kid-friendly – NaturalKids Team

Posted on June 30, 2013

Weekend Tradition

Our family lives far far away from our relatives. While we live as expats in Kenya, the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all live in the Netherlands, Germany or the USA.

Our kids are growing up in a mix of Dutch, German and host culture traditions and customs and they have been third-culture children their entire life. We have five different countries of birth among the six of us and four different nationalities (our latest addition is still in process and you can read more about it here)

Since we are so far away from our families, my husband and I feel the need to create a lot of family traditions and ground the children in their various cultural backgrounds. One of our traditions is a nice weekend breakfast! It’s an activity that involves the entire family in the preparation. Our current favourites are either thin pancakes, from a Dutch recipe that our nine-year old has down to a science, or German waffles! The latter involves a lot more adult assistance and supervision, but the results meet an exciting crowd each time.

Our waffle iron is the exact same waffle iron that my husband had waffles from when he grew up in Germany. My dear mother-in-law brought it over to Kenya at one point in time as she saw it to be more useful here in Kenya, than it would be in Germany between her and my father-in-law. Boy, was she right and her grand-kids have been very grateful for that! The 70’s waffle iron gets pulled out on a regular basis and we enjoy the German waffles!

Do you feel inspired to make waffles sometimes? Then try this lovely recipe for some yummy waffles! It was originally from a German Cookbook, but has been altered (or perfected?) to suit our family’s taste!

125 g softened butter
50 g sugar
1 packet of vanilla sugar (or 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence)
4 eggs
250 g flour
375 ml buttermilk
1/2 tsp salt

First split the eggs (egg whites in one bowl, egg yolks into another small bowl). Add the salt to the egg whites and beat them until they are stiff. Place the bowl in the refrigerator.
Mix the butter, sugar and vanilla sugar until creamy
Add the egg yolks to the butter mixture and beat until creamy
Slowly add the flour and buttermilk to the butter mixture until all are incorporated
Carefully fold the stiffened egg whites under the dough

Preheat the waffle iron and put about 3 table spoons of dough into the iron for yummy waffles!

Delicious with powdered sugar / lemon juice and sugar / maple syrup / honey!

Enjoy!

Posted on May 30, 2013

Recycling & Upcycling the Kenyan Way

After Jess’ account earlier this week of thrifting the American way, here’s a brief update on the Kenyan way.

Living in Kenya provides a whole different perspective on the consumption society. Recycling and reinvention of items are the matter of the day especially since new goods are generally very expensive.

The solution for the average person here is to shop for used goods. From toys, to shoes, to furniture, clothing, etc., basically everything you can find in a thrift shop in the Western World. It is that world where most of the items here come from. Kenya is among the largest recipients of used goods, especially clothing and cars. I am sure that we all have seen containers placed in certain parts of large cities in Europe and the USA inviting us to throw in our unwanted clothes, shoes and even other items. Most of what we would throw into these containers finds its way to Africa – and most often to Kenya. The charities, who collect clothes in the containers sell the goods (=funds raised for the charity) to an intermediary, who then sorts and sells the goods to vendors here in East Africa. The goods are packed in large bundles, which then find their way to the Mitumba (which literally translates into Bundle) markets across Kenya. At a Mitumba market, the average person can pick up a nice outfit for a decent price. Depending on the quality of the item, you can get a shirt for 10 Kenyan Shillings (US$ 0,11), or spend as much as 1000 Kenyan Shillings (US$ 11). The latter items would be rather upmarket and brands of high recognition.

Impressions of Toi Market - A Mitumba Market in Nairobi — Impressions of Toi Market – A Mitumba Market in Nairobi

As a crafter the Mitumba market is ideal place for me to find nice fabrics and materials to upcycle and use in my creations. For those who know my Etsy shop, you can immediately find a combination of traditional East African materials with upcycled materials. The yoga mat carriers as well as the pencil rolls are a perfect example. My personal love for jeans as well as colourful kikoy is reflected in those items.

The ziezo Designs bunting baby dolls were born on the Mitumba Market by seeing a pile of wonderful wool jumpers, some felted, others not. The felted wool was the perfect material to make lovely soft baby dolls children across the world would enjoy.

On my most recent trip to the market I picked up some lovely flower fabrics in the form of a skirt, some pillow cases and a dress. I have plans to create a fabric bunting with these great fabrics, a different take on my traditional bandanna buntings like these:

Keep your eyes on the ziezo Etsy shop! Soon there will be more upcycled products made with the donations that started in the Western world, which were then commercially passed on to those shopping at the Mitumba markets. It might actually be made out of something that you donated!

Interested in learning a little more about living in Kenya? Visit my personal blog “ziezo – Crafting and Living in Kenya“

Posted on May 28, 2013 August 9, 2017

New Designs for Spring by broodbaby

With the Arrival of Spring, New Designs Break Ground

When I first met my husband we quickly made scavenging the local flea markets a favorite past time. He’d routinely select some item from a vendor’s cache and ask me what I saw. I’d respond shoe form, wrench, or whatever else the item happened to be. “No,” he’d say. “That’s what it is. I want to know what it could be.” Such a simple statement that became the cornerstone of my point of view in all my ensuing design challenges.

We live a pretty earth friendly life. My husband spends a good part of the year chopping the wood we use to heat our home through the New England winters. I manage the kitchen; cooking and baking our breads, snacks, meals with an emphatic keeping to organic and local ingredients. We know our farmers. We are fanatic recyclers. We drive a hybrid. So, it should come as no surprise that when I started my fiber and textile business my materials would continue in the vein in which we live our life. The fabrics and yarn I work with are all organic, natural, fair trade, recycled, and/or re-purposed. With a steady eye on quality of both my designs and my materials, my constant challenge is to eek out the best of possibilities from my cottons or woolens. What shape will my collected treasures take next in their recycled evolution?

Quite honestly, I can’t even recall how I first started working with sweaters, but somehow I started collecting beautiful wool, cashmere, fair isle, aran—exquisite sweaters that for some reason or another were being discarded. Sifting through thrift shops and rummage sales became a favorite activity. And my husband’s first questions that he posed during our courtship became a constant echo. What’s next? What’s next? And then one day designs started falling from mind’s eye to my pencil and paper to my cutting table. Cashmere bunnies, and fair isle elephants all started to take shape. Pigs and starfish and puppy dogs began to fill the studio. My little gallery now hosts a community of little friends to join the community of our littlest treasures: our kids.

This incredibly soft Cashmere Bunny satisfies her sweet tooth with Cupcakes, which are also made with bits and pieces of recycled sweaters.

A gentle elephant springs to life with cheery thanks to a wool fair isle sweater.

Everything starts with the washing and felting of the sweaters and very frequently some design detail in them–be it a placket or a seam–will inspire the Sweet Critter that it will become.

Jess Wrobel: A lifelong creative type, my studio is filled with an enormity of wonders from the fiber world from which I create my knitwear and pattern designs and textile art pieces. With my husband as my cohort, we reclaim, repurpose, and salvage old pieces into new functional home decor and furniture works. I teach, and write, and enjoy meeting everyone in person at artisan shows. Please visit www.Jwrobel.com <http://www.Jwrobel.com> or follow me on www.facebook.com/JwrobelStudio <http://www.facebook.com/JwrobelStudio> to learn more.

Posted on April 25, 2013

New Raised Beds

Over spring break our family built new raised beds. It was such a fun project, and the whole family pitched in. Our old raised beds had rotted out after about 5 years of use. They were only 7 inches tall. We decided to make the new beds 10 inches higher. Must be the old woman in me – I really appreciate not having to bend down so far. Raised beds are great in that respect.

Building raised beds is a bit of a time and money commitment. But they are so rewarding when you consider how much more produce you get. We are hoping that the plants will be able to grow even deeper roots in the taller boxes.

In the photos you can see the boards of our old beds. They rotted because we used plain untreated wood. I was a bit sad to see my old garden gate getting dismantled. But I am very happy about the new beds. The new raised beds are made of redwood.

Of course, they are not treated with chemicals either, yet they are supposed to last a lifetime. The wood was a bit more expensive but hopefully we don’t have to rebuild again in five years.

We built a total of four boxes. It cost us about $300 (for planks of redwood, new fenceposts, and screws) and three days of labor. That includes the time it took to take out the old beds.

We covered one of the beds with old storm windows we found in our basement. Now the beds work like a miniature greenhouse. On warm days we take the windows off and let the sunshine warm the bed. During the last 3 winterstorms we closed the bed up to shield our small seedlings from the cold and ice.

The children had fun using power tools to help build them. I am looking forward to the spinach, Swiss chard, and Kale already growing. Check out our first little seedlings! I can’t wait to plant more stuff.

I am getting ready to be in a local art show. It’s been a while since I exhibited my work at Madison& Main gallery. It’s a wonderful artist coop, and if you are in the vicinity make sure you check it out. I figured my little garden fairy would go nicely with this post. Maybe she can sprinkle some magic fairy dust to make our plants grow faster. If you would like to meet this sweet Garden Fairy in person you will find her after May 1rst at Madison & Main. Unfortunately I’ll have to miss the grand opening of this show since I’ll be traveling in Germany by then.

Posted on April 7, 2013

BirchLeaf Designs a Farm

Playsilks and Swords and Shields, OH MY! We recently came across a photo of a boy who was not afraid to play. His imagination was wondrous!

Wondrous and amazing…very much like this mosaic shield. Made from a blank shield from our shop and then sold at an auction to help raise funds for the Portland Waldorf School in Portland, Oregon.

Mosiac Shield. Photo courtesy Portland Waldorf School.

The mosaic shield reminds me so much of our life…with the family in the center, the heart, the hearth, the fiery life-force. Then, branching off of the heart center are our many activities in which we are involved. Each day is filled with a bit of this and a bit of that…from eating healthy foods, to homeschooling, to farming, to making toys. These past few weeks have found us in the woods. Many blessings are upon us!

Maple Sap is flowing!

Pro Maple sap taster! — Pro Maple sap taster, Kiah.

Little baby chicks are healthy and here!

Baby chicks are a'peepin'. — Baby chicks are a’peepin’.

And little lambs have arrived!

It only gets livelier from here on out! Garden starts are ready to be planted. Piggies are due to arrive April 20th and bees shortly thereafter. Festivals and art shows are in the not so distant future…which brings us back to our shop…BirchLeaf Designs…Playsilks and Swords and Shields, OH MY…

Wendy, Mojo and their 2 children, Kiah and Milo live, homeschool, farm, and make toys off the grid near Marquette, Michigan. Please visit their shops at http://www.birchleafdesigns.etsy.com and http://www.northernchildren.etsy.com

Posted on April 4, 2013

Natural Easter Egg Dying

Easter egg dying is a fun Easter tradition! The weeks leading up to Easter are pretty hectic around our home with getting Armadillo Dreams orders shipped in time for Easter delivery. We always make sure we still have time to enjoy some fun activities with our kids on Easter weekend. This past weekend we did some egg dying and had a great time!

We really wanted our egg dying to be a little more natural and safe this year. We were excited when we found Eco-Eggs egg dying kits! They are made using natural plant, fruit and vegetable extracts. The kit comes with three dyes that can be mixed to achieve 6 different colors, a color/time chart, a wire egg dipper and a piece of wax. The kit is also packaged in super cute and recyclable packaging.

Knowing that the eggs would be safe to eat even if any dye seeped in through the pores in the eggs was a great feeling. Did you know that a single egg shell is covered with as many as 17,000 microscopic pores? Egg shells are a “semipermeable membrane”, which means that air and moisture can pass through its pores.

First we hard boiled 2 dozen eggs. Then we put the dyes into three cups filled with just enough water to fully submerge an egg. Next we used the piece of wax that was included in the kit to write/draw some fun things on the eggs. Next we dyed all of the eggs six different colors. To get the different colors some eggs had to be in the cups for up to fifteen minutes, some for just a few seconds. A few of the colors required putting an egg in one cup and then a second cup to mix the colors. The eggs turned out really neat and looked a lot more earthy than a lot of the very brightly colored eggs I remembered as a kid. They looked a lot more appetizing since they weren’t all screaming in neon! The wax writing on the eggs really showed well.

Lucy and Lincoln had a lot of fun hunting for the Eggs…

We hope everyone had a great Easter! We had a wonderful Easter and we will be doing natural egg dying again next year for sure! Has anyone else ever used natural egg dyes before? We would love to hear about your experiences with them!

– The Cowell Family (Dustin, Amanda, Lucy and Lincoln)

You can also read more about our family on our blog, Wild Armadillos.

Posted on March 29, 2013

A day at the office, 3 parts //mosey handmade, morning glory garden & mama

We have an early start to our day around here…

The littles wake with the sun, and there is work to be done. We have a little school in our house! This means many things, like bread day, soup day and rice day. All with their own set of recipes and each with their very own song.
we chippity chop, we kneed the dough and stir that rice pot.

Our school follows the rhythm of a Waldorf kindergarten and that means that as much as we work we also play!
There are carts of wool to be sorted, towers to be built, train rides to take and even some traveling to far away lands, like Boston!

We have a full day here in this house, me with my youngest on my back and my oldest playing about with her friends.
And at the end of that day a new day begins, one of snuggles and books read, one where usually my two little children curl up and fall fast asleep and then my life as a crafter and blogger begins. i have joked many times that my bed is my desk and in many ways it is. My children all nested in and my computer perched on the edge, me sitting Indian style on the floor rearranging my etsy shop or writing a blog post.

This is how we live and work. This is how I help support my family and stay centered, this is also in many ways my “me” time. My time to step away for a minute as wife and mother, and work at my craft. Then I suppose in someways isn’t it all a *mother’s craft*? The toast cut just right in the morning, the outfits for the children laid out and ready, the songs we sing and the way we apply ice pack after a fall and kisses after a scuffle. The way we write our to do list and check it off and gently add to it all day long.

that’s the thing about being a mother, it doesn’t have an ending. there is no closed sign to be turned over, and the lights may go out but we are always open for business.
and in a world that tries to put a name on what a wife and mother should be i say we are all crafters, lovingly eeking out what it means to us to be a family, and i hope a beautiful one at that.

You can read more about our days here:
www.littlebitsandbobbin.blogspot.com
See our little school here:
https://www.facebook.com/morningglorygarden

See what we sew and create at our etsy shop:

www.mosey.etsy.com

Posted on March 26, 2013

MamaWestWind, Stories…

Once there was and once there was not, a magical meadow on the edge of an enchanted forest. The forest was home to many magical beings. MamaWestWind knew them all…

I fell in love with story when I was little. As a child I loved nothing better than to lay outside under my favorite horse chestnut tree, feel the cool breeze on my skin, smell that green earthy smell of the grass, wildflowers & trees and be carried away by a book. In my books I could travel to distant times and places all over the world.

When I became a Mom I really wanted to impart my love of story to my children. One of the books that has captured our hearts is “Old Mother West Wind” by Thornton Burgess. My boys and I really love the creative way in which the forces of nature are personified. There is Old Mother West Wind who is the wind, her children the Merry Little Breezes, Old Dame Nature, Old Mother Moon and many others.

So when I began making peg dolls for my three year old son and couldn’t stop, I knew an etsy shop had been born. I didn’t have to look very far for the name of my shop, MamaWestWind. I loved the idea that “Old Mother West Wind” being the wind, the very air around us, would know every creature in the forest. She would know the animals, the gnomes, fairies & all. My littles call me “Mama” & so MamaWestWind became my alter ego, my friend, my creative outlet & so began her story.

Since that time my little shop has grown and I am so ecstatic to be doing what I love. I get the privilege of creating little playthings, friends. that children then take into their worlds and imagine the most wonderful stories. And so the circle is complete.

(picture by a happy customer & photographer Jacqueline Leigh)

Please visit me at my blog, Chocolate Eyes where I blog about crafting, homeschooling, gardening , just life with three boys in the sunny Southwest. I recently wrote a post about my brand new studio, so come for a tour! Also check out my shop MamaWestWind on etsy. For shop updates and giveaways “like” my MamaWestWind Facebook page.

Posted on February 19, 2013

Needle Felting Wee Folk and Their Friends – Tutorial from the Willodel Blog

With so many stories to tell and much imagination to express, making wee folk come to life is a rewarding and delightful work. This tutorial is designed to pass along my own creative ideas as the simplest way to make pose-able needle felted figures for stories and gnome play.

The possibilities are pretty limitless. You can use scraps of things you already have at home, I always encourage using “found” materials, and things you might have to buy, like covered florist wire, are not expensive. The size of the figures in the tutorial are 4″ to 5″, but this can be changed to anything you like. Your main tool for the frame are wire nippers(called “diagonals” and needle nose pliers. You want to be sure that in making the frame there are no pointy ends that might poke through anywhere. Also, I do not hesitate the add a drop of glue where I need to starting winding some wool and definitely use this for attaching hair and hats. I like using acorns for hats, but there are many other approaches to the this part of the clothing. Please do not hesitate to write if you have questions.

wishingwellelf — This is Leif the Elf, working with his wishing well.This little Elf has been a model for many of my homes and other tutorials, proving himself versatile and durable over several years. He is 45″ tall.

BENDY GNOME — Here are an array of bendy figures, including gnomes, elves and animals.
This is the link to the tutorial: http://willodel.blogspot.com/p/making.html

Posted on January 20, 2013

Using a Peg Loom

Growing up, my parents always gave my brother and I a craft to do for Christmas. My husband and I have taken on that tradition ourselves and this year we got our family a peg loom.

Peg looms are a very simple loom design that are often seen in Waldorf kindergartens. Comprised of a solid base with holes for removable pegs and pegs with a hole in the bottom for the warp to go through, the design really is very simple to make. The great thing about peg looms is that you only put in as many pegs as you want the width of your project to be.

We got a large loom but started off on our first project with only a few pegs. Putting the warp thread through the bottom you only have to weave in and out of the pegs back and forth.

When you are done the length you wish, you pull the pegs out slowly and pull the warp thread through carefully. Then when all the warp threads are through the weft, you tie off their ends and you have your project. We then felted our project by throwing it in our regular wash and drier and made it in to a doll pillow.

Because it is so simple to use, you can make a project in no time. My daughter, who is three, made this project in 15 minutes with minimal guidance by herself. You can make chair cushions out of roving, rugs, and coasters. We love ours and are looking forward to more creative projects to come.