that. When I showed Kevin the finished skirt the first thing he said was, "Where's the pocket?" I had to sit back down and figure out how I would add one. I normally like to accentuate the pockets with trim or contrasting thread but that just seemed too busy for this cheerful skirt. I instead decided to make a pocket that blends in. I cut out a piece of leftover fabric and lined it up like a puzzle piece over the same image on the skirt and sewed it in place. I think it worked okay.

C's top was just a simple cap sleeved knit. I finished it with a picot trim, my favorite way to end girls top and vest patterns. It just makes them all the more feminine. The top is a bit long, as you can see in the photos of her with the ducks. It doesn't help that the shirt underneath is bunched up, causing the top to get all lumpy looking. I added a bunny to the bottom with my first try at duplicate stitching but I might remove it. I'm not sure if you can tell it's a bunny. Can you?...because C couldn't!
The rav notes are here.

Don't forget to enter for a chance to win your own art kit from Eye Can Art here.

Happy Birthday sweet, spunky C!

Encaustic art for K (And a giveaway!)

      

Recently, K noticed some flyers for encaustic (layered wax) painting classes at school and wanted to learn how to do it herself. Encaustic art was a medium I had never tried before but I was up for the challenge. I used to live for any kind of artistic expression I could find- painting, sculpture, charcoals... you name it, I loved it (The artist in me misses those days. Maybe I will come back to them again someday). Then, as if it was fate, we came across a layered wax drawing kit from Eye Can Art. Everything K needed for her artistic intentions all in one can, how could we go wrong?!

She set up a space at the table with some books and images for inspiration and then got to work on it straight away. C, Little L and I all huddled around her as she opened the kit. I have never seen all of us so engrossed in something like this before. I do believe there may have even been a few "ohs" and "ahs" as she pulled each piece from the kit. I was so very pleased that they were high quality supplies that even an adult would be happy with instead of the usual cheaper "kid quality"supplies you find in a lot of children's art kits. That makes such a huge difference. I also loved that they included a brief history of encaustic art along with the instructions. I read it out loud for everyone to hear turning K's project into a mini art lesson for all of us.

K decided she would draw St. Therese in a field with flowers. When she finished her base layer with the oil pastels she placed the sheet of beeswax on top and I placed it in the oven for her. We all watched the beeswax melt and then took it out to cool. C especially enjoyed watching the beeswax change from clear to cloudy and then back to mostly clear as it cooled down. Once it was completely cool K added her final layer by drawing little details and more flowers. Voila! It was done! She thoroughly enjoyed the process and the end result. In fact she enjoyed it so much that she made the second one in the kit right after. Now C and I want to give it a shot, too.Wouldn't you?!

The kind folks over at Eye Can Art want you to share in the fun and exciting learning experience we had by offering any one kit of the winner's choosing (except their back-ordered Book in a Box) to one of you!

For a chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post!

If you would like an additional chance to win:
-like Eye Can Art on Facebook
-follow Eye Can Art on Twitter 
-post this giveaway to Facebook, Twitter, or your blog

and please make sure to come back and leave me another comment letting me know you did so! Trust me, you will be just as thrilled with their kits as we are. If I could enter, I would! I will close comments on Thursday April 25th and announce the winner within this post.

comments closed! The winner is:

eidolons ·  

I bought all the stuff to try "real" encaustics years ago. But I never got around to it (I'll admit to being a little intimidated). This looks like the perfect baby step into the process. I love that someone thought to offer this technique to children. Marvelous! Thanks for sharing with us (and my, what a little artist you have there!).

 

Good luck everyone, and thank you Eye Can Art for making this happen!

p.s - I still have not found the time to put up a disclosure, but I just wanted to add that I am not being compensated financially. I only share products and finds such as these because we truly do love them. We just want to share the love with all of you, too!

Encaustic art for K (And a giveaway!)