Crafts

Guess what I just found for sale at Michaels? Wheat! In natural, pale green and soft brown! I saw it with my own eyes!  On the shelf!

So, I decided this is the perfect time to share how I make Harvest Brooms. They are the perfect accent to celebrate the fall harvest season which is just about to begin!

Harvest brooms are a great way to continue an age old tradition of saving a bit of the wheat harvest to create a "house blessing". House Blessings bring a family good luck through the coming winter. In the spring, the wheat is sprinkled over the newly sown fields to ensure a plentiful harvest in the fall.

The harvest broom is the simplest of all wheat weaving and only takes a few minutes!

And it is a great way to introduce kids to an age old tradition. Check out the really easy wheat ornaments below!

You will need:

- 20 to 40 wheat stalks

- Dental floss

- scissors

- Bit of raffia, ribbon or fabric strip

- Dried flowers, berries, pods, etc

- Glue gun (optional but helpful)

Make a Harvest Broom

1. Clean and soak your wheat stalks as described in last year's post for making braided and twisted House Blessings. Cover your work surface with a piece of plastic or several layers of newspapers.

2. Remove wheat from the water and blot to remove excess water.

3. Using dental floss, tie the stalks together just above the heads. Pull your dental floss very tight and secure your knot using a surgeons knot. (Tutorial for surgeons knot is at the end of this post.)

4. Tightly tie the ends together using dental floss. None of your stalks will be the same length. This is not a problem. Just be sure you place your floss so that the bundle is tied about 1" below the shortest stalk.

5. Cut through all the wheat stalks about 1" above the floss.

6. To make a little hanging loop, cut a piece of floss about 6" long. Run one end of it between the stalks and under the floss tie as shown.

7. Fold the floss in half and tie a little overhand knot near the end. (I made two here - the first one was a little too long.) Cut just a little below the knot.

8. Now gently pull the floss loop toward the top of the broom until the knot is snug against the floss tie. The knot will be hidden by any decoration you add to the top to cover the floss tie.

9. You are ready to embellish! I usually tie a bit of raffia around the floss at the top of the broom, but ribbon or fabric strips also work well. A dab of hot glue will help hold it in place.

9. You can embellish your broom with just about anything you have on hand. I like to use flowers that have dried naturally in vases or on plants, dried poppy pods, dried fern leaves, corn stalks, fall leaves treated with Mod Podge.

But craft stores, florists and farmer's markets offer a huge selection of tempting ideas as well. Below - a few others I recently made using garden materials and "stuff" found at the Pumpkin Patch and Michaels.

Dried red echinacea from the garden last fall and oats found along the side of a country road.

Corn husks and round red ornamental corn from the Pumpkin Patch, tied on with raffia - and a little help from hot glue!)

Beautiful tiny 3" long blue Indian Corn and corn husks from the Pumpkin Patch and thistles from Michael's.

I love these simple little ornaments made with wheat! So easy for kids to make.

Simply tie 6 to 8 wheat stalks together right where the head meets the stem the same way as you did in step 3 above.

Trim the stalks in a kind of fan shape about 2" above the tie.

Embellish!

These little ornaments are so small they don't require much to dress them up. A bit of raffia and some craft store "pepper berries" work great for these. Small dried flowers also are very pretty, but perhaps a bit too fragile for tiny hands.

So - let your kids figure it out! Little plastic toys work!! And Christmas bells and baubles! A favorite piece of drift wood or a precious stone! Milkweed fluff! Pine cone!  

If you can't find wheat at your local Michael's or florist, you can always order from my favorite - Black Beard's Wheat! These are the nicest people to work with and their wheat is absolutely beautiful. This one is my most favorite!

Package of 70 - 120 wheat stalks run $6.75 to $7.00 depending on kind of wheat. A very fair price.  And if you want to learn more about wheat weaving, you will find some great books here!

If you are a teacher, you might want to consider contacting a farmer near you to see if he would be willing to allow you to either purchase the wheat you need for your class, or perhaps even allow you to pick it for free since it is for the kids!

If you are given permission to pick, do so about 4 or 5 days before the farmer plans to harvest and wear gloves and use garden clippers to cut the wheat. Cut near the ground. Please don't ever pick from a wheat field without getting permission.

It is best to hang the wheat in bundles, upside down for at least a week before using. But if this is not possible, simply clean it using the instructions here.

OK guys! I want to see some wheat brooms and house blessing ornaments magically appear in my side bar flickr pool!

Look how beautiful this is!

And this one!

And this one too!

These lovely, colorful curled wood roosters just arrived in the mail from Kathy, Polwig.com.

Her cousin, who lives in Poland, brought them with her, at Kathy's request, when she came to visit Kathy and her family for the summer.

I still pinch myself every morning when I walk into my dining room and see them dangling playfully from my chandelier! (You didn't think I would put them away for Christmas did you?)

These lovelies are made from exactly the shaved and curled wood I have been making all the noise about! Except - they are stained in the most gorgeous, brilliant colors.

Kathy tells me that in Poland, Easter is the time of year when everyone makes lots of ornaments and decorations - not so much at Christmas. Christmas is more about special foods.

The roosters are traditional Easter ornaments that are hung around the house and placed in Easter baskets during the Easter season in Poland.

Mine, however, are going to be on display year round!

Thank you, Kathy, for sending me this amazing gift. To say that I love them is a huge understatement!

Kathy is quickly becoming my sweetie's favorite cook! And he has already put in an urgent request for Kathy's Coconut Chicken!

Here are links to a few of his favorites so far!

Adobo Chicken with Mango and Avocado (this is Kathy's husband's favorite!)

Chinese Meatballs ( I made mine with pork and they were delicious.)

Fabulous Bolognese (Meat) Sauce (everything she makes is kid friendly)

And two more on my Sweetie's wish list: Chicken a la Mediterranean and Chicken Pasta Salad with Dill.

Me? Well that's easy! As soon as it cools off and I am allowed to use the oven again, I am making a Rustic Peach Galette!

Got kids? Check out Kathy's "kids blog". You just never know what she will come up with next!

Kathy has promised to share a special Polish treat during the Holiday Cookie recipe exchange! I can't wait!

Meet the cutest little bear ever. Her name is Fleur!

As promised I am introducing you to some lovely people I recently met while taking Diane's on-line "Blog Tune-Up Class". And I just couldn't resist putting this adorable bear right at the top of the post!

You can read more about Diane's newest class "Write, Publish and Sell Your Crafty Ebook" right here!

Before beginning my introductions, I want to thank each and every one of these lovely ladies for allowing me to use their images to illustrate this post. 

Pam Eyre joined in the class from Australia. Making stuffies like Fleur is only one of her many skills which she shares on her blog Cloth to Creation. Be sure to visit her Chenille gallery, her Mixed Media gallery and her Everything Else gallery. Her Etsy and Madeit stores are full of lovely enticements. Definitely worth a look.

Chronicles of Yarnia is the blog home of Portland's only DIY yarn store, Yarnia, where you can actually design your own custom yarn and watch it being wound on the cone right before your very eyes!

If you don't live in Portland, don't despair because Lindsey,Yarnia's owner, not only has created an on-line shop featuring some of her gorgeous yarns, but she also makes it possible for anyone, anywhere to order their very own custom yarn!

Chrysalia's is new to blogging and her blog Butterfly Jungle is a lovely eclectic mixture of lifey things; and crafty tutorials, like cool terra cotta garden bells and an equally cool story stick; and recipes - S'mores Bars, and Fruit Pizza. If you are interested in butterflies, check out her lovely little review of books about butterflies. Stop by and say hello and welcome her to the crafty blogiverse!

Carina has just written and published two really great e-books, "Stitching Borders and Beyond" and "Small Stitches". Click on the links to read reviews and information about each of these well written and beautiful embroidery ebooks.

And you have just got to visit her at "Polka and Bloom" her Etsy Store and her  Art Fire store where she sells absolutely charming embroidery patterns. Her blog, Carina's Craftblog is a great place to go for inspiration, embroidery and crochet tutorials and free patterns and sewing tips.

If you are into knitting and yarn you will enjoy meeting Holli at Holli Yeoh Knits which is sprinkled with "lifey stuff" and excellent knitting technique tutorials like this one for Picot cast on and this one for Picot bind off.  (That is Picot edging on the adorable sweater above!)

And follow this link to visit her lovely shop where you will find beautiful Holli Yeoh knitting patterns and kits and yarn!

Sophie is French Canadian and writes her blog, Bleu Vanille, in French! But, she provides a lovely translation option right in the sidebar. She loves to knit, crochet, and sew, but her passion is fabrics.

I just love this little cross stitch embroidery notebook cover. The full tutorial is right here.

Love this shot Elizabeth Carls used in a recent blog post "Tips for Shopping at the Farmer's market". Elizabeth, a Ravelry Designer, is very generous in sharing many of her knitting patterns, felted bag and hat patterns, felting how-tos and even recipe cards on her blog "Elizabeth Carls". And she just posted a tutorial for wet felted beads which I can't wait to try!

Check out her shop for more Felted Knit Patterns, and  Knitting Patterns.

There is a lot going on in Gail's blog "Stitching My Story"! She is a long distance runner who is an artist at heart and shares her life and crafty adventures,  recipes and really great quotes - many of which have already found their way into my own personal book of favorites! Take a little time to explore - I think you will enjoy reading.

Shortbread! My most favorite cookie next to sugar cookies! How could I resist begging to use this image?

Crafternoon Tea with GrannyG hails from New Zealand and is another one of those eclectic blogs that is fun to visit because you just never know what will be waiting there! Shortbread, this delicious set of pictures simply labeled "colour" , or images showing the work of an amazing felt artist. And then there is this little piece on kiwi gumboots!

Genevieve is an artist, writer and teacher, writes a blog "Amaryllis Creations", and has an Etsy store by the same name where she sells hand painted and Kumihimo jewelry.

She recently posted a tutorial for making this beaded goldfish embroidery and another tutorial for how to embroider using beads. You might also want to check out this post in which she shares a free bead embroidery book download from Robin Atkins.

I am not sure I understand exactly why, but I was drawn to this quilt pattern immediately! Perhaps it is because it doesn't appear "structured" - but rather whimsical and free - you know, an outside the box kind of thing!.

All these blocks actually came to Doris - Threads of Conversation - through the mail! And if you want to make some of your own - she has posted the tutorial here on the One Block Over blog! I am looking forward to seeing this quilt when it is completed.

Apparently Doris is a fabric collector with a rather large stash! Because she is de-stashing on a regular basis, she has set up an Etsy shop! Go check it out! Lots of "good stuff"! Lots!

Leah is a glass artist who teaches torchworking classes and sells her amazing glass mobiles at the Portland Saturday Market and in her Etsy shop.

Her blog, the Garden of Leah, is a delightful way to explore Portland and Western Oregon. I loved her post about Sweet Corn Soup, and her adventures picking peaches on Sauvie island.

And - get this - right here on her Etsy shop she sells kits so you can make your very own mobiles! The kits include everything you need - glass pieces with wires attached, and other items that are needed like swivels, o-rings and s-hooks. The kits only take about 15 minutes to assemble!

This bead crochet necklace really got my attention! First of all it is crochet - which has always been a huge mystery to me - and it is crochet with beads! And Daphne did a fantastic job!

On her blog Crafty Intrigue, she shares her crafty adventures which include bead crochet, knitting (after an unhappy revelation about her blog posts on google), favorite quotes - love this one!

Daphne is jumping back into blogging after a two year break. Welcome back, Daphne!

With all these links - you know this was a labor of love,  so I really appreciate everyone stopping by and taking the time to get to know these lovely women who share so much crafty goodness.

Update on my goal to knit a pair of socks this year!

PAST

My introduction to sock knitting! A free on-line class with Mercedes at Kitchen Sink Dyeworks. I just had to make the pink pair (on the bottom left) to go along with the turquoise pair.

PRESENT

Ready to move on to an official sock pattern, I fell in love with these beauties knitted by Kimberly at Lickety Split and what a sweetie, she sent me the pattern!

Double pointed needles! ACK! Hence the books and book marks!

Diane took me to the craft book section of Powells Books for my birthday and told me to pick out any book I wanted! BEST birthday gift ever! Both picking out the book and getting to spend a few hours with Diane surrounded by craft books!

I selected A to Z Knitting: The Ultimate Guide for the Beginner to Advance Knitter. It has already been a huge help. I love the way it is written and formated.

And just in time to mark much needed pages, two of these absolutely beautiful bookmarks arrived in the mail - sent by Chris - Parabolic Muse (new) Prism Train (old).

While I was shopping at SCRAP with Diane, I picked up a couple skeins of sock yarn. Not the prettiest color in the world, but great for my first practice pair!

So here it is - the beginning of my first official sock - the first three rows! Other than the fact that I feel like all my fingers turned into thumbs, it is going well! I have 70 more rows to go before I get to the part written in Greek!

FUTURE

Once I have finished my practice sock, I am finally knitting a gorgeous pair of socks in that fabulous yarn you see right next to the booties! My friend Bonnie - Bonny's Pages - sent it to me a little over a year ago to encourage and entice me into knitting socks!

I guess one could say I am a slow learner! But at least I am headed in the right direction with the help and encouragement and patience of so many lovely people.

And one day soon, I will proudly show off my cranberry socks!

We always look forward to blueberry season at the Pumpkin Patch!

This year the trip out to pick berries was even more memorable because we took along two of our favorite pals!

After picking buckets of blueberries, Sophia and I picked 6 baskets of beautiful, juicy, delicious raspberries for her Mom to freeze. Actually we picked more than 6 baskets but only 6 made it out of the field in the baskets. The rest - left the field in our tummies!

And Antonio took charge of the basket while his Mom shopped at the produce market.

Labor Day weekend is Harvest Festival time at the Pumpkin Patch! And for the second year, my sweetie and I will be hanging out from 10:00 to 3:00 on Monday, Labor Day. We will set up a totally free, crafty area just outside the market.

Last year, visitors kept our tables full all day - painting gourds and making wheat House Blessings.

Locals! Think about spending part of your day at the farm and joining us. There will be hay rides, good food and a fabulous selection of farm fresh produce. And don't forget U-Pick options too! Check out the Pumpkin Patch Harvest Festival info here!

I have wheat drying in my garage and I am cleaning gourds like crazy! 60 so far and still going!

I hope to see some of you there.

I just finished making my very first snowman. He has been smiling at me from my desk for two days now! I can't help but smile back and return to what I am doing in a happier mood.

I must admit, I have become a fan of snowmen only recently, having been a collector of Santas for over 25 years. At first, I was quite offended as manufacturers began replacing my beloved Santas with snowmen as the collectible symbol of the season. (Snowman, of course, appeal to a wider audience).

In time, realizing that snowmen could be displayed until late February without visitors looking at me as if I am a nut case, I began to appreciate their importance in the scheme of things and began a small collection. But then I realized how much more fun it would be to create and make my own!

In this post, I am sharing an easy, peasy way to make snowmen - of any size or shape you like - 3" to 3' - plump or not so plump!

Making the pattern

1. Head. Using any object you have on hand that is the size you want the head, trace the object onto the paper you have chosen for your pattern.

For the snowman above, I used a piece of 8 1/2"x11" scrap printer paper. But for larger snowmen, you could use tissue paper or newspaper or butcher paper. Drinking glasses and cookie cutters work fine for smaller head shapes. Dinner plates and platters will work for really big snowmen!

2. Body. Draw a curved line as shown starting at the head. The shape of the line will determine the shape of your snowman. Mine is fairly slim, but you could make yours nice and round if you like!

  3. Neck. At the point where the body and head come together, draw a little curve.

4. To Make a symmetrical body. Fold your pattern in half, making sure the right and left sides of the head line up with each other.

5. Cut out your snowman pattern following the head and body lines you have drawn.

6. Open your pattern! A perfect snowman!

7. Make the base. Measure across the bottom of your pattern and make another circle about 1" less in diameter than the bottom measurement.

8. Arms. Totally optional! But if you want arms, draw a simple arm on your pattern paper. I choose to add a mitten shape to my arm, but arms can just be rounded on the end.

9. Cutting. Lay your pattern pieces on your fabric, and cut. You will need two body head pieces, one base, and four arms.

I added a 1/4" seam allowance as I cut the pattern. But you could just as easily include it in the pattern as you are making it.

Assembling your Snowman.

1. Stitch around the snowman using a 1/4" seam allowance. Leave the bottom open. If your fabric is loosely woven or ravels easily, stitch along the seam allowance a second time to give strength.

I cut a sample snowman from muslin so I could use a dark thread to show the stitching lines, but when stitching your own snowman, use a matching thread.

2. Stitch around the arm pieces.

3. Cut tiny triangles and slits into the seam allowance on all curves. Make lots of cuts as shown. Otherwise, your seams may pucker when you turn your snowman inside out.

Base construction - alternative #1

Fold the "base circle" into fourths and finger press to make faint lines.

Place pins at each line.

Divide the bottom edge of the body into four parts.

Pin the base and the bottom of the body together, matching the four marked points. Add additional pins in between as needed to hold the two pieces together.

Stitch around the base leaving most of one side open.

Turn your snowman inside out!

In her e-book "Stitch Village", Joan Gorman shared a tool for turning small items that is absolutely fabulous! How I have struggled all these years trying to turn a thin strap or casing. If only I had known about hemostats! My sweetie found mine at Harbor Freight for next to nothing. They make all the difference when turning stuffies.

Stuff your snowman with your favorite fiber fill, packing the head fairly tight and the body a little less tight.

Now stuff in a little bag of rice or beans (as shown below in Alternative base #2). This will give your snowman stability and allow it to stand without support. Whip stitch the opening closed.

Base construction alternative #2 - My preferred way to do this because it is so easy!

1. Make a pouch. Using a long running stitch, stitch around the entire outer edge of a square of muslin or other scrap, lightweight fabric. Draw the "pouch" slightly together by pulling on the thread. Fill with rice or beans. Draw the thread tightly closed and secure the thread by making several small stitches to hold it closed.

Your pouch does not need to be pretty or neat.

2. Using a long running stitch, stitch around the entire bottom edge of the body. Draw the thread up as shown and secure.

3. Stuff your "bean bag" into the opening. You may have to remove a little filling because you don't want the little bean bag to protrude beyond the base. It's whole purpose is to provide stability so that your snowman can stand without support.

4. Attach the base to the body. You can either whip stitch it into place or simply glue it into place!

Note: Keep in mind that if you are making a tiny little snowman to hang as an ornament, you will not need to add the "bean bag".

I prefer to attach the arms after the snowman is stuffed. 

If your fabric is fairly thin, you can fold under the raw edge and slip-stitch into place.  If the fabric is fairly thick, as mine is, just whip stitch the raw edges right at the side seam.  I tacked my arms into place (near the "elbow" so they wouldn't flop around!

Now you are ready to make hats and scarfs for your snowman! This is my "snowman clothes" stash of felted sweaters that I picked up at SCRAP recently. They were already felted for me! Most are discarded leftovers from other felting projects, so I guess this becomes a reuse, reuse project!

You might recognize the hat and scarf I used on the little guy at the top of the post! Remember my Easter Bunnies? The sleeves of that little felted sweater worked perfectly to make a hat and the scarf.

Create a little face!

ACK! @%&#* I just realized I forgot a carrot nose! Ooops! I can't believe that in the past two days I haven't even noticed something was missing! That cute little face must have wrapped me in an enchantment!

Little black beads are perfect for the eyes. Stitch a little mouth using embroidery thread. If you want, you can anchor the threads in the back of the head since it won't show once the hat is placed on the head!

I used one of those wonderful blue line pencils that wipes away easily with a damp cloth to create the little face before stitching. Good thing too, because my first attempt at a mouth looked pretty stupid! Just ask for a Water Erasable Marking Pen at any craft or fabric store.

The nose - I'm working on it! Any suggestions?

I plan on sharing more of my snowmen in November so be sure to check back! And if any of you make snowmen, please post them on my Flickr with a link to your site. They will appear at random on my sidebar flicker.

I always appreciate and enjoy your company. Thank you so much for joining me for Christmas in July!.

You may remember these from Christmas 2008!  They have been a part of the past 35 years and are among my most treasured tree ornaments. They are made of whisper thin wood strips.

I have two reasons for sharing them today!

First, to officially declare it Christmas in July at Gingerbread Snowflakes!

Second, to put out a call for help!

You see I want more of these!  But all efforts to find them for sale online or to find the materials for making them have failed.

I have instructions for making them from wood strips made from shaving wood very thin with a planer, but I am hoping there might be other alternatives better suited to a woman somewhat allergic to shop tools!

You can help in two ways!

1.  Online sources where these can be purchased. (No e-bay please!  I can't stand to lose a bid)

2.  Ideas for other materials that could possibly be used for making similar ornaments. ( No Paper tutorials please!  I have seen many, many paper tutorails for making these, and although they are beautiful, I would prefer to try making them with other materials.)

Please share any ideas, resources, tips or thoughts in the comments.

Thank you and Happy Christmas in July.

I just finished my very own Earth Loom and can't wait to share!

Building the loom is very easy and would be a great family project for the summer.  Once the loom is completed, let your children weave in all the collected memories and treasures found as they stroll beaches, picnic in the forest or walk in a local park or in the countryside.

The Earth Loom is not my idea but one I have enthusiastically adpoted from an extraordinary Saori weaver, Terri Bibby. 

Saori Weaving?  A Japanese hand weaving that allows for complete self expression in the weaving process as taught by the founder of Saori, Misao Jo. I find it very meditative.

A few of Terri's latest projects should give you some idea! She has created a series of weavings for the four compass directions.  South, East, West and North.  They are beautiful.  Go check them out! 

She has been very kind to allow me to share some of her own images of her Earth Loom which she shared on her blog, Weaving a Life.  I am very grateful for her generosity because as you can see, her loom is much neater than mine!

I am thinking her loom is held together with wood screws.  I lashed mine together using my old Girl Scout training for "making with sticks"!

When Terri posted this image of her loom, woven with fall leaves, fir branches and a bit of ribbon,  I started thinking the Earth Loom would be a wonderful way for children to display their collected summer treasures.

After weaving in a few rows of garden trimmings, I made a search of the house and came up with a few items that might add a little interest to my own Earth Loom.

I am thinking a few fresh flowers now and then would be pretty.

I spaced these pretty loosely just so you could get an idea about what I am suggesting, but you can weave as loose or tight as you wish.

Drift wood, sea weed, long pine cones, cedar branches, oddly shaped sticks, branches of fall leaves, dried wheat or oats or flowers found along roadways.... 

And of course there is even the option of tying a few "unweavable" objects right on to the warp - like sea shells, or sand dollars or pretty stones.

Earth Looms are very easy to construct.  All you need are a few sticks and some twine.

The two vertical supports are about 6 feet long and the horizontal pieces are about 3 feet long. But, of course you can make them any size you wish.  Even small enough to sit on a desk!

The two little supports at the top are critical for stability.  They keep it from wobbling!

Regular old twine works perfectly for both lashing the poles together and for warping the loom.

You will notice that Terri's loom actually has another support attached to the back of her loom.  You might want to add one if you don't happen to have a handy support nearby for anchoring your loom like I do.

Once the warp is in place, you are ready to begin weaving!

Happy summer memory weaving everyone!  And send me pictures! Please.

Who wouldn't want these adorable piggys hanging out in their garden? 

You might know I would be especially attracted to the metal sculptures at the Recycled Arts Festival held in my home town of Vancouver, Washington this past weekend!

Right next to the pigs - this amazing dragon fly!  Denise Bergman, Cedar Creek, Inc. does not have a web site yet - but if you want to e-mail her to find out where she will be showing her work next, please e-mail me.

Metal sculpture was everywhere!  Steve Dietel - Howling Heights Metal Designs - was another of my favorites!  How in the world do artists like Steve look at a pile of junk metal and come up with objects like these?

How does he see a cactus in a pile of rusted horse shoes?  And
this motor scooter - just another example of Steve's endless creativity!

Tualatin, Oregon artist Marta Farris posed for me surrounded by her brilliant and colorful metal art.  I loved her use of strong pure color on her metal creations - especially that red dress made from aluminum screen and paint. 

Marta doesn't have a website yet, but if you e-mail me, I would be happy to send you her e-mail. I am sure you can find her at other crafty events this summer.

I just had to wander into the Family Craft Tent!  Everyone was invited - happy hands of all ages!

Birdhouses made from milk cartons seemed to be one of the favorite activities!

The other favorite - this community sculpture made from trash!  Everyone, big or small, who stopped by the tent was encouraged to add a piece!

Rescued from the landfill!

Our frined Terra told us about her adventures rescuing prefectly good treasures from local transfer stations.  Her enthusiasm for the project was what spurred Diane and I into going to the festival in the first place! (Follow that link to Di's post!)

After two months of collecting, Tossed and Found set up a display tent at the festival and gave out free raffle tickets to anyone who wanted a chance to adopt a treasure.

The crowds at the raffles were huge!

And competition was stiff!  Brand new grill - never used - headed to the land fill!  One lucky person took it home - for free!

Another lucky gal took home a four piece wicker patio set in perfect condition - for free!

After hanging out with all of you recyclers for the past couple years, I was shocked to see how many perfectly good items were simply thrown out.  Wouldn't a donation to Goodwill have been a better option?

Whew!  Finally - a little shade!  Festival attendees take a break and listen to live music in the band pavillion.

Ester Short Park hosts Summer Concerts in the Park.  Noon time concerts start July 8th and evening concerts start July 9th.  Get the full concert schedule here and come join the fun! It's free. 

Food and beverages are available from local vendors or you can bring your own picnic and sprawl out on a blanket and listen to some good music.

And next year - I hope we will see some of you at the festival!

Garden Art!  Sun mobile made from the aluminum can bottoms left over from the butterfly mobile.

The idea of making little suns was inspired by Midsummer Celebrations.  Midsummer is celebrated around the world near the summer solstice - the longest day of the year. This link will give you some idea of how many cultures celebrate.

Scandinavians are well known for their Midsummer bonfires, dancing and parties - I am told it is the biggest festival of the whole year.

Stonehenge was no doubt also a very important place for Midsummer celebrations in ancient times.

Here are a few videos  - join in the fun!

Midsummer in Sweden - beautiful  - don't miss this one!

Midsommar - more lovely dancing!

Raising the Midsummer pole - very short and fun!

Added June 24th

I just received a lovely note from my friend Margit in which she shared Danish Midsummer traditions and celebrations that take place on her island of Bornholm, specifically her town of Svaneke.

A little about Midsummer celebrations in Denmark.

This link (scroll to Denmark) mentions the holy wells.  Now that the wells in Svaneke have all dried up, the village children make little wells with three sticks and decorate them with flowers.  A bowl filled with water is hung inside the well and is visited by neighbors who drop coins into it.  The money is given to the children.  Margit sent me this little image so I could better understand what the wells look like so I just had to share!

I think next year I will make one for my own garden to celebrate!

Margit just posted a lovely new apple paper and box!  Don't miss!

Added June 25th!

Sasha (Squashed Tomatoes) just posted the most wonderful set of images from her family's celebrtation of Midsummer in Sweden!  She even shows how to make the lovely flower wreaths worn by young girls and how the Midsummer Poles are constructed and raised.  Don't miss this!

I must make a flower wreath next year also!

Besides hanging my little mobile in my split leaf maple tree, I am celebrating by sitting in the sun!  Believe it or not - here in the Pacific Northwest the sun finally made an appearance - just in time for Midsummer! And... we broke 80 degrees!

Before moving on to the tutorial for the mobile, I wanted to share these cool little "thingys" borrowed from my sweetie's fishing tackle box.

He hangs our giant snowflakes using "swivels" because the slightest breeze in the room will set the snowflakes spinning around and around.  These little guys make that possible.

I liked the idea for my little suns.

And I am happy to report, they are working great!  When the breezes blow, my little suns spin in the wind.

Below is a quick little tutorial for making these.  But if you haven't worked with aluminum before, you might want to check out the information found in these tutorials:  Recycled Aluminum Can Butterfly Mobile,  Making Punched tin Butterflies, and Making Punched Tin Light Shields.

And remember - always, always wear protective eye goggles when working with metal.

The edges are sharp and can cause cuts.  But just keep this in mind as you handle your project.  There is no reason to avoid playing with aluminum. Just be careful and wear gloves if you wish.

Since I was only interested in the middle portion of the can when I made the butterflies, I needed to go back and use my tin snips to trim the ragged cut I made when removing the bottom.

Simple cuts made on the edge make great sun rays! I just eyeballed these.

Once the cuts were completed, I used a pair of needle nose pliers to gently twist each sun ray just to make it a bit more interesting.

The factory codes come right off with a bit of rubbing alcohol.

You may find that a sturdy pair of nail sissors works very well for cutting those little slits along the edge.

Since I didn't want my suns all the same, I changed my "tweaking method" a bit - pulling first one up and the next down with the needle nose pliers.

Both sides look great!

Two "suns" can be glued together if you like!

To make petals, I borrowed a cutting technique from Alice (Futuregirl Craft blog) - check out her simple and foolproof tutorial for cutting daisies!

This is the only way I have been able to cut "petals" - if you can call them that!  From a distance - they look great. Not easy to make them perfect in factory pressed, curved aluminum!

The nail sissors are a must for cutting petals.

First cut one side of the petal all the way around.  Then turn the sun over and cut the other side of the petals.

Cutting inside a plastic box (repurposed cookie container), keeps the metal chips from flying everywhere.  I was amazed at how well it worked to contain them.

Flower power!

Check out "Candles Holders made from Tuna Cans" for the how to for these playful sun rays.

These scraps left from trimming turned out to be perfect centers for some of the suns.

That one little idea sparked a bunch of other ideas!  And the next thing you know - I had enough little suns for my mobile!

Rims and tin removed from the large tin cans I repurposed to make tin frames and sconces had retained graceful curves and turned out to be perfect for making a hanger.

Who is celebrating midsummer?  Leave me a comment and tell me how!