Easter – NaturalKids Team

Posted on January 22, 2013

My Journey with Felting

It’s never too late for an old dog to learn new tricks, I say. I love to learn new techniques and teach myself new crafts all the time. For example felting is fairly new to me. There are many different types and styles of felting.

I started needlefelting about 5 years ago. Did you know that this craft has only been around since the 1980s? I learned that in a book about felting from the library (See Complete Guide to Felting p.133). I discovered needlefelting at Christmas time 2007 when my husband gave me this neat kit with a beginner’s handbook.

nk white bunny in green egg 3 — Needle felted Bunny in Wet Felted Egg

I loved this craft right away because I could take it places in a small bag. Just think how much time people waste these days, playing silly games on their phones when they could be crafting? I take my felting needles and make the most adorable critters while I wait for my daughter in the hallways of her dance studio. I get to hear all the Oohs and Ahs of little kids who can’t believe what I can accomplish with this funny looking needle.

This year I wanted to try something new: wet-felting. Unfortunately hubby did not come forward with a wet felting kit this past Christmas. But being a clever girl, I found some great books at the local library and some cool tutorials on the internet. There is one right here on this blog.

I discovered I had all the materials needed in my house already!

wool roving
plastic Easter Eggs
natural soap
hot water
bubblewrap
old towels

My first eggs turned out pretty nice. I found that it was a lot of hard work though. You have to scrub and rub for a long time to get the wool to felt and stick together. My respect for wet-felting artists grew by a mile or two.

The other drawback is that I can’t take this craft with me. So I don’t think I will make too many wool treasure eggs for Easter. So if you want one better snatch them up early.

Or maybe you want to learn how to make felted eggs yourself? Here are some great books to start with:

Beginner’s Guide to Feltmaking by Shirley Ascher & Jane Bateman

The Complete Guide to Felting by Ruth Lane

Posted on April 7, 2012

Painting Wooden Easter Eggs

Spring and Easter is a fun time to paint eggs. Not just the edible ones but wooden eggs as well. Keeping kids occupied during their spring break can be easy with a few crafts around. My kids love to paint up these wooden eggs and egg cups. We also like to use the egg cups all year long for our breakfast eggs. Check out this link for how to make the perfect Soft boiled egg.
Tips for painting with kids:
Have a cloth for them to dab their paintbrush on. Teaching them to follow these steps will keep the paint from getting to runny; Rinse, Dab, In the Color, and Paint.

Use an ice cube tray to keep wet things off the table and round things from rolling away.

Keep a basket under the sink to hold water cups and paintbrushes – this lets the kids clean up and set up by themselves.

Child safe paint for wooden toys:

Use Certified AP Non-Toxic, such as Plaid Folk Art Acrylics. Larger well know toy companies like HOLZTIGER are painted with non-toxic, water-based acrylic paints and wooden figure has an additional topcoat of satin-finish water paint to make it resistant to perspiration and saliva.”

Certified as AP non-toxic watercolors is also a nice paint for children and will need to have a finish added like a beeswax wood polish, there will always be a chance that the color will come off if it gets wet. Check out this link for how to make homemade watercolors!

To find items like these check out these shops:

Egg and Cup Kit

Beeswax wood polish
And
Lavender Beeswax Polish

Posted on April 4, 2012

Easter Egg Treat Pouches

If your family is like ours, you might have quite a few paper bags from the grocery store piling up in your pantry. We mostly end up with them as a result of our impromptu shopping trips, those last minute runs to the market when we’ve been out and happen to not have our cloth bags with us. Most of the time, these paper bags end up re-used as garbage bags but can be re-incarnated as handmade envelopes, parcel wrapping paper or even as table liners for the children’s enthusiastic watercolour sessions.

This Easter, we are recycling some of these paper bags to make Easter egg treat pouches. I never really quite know what to do to portion the loose candy (jelly beans, jordan almonds, etc.) in the baskets each year; in the past, I have used little plastic bags tied with ribbon to divvy up the goodies. So instead, I thought that the paper bags could

be used to do a simple craft (either on your own or with your little loved ones) to house all the little bits and bobs they receive from the Easter Bunny. The threading and lacing involved also presents a wonderful opportunity for youngsters to sharpen their fine motor skills.

You will need the following materials:

1 large paper bag (grocery store-sized)

Scissors

Twine (hemp, raffia, or any other natural cord that is easy to thread)

Paper + pen (to draw your egg pattern)

Hole punch

Begin by drawing a generously sized egg shape on your paper and cutting it out. This will serve as the pattern for your egg pouch.

Next, you will need to remove the large flap from the bottom of the paper grocery bag.

Cut along the bottom seam, through both layers of paper, until you are left with a bottomless bag. Then, cut out the thin side strips of the bag so that you are left with two large rectangular pieces of paper.

Remove the handles from your shopping bag (if there are any).

Trace your egg pattern onto the paper twice, giving you a front and a back for your egg pouch. Put the two identical eggs together and using your hole punch, punch holes about every half-inch or so around the perimeter.

If your paper is particularly plain, you can certainly enlist your child’s help to decorate it with crayons, stampers or whatever craft supplies you have in your home.

Start threading and lacing up your egg, being careful to leave the very top hole unthreaded – this way you’ll have an opening to slip the treats through later. The rigidity of the cord makes it especially easy for young children to complete this portion on their own.

Once you have finished lacing, add your sweets and thread the remaining cord through the very last hole.

Tie with a flourish, flash a smile…and you’re done!

This tutorial was shared by Ariana Lyriotakis-Macdonald of Niko & Nonnie

Posted on April 1, 2012

What I’m Loving This Week- Easter

Children Wooden Toy… TheEnchantedCu… $28.00	Waldorf doll clothe… germandolls $149.95	Montessori Toy, Rai… PinPonHandmade $12.00	Playsilks – Pastel … birchleafdesig… $84.00
Spring Mushrooms Wa… ArmadilloDream… $12.00	Knitting Kit – DIY … thesittingtree $32.00	SPRING SALE -3 Days… MuddyFeet $36.00	Waldorf Toy- Sprin… thiscosylife $40.00
Earth Pony, Stuffed… woolies $32.00	Butterfly Wings Cos… ZiezoDesigns $25.00	Needle Felted Acorn… Fairyfolk $20.00	Easter waldorf toy … FeeVertelaine $24.00
ball of wool felt d… LaFiabaRussa $35.00	wee wooden mushroom… mosey $20.00	DAILY DEAL – Cloth … SuperSkivvies $12.56	ECO Kids Handmade A… earthgrowncray… $10.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Etsy Treasury created by Little Rivers Dolls.

♥Embroidered eggs (real eggs!) if you’re feeling adventurous.

♥I love the idea of creating an Easter garden.

♥This one is beautiful, too.

♥These finger puppets would make sweet fillers for the Easter basket.

♥You still have time to plant some wheat grass for your Easter baskets…. ours sprung up in about a week.

♥A tissue paper blossom tree would make a lovely addition to your eater garden.

♥And some blossom fairies to hang from it would be perfect!

♥Here are some sweet Easter songs to sing this week.

Please tell me what’s on your to-do list for Easter!

PS Don’t forget to enter to win a Tiptoes Lightly book for Easter! Winner will be drawn tomorrow morning.

Julie Hunter is a wife and mama, raising 3 spirited girls, two babydoll sheep, angora rabbits and a gaggle of chickens and ducks in the North Carolina Foothills. She spends her days at home, crafting with her children, homeschooling, taking long gathering walks in the woods and knitting Waldorf-inspired toys. You can find her blogging and keeping shop at This Cosy Life.

Posted on March 19, 2012

Dyeing Easter Eggs Naturally

Every spring my kids and I dye eggs for Easter. We do it naturally without chemicals and artificial colors, experimenting with different herbs and colorful fruits and vegetables.

According to Organic.org, “Many food colorings contain color additives such as Red No. 3 and Yellow No. 5, which, according to a 1983 study by the FDA, were found to cause tumors (Red No. 3) and hives (Yellow No. 5).”

Last year we had so much fun using the leaves and flowers to get some contrast to the rich sienna color produced from the onion skin, that I would like to share this method with you.

Take 10-12 white eggs. Get some fresh small leaves and tie them to the eggs with a string. Place the eggs in a single layer in a pan. Add water until the eggs are covered and add the skins of 12-15 small yellow onions. Bring to a gentle boil, then lower heat, and allow the eggs to simmer for 20-30 minutes. The longer you leave the eggs to boil, the deeper the color will be. Remove the eggs, unwrap the string, rinse the eggs in lukewarm water and cool them. If you’d like to add a soft sheen to your eggs, coat them lightly with vegetable oil and polish with a cloth. As a result, you’ll get beautifully decorated Easter eggs! Enjoy!

Posted on April 21, 2011

The Prettiest Easter Eggs Tutorial

This week’s How-To is Prettiest Easter Eggs Tutorial is by Donni, from Fairyfolk from the Natural Kids Team. This is a really straight-forward way to decorate eggs and it is so beautiful! You can blow the eggs (link below) for longer lasting eggs or you could do what our family does each year, which is hard boil the eggs and hide them outside in the wee hours of the morning for an Easter Egg Breakfast Hunt (along with chocolate, of course!).

The Prettiest Easter Eggs:

We have been making beautiful heirloom eggs to decorate our home for Easter. This craft makes such pretty eggs… we used transfers to color our eggs beautifully.

All we needed was white blown egg shells (tutorial on how to safely do this is here) and transfers that we found at a craft store… both the rub-on’s and the transfers that need to be dampened with a wet cloth will work.

Kitty and Teddy chose which images they wanted for their eggs and cut neatly around the edges.

We used rub-on’s and they worked wonderfully, sticking nicely to the naturally porous egg shells

It was a gift to watch the delight on my children’s faces as their eggs got prettier and prettier.

Happy Easter crafting!
Blessings and magic,
Donni

This tutorial is brought to you by Natalie, of Woolhalla

Please visit Donni at her blog The Magic Onions where you can see the original post, plus other great Easter tutorials and share the “magical journey of childhood with us”

Check out her Etsy shop Fairyfolk where you find beautiful needle felted items, including lots of cute animals, toadstools and acorns.

Posted on March 24, 2011

Easter Nest and Egg Pattern Tutorial

This week’s How-To is Easter Nest and Egg Tutorial by Linda, from Mamma4earth here on the Natural Kids Team. This darling little knitted tutorial is just the thing if you like to knit… and I can just imagine all the amazing colour variations if using variegated yarn. Hope you enjoy this weeks Spring and Easter craft tutorial!

Easter Nest and Egg Pattern Tutorial:

Hello wonderful friends, thanks so much for visiting:) Today, I have been working on a pattern for Easter crafting. We will soon be setting up our Easter tree and I wanted to make something special, so I have Knitted a nest in handspun Alpaca yarn, spun by my daughter Jenna. Inside the nest are some rainbow eggs. I have knitted the nest with a textured appearance to give it the look of a true nest. I do hope you enjoy knitting these patterns:)

Materials:

Yarn for the nest, I have used handspun Alpaca

Yarn for eggs, I have used rainbow cotton DK

4.5 mm circular needles

Wool needle for sewing up

Fleece for stuffing the eggs

Pattern:

Nest:

Cast on 10 stitches

Join for knitting in the round (Magic Loop)

Round 1: Knit

Round 2: Increase into each stitch across the round (20 stitches)

Round 3: Knit

Round 4: (Increase into the first stitch, knit 2 stitches, increase into the next stitch, knit 2 stitches) repeat across the round, knit 1 stitch on the end. (26 stitches)

Round 5: Knit

Round 6: Increase into each stitch. (52 stitches)

Round 7: (Knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch) repeat across round.

Round 8: (Purl 1, knit 1) repeat across round.

Round 9: (Knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch) repeat across round.

Round 10: (Purl 1, knit 1) repeat across round.

Rounds 11- 14: Knit

Round 15: (Knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch) repeat across round.

Round 16: (Purl 1, knit 1) repeat across round.

Round 17: (Knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch) repeat across round.

Rounds 18-21: Knit

Rounds 22-23: Purl

Cast off.

Sew in the ends.

Egg Pattern:

Cast on 4 stitches and join for knitting in the round.

Round 1: Knit

Round 2: Increase into each stitch (8 stitches)

Round 3: Knit

Round 4: Increase into each stitch (16 stitches)

Rounds 5-13: Knit

Round 14: (Knit 3 stitches, knit 2 stitches together) repeat across the round, knit 1 stitch on the end.

Round 15: Knit

Round 16: (Knit 1 stitch, knit 2 stitches together) repeat across the round, knit 1 stitch on the end.

Round 17: Knit

Round 18: (Knit 1 stitch, knit 2 stitches together) repeat across the round.

Round 19: Knit

Finishing off:
Break your thread and thread your yarn onto a wool needle and thread your stitches from your circular neeldes onto your wool needle and pull tight to close the opening. I normally fill the egg from this end and make sure the the wide base is firm and then fill the rest of the egg. Close both ends by threading tight in a circle with your thread and pulling tightly closed.

Roll your egg in your hands to get the required egg shape, and there you have an Easter Egg:)

Wishing you all an inspired week.

xo Linda

This tutorial is brought to you by Natalie, of Woolhalla

Please visit Linda at her blog Natural Suburbia where you can see the original post, find a few other wonderful free knitting tutorials, plus other craft life tutorials and more. In her own words Linda is a “homeschooling mother of four little souls from South Africa. I am a knitter, pattern designer, gardener, homesteader and try to be as self sufficient as possible”.

Check out her Etsy shop Mamma4earth where you find more wonderful knitted treasures consisting of Waldorf inspired knitted and wooden farm animals, gnomes and toys.

Posted on March 10, 2011

Tutorial: Upcycled Easter Baskets

This week’s How-To is Tutorial – Upcycled Easter Baskets by Liz, from The Sitting Tree here on the Natural Kids Team. This great basket tutorial makes a wonderful start of the Spring and Easter themed tutorials I plan to do in the upcoming weeks. It is a perfect size for a child to tote around their natural toys or as a basket for Easter goodies!

Tutorial – Upcycled Easter Baskets:

Looking for an all~natural, eco~friendly alternative to the standard toxic easter baskets you find on the shelves of the big box stores? Make your own this year out of recycled clothing!

Materials::

1 linen skirt/top at least 18″ wide (or any thin fabric) for the lining

1 thick wool felted sweater/blanket at least 18″ wide for the body

Directions::

1. Cut out a square 18″ x 18″. Then in each of the 4 corners, cut out a 6″ square. You’ll end up with an x shape. The middle square will be the bottom of the basket, and the outside pieces will fold up to make the sides!

2. Now bring your neighboring corners together. Pin and sew all four edges together.

Repeat these steps again with the thick wool fabric.

3. Cut out two pieces of linen 2.5″ x 5″ for the handles. Press each edge to

the middle and then press the whole thing in half again. Sew them closed.

4. With right sides together, match up the corners and pin lining to the body.

Pin the handles upside down, in between the two fabrics. Do the same thing on the opposite side. Sew along the edge of THREE SIDES ONLY {Make sure to include both handled edges in three sides ~ I didn’t of course!}

Next, take out all your pins and turn the basket right side out. Press your top seam flat and adjust the lining. Hand sew the opening closed and you’re done! {My wool was so thick that the top seam didn’t want to stay flat so I stitched along the top again to hold it down}

Not just for Spring, these upcycled baskets are great for home organizing and storage too! Fill them with toys, food, or {gasp} yarn!!

Need a few non~toxic, all~natural items to compliment your new basket?? I’ve added several new Spring items to my shop this week ~ Bunnies, eggs, and a seriously sweet pinafore!

This tutorial is brought to you by Natalie, of Woolhalla

Please visit Liz at her blog The Sitting Tree where you can see her original post and get to know her better and “for stories about my life as a wife to my best friend, proud mama of three homeschooled boys, obsessed knitter and lover of Mother Earth”

Visit her Etsy shop at The Sitting Tree “handmade, free spirited design”.

Posted on March 31, 2010

Making Egg Candles for Easter.

Hi, I’m Donni. My shop is called Fairyfolk. My blog is called The Magic Onions.

Making sweet Easter candles has become an Easter tradition in our family. We make a few variations and save them all to put on our Easter table. It is a treat for the kids when they are, at last, allowed to light them… each child taking turns with the taper. The anticipation of having saved them through the Easter season shines from their excited eyes… it’s too delightful.

Today, we made colorful Easter Egg candles.

We needed:

* empty egg shells (here is a tutorial on how to clean out eggs)

* beeswax

* colored crayons

* candle wick (found at craft stores)

* sticky tape

* an recycled egg cup

* scissors

Prepare the eggshells for the melted wax by sticking a little sticky tape over the small hole on the egg shell. Make sure the tape is stuck fast to seal the shell well.

Turn the eggshell upside down and place it in the egg cup so that it is secured.

Cut a length of wick. Tie it around a stick and balance it in the middle of the egg shell. Your shell is now ready for the melted wax.

I use a recycled jar to make a bain-marie to melt the beeswax (here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to safely melt wax).

We adore the wonderful golden color of melted beeswax and breath deeply of the honey aroma. My house always smells so sweet on beeswax craft days.

When I am doing a craft using melted beeswax with the children, we are very careful. Melted wax is extremely hot and would cause a horrid burn. As a precaution, I always work with a bowl of iced water nearby and my children know to put their hand into the cold water if they do get burned.

To color the beeswax, add a little colored crayon to the melted wax and stir until the color blends evenly into the beeswax.

Then carefully pour the melted wax into the eggshell and allow it to cool.

Cut the wick to the desired length and… Voila! Beautifully colored Easter candles.

Blessings and magic for your Easter preparations!

Posted on March 6, 2010

Easter/Spring NaturalKids Team Blog-A-Thon

The NaturalKids Team was started by woodmouse in 2007. Early members included faerierebecca, fairiesnest, cozycottage. It was a small group, with a small presence on etsy. Since that time members have come and gone but our mission has stayed the same. To be a group of sellers dedicated to creating natural products for children. We are a diverse group of artisans who make natural toys, utensils, clothing and accessories for kids. Our sellers work with materials from the Earth, such as wool, cotton, silk and wood. Our goal is to support, promote and have fun together while building our businesses.

One of our 1st Team Blog Post read as below and it is still true today….

We are a diverse bunch from all over the globe who have at least one thing in common: we all work with natural materials in our products for children. Oh yeah, and we’re all pretty darn crafty & talented too! Wool, wood, cotton…just simple materials direct from the Earth.

So who are we?

Some of us are mothers of small children.

Some of us are mothers of grown children.

Some of us make dolls, some of us make hats, some of us make toys.

Some of us have been selling our wares for many years.

Some of us are just starting to discover our talents and start selling.

Some of us work with natural materials for environmental reasons.

Some of us work with natural materials as part of the Waldorf educational philosophy.

Some of us work with natural materials because we believe they are healthier and safer.

Some of us just like working with natural materials.

Some of us sell our wares for a living.

Some of us sell our wares as a hobby.