18Nov 2024 by catbird 1 Comment
Peppercorn Owls

Peppercorn Owls

Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Table, Play, Winter, Winter Solstice
When I saw that the Plant Wonder Collective November plant of the month was peppercorn I was a bit stymied. I have committed to making a craft with each plant each month and the more culinary herbs are often tough. I had used tri-color peppercorns in my spice mosaic ornaments a few years ago, so I decided to make a twist on those. As I was sifting through cookie cutters looking for inspiration, the owl cutter jumped out at me-- the colors were perfect and it would make the cutest winter decoration! And so peppercorn owls were born. They are adorable as ornaments, make the sweetest gift tags, and my favorite way to use them was the owl moon garland I made by stringing them with dried moonwort seedheads. The…
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10Jul 2024 by catbird 1 Comment
Fun Summer Solstice Craft Ideas For Kids

Fun Summer Solstice Craft Ideas For Kids

Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Nature Journaling, Nature Table, Play, Summer, Summer Solstice
Looking for fun crafts to do with (or without…) kids for the Summer Solstice? Click the text next to the images for the tutorials. Save for later! Sun Catchers: Plarn Sun Catcher Bioplastic Sun Catcher Blooming Fern Sun Catcher Tidepool Sun Catcher Sun Powered Crafts: Solar Oven Crayons Solar Oven Shrinky Dinks Shadow Drawings Solar Lanterns Solar Circuits Solar Balloons Decorations: Sun Prints & Anthotypes Turmeric Shibori Bunting Shell Candles Sea Glass Mobiles Shell Fragment Wreaths Flower Crowns Summer Nature Activities: Summer Nature Journal Summer Nature Table k
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05Jul 2024 by catbird 2 Comments
Sea Glass Mobile

Sea Glass Mobile

Craft Project, Nature Collection, Nature Table, Summer, Summer Solstice
I love to collect sea glass-- it's like areal life treasure hunt. Although in my case, I technically mostly collect river glass, but people don't know what you are talking about when you say river glass. It looks exactly the same, but I find it along a rocky river near my house. I actually think it's easier to find near rivers because there seem to be far less people searching it out. In the beginning, I had so few pieces that it was precious and I kept in in glass jars in the window, but as I discovered river glass and started to find more and more I decided that I wanted to make something with it. Generally I think sea glass belongs near a window so you can admire…
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05Jul 2024 by catbird 2 Comments
Shell Candles

Shell Candles

Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Nature Table, Summer, Summer Solstice
Our shell collection always seems to balloon in the summer, and while we live a few hours from the coast, the bulk of our shells are found closer to home. The shells we used for this project are hand sized river mussels that we find in the streams and lakes around our house. I love them and can't seem to stop collecting them! (So don't feel like you have to live near a beach to find shells!) You just need a tiny bit of beeswax to make these candles, and we sprinkled some of those tiny shells we always seem to accumulate on top along with a few pressed summer flowers. My favorite part is actually the sand sprinkled on top, it looks properly summery and was a last minute…
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05Jul 2024 by catbird 1 Comment
Summer Nature Table

Summer Nature Table

Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Nature Table, Play, Seasonal Nature Table, Summer, Summer Solstice
Nature tables are the perfect place to store and display all those nature finds that we “just had to bring home.” Honestly, I am almost as bad as the kids about this… Ours is on our porch so that things can be easily added and subtracted at will and we change it out for each season. (And it substantially reduces the stray sticks in the house..) In summer, the rock and shell collections get especially prolific, along with interesting sticks, feathers and flowers. Use log slices or old shelves and add some height. Try a vase to hold flowers. I like to stick rooting houseplants on the nature table too, they love the heat and filtered light, while the kids love to watch the growing roots. The kids are always…
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01Nov 2022 by catbird 3 Comments
Winter Nature Table

Winter Nature Table

Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Nature Table, Play, Seasonal Nature Table, Winter, Winter Solstice
Nature tables are the perfect place to store and display all those nature finds that we "just had to bring home." Honestly I am almost as bad as the kids about this... Ours is on our porch so that things can be easily added and subtracted at will and we change it out for each season. (And it substantially reduces the stray sticks in the house..) In winter, we add obvious things like holly and evergreens, but also sticks covered in lichen, crystal-y rocks, found bits of nuts, pinecones and a prized deer antler. Log slices and old shelves and add some height and you can use vases to hold the greens. The kids are always tinkering with the arrangement and moving things around which is great. This is actually…
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