When I am Among Trees: Winter Break

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks, and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,”
they say, “and you, too, have come
into the world to do this, to go easy,
to be filled with light, and to shine.” - Mary Oliver


A bit o' crafty goodness to try over winter break!  I will be going into winter hibernation, researching new ideas for MGA Summer and working on my own creations!  Until we meet again, wishing you and yours comfort & joy in the coming year!

Made so & rooted by love,
Wendy



And don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter.
It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous.  - Rumi

Tree Cookies from BH&G

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you. - David Wagoner

Anthro knock-offs I made with my son.

You are the fearless guardian
of Divine Light.
So come, return to the root of the root
of your own soul. - Rumi
                                 

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) - e.e. cummings

Unusual Gifts for Unusal Girls

“You have no idea how hard I've looked for a gift to bring You. Nothing seemed right. What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the ocean. Everything I came up with was like taking spices to the Orient. It's no good giving my heart and my soul because you already have these. So I've brought you a mirror. Look at yourself and remember me.”  - Rumi

Every year around this time I am often asked, "Do you have any suggestions for an UNUSUAL gift for my daughter?"  So I decided to answer that question here...

As my favorite poet, e.e. cummings once wrote

Yours is the light by which my spirit's born:
- you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars.”

That said here is a short list to celebrate the light of the girl that is your sun, your moon and all your stars...

...how about a DIY star projector kit - $22.

Or this Solar System necklace by the lovely Gracie of AptoArt.

Looking for an extraordinary stocking stuffer?  How about a tiny box of handmade perfume samples made by Jill.  Her shop is called "For Strange Women" but there's nothing strange about it.   Made from plant extracts and essential oils, you can choose from scents like Coyote, Moss, Horse... and my favorite, Winter Kitty ! - $16.  Of course you may just have to indulge her in a full size bottle - $40.





Cassandra of Zenned Out makes lovely, customizable bracelets and rings with inspiring quotes! 

And because you want her to follow her passion, you may want to consider this brilliant passion planner invented by Angelia Trinidad!  - $30

For the girl who has everything, I'm quite certain that she doesn't have THIS...her very own hand mapping by my friend and gifted writer, Isabel Abbott.  - $75




For the irrepressible doodler, there is Zentangles - $15. 






















Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season! 

Made so & rooted by love,
Wendy

Week Four: It's a Wrap!

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." - Rumi













































Today we got right to work on Giving Tree (wood transfer) Ornaments...

and finished our "blessing cups".

Our final project for the day was Flying Wish Talismans.  We used flying wish paper to set our wishes soaring, then collected the ash into a tiny glass vial.  We added some sparkle, then sealed the vials with melted wax.   This project was inspired by the Holiday Wish Bottles in the Free People catalog...
and also my friend, Becky. 

Our closing ceremony for the Wintry Workshop was a Releasing Ceremony.  We wrote down all the things we wished to release so to enter the new year a bit lighter.  We wrote upon very large leaves which I had collected earlier and set out to dry.  We had intended to send them sailing in the creek, but it began to rain so we decided to release them into the fire.

We celebrated with S'mores...

and we said our farewells.

Dear Mighty Girls,

The weeks have gone by so quickly.  The fire is out, the supplies are put away, the floors swept and mopped.  The candle is still burning in the window and I've been sitting in the dark making a video from our session this morning.    It's so quiet...and I already miss your joyful, creative presence. 

Well...I guess it's a wrap! Oh, and speaking of wrap, here are some lovely wrapping ideas to inspire you:

• Here's a cool one with free printable tags! 
• BEAUTIFUL printable tags from Kelli Murray!
• ADORABLE tree gift toppers!!!
• Wrap gifts in book pages or old maps!
• DIY Starry gift wrap!
• You can make gift tags and/or wrapping paper from copies of old family photos.  See Sweet Paul Magazine's Holiday Countdown!
• Some swell ideas from the etsy blog!
• Use black paper and white gel pen for chalkboard wrapping! 
• More chalkboard ideas!
• Paper bags make for some charming gift wrap!
  
• Simple and sweet snow splattered paper!
• Here's how to make a newspaper gift bag!
• And some easy grocery bag pom toppers!
• Create yarn / ribbon from old tee shirts!
• Wonderful printable gift tags!
• Printable calligraphy gift tags!
• Printable Chalkboard Gift Tags!

If you want to spiff up your hand lettering, see this list of free hand lettering tutorials!!!
 
Have a happy holiday girls!  Until we meet again...

Made so & rooted by love,
Wendy

Week Three : Say Yes Quickly!

“Inside you there’s an artist you don’t know about… say yes quickly, if you know, if you’ve known it from before the beginning of the universe.”  - Rumi








Last week I asked the girls to start considering a word or short passage that has meaning to them.

Words can be powerful...I carry the words of my favorite writers and poets in my heart as though my life depends on them.  Sometimes...I even wear them.

Some years ago I saw Dr. Emoto's water crystal experiment in a film called, "What the Bleep Do We Know!?"  Dr. Emoto exposed water crystals to different words then photographed them.  The results were astounding.

His experiment suggests that our consciousness may have some effect on everything around us.  The human body is made of 50-65% water.  About 71% of the earth's surface is made up of water, but water also exists in the air, the soil, plants and animals. It's just one of those things that makes you go hmmmm. 

Shortly thereafter, I read about this amazing mom who created her own version of Dr. Emoto's experiment for her daughters.  You can read about that here.  Perhaps you would like to try the experiment yourself.

Last year artist Tokujin Yoshioka used the music of Swan Lake to affect the growth of crystals to produce this art piece at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo.  The artist found that the vibrations of music had a direct effect on the growth patterns of the crystals.  His work is quite beautiful and thought provoking.





Every year as we approach winter, I think of snow aka water crystals and then my mind drifts in the direction of Dr. Emoto's experiment.  I love snow and maybe even more than ever because of Dr. Emoto.  So it is with these thoughts in mind, that I presented the stamped metal talismans to the girls.  Today after our ritual sipping of hot cocoa, we got right to work on some words to embody...



We added charms to our necklaces.  Pine cones are a symbol found in ancient cultures that is said to represent illumination or spiritual enlightenment.  Acorns are a symbol of strength and in the Victorian era were thought to be a good luck charm.  The pine cone contains seeds while the acorn is a seed.  Seeds represent consciousness, growth, and change.

What seeds will you be sowing in the coming year? 

After the talisman project was completed.  We decorated our mugs.  The mugs will be fired tonight and ready to take home after our last workshop.































































The girls then designed the packaging for their gifts and collected the hand printed cards that they created last week.

Of course there was some horsing around...

and we ended the day with S'mores.

Girls, we have no class next week November 29th.  Our last workshop is on Saturday Dec 6th. 

Please remember to bring your prints for the wood transfer since we didn't get to it today.  We'll will also be creating a wish necklace...so start secretly gathering your wishes for the coming year!

Have a happy thanksgiving!  Have a happy EVERYTHING!!!

Made so & rooted by love,
Wendy