BirchLeaf Designs – Wendy and Mojo

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 May 16, 2011

Mini Monday

The journey backwards through the alphabet brings us much delight! All handmade goodies that please Mother Earth and bring smiles to any face!

Drumroll Please…The NaturalKids Team on Etsy proudly presents:

EntWorks – From the UK, this creative little shop will have any child giddy over her goods!

Dria is a long time lover of dirt, defines herself as a teacher, mother, artisan, wife, scientist, tree hugger, rock collector, friend, and nerd who’s seemingly not outgrown her fondness of frogs.

Elemental Handcrafts – Stephanie is from Connecticut and has my heart with her needle-felted pregnant and breastfeeding dolls! She is also Mama to three amazing, home-schooled, environmentalist kiddos. She loves working with her hands and finding fun ways to make new things out of old and creating toys and gifts her kids would enjoy- and therefore other families as well.

Driaa – From Isreal comes Dria. Dria has many sweet things in her shop! She is a doll maker, and mother of three little girls. She sews when she has some spare time. Dria lives in a small village in the hills of the Galilee, and loves to garden and grow vegetables as well. She uses new, vintage and second hand fabrics, but tries not to mix new and used in the same project.

All of this handmade goodness comes to you from the NaturalKids Team! Thanks for checking out these wonderful shops and we will see you next Monday!

Smiles and warm sunny days,

Wendy with BirchLeaf Designs

BirchLeaf Designs on Facebook

Posted on May 12, 2011

How to Eat Raw Worms

I fondly remember my Dad singing to me when I was a child, “Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, so I’m gonna go eat worms. Big fat juicy ones, little tiny squirmy ones, I’m gonna go eat worms!” This song was so disgusting to me at that time in my life! Back then, I couldn’t even imagine eating a worm!

Well, one fine day, our dear Auntie Suzie introduced Milo to the book “How to Eat Fried Worms” by Thomas Rockwell. After reading a few chapters, surprising things began to happen!

Milo was inspired to eat a worm…he just had to try one! He thought and he thought and he thought and he thought on this idea for days before he finally came to me while we were working in the greenhouse and said, “Mama, I’m gonna to eat a worm! Will you go get some lemon, salt and pepper?” I knew he was serious, so I went to the house, grabbed the ingredients and a camera and headed back up to the greenhouse.

Milo was ready…he had his worm all picked out. One not too big and not too small. The perfect size. At that moment, Kiah’s interest was peeked. She wanted to try one too!

Here we go!

How to Eat a Raw Worm

Dig up one worm

Cut into pieces (optional)

Sprinkle on salt and pepper

Squirt a little fresh lemon juice over worm and…

Down the Hatch!