Week 4: Now is the Season

Now is the season to know
that everything you do is sacred. - Hafiz

I can hardly believe it's our last week in the wintry workshop. 

We began the morning with hot cocoa, and catching up with each other after a week away from the studio.  While sipping hot cocoa, the girls examined the dried plants and seeds in the vase on the table, and drew pictures of them on their pouches before filling them.  They wrote the common names and the scientific Latin names because the latter sounds like Harry Potter magic spells which is way more fun.  The seeds (and the plants) can be planted now and they will be ready for growing season.  Click HERE for instructions on how to plant milkweed seed in the Fall.

 

We then went to work on our first project, power bracelets.  I saw these adorable beaded power word bracelets in a local store last month, and thought it would be a fun project for the Mighty Girls.  We added a porous lava bead to absorb a drop of essential oil for a little extra magic.

We then began a secondary project, Candy Cane sugar scrub.  This is an invigorating slough for dry skin (not recommended for face or sensitive areas).  It has no artificial ingredients or scents.  *We added a dash of red sugar sprinkles to give it a candy cane look and a few drops of peppermint essential oil.  There are numerous tutorials on how to make sugar scrub, and you can scent it with your favorite essential oil.

The first week of our Wintry Workshop our Mighty B expressed her love for butterflies and her vision of one day having a small pollinator garden in her yard to provide the right habitat to attract and host butterflies.  I contacted Barbara Tuset at Audubon Society of Northern Virginia who put me in touch with a local native plant expert Karen Prante.  Karen culled some native plants and seeds for each of the Mighty Girls to start their own pollinator gardens.  We are very grateful to Karen and Barbara for their generosity.

Below is some information about the native wild flowers that were given to the girls as well as resources about native plants and the importance of them. 

Liatris microcephala / Appalachian blazing star is native to North America.  It attracts butterflies, songbirds, pollinators and hummingbirds.  It likes full sun to partial shade and moist to dry soil.  It's drought tolerant and is a beautiful cut flower.  It's deer resistant and blooms September and August.

Lobelia siphilitica/ Great Blue Lobelia is native to North America.  It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.  It likes partial shade to full shade and wet to moist soil so it's great for a rain garden or a boggy area.  It is a beautiful cut flower.  It is deer resistant and blooms July, September and August.

Symphyotrichum patens / Spreading Aster is a native that is very attractive to butterflies. It likes well drained dry to medium rocky soil and full sun to part shade. It is drought resistant and blooms August to October.

Asclepias tuberosa/ Butterfly weed is native to North America attracts butterflies. It likes full sun to partial shade and dry soil. It's drought resistant and deer resistant. It blooms June and July.

Agastache foeniculum/ Anise Hyssop is native to North America. It will attract a crowd of native bees and butterflies. It also attract hummingbirds. It likes full sun to partial shade. Its drought tolerant and deer resistant. It's fragrant flowers bloom in July, August and September.


Resources: 

Audubon at Home Wildlife Sanctuary Program:  This program is open to residential properties, homeowner associations, schools, places of worship, parks and commercial properties and other potentially sustainable wildlife habitats, both public and private seeking.  They provide free consultations to create wildlife sanctuaries and pollinator gardens for the public.

NoVA Natives:  A great resource that encourages residents as well as public and commercial entities to install native plants as the first step toward creating wildlife habitat and functioning ecosystems on their own properties.



Also this book!









Where to buy native wildflowers and plants:

Watermark Woods Native Plants

Earth Sangha

Hill House Native Plant Farm



We closed our last session with our wishing ceremony.  We steeped some Aurora Borealis Tea from Spice & Tea Exchange of Alexandria.  It contains Butterfly Pea Flower which creates an enchanting blue color that turns pink with lemon.

While the tea steeped, the girls wrote their wishes onto flying wish paper. The wishes could be for themselves, for the earth, or for humanity. There are no rules to wishing. Once the wishes were written, we lit them aflame so our wishes could fly into the air.  Don't worry, it's safe! We then catch the ash and blow the ash into the wintry breeze. You can find Flying Wish paper here.

We celebrated the coming season with S'mores followed by a quick romp into the woods to make houses for wee folk, fairies, elves, and gnomes!  It was their creative idea and I'm always happy to oblige.  T'is the season!

Dear Mighty Girls,

WOW!  These 4 weeks with you went by so fast!  I am so proud of all that you accomplished in the studio, and how beautiful your handmade creations turned out.  May you have a magical holiday season, surrounded by love and creativity.  May you enjoy all the gifts of the seasons that nature so generously provides.

As we enter the season of giving, let us remember the indigenous nations upon whose land we live.  If you don't already know whose land you live on, here is a map that will help you.  What was the name of the tribe?  What was the original language of the people?  Can you learn to speak one word in the original language?  What word will you choose?  I choose Miigwetch.  It means, "Thank you".




Here is something beautiful to read:

Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World

Thank you for joining me for another season of Mighty Girl Art.  Remember, everything you do is sacred.  In 2019 Mighty Girl Art will be moving to the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.  We hope that you will join us at our new nest near the mountains.  Until then and always...

Made so & rooted by love,
Wendy


PS.  Here is some land art by Andy Goldsworthy and James Brunt to inspire you.  Please send me pictures if you decide to make some land art of your own. 

Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy

James Brunt

James Brunt

James Brunt

James Brunt

Week 3: Sacred Gift

May you experience each day as a sacred gift.
- John O'Donohue

What a beautiful, colorful and chilly November Morning!

When the girls arrived we got right work, removing the felted soaps (that were drying all week) from their casing. The girls added ribbon and gift card.

We then began knitting a winter scarf on a zippy loom. The girls picked out a skein of yarn that they liked and we talked a bit about how to use the loom. The zippy loom is a terrific tool for making quick and easy scarves and blankets with bulky yarn. With a little practice you can make a scarf in 15-20 minutes. At that rate you could easily make a basket full of scarves and give them to a homeless shelter ( holiday hint ).

Zippy looms can be purchased at Michaels or any local craft store.

*There are LOTS of tutorials on the Zippy site if you forget how to make to make the scarf!

After the scarves were completed, we began our secondary project - Bath Salts.  These bath salts are free of artificial scents and colorings.  The girls added a blend of essential oils and crushed flowers.  It's a wonderful gift for a magical hot soak on a cold winter day.

Power to the girls!

We celebrated our efforts with S'mores.

Well done, Girls!  We will have more fun next week.  See you then!

Made so & rooted by love,

Wendy

PS- After our workshop I went to the Owl Moon Raptor Festival.  SO many beautiful birds.  Here is a photo of a sweet Barred Owl named Luna and her wonderful handler.