Magic Wands

Magic wands are always one of the biggest hits of the Children's House. They are made of wool felt and stuffed with pure wool, embroidered and embellished however their makers desire.

The stick is wrapped in ribbon, which is glued at the ends. It is then inserted into the wand top before the stitching is complete and glued into the wool stuffing for security.

We used three patterns: a star, a moon, and a sun.

Roving Babies in Milkweed Pods

These wrapped roving babies are tucked away in milkweed pod cradles.

Cinnamon Star Ornaments

These star ornaments were made with cinnamon-applesauce dough and decorated with white acrylic paint. The dough is easy to roll out like cookie dough and can be cut into any shape.

Animal Finger Puppets

These simple animal finger puppets were cut from wool felt. We embroidered their faces and added tails before blanket stitching them together, leaving space for a finger at the bottom.

Walnut Turtles

These turtles were made with walnut shell halves glued to a felt turtle shape. The insides of the shells were stuffed with wool.

Walnuts can be hard to crack into perfect halves, but it helps to bake them at a low temperature first. Here's a good tutorial for cracking technique.

Painted Wooden Snowmen

Many craft stores sell unpainted wooden forms like these snowmen. We painted them and added a bit of red yarn for a scarf. The snowmen are about 1 1/2 inches tall.

Needle-felted acorns

These little treasures were made by needle-felting an egg-shaped ball and then gluing on an acorn cap.

Crayons

These fun-shaped crayons were made by filling silicone molds with bits of broken crayon and heating gently in the oven.

Lavender Sachets

These lavender sachets were made with a teaspoon of lavender wrapped in doubled squares of tulle and tied with a ribbon. They smell heavenly.

Salt Dough Miniature Food

Salt dough is fun and easy to mold into tiny creations. We traditionally make miniature food. Cakes and cookies are perennial favorites with the children.

The recipe we use is:

2 parts flour

1 part salt

1 part water

coloring

Artificial or natural food colorings give vibrant, lasting color, but for browns and golds, spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric work well (and smell great). Adjust the amount of flour to make a workable dough, and remember that the items will dry to a lighter color than the wet dough, so be generous with whatever coloring you choose to use. 

Items can be decorated with spices such as cloves for stems and allspice for chocolate chips.

Dry items in gentle heat, either above a radiator or in an oven set to 175 F for several hours. Higher temperatures may crack your creations.

Cinnamon Bunnies

These little bunnies were made out of cinnamon-applesauce dough. The dough worked easily as clay and the bunnies dried nicely, without cracking. And they smell delightful.

Painted rocks

I'm a miniaturist at heart, so I love to paint tiny scenes rocks. I pick up rocks on the beach, selecting rounded shapes with smooth surfaces, and paint them with acrylic paint. Most of the rocks are between one and a half and three inches in diameter.

I usually do summer and winter scenes. This year I added an "Under the Sea" theme to shake things up.

Maple Seed Dragonfly

This little dragonfly is made from a stick and four maple seeds held together with hot glue. It's strengthened with Mod Podge and painted with copper paint, overlaid with a thin layer of blue acrylic on the wings.

Inspiration from Twig and Toadstool.

Acorn Nest Ornaments

We owe the idea for these lovely little ornaments entirely to Twig and Toadstool.

Wet-felted Balls in Waldorf Star Boxes

These little wet-felted balls have a jingle bell inside so they rattle when you shake them. A general tutorial for wet-felted balls can be found on Lil Blue Boo.

The box is a Waldorf star lantern folded out of origami paper. I found excellent folding instructions on Home Baked.

Cork Boats

These boats are made out of wine corks and really float. They are held together with toothpick pegs that are secured with hot glue, and the mast is a bamboo skewer, trimmed to size and glued in as well. A penny glued into a cutout on the bottom keeps the boat upright in water.

Spool Necklaces

These necklaces were made with wooden thread spools and beads that had been painted or dyed. The spools were decorated with ribbon, felt, beads, and paint. They were then strung with wet-felted wool beads.

Mushroom Ornaments

These little mushrooms were made from acorn caps and sticks. The caps were painted red and white with acrylic paint, then drilled with a single, central hole. We threaded a loop of yarn through (with the knot at the bottom to hold it in place) and glued a stick in for a stem. The mushroom was finished by gluing a bit of white wool inside the cap for the gills.

Inspiration from Lil Fish Studios.

Sweater Purses

In the course of our crafting, we like to use recycled materials when we can. These purses are made from wool sweaters that have been felted in the washing machine. They are then cut up and stitched together like felt. These purses were appliquéd, but purses can be decorated with embroidery, needle felting, buttons, or whatever we have on hand.

The handles for these purses are made with braided strips of fabric. We also make handles with yarn (braided or fingerknit) or strips of felted wool sweaters.

Origami Treasure Boxes

These little treasure boxes are folded from doubled sheets of origami paper, following the method for a traditional Star Box. Because these were meant for little hands, we broke with tradition and glued the tucked star points down. The boxes were then filled with dyed wool and little treasures.

Clothespin Fairies and Princes

The clothes and hats for the fairies were cut from wool felt, using flower-shaped dies in a die cutter. The costumes for the princes were cut by hand -- rectangles for the tunic and cloak, and a long rectangle with points cut out for the crown. Some of the clothespins were stained with brown acrylic paint (before adding the felt) in order to create a range of skin tones. The hair is wool roving.

Put together with a combination of sewing and glue.

Button Flowers in Pots

These little flowers are made of pretty buttons threaded on pipe-cleaner stems. The leaves are cut from green wool felt; the pots are gold-painted wooden thread spools wrapped in ribbon for a little extra color. The stems are threaded through the holes in the buttons, then twisted carefully together below so that there are no sharp points to hurt little fingers. The stems are then glued with the leaves into the hole in the spool.

Jingle Bell Bracelets

These were designed by my 8-year-old son, who woke me up one weekend morning with a sample all made up. Knit out of chunky, super-soft wool yarn using garter stitch. Three stitches wide and twenty-four long, then sewn together at the ends to form a bracelet. We sewed on five jingle bells to make it a wearable instrument.

Sweetgum Mice

This little critter was made entirely from seed pods collected on neighborhood walks. The body is a sweetgum ball, with the stem for a tail. The head is an alder cone. The ears and feet are made from pine cone scales. Put together with hot glue.

Tiny Shell Sailboats

The boat is made of a three-quarter-inch white cowrie shell, with a 1-inch white ark shell for the sail. The masts are tiny dowels or toothpicks trimmed to 1 1/2 inches, and the bowsprits are made from straw. 

A single black thread connects the top of the mast to the base. A red thread ties to each straw and wraps around the main mast.

The whole thing is put together with hot glue and glued to a square wooden base.