All Natural Toys for Children

Pink Frosted Donut
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

This is one of the donuts that I make that was featured in the LIVING CRAFTS magazine (Winter 2008-09 issue) under the "Good Finds" section.

It is made from all-natural materials. The base of the donut is made with 100% wool felt that has been plant-dyed by hand. The frosting is made from 100% wool felt.

I hand-cut, blanket-stitched, and filled the donut with 100% clean, carded sheep wool. The wool came from sheep that I raised.

This piece is meant to provide a rich, sensory experience and intended to be enjoyed for many years by children.

They are great for imaginary play...in a play kitchen, pretend bakery, or a tea party.

Children who have low vision or are blind will enjoy the different textures of the wool and the toppings. (My daughter is legally blind in both eyes, and loves to play with toys with different textures.)

It is available in my shop, Harvest Moon by Hand.

Four Handmade Fabric Covered Buttons

Four Handmade Fabric Covered Buttons
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

My daughters and I have been enjoying making fabric-covered buttons recently.

These are four buttons that I recently made from two different cotton fabrics. They would be good for replacing plastic buttons on clothing, as special embellishments for a knitted or crocheted item, crafting, or for pontail or clip holders.

This set, as well as other sets of buttons, are available in my shop, Harvest Moon by Hand.

Olivia on the 4th of July

Olivia on the 4th of July
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

Olivia wanted to wear her horse costume in the 4th of July parade. Told her about Paul Revere's horse which she found interesting.

She wanted to know the horse's name. Apparently Paul Revere borrowed the horse he rode when he made the announcement/gave the warning. Some sources say the horse didn't have a name. Other sources say the horse's name was "Brown Beauty."

She's going to stick with the Brown Beauty name since it reminds her of one of her favorite stories "Black Beauty."

Buttons for Crafting or Math Activities

Melon-Inspired Buttons
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

Went through my button jars and created this melon-inspired button collection in pink, green, and white that's available in my shop, Harvest Moon by Hand. The colors remind me of summer, watermelons, and picnics.

With over 75 buttons to choose from, you could use them for a variety of projects: sewing, quilting, ATCs, ACEOs, scrapbooking, art journaling, jewelry...the possibilities are endless.

Buttons also are wonderful, tactile objects to use with math activities with children. Here are some ideas:

- match and sort the buttons (by shape, color, number of holes in the button, texture, pattern)

- addition and subtraction

- count and skip count (by 2, 3, 5, 10)

- create pattern series (green, green, pink, white, green, green, pink, white)

- introduce the concept of greater than, less than, and equal

- make different graphs using groups of buttons

- guess the number of buttons in jars

There are so many ways to use buttons in math. Having something tangible...something a child can manipulate...can make all the difference in helping introduce a new concept or comprehending a concept with which a child is struggling.

Work in Progress...Create a Picture with Felt Shapes

WIP - Felt Activity Book Page

Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

I've been working on an activity book for Sophia and Olivia when they travel in the car or want something to do at home.

These are all the items needed to create this page in the activity book.

The book is made from wool felt. All the pieces are hand-cut and then hand-embroidered. When two sheets are complete, I blanket-stitch them together to make a "page." I use the grommet tool to put two grommets in each page.

In addition to being a good book for children, it also would be appropriate for people for who have Alzheimer's Disease who are looking for soft, sensory-rich activities to do.

After the book is complete, I will be making a PDF pattern and making it available at Harvest Moon by Hand (my shop on Etsy).

Green Mandala Star Suncatcher

Green Mandala Star Suncatcher
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

It's time to start thinking about Christmas. That's a bit difficult to do when the weather is in the upper 80s and low 90s, and everything is so green and colorful outside.

However, it's always enjoyable to create new window stars in a variety of colors and patterns.

I'm planning on making more stars in green, red, and white over the next couple of months. There should be quite a selection in my shop, Harvest Moon by Hand. See the images above for a sneak peek.

Some of the stars shown here as well as other gift items are already available in my shop if you like to get your Christmas shopping done early.

Sophia in "The Chocolate Milk Cow"

Sophia Bringing Chocolate Milk to Ms. Otto
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

This is one of the scenes of "The Chocolate Milk Cow" - a play/musical at a local community theater in Wisconsin - that Sophia is in (St. Croix Art Barn).

She is playing "Francis Farmer" and has been rehearsing for over six weeks. The 5 performances span over two weekends, and are giving Sophia some great opportunities in theater, singing, dance, and public speaking.

She is responsible for learning quite a few lines and songs, but has really enjoyed the challenge...and performing in front of live audiences.

Olivia Performing at Local Community Theater

Olivia Reciting Creed
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

This is one of the scenes of "The Chocolate Milk Cow" that Olivia is in. Sophia is in the performance as well. The play/musical is at the St. Croix ArtBarn in Osceola.

The girls each have about 50 lines that they are responsible for knowing - a combination of lines they speak themselves, with a few other children, or as a group.

There are quite a few songs and movements that they also learned as part of the play/musical.

This has been such a great opportunity for both of the girls, and they are looking forward to being a part of next year's performance already...even though this one still has 3 more performances.

Summer Solstice Star Collection

Summer Solstice Star Collection
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

Using the 4-color star as the central focus, I made a different pattern star in each of the four colors to surround it.

These five stars remind me of the Summer Solstice which is right around the corner.

They also would be good stars to have up all summer reflecting the warm colors and temperature of the season.

The link to my Etsy shop (Harvest Moon by Hand) is on the right side of the blog.

Olivia Harvesting Rhubarb

Olivia Harvesting Rhubarb
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

It's definitely summer now and the garden is starting to produce some favorites - like rhubarb.

Here Olivia is holding two stalks of rhubarb from the garden. The leaves have to come off before they come into the house since they are poisonous to cats.

So far, we've enjoyed rhubarb sauce, crisp, and coffee cake. Sophia has requested a rhubarb pie.

Before long, it will be time to can some rhubarb sauce and freeze some cut-up rhubarb for use during the winter.

Olivia Feeding Giraffe

Olivia Feeding Giraffe
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

One of the unit studies the girls did this year was on Africa and African animals. The Minnesota Zoo is having a special exhibit during the warm months. There are two beautiful giraffes here now.

One of the opportunities visitors have is to feed the giraffes a special biscuit (you have to purchase it and then go in a separate area to feed the giraffe).

Check out the giraffe's tongue as it reaches for the treat Olivia is holding out for it. She said the tongue was "rough." She really enjoyed feeding the giraffe.

Giraffes eat for 23 hours each day. They rest in 5 minute increments for a total of 1 hour each day.

Bringing Brazil to Minnesota

Ruth and Girls in Osceola
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

A friend from Brazil visited for ten days from the end of May through early June. She was an exchange student back in the late 1990s when she was a senior in high school.

This was an exciting time for the girls as they learned a lot about Brazil - its culture, language, everyday life, and games. It was such a wonderful opportunity for them to meet Ruth and get a taste of what Brazil/South America is like.

Hopefully within a year, we will be traveling to Brazil on frequent flier points to visit Ruth and her family. It would be an incredible learning experience for the girls - and a real opportunity for them to get a more better view of the world and what life is like in a different country.

On this day, we visited Osceola, Wisconsin, to see Cascade Falls. You have to walk down about 100 steps to get to the waterfall. There's a small stream that winds through a forest. It's a pretty location tucked right along the St. Croix River.

Embroidery with Children

Step 2 - Embroider Design onto Fabric
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

This is a pillow that Olivia (who is 6 years old) is hand-embroidering. She is doing the back-stitch for the entire pillow and her stitches are about 1/16" of an inch. Very tiny and precise for a 6-year old.

The image is one that she drew on paper and I transferred onto fabric with a blue fabric pen (the ink disappers when water is placed on it).

Olivia drew a picture of herself with Casey (a pet who passed away unexpectedly in February 2008 who she loved and was close to). They are standing by the apple tree in the backyard on a beautiful sunny day.

Doing this project on an almost daily basis has given Olivia an opportunity to process her grief, talk about Casey, and remember some happier times with her dog. She will have a permanent reminder of Casey which she can put on her bed and sleep with each night. It is a meaningful and practical activity that she did as part of her homeschooling this spring.

Green Pink and Rainbow Stars

Green Pink and Rainbow Stars
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

These are the three most recent stars I've made. I make the stars by hand-folding small squares of paper, overlaying the folded paper, and then gluing them together to create different patterns.

The green and pink stars are both very intricate window stars, and both take quite a while to make. They are the more complex stars offered by Harvest Moon by Hand.

Please visit my Etsy shop at http://www.harvestmoonbyhand.etsy.com if you're interested in any of these stars. There also is a link to my shop on the right side of this blog.

Trying on Wooden Shoes

Trying on Wooden Shoes
Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

The girls, their grandparents, and I traveled to Pella, Iowa, as an extension of the girls' unit study about the Netherlands. Pella was originally a Dutch settlement in the 1800s.

It has prospered since that time, and each year the community does a cultural festival. We traveled the week before the festival so it was much quieter and more peaceful. We could enjoy the over 80,000 tulips that were planted throughout the town. It was a stunning example of tulip gardening.

The girls are in a store adjacent to the Klokkenspel. We had some time to look around before the Klokkenspel went off at 1 p.m.

Here, the girls found their sizes in the wooden shoes. They aren't the most comfortable shoes...perhaps with padding they might be more comfortable. However, the girls certainly had fun trying them on and walking around in them.