The Fairy Road
This little fairy has a big job. His job is to comfort a young girl through a very difficult goodbye. Life is lovely and treasured moments. Life is also sad and lost moments. We want to hold on, especially when letting go breaks our hearts.
We don't always have a choice. And perhaps these little tokens, these handmade fairies, gnomes, and felt stuffies, perhaps they can help our journey. Perhaps they can help our children through the dark patches of forest that comes along with living.
When my children were young, I felt the connection that we all share. I felt that we are bigger than ourselves. We are made of the same stardust. I want my children to know, for always, that I was with them. Even if they are at school or in their own bedroom or away travelling.
I made up this story for my daughter. We tell it again for all separations. Whether it's an overnight adventure, or the loss of a loved one. We use the Fairy Road to share our connection.
I hope this little fairy, and the story, might help a friend's family who is saying the worst goodbye. My heart aches for all of the children and families in stressful, dark circumstances today. I know these tokens cannot erase heartache, but perhaps they might give a little peace.
The Fairy Road is a story of finding hope. It is a story that brings us together. I am happy to share it. A downloadable, printable version is here.
I send so much along with this little fairy. Light and love. And believing :)
The Fairy Road
By Lenka
When my daughter was young, she didn’t want to sleep in her own room.
I’m too far away, she said. What if I can’t find you?
And I said that I would be in her heart, that she could feel me close even if she couldn’t see me right there.
She shook her head. No, she said, no. I need to find you.
She challenged me to look beyond the obvious answers. I thought deep and creative and new thoughts.
Our world is not the only world, I said. Our world is one of many worlds. And those worlds are just as real and true as our world. We visit them in our imaginations and in our dreams. We are more than these hands and feet and faces. We are energy. Pure, light, beautiful energy. And we can travel from world to world. When we close our eyes. When we dream. When we drift into peaceful thoughts...
Between your room and my room is magic. There is a path, a fairy road, covered in sparkles, that connects you and me for always. We don’t need shoes to travel this road. We just need to believe.
Close your eyes and let go. We will find each other. We will be in a place with shimmering lights and tea-cakes and an orchestra playing lovely music. We will dance. We will play. We will be together.
Can you see?
She snuggled under the covers, not quite sure about my plan. And can I find you for always?
Always.
Our world is not the only world. And we may be far from each other, but we are connected forever. I believe. Being apart is the toughest thing in the world- saying goodbye is heartbreaking. But I know that we go on; we visit with tokens and dreams. We stay even when we are gone. We are together. Forever. Meeting on the Fairy Road.
peace, love, and light,
Lenka
Forest Fairy Supplies Solved!
How many times have we gone to the store, or ordered online, then sat down to make our craft, only to realize that we forgot one very important thing?
Too many times, honestly.
So we came up with two solutions that will hopefully help you, too.
The first is a free resource that is a great companion to our book. The Forest Fairy Supply Checklist is a PDF file listing everything you need to make our crafts. You don't need all of these things at the same time, of course. A pocket-gnome can be made with felt, string, peg person, needle, and glue. But if you want ideas, or wonder what to add to your Fairy Workshop Stash, this is a great place to start.
Click here to download the Forest Fairy Supply Checklist
We are not fancy enough to check off your items digitally on the form- the best way to use this is to print a copy and check off what you have with pretty pencils :)
In case you are giving the book as a gift, or you don't have a Fairy Workshop Stash (yet), we also put together starter kits that have everything you need to dive right into crafting in our Etsy shop.
We were inspired to create these kits at a birthday party. "I love the book," said a friend, "But I don't have anything to make anything!"
So we created the Forest Fairy Starter Kits. These kits have everything you need to make a fairy with a felt outfit, a child fairy, peg gnome, and critter. For now, they use craft-quality felt (good for play). We are working on versions with wool-blend felt and flower petals for fairy skirts.
Since we love colors, we added a Halloween Kit and a Christmas Kit as well.
We can see these being great companion gifts with our book. They do not come with any directions, but they would be perfect for any felt projects (inspired by our book or elsewhere). You could, of course, put together your own kits for favorite children in your life (using the checklist and your own supplies). Children love seeing all of the goodies collected together.
A great invitation to crafting :)
We hope that these resources give you the tools and ideas to start making your own crafts!
Game Token Gnomes
We are delighted to team up with the lovely people at SewMamaSew. The free tutorial for Gnome Game Tokens is posted here.
I love to share a little behind-the-scenes :)
The entire project inspired us! I used to make these games and tokens with my second grade students. We drew a game-board and sewed gnomes to travel through the game. I adore the creativity that children bring to game-making.
Even younger children love making gnomes. We decided to use paint this time around. It worked really well. We used regular watercolor paints. Ian chose the wee size gnomes. Of course he chose orange, orange, orange.
Anika is a unicorn-and-rainbow-girl these days, so her game featured a forest and garden where the unicorns could play. We drew the boards, then decided paint would be great, too. This project kept us busy for awhile :)
Our neighbor-friend came over and made a couple of gnomes, too. Here is the finished family! Our paint had a tinge of sparkle in the watercolor which gives them a shine. You could add a little glue and glitter after the paint dries for a similar effect.
We had to talk Ian into one red hat. He wanted orange, orange, orange, until we explained that we needed to tell the gnomes apart.
The gnomes ended up traveling on a few trips with us. I didn't worry about losing them since the process was so fun and we can easily make more. Every once in awhile, a craft becomes a treasure and I don't want it to be lost at the park or on a far-flung adventure. These were perfect pocket-pals.
Afterwards, Anika decided that her game needed cards with specific instructions. Their games kept growing as they thought of new fun additions. We used dice from another game box. The finished activitiy was just as fun as creating the games. We are all inspired to create new ones :)
We hope that everyone enjoys the tutorial! Thanks again to SewMamaSew for the opportunity! What fun :)
The First Fairy Mobile
Last month, I wanted to create a gift with our class of kindergarten and first grade students. Our beloved teacher was going to have a baby! What a perfect chance for me to try a long-time idea. How could I make the fairies into a mobile?
This was the perfect gift. Each student helped with one of the six fairies. We didn't know if the baby would be a boy or a girl, so we kept neutral colors. I chose the felt and cut the pieces before we sat down to sew- orange, blue, yellow, and green. The children helped sew hats and sequins so we had three girls and three boys.
I also kept the thread choices blue or green. This way, the fairies looked similar with their unique personalities. Children also chose the beads for the hat that would end up matching the beads I used to connect the wires (I didn't plan that ahead of time, but it worked out perfect).
Once I had the six fairies, I used floral wire and the heaviest beading wire that I could find in our local craft shop. The beading wire was pretty, shiny, and soft. The floral wire was thin, but strong. I ended up using both wires. I liked the 'character' of the softer wire. The uneven bends here and there just added to the charm. I used beading pliers to make simple loops at the ends and the center. Each wire balanced with a girl and a boy. I attached these together with short pieces of wire. I felt like the middle sections needed a little something, and the beads were a perfect solution!
I could make a tutorial if people are interested in all the details of putting the mobile together. My magic was seeing how each child contributed to a collaborative gift. I have wanted to make a fairy mobile for ages! I am glad that I got the perfect opportunity. I have also seen lovely mobiles using a hoop. I would love to try sticks, too, for the natural elements.
I loved creating this fairy mobile with the children. We hope the baby loves our hanging Fairyland!
Giveaway: Summer Fairy
We decided to celebrate our book all summer with a series of giveaways! We love to share our crafts and kits.
This week is a blossom fairy with Waldorf inpiration. This girl has a flower-hat with long green braids. She is sweet and calming. She hopes to join your home.
We are happy to send her as a gift to a special child in your life. We contact the winner and you give us a shipping address.
We are open to entries from the USA and Canada. If you are international, email me and we can talk about shipping costs (I can ship internationally if you can help cover the difference).
Good luck! We would love to send her to your home soon!
*Please note: Fairies are not for very young children who taste their toys (though fairies do love hanging above cribs or near windows safely out of reach). Fairies have small decorations. Fairies love gentle, creative play but do not enjoy rough pulling :)
Thank you for sharing the Forest with your friends!
Upcycled Owls and Kitties
Asia created these lovlies with second and third grade students at NCSA (7-8 years old). She saved fabrics (ripped clothing, shrunken sweaters) and found supplies. Repurposing the clothing showed children that changing old fabric to a toy can be magical.
By this time of year, students have learned three ways to sew: the Running Stitch, the Whip Stitch, and the Blanket Stitch. We call them the Dolphin Stitch (up and down), the Polar Bear Stitch (around and around), and the Rabbit Stitch (up or down and through the hole). I can see children using all three to make their crafts unique.
I am fascinated how some children use patterns and even spacing for their sewing. While other children use mismatched, unexpected decorations. Each style delights us. Each style shares a child's personality. With sewing, there is no 'right way'. Only your own way :)
Upcylced sewing with found fabrics instead of felt meant the fabric was softer. Asia made the animals bigger so students wouldn't be frustrated. These owls and kitties were oversized when compared to our felt critters. This gave the children more to hold as they sewed. Asia is so good at modifying a project so students are successful :)
Here are a few for inspiration :)
I couldn't photograph all of them- Asia made about forty! These are just a few :)
Patterns and directions for the Owl and the Pussycat are in Forest Fairy Crafts. Creating your own critter just needs imagination and old clothing. Have fun upcycling :)
Win a Signed Forest Fairy Book
Thank you for helping us create a magical forest! Our book officially releases today! Happy book birthday to the Forest! The fairies and friends are so excited! We are hearing from you that the book has clear (and pretty) directions! Which makes us happy-dance!
Thank you for sharing the fairies and friends that you are sewing at home. We love seeing them come alive for crafters!
Thank you for the many wonderful reviews! At Amazon, we already have 5 star reviews, yay! I was so nervous!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
To celebrate, we want to give back to you, our community. We want to give a signed book. And since our friends in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and all over the world, were the among the first to buy our little patterns on Etsy, we will ship internationally. Hurrah! The book will be signed by Lenka and Asia. We are happy to write a personalized dedication.
We haven't offered a giveaway in awhile (busy creating the book) so let us know if you have ideas or questions for us. Copy and paste this link into your HTML code if you would like to embed this widget on your site: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NjU5MTYyNTYxNjZmNGY3ZDMzOGEwZDQ3Mjc5M2FjOjM=/
Welcome to the Forest :)
Congralutions Sadie! Your book is on the way! :) Thank you everyone for entering!
Fairy Crafts at Book Expo America
We are featured giveaways with C&T Publishing this year at Book Expo America! We have been busy creating a collection that is on its way to New York. I hope our crafts share with everyone how fun and magical they are in person :)
Asia sewed favorite Treasure Keepers. Little cats and owls have pockets for keepsakes...
A moon is a favorite beginner sewing project- the heart and sun are beautiful too (I still want to make a mobile with these one day :))
She also sewed five Animal Treasure Keepers. These sweet little bags can have a handle, or not, and they are become friendly companions.
I added ten fairies to the collection- five girls and five bumblebee boys.
The girls together~
And the boys~
I love how each fairy gets a personality. Even the bumblebees had their own quirks that made them uniqiue. I love the discovery of creating them!
I had fun with the girls, getting to give them a personal style. I knew they would be displayed as a group, so I laid the felt out to see the palatte working together. I also wanted to show how the fairies can be gentle and softly colored, or vibrant and bright. I had a good time coordinating the different outfits to be a stand-alone while working within the group. I also used the same varigated pastel crochet-thread to keep them similar.
I did add a decorative ribbon with pom-poms for one girl~
And played with the hair and crown designs for the rest. They were an absolute delight to create :)
This fairy has cotton chenille stems from A Child's Dream Come True. I love the different texture they offer. And they are soft, too!
I play with many different materials for fairy-crafting. Pinking shears made the little ruffles on the bottom of her crown. The effect is super-simple to create!
For this girl, I sewed a little star on her hat. Simple is sweet :)
And she is my jewel-tone girl. Her bright colors make me smile :)
I couldn't get the entire collection in a photo- so much together! Asia and I are excited that they get to go to New York and inspire all the book-lovers at BEA. Unfortuantely, you need to be at BEA to win one of these treasures. Happy trails, fairies and critters!
We are planning a few online chances to win our crafts, too! We want everyone to join the fun :)
PS- We saw that our book is shipping now! All of these projects are shared in Forest Fairy Crafts. Enjoy :)
Maker Faire Favorites
I had a fantastic time discovering Maker Faire this year! We had never been to this event before. I was blown away. So much creativity and talent. I am inspired. And maybe, just maybe, we can bring Forest Fairy Crafts to the faire next year. I think we would have a fun time sharing our crafts with all of the Maker-Families :)
I did want to share a couple of my favorite makers. I found this wonderful yarn from Ceallach Yarns. Her color combinations were dreamy.
I am not sure what I will create with this yarn yet, but I have lots of ideas!
Also for my project-plate, I found Georgie Monster, a soft animal pattern by Claire Sanders.
We fell in love with his little wings. We can't wait to make a few this summer! Her Etsy Shop is Fluff Engine. She was a lovely maker and I hope to make more of her fun patterns. Her owl pattern is free! Yay!
I wished I could add a few of Laurel Begley's ceramics to my collection. She catches a sweet whimset in her little mushrooms and critters. I may need to order one for taking photos of fairies beside it. Just so I can have one of these in my home :)
Her website is here and her Etsy Shop is Laurel Begley's Ceramics.
I loved OddFauna for her quirky, lovely art and critters. She had so much fun imagining these little beasts. And every print made me smile.
I especially wanted her little totems. I could have brought home a monster-zoo.
Her website is here and her store is here.
I learned that I need to save for next year, so I won't come home thinking, I really should have... Because these are incredible artists, however they express their vision.
I found a few artists who inspired me. One was Erica Sirotich. Her prints are here. I want a few for my children's room (and my room :))
These are just a few of the many amazing artists that I got to meet at Maker Faire. If you don't know about the faire, and you can get to San Mateo next spring, you should come! It's a festival celebrating creative passions!
Which is joyful fun! I hope you are inspired, too :)
Gnome Party Favors
Last week my girl turned ten. My, oh my, how time flies! We thought about different favors to give her friends at the party. We both loved the idea of gnomes! A little magic to send home with each guest :)
We made the gnomes appeal to older children with different colors. We chose teal and black, white and purple, instead of pastels. Every child is different, of course, and these colors appealed to her friends. Even the boys!
The gnomes disappeared too fast for me to even take photos. Luckily, my girl and boy brought home a gnome of their own so I could photograph these two.
I can see the gnomes being fantasic party favors even as she gets older. They are good luck charms :)
To make a big batch of gnomes (we crafted seventeen altogether), these tips helped me a lot:
- Buy gnome forms in bulk (if you can). They sell in craft stores a few to a package, but there may not be enough on the shelf. I order sets of the from A Child's Dream Come True in groups of 12 for $3- sweet! (1 and 5/8" size)
- Choose colors all at once. Pick a few colors of felt that work together as mix-and-match. Think of your friends. What are their favorite colors?
- Cut capes. I cut a couple of capes out of each color. I saved everything in a basket.
- Cut hats. Same story :)
- Use varigated thread for different colors. We used rainbow crochet thread (size 10)
- Sew the capes on the wooden gnomes. I did this in a batch where I didn't even tie knots in the thread. I started in the back, sewed a running stitch around, and knotted the two threads together. I didn't hide the threads, which was a shortcut for me. I knew the hats would cover the knots in the back.
- Sew hats. Add sequins, blanket stitch the bottom edge, whatever sounds pretty. Enjoy making each hat unique.
- Stuff a little wool or cotton stuffing in the hat and glue it on. Let the glue dry and enjoy your party!
I was busy getting her party ready, so I didn't photograph the process. One day :)
You could, of course, sew them at the party as a craft. That would be fun, too!
We knew that children would be busy playing so we made ours ahead of time.
You can find more detailed gnome-sewing directions in our book
Have fun sharing your gnomes.
P.S. My daughter sewed hats too. She loved giving her creations away :)
Classes and Workshops for Spring and Summer
I am so, so busy putting magic together in the forest. We are constantly asked about coming to stores or events. So I put together a few favorite activities with different ages. If you would like us to visit your area, take a look at our spring and summer classes to download the PDF.
Please remember that travel expenses are not included in these descriptions. I am planning a trip to the San Diego area this summer, though. Stay tuned! Our calendar is filling up, so if you are interested in us visiting, please email me soon.
Meanwhile, I am working on those extra hat patterns. I better hurry off to Fairyland!
Bees Love Fairies
Yesterday was busy preparing the bonus hat ideas for our new pattern collection. I take the fairies to photograph outside whenever possible, because fairies love nature.
It turns out that bees love fairies! Look who came to visit :)
Now, if only I could let the fairies live in my garden forever... I need scupture versions that are weatherproof. Hmm...
Until then, visiting nature is lovely. Wishing you magical encounters today!
Our First Book Arrives
An exciting week in the forest! These beautiful flowers arrived on my doorstep. And flowers are always a celebration. I love flowers! The flowers didn't arrive by themselves, though. No, they were from our lovely friends at C&T Publishing along with a first copy of our book! And I just discovered there is a preview of the book, sharing pages here. So you can understand why we are happy-dancing!
Holding the book after all the months of writing and crafting and editing and sewing was a strange, marvelous feeling. They took our fairy-world and made magic. We love the layouts and colors. What a treat to see all of the hard work pay off :)
The book releases in late May, which is the trickiest part of showing it off. We took it to school and were asked many times where to buy a copy. A little waiting left...
I loved bringing it to school, because the children saw the wall between books and writers crumble. They thought hard about whether Asia and I had really written a real book. Until we showed them page with fairies and gnomes, their Moon Pockets and Treasure Owls.
"We made ones like that!"
Which quickly became, "When can we make pirates? And mermaids? And ninjas?"
I better get busy cutting felt :)
We also received CDs with all of the photos they used in the book. We had talented photographers work on Forest Fairy Crafts. I take many of our photographs, but the size and scope of this project meant I was happy to get help. We had over 400 placeholders for images in the original draft! Not all of them made it into the book, but still, they got to work with lots of fairies and crafts.
Our mermaids :)
I am busy today sewing sample for our hat pattern PDF that I will send out to everyone who preorders our book. You can order from any favorite book seller. We will simply ask for an order number or receipt copy. We are working on the technology to make this all possible. Amazon will have the book arrive on your doorstep on release day- you can order here
We are visiting local bookstores and craft stores to set up book release parties. And I am ready to celebrate. It's a great day in the forest!
I have many postcards (pictured with the flowers) that I want to send you for helping share the fun news. Simply email your address with Fairy Crafts Postcard in the subject line and I will put one in the mail. Don't worry, I won't use your address for anything else :). If you work at a school or know a group of friends/parents/crafters that may appreciate a postcard, tell me how many you would like and I will do my best to drop them in the mail soon. Thank you for supporting the forest!
All kinds of good news. We will keep you posted as we get closer to the big Release Day :)
Meanwhile, In the Forest...
I know it seems quiet, but we are busy with new ideas here in the forest. I am figuring out logistical details before sharing all the magic. Here is a sneak peek-
I want to thank our loyal friends and fans of the forest who preorder our book. I am making a special PDF with at least 5 hats that couldn't fit into the book. I am working on how I will collect, keep, and send out emails to everyone who sends a receipt (I don't care where the book is purchased) or order number. I haven't figured out logistical details of organizing it all though, so save onto those emails. All receipts will be honored :)
Stay tuned for details!
The second big idea is from my daughter, Anika. She wants to start a Forest Fairy Fan Club for kids. The club will have newsletters with ideas and inspiration for new crafts. The theme would be Kids Inspiring Kids. We have tons of plans, including Magic Wands and Kitty Ears. Again, it's the logistics of gathering emails, creating the newsletter, and sending it to the email list... I've never done that before. More adventures in learning for me, which I love :)
I also have a basket full of craft kits made by Asia in delightful spring colors to photograph and post in our Etsy shop.
That and I just got a bunch of postcards featuring the cover of our book! I want to send one your way! ... I really need to find a secure way to let you send me address :). Hmmm...
Okay, enough announcements for today. I just wanted to give you a brief tour in our busy forest! And I'm planning classes, workshops, and book signings for the summer. A busy forest indeed!
Acorn Boy
Magic doesn't have to be complicated. I find simple fairies so charming. This boy is exactly that. I started him with one idea and finished him a few weeks later when I found just the right size acorn cap. We live in an area with many, many trees (the forest :)) and I collect acorn caps whenever I see them. Finding great caps is tricky, though. Many times they are already softened from wet ground, or covered with pollen, or too small... So when I find ones that are just right, I am delighted.
His hat is just right :)
When I first started creating fairies, I made girls, girls, girls. Until I brought the project to school and I had to create a simple way for the boys to have their boy fairy. After I perfected the technique, the boys became as popular as the girls. In fact, at our school auction, the boy fairies often receive more bids than the girl fairies. Imagine that!
Speaking of, I should make on for the auction next week. Our school needs all of the fundraising help that we can get. This year I've been so busy with the book, I've neglected to make my usual donation. Eek. I know what I'll be busy creating today :)
We show how to make the boys step by step in our book, of course. The book went to the printer last week, so we are on target for the May/June release, hurrah!
He will probably go to our Etsy shop if I don't donate him to the school auction- I will update if he is in the shop soon. He's a charming little fellow!
Enjoy your day!
Evening Fairy
Hello evening fairy! She was so fun to create. She is a custom fairy inspired by colors. Her hat has water and grass. I saw her dark blue hat as the sky so I embroidered little stars. I chose the white bead on her hat to represent the moon.
She has one leaf falling into the grass. She started as a color-study, then became a story. I want to write a little story for her about how this fairy watches the moon-rise, then dances in starry meadows. She inspired me!
She is now living in North Carolina. Happy travels, little fairy!
Love Fairy
Happy Valentine's from the Forest! I used hearts for her, of course. Her wings and hat are both heart-shaped, and she needed a little heart button on her hat. She also wears sparkly beads and a bell, because every fairy needs to sparkle and chime :)
I was going to post her in our Etsy shop, but I don't think my daughter will let her leave our seasonal table-display. So I suppose I should visit the Forest again and find more Love Fairies to bring back for you :)
The disigns that inspired her will soon be available in our book (I love writing that :)). The Love Fairy is part of our collection. We received hard copies of book pages this week to proofread and they look beautiful. So exciting to see our little ideas looking so lovely :).
Here she is sitting down amongst the flowers and butterflies.
Wishing you a lovely week!
Math Sculpture Game
In my class, we love playing games to learn. A big skill is learning addition so it isn't a chore- with 'automoticity' as we teachers like to say. We want addition to be easy like 1+1. Which means lots of practice. I created this game to encourage practice while having fun.
The Math Scultpure Game goes beyond the game where children roll to cover all of the numbers. This time, use a material that can build: pattern blocks, little flat stones, Legos, whatever can make a tower. For this game, keep adding an item to a number with every roll of the dice. See which tower grows the tallest!
What fascinated me with the game were a few fun effects. One, children kept building even after covering their numbers. They wanted to keep growing the sculptures. We called them towns and we called them glaciers and we called them coral reefs. You can make the building match whatever thematic idea you like. This was an unending game (which I loved). And very cooperative.
Second, the children noticed a pattern. The buildings in the middle grew the tallest. 2 and 12 were usually the shortest. This led to early observations about probability and the many ways that you can make 5 with two dice vs. 12 (only 6+6). These mathematical and scientific deductions were fun to facilitate.
Finally, this was an engaging game for single or paired children. Originally, I had students take turns by passing the dice, rolling, and adding. Then they realized they could each roll a dice and add the results together. Turns every turn! Which is real invested learning- hurrah!
As a bonus, I created a board with 1-6 for my early learners who are still practicing number recognition. For this game, they used one dice and stacked to match the number of dots to the written number. This game was more straighforward and gave excellent practice for a necessary skill.
The game boards are free to download for personal and classroom use. Enjoy!
Click to Download the Math Sculpture Gameboard PDF
Click to Download the Number Recognition Gameboard PDF
All PDFs are the property of Forest Fairy Crafts. Please contact us for commercial use permissions. Thank you!
3 Reasons to Sew Together
I recently sewed a fairy with my niece. And I learned three reasons why it is worth the time and effort to engage children in crafting gifts (even for themselves!)
1. They make their own choices.
Their ideas of color and design may be very different from what we would choose for them. Sewing together gives them a chance to explore their own ideas. My niece got to build visualization skills as she tested one swatch of color with another. And her selections were not what I expected at all. And they were lovely!
2. They see the value of a handcrafted gift.
By engaging in the craft, they see all the effort and decisions that go into handcrafting a gift. From exploring my many supplies to undoing mistakes, she got to see the behind-the-scenes magic that makes a handcrafted gift so special. Unwrapping a gift is easy compared to creating a gift from bits of wire and felt. Yet, the process is so rewarding!
3. They treasure their creation.
Between the felt and sequins, magic happens. I shared with my niece that no matter how many fairies I create, they all end up different. Even if I try, I cannot make two that look exactly the same. She saw this for herself as she put her fairy together. She couldn't believe that she could create magic, too. "I know just where she belongs in my room," she said, "On my special nightstand." Creating something beautiful is empowering. And the 'voice' that a child gives her or his creation makes it unique in all the world.
The gift goes both ways. She enjoyed her fairy. I enjoyed spending time with her. Which is the best gift of all. Time together :)
Enjoy your crafting!
P.S. A few of our tips for successful sewing with children are here. We will share many more in our book coming out in late spring, 2013. Thank you for visiting the Forest!
Alexandria's Fairy
I recently enjoyed a treat. My niece visited and we sewed a fairy together. The needle, thread, and sequins fascinated her. "Look, Mom," she said, "I don't need glue!"
After showing my niece the basics of the running stitch and adding sequins (which will soon be shared in our book), she took off and made it mostly by herself.
The beauty of sewing together was that I planned to make a fairy for her a few months ago. I would use pink, black, and maybe red because those are colors she wears often. Yet, yet she chose all blues and greens! She chose colors I would never have selected for her. And they inspired me!
She especially liked the star on the fairy's hat.
I liked the long stitches to attach sequins. They gave nice texture and decoration.
We both decided that this fairy would wear short skirts instead of a long, full petal skirts. Better for dancing (my niece is a dancer).
A parting image of her fairy looking thoughtful.
I am so grateful that we got to make her together. Wonderful sewing, Alex! She also reminded why I sew with children (again) which I posted about here. Magic is best shared :)
