Getting Crafty

In February, Lachlan and I joined a Steiner playgroup. Although I don't plan on sending Lachlan to our local Steiner school, the playgroup has been invaluable for both Lachlan and me. The wonderful thing about Steiner playgroups, is that the focus is completely on the child and on the parent to be fully present with the child during the hours of playgroup. The environment is relaxing (though the lavender oil helps this!) and all of the toys and materials are made from natural fibers. The children are encouraged to do a lot of work with their hands; they knead their own bio-dynamic-organic brown bread rolls which are baked for morning tea time. There is also an organic vegetable garden where the children can pick fresh veggies and herbs to go with their bread. My favourite time has been craft where the parents begin the project of making a toy for their children. Older children can help in the process and if the children are too young, the adult makes the toy on their own. All of the chidlren whether they assist or not enjoy watching their parents at work and are very excited when they can hold the finished project and explore all of its endless capabilities.

The playgroup has been such a blessing for me. I have been able to interact with other like-minded parents; those who the use of natural materials, organics, sustainability and who also actively work at having a very connected relationship with their children. I have always loved to use my creative thinking abilities when I've had the time but I haven't done a lot of toy-making when it comes to craft; most of my craft involves household decoration or entertaining table pieces. The thought of making something for Lachlan that he might treasure always sounded appealing but I suppose I never really new where to start or found my inspiration. Well....now I am inspired! Ever since our new playgroup, I have been crafting away all of my free time! I've been taking all the techniques I've learned at our weekly playgroups and expanding upon them at home. So far I have felted, sewed and even done some woodwork. I am addicted!

Felt Balls

Thanks to my dear cousin, whose daughter attends a Steiner school in the U.S. I have been exposed to numerous blogs involving Steiner-inspired arts and crafts. It has been a lot of fun reading through them and gaining more motivation to make something special for Lachlan. I first started out making felt balls. I made a small one and then also a larger one with a bell inside that jingles. I have been amazed at how much Lachlan loves these simple felt balls. He has made up his own games with them and we have both had a blast chasing them around the house. Since the are felt, I don't have to worry about anyone getting hurt or anything breaking.

My next project was to make a felt shape from a cookie cutter. This was something very easy and that Lachlan could help me with as well. It was time consuming but we were both pleased with the end result--a steam train! Of course this made my inspiring train engineer very happy as trains are all the talk in our house! I added some detail to the train with a blanket-stitch around the edge.

Sporting his crown

Our little Prince

Earlier this week, I decided to make a crown for Lachlan using some left over felt I had from a Thanksgiving project where I made turkey finger puppets--okay, so I guess I do craft a few kids things now and again...I made this crown not thinking Lachlan would actually wear it as he doesn't typically like to put things on his head; however I was motivated to practice my blanket-stitching and a crown is easy to do. I pulled out some brown felt and stitched it into a crown and dug up some old buttons to act as jewels. To my surprise, Lachlan has just loved this crown! He loves to wear it while playing at home and for the last two nights he has insisted on sleeping with it. A true sleeping beauty, I tell you!

Wooden Sail Boat

At play group my current projects have been a felted fish, heart ornament and most recently completed, a wooden sail boat. Lachlan was particularly excited about the sail boat. He's enjoyed playing with it in the bathtub and also in our pretend ocean that he and I made out of a blue towel spread out on the living room floor. We through in some sea shells, sea animals and our felt fish (of course!). Lachlan also came up with the idea of building a ferry so that his matchbox cars could go across the sea.

Noelle's Doll

Lastly, I have just finished this evening my first doll! I'm very excited because I wanted to buy a similar doll for Lachlan when he was a bub but never did. Now I have hand-made one for baby Noelle who is due in just 3 weeks time. It is a very simple, teething blanket doll; inspired by some blogs I've read and by the Kathe Kruse collection of organic teething dolls which I have been interested in.I was a bit nervous to tackle it, even though it is a simple doll. Sewing is something that I've just been recently doing and I'm not that great but I'm slowly getting the hang of it and with each project I learn something new from my mistakes which makes the next goal I tackle a little bit more successful than the previous.

I hope you enjoy the pics of my latest crafting adventures but most importantly I post them because I hope they will inspire you to make something special for your child. There is no greater gift than watching your little one play with something you made from love. They don't care about the imperfections, they just treasure what was made especially for them from someone they love so dearly.