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Making Beeswax Impressions for Valentine’s Day

Beeswax is one of my very favorite materials to work with. There’s so much you can do with it, it’s totally natural and smells like heaven! My girls and I used some to make impressions for Valentine’s day. Perhaps you have seen some of these around. They are so simple to make and even your children can help with the pouring.  There are several options for molds. Here, I’ve  used a ceramic cookie mold from Brown Bag Designs. If you search for ‘cookie mold’ on Etsy or even Ebay you will come up with many beautiful designs. You may even have one hiding in your own stash, that’s where I found mine. I think it was a hand-me-down from my mother. If you’re looking for a less expensive option that can be picked up from most craft stores try plastic candy molds, silicone molds or even shaped metal baking pans. I’ve used the kind with many different shaped compartments that are meant for cookies or cupcakes. They will  need to be poured more shallowly but work great!

The process is quite simple. Begin by melting your beeswax. We use a tiny little crock pot that is reserved only for beeswax. You can also use a double boiler or an empty can or heat proof bowl placed inside a pot of water on the stove (like this). DO NOT place beeswax directly in your pot on the stove.  Also, don’t use anything you are not willing to set aside for beeswax use only.

For ease of pouring you will need to pour the wax into a container with a spout. We use an old plastic milk bottle that I have cut the top spout off of. Any plastic drink bottle can be bent into a pouring spout and is easy for children to handle.

Fill your mold and once it begins to set up (which will happen rather quickly) you can make a hole for hanging with a toothpick. Another option for hanging is to place a loop of ribbon or string in the wax before it sets up.

Now, in my experience, I have found that if you place the mold into the freezer when the edges have firmed up but the middle is still a little ‘soupy’ that it will come come away from the edges beautifully without contracting too much, too soon. You won’t need to keep it in there long at all. From start to finish you should have one completed in less than a half an hour Find what works best for you and remember, the beauty of working with wax is that if it doesn’t come out right, you can always melt it down and try again!

Beeswax impressions look gorgeous hanging in a window where the sun can show off  the design. Wouldn’t this make a beautiful Valentine for your children to make for loved ones?

 

If you’re not up for making your own, two of our Natural Kids team members sell several different designs in their shops, Harvest Moon By Hand and Pretty Dreamer.

 
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.

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What I’m Loving This Week


Valentine Heart Fai…

$18.00

Love Gnome — I lov…

$17.00

Earth pony, Valenti…

$30.00

SALE – LIMITED TIME…

$34.20

Valentine’s Day…

$12.00

Petit Gosset Waldor…

$275.00

Children Valentine …

$56.00

Waldorf doll clothe…

$16.50

Valentines Day Gift…

$38.00

Boston Beanies Knit…

$28.00

Needle Felted Valen…

$35.00

Red 6 Pointed Waldo…

$10.00

Sweetheart Valentin…

$30.00

WEEKEND SALE Upcycl…

$19.60

ECO Kids Handmade A…

$10.00

Needle Felted Tea C…

$20.00

Etsy treasury created by This Cosy Life

 

My thoughts are beginning to turn toward Valentine’s Day. Check out some of the wonderful Valentine inspired items from our team members!

♥I love these DIY suncatchers, made from glue!

♥This homemade, heart shaped paper tutorial is terrific… wondering if they might be made with seeds in them?

♥These heart shaped tea bag tags would make a sweet grown up gift, maybe kids could make for Grandma?

Valentine babies… very sweet and I’m thinking would look extra sweet strung as a necklace.

♥Wouldn’t heart shaped pie pops be a sweet Valentine treat?

♥Love this pretty heart wreath!

 

 

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.

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Saturday Giveaway: GermanDolls



This week we have a special treat for our Natural Kids readers! Ulla of GermanDolls, our fabulous blog leader is running a giveaway over on her blog to celebrate adding shipping to Canada for her Etsy shop. We would like you to head on over to visit her and find out how to enter. This giveaway is global so be sure to enter wherever you are.

You could win one of her sweet Valentine’s Day themed Trademark Pocketdresses plus a wee red Heartshaped Pocketbaby. The winner of this Giveaway will receive a 12 or 14 inch dress, your choice! The dress will be made from chocolate colored Big Hearts flannel fabric pictured below.

Hurry though– this giveaway closes tonight at midnight!

Good luck & have a very happy weekend!

~this giveaway is now over, congratulations to the lucky winner. Be sure to check back next Saturday for another wonderful Natural Kids giveaway~

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Magic Wand Tutorial

This week’s How-To is a Magic Wand Tutorial by Shannon from Rhythm & Rhyme. For the next few weeks I would like to share tutorials on “Valentine” themed crafts as Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. The wand tutorial from Rhythm & Rhyme is one of my favourites, and the heart wand is so beautiful…Finally…I present to you my magic

Finally…I present to you my magic wand tutorial

Ingredients –

Colourful bits of felt – just your scraps if they are big enough
embroidery floss
wooden dowel stick
wool (spun for wrapping the stick)
wool fleece (for stuffing)
craft glue
narrow ribbon

pretty things to embelish with – think buttons, beads, shells.

Ok so I’m making a heart one here and I got inspiration, size and shape from wee folk art’s curved heart applique block – I used the middle and centre heart patterns and curved the top edges a little more. For the flower and star I just drew the shape free hand roughly the same size as the heart.

So to the making –

First you will need to drill a tiny hole in the of dowel about an inch or so down from one end – check that your usual sewing needle will fit through it – and drill slowly so you don’t spilt the wood.

Then get a ball of wool and wrap the stick. Starting at the end WITHOUT the hole squirt a few inches of glue down to the end, place the blunt end piece of the wool on the glue running down the stick toward the end you just glued.

Start wrapping up the stick; you will cover in your blunt end as you go, add more glue every few inches but don’t be too generous or it will get messy and set hard and nasty.


When you get near the hole at the top slow down and cut your wool so that it will finish just under the hole – you want the drill hole to stay uncovered – smear a bit of glue on the end of the wool so it is coated and then firmly wind it, holding it down so it stays put.

Now for your top bit. Cut out two pieces of felt in the main shape and one smaller piece either the same shape or something else you fancy.
Take one of the main pieces and attach the the smaller one however you like – make sure that you hide your knots and ends – I have used a blanket stitch here and I alternated the length of stitch to make it a bit more interesting.
After it is secure you can embelish a bit if you want to, or not. If you are making it for a child younger than three I would say not – all the pretty bits are choking hazards; but you could embroider some pretties on.

When you are done sew the two main pieces together; first check where you want your stick to sit and starting just to the side of where it will come out, stitch up and around leaving about an inch or so open at the bottom/side for stuffing.

Using a chopstick, a pencil, knitting needle or just your fingers stuff gently – aim for it to be firm but not fat – you can add a little right at the end before you close it if you need to.

ok – now for ribbons (if you are lucky your baby might wake up just in time to help you with this bit, mine did!)

Cut three, four, five lengths of narrow ribbon in whichever colours you like/have. I made mine all different lengths, some longer than the stick and varying ones between. (cut the ends on a diagonal so they are less likely to fray) then tie them all together in a knot close to one end.


Thread your needle with a new piece of floss (two strands the same colour you used to sew the outside edge) and knot the ends. Sew in and out through your ribbons around the knot til you are sure it is quite secure then poke your needle through the drill hole in the dowel and secure the ribbons to the stick a bit like you are sewing on a button. When you can give it a good strong tug and it doesn’t budge move on.
Keeping the thread attached; poke the stick up inside your wand top and give it a wiggle til it sits nicely. Holding it firmly against your beginning stitches begin sewing your hole closed by sewing into both the felt and the wool around the stick – you can stitch all aroudn the stick this way and then blanket stitch the last of the hole closed.

when you are finished it is very important to hold onto your wand,
close your eyes tight and make a wish
– believe with all your heart and hope it comes true.

This tutorial is brought to you by Natalie, of Woolhalla.

Please visit Shannon at: http://motherrhythm.blogspot.com/ where you can see her original post plus f

ollow “the rhythms of the days and the seasons and making a few things along the way”.

A little bio of Shannon: I have two daughters who are 8 years apart (one big, one wee). The absolute beauty and simplicity of crafting with natural fibers and embracing the seasons was first introduced to me through the many families I met as a homebirth midwife. As my daughters grow and learn, so do I. Right now we live in Brisbane, Australia but we have big plans afoot.


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New Items from The NaturalKids Team

Team members have listed some wonderful items this week, here are just a few;

A wooden heart puzzle from justhatched

An adorable felted owl from Cute Little Thing

A sweetheart of a nightgown from GermanDolls

A soft and fun memory game from Woolies

A gorgeous new Noonie (her newest line!) from Lalapequenos

And here’s a sweet special item from some Naturalkid…kids! Some adorable handmade Valentines from NorthernChildren

Enjoy!!