06Sep 2024 by catbird 1 Comment
Summer Stream Craftbrunch

Summer Stream Craftbrunch

Craft Project, craftbrunch, Hike Ideas, Nature Art, Nature Art Materials, Nature Collection, Play, Recipes, Summer, Summer Solstice
Summer is miserably hot and swampy where I live and sometimes we struggle to get outside as much as we do the rest of the year. It’s theoretically a slower time of year, but it never feels that way to me. One minute the whole summer stretches in front of you and then suddenly it’s September.   I started hosting “craftbrunches” years ago to slow down and connect with friends and family. The premise is simple,  everyone brings a simple dish and works on a seasonal craft together while laughing and gossiping. It’s an afternoon event which feels easier to schedule between clubs, camps, and soccer games. Including a simple kids craft keeps the littles occupied while the grownups catch up. A Summer Solstice craftbrunch is a perfect respite from…
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05Jul 2024 by catbird 6 Comments
Seashell Fragment Wreath

Seashell Fragment Wreath

Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Summer, Summer Solstice
Every summer we seem to acquire an overwhelming number of shells. Little clam shells and river mussels from the creeks around our house, snail shells around the garden and a whole array of shells when we visit the beach. The kids and I will both often collect little bits and fragments of shells, they might be super shiny or have an interesting pattern of shape. They all have their merits, but all those broken bits scooped into a bucket, toted home and left to sit have tendency to just kind of disappear. I wanted to do something with them that would showcase them up close, the same way you hold them in your hand close to you when you are finding them on the beach. I wanted to emphasize those…
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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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