sistermama gets real

Spring Nature Table

It is so cold today that our spring table feels a bit early, but at least we don't have any snow on the ground.  Jack and I have been telling ourselves that having the table switched encourages the spring to come faster - it has been very sunny out, even if it is freezing.

Now that I'm my third year of creating nature tables, its so much easier since I already have lots of stuff on hand.  I keep most of in a drawer right below, so I don't have to search for much.  Playsilks are too precious in our house to be trapped on a table, so I usually use cheap "silky" fabric from the craft store.  It looks less shiny in person, I don't think it is meant to be flashed upon!

Do go see Catherine's nature table as well.  She has lovely ways with wool, check out the picture on the wall!  Try using google translate if you would like to read her blog. Works well enough, although it is often comical.

King Winter and Mrs. Thaw

 

I started needle felting a few weeks ago.  I really enjoy that it is a craft that requires no pattern or really much planning before you start.  I can just sit down with an assortment of wool next to me and go to town.  I ordered a bunch of roving from Dancing Rain Dolls when I ordered the doll kit, her prices were the best I found and the quality is really nice.  A few night's ago I started on King Winter.  I still need to make him a crown and a scepter.  His skin color looks weird in this pictures.  It is actually much lighter.

 

I share this picture of Mrs. Thaw, not because I think she will be making an appearance around here anytime soon, but because I wanted to show how easy it is to create figures for your nature table even if you think you aren't particulary crafty.  Mrs. Thaw is built around a grandmother doll from a fairly cheap Target dollhouse family.  Her clothes are hand sewn on in a pretty crude fashion.  "Clothes" is probably a little bit of a stretch since they are just rectangles cut out of cloth.  I've even used glue dots to attach fabric, hair, beards, etc.  Jack came up with the idea of making a broom our of pieces we cut off of our own broom.

a little spring has come

Okay, so it has only come to the inside of our house.  But it did kind of smell like spring outside today, so that's a start, right?   Soon we will turn Mrs. Thaw into Mother Earth with a bit of a wardrobe change. 

I'm starting to get a little spring cleaning fever and spent the morning cleaning out our main walk in closet (this is an optimistic phrase).  My sewing machine is finally ready and I feel the need to make up some springy looking pillow covers for the couch pillows.

Isn't this little squirrel saucy looking?  I used a knitting pattern for a cat and and made up the squirrelly tail to add on.  He also has a larger mother that Jack wanted to add on, but she comes up to Mrs. Thaw's chest and that just looks a little freaky.