Waldorf toys for children's development

Waldorf toys are traditionally made of only natural materials. They are handmade and that's why they are the most precious. They keep the warmth of the person who made them.

 

Today Masha (BertyandMasha) and Oksana (LaFiabaRussa) are talking about the traditional Waldorf approach to making children's toys and spring seasonal activities.

A child is learning and exploring the world around him through play. The first Waldorf toy for a baby would be a simple cloth doll with a round head and a soft body. There are no facial features to keep the imagination free but there are some details. Like a wooden ring and fists to chew on to comfort and soothe baby's growing teeth. 

This doll is designed for age up to 1 year old.

As the child grows, the dolls become more sophisticated. The head is sculptured and has facial features. The body has well formed limbs and the doll can now be dressed and undressed by small hands.

These bigger dolls are designed for children many years to come.

Wooden toys and toys made of wool or silk are also important for a child's development. They are simple open ended toys that give space to child's creativity and imagination. They are also indispensable in role playing games.

Natural Seasonal toys and activities will allow a child to joyfully live through the change of seasons and the natural rhythm of the year, which is considered essential in Waldorf pedagogy. 

 

Every season has it's own feasts, colors and attributes, usually something a child can bring back from a walk, a forest or a garden. It can be cones or acorns, stones or flowers, small branches and dry leaves.

 

A Spring nature table reflects all the changes that happen in Spring, the awakening of nature. 

So flower children, light and beautiful fairies, birds, tree branches and, of course, flowers will create a beautiful Spring nature table. 

Here you can also add some animals or spring gnomes. Don't forget about Easter, the most important feast associated with Spring!

 The creation of a nature table can be a lot of joy and fun, especially if done together with children.

This Sunday we'll show you how to make a beautiful paper dove - stay tuned!

By Masha (BertyandMasha) and Oksana (LaFiabaRussa)

Interview with a Star, Albina from GoodWeather

Recycling is a great way to give a new life to the things people don't want anymore. Albina from GoodWeather shop on Etsy is sharing her own vision of this with us.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself

I think the ideas of recycling are in my blood. My father is good at inventing things that are practical. He made a wash stand for their garden out of 2-liter plastic soda bottles. He also made a sauna oven out of metal barrel and built a green house out of old window frames.

I use “soft” materials for my crafts such as old sweaters. I know that unwanted sweaters can have several new lives.

Some of the things you can do with sweaters is unravel them to get some yarn for your new projects and make something from it like this handbag:

Also I often felt sweaters and make lots of cool stuff out of sweater! I love to make gadgets like this smiling cat iPhone sleeve:

Since I love to make jewelry I also use felt in it!

Do you use only recycled materials to create your beautiful items?

I use both used and new materials to make my products. Things like my cup cozies or knitted iPone sleeves are made from new materials only.

Do you take custom orders?

I love custom orders! Once, I had an order for 9 owls. I made all of them look a little different and I enjoyed making them. 

What is the best reaction you have gotten from one of your pieces?

I appreciate all the feedback I get from my customers, even if it is short and simple like “Thank you”. One I really like that I got for this brooch, "I love this so much! I attached it to my sweater coat and I have gotten tons of compliments on it already! Thank you so much for such fast shipping! You rock!"

Recycled coasters DIY

Coasters are a great way to protect your furniture from scratches or those ugly water rings made by drink glasses and coffee mugs. Use leftover materials you used for some other projects and you will make one more step to saving the planet!

These double sided coasters were made by Albina (GoodWeather) from an old sweater which was previously washed and felted. The main part of sweater was used to make the protective covers for electronic gadgets and the rest of it got a new purpose now!

To make coasters like these you will need:

- Felted pieces not smaller than 5" across
- Scissors
- Sewing machine with thread
- Steam iron

1. Cut out circles with your scissors, 4" in diameter. Make twice more circles than coasters needed (i.e. for 6 coasters cut out 12 circles):

2. Arrange circles in pairs putting one on top of another:

3. You may want to pin the circles in place. Using either simple or zigzag stitch, sew the edges together:

4. Using zigzag or another decorative stitch, sew through the center:

5. If you desire, make another stitch perpendicular to the previous stitch:

6. Your coaster may look a little"wavy" like this:

 7. Steam iron your coasters so they look nice and flat.

Happy crafting!

Organic sugar coffee and cinnamon body scrab

It is always a great idea to pamper your body, especially when you are using organic ingredients and can create some really great product right at your own kitchen. Veronica and Sasha from Herbolution are sharing their organic body scrub recipe with us today.

It is not hard to create such luxurious spa product as body scrub at home as you might think. All you need for the basic recipe is few things that usually can be found in almost any kitchen: oil, sugar or salt and some sort of fragrance, flavor or essential oil. Such scrub will not only diligently exfoliate removing dead skin cells but also will moisturize your skin which is especially good for people with very dry skin. Homemade scrubs are great for people with sensitive skin too as they don't contain any harsh ingredients usually found in commercial products.

Today we will demonstrate how to make Sugar Coffee & Cinnamon body scrub. To make it earth-friendly we recommend to use organic, Fair trade and 100% natural ingredients that are not only better and safe for your skin but also support ethical and chemical-free agriculture businesses.

Why sugar? Sugar contains glycolic acid, a component that keeps skin healthy. It moisturizes, conditions it and protects from the harmful effects of toxins. If you use a brown sugar scrub on a regular basis, it will help to improve your skin's ability to retain its natural moisture balance.

You need:

Oil, ¼ cup (we use organic Apricot Kernel Oil. It is very light, absorbent and moisturizing for your skin. You can substitute it with almond, soybean, sunflower or olive oil of your choice).

Sugar, 1 cup (we use organic Brown Sugar. If you would like more powerful exfoliation you can use sea salt).

Coffee, ½ cup (we use organic Coffee. You can also reuse any leftover from you

r fresh brewed morning cup of coffee too, but since it will contain water it should be used

immediately, within day or two).

Cinnamon, ½ table spoon

Cocoa powder (optional), 1 table spoon (we use pure raw organic cocoa powder but you can add also one of those yummy dry drinking cocoa mixes, like the one from Hershey's).

Cinnamon essential oil, ¼ tea spoon

Vitamin E, 6-8 drops.
Also you will need measuring cups, spoon, spatula or spoon for mixing, bowl and container to transfer the finished product.

Measure and mix all dry ingredients first in a bowl using the spatula or clean hands (to touch and feel the consistency and to add some love to the scrub). Make sure there are no any combs left. Add base oil and essential oil. Mix thoroughly.

That's it. Fast, easy and aromatic as your morning coffee :) Transfer the scrub to your container. Since this recipe is 100% natural and does not contain any chemical preservatives, we strongly recommend to avoid any water contact with the full jar, otherwise the life of the scrub will shorten considerably. You don't want it to happen, right? :) So the best way to avoid this is - before going to shower/bath scoop out a portion that will be used right away, this way the full jar will stay fresh and safe.

Give your skin a good pamper each time you bathe or shower. It will look amazingly soft, supple and glowing!

Feel free to surf Herbolution Etsy store for different body polishes as ideas and inspiration or get one for yourself today!

Ideas for upcycled supplies

By upcycling you can make your life and the life of your customers greener. Why not making craft and at the same time changing world for the best? Here are some ideas about where to get alternative supplies for your craft and what to do with your own unnecessary supplies.

1. First of all, check vintage and second hand shops in town - many of those offer amazingly cheap old and tired items. Give them another chance! Moreover, in many second-hand shops one can find leftovers of yarn and other supplies - use it :)
This ring is crocheted with red yarn I have bought in a charity second hand shop and is embellished with a turquoise bead from a vintage necklace.

Old and tired wool sweaters can be easily felted into beautiful new accessories. Just as tiny bit of unwoven wool can make a stunning felted flower.

Check out the tutorial of TonyaUtkina on how to create a felted flower

Moreover, youtube is full with video-tutorial on what to make out of old woolen sweaters.

2. Find soulmates! I regularly post on a local blog an advert saying that I exchange my products for a bunch of old jewelry, even broken or torn (anyway I will upcycle it), leftovers of yarn etc'. You won't believe it, but MANY people are happy to get rid of things they do not need - especially if they get a handmade designed item in exchange. Besides local online forums you can find handmade clubs in town or designs faculty in university or college and simply put paper advert on their board. Believe me, you will be surprised by result!

That's the treasure I got lately from such exchange for only one of my necklaces.

That red broken necklace is made of real red corals. Good bargain, isn't it? :)

3. Revise your old stocks.
Every craft artist has a bunch of old supplies, those that are not colorful enough, shining enough, those that cannot be incorporated into any of your designs, or those little bits that are simply left over and are not enough for a new design. What do you do with them?

- Change them!
Color them, crochet around them, reshape them :)
I have a lot of amazing buttons. Many of them are absolutely unique and vintage, other more common and dark.

In my designs I mainly use happy colors, so brown and black buttons will have hard time finding their way to my necklaces. But I still love them, and I have an idea what to do with them - I will crochet around them and make necklaces out of them. Just wait and see!

- Exchange them!
Yes, your boring leftover supplies maybe a real treasure for someone else. Find your local fair and forum - give advert that you want to get rid of them and see what people can offer you in exchange - their leftovers can be a real find for you.

- Sell them!
yes, as simple as that. List them in your shop and sell.
If you have them for couple of years, you haven't used them until today and still don't have any idea of how you will use them - get rid of them!

- Combine the leftovers.
do you have a bunch of old beads of different size and color! paint them in one color or crochet around them with similar yarn - and then they will make a nice necklace or other accessory. Their different size will only add uniqueness!

In this particular necklace most of the beads come from different other necklaces. Even the yarn I used to crochet over is of different shade. And yet, this necklace is charming, isn't it?

As I said, I love seeing old and sad things getting new life and starting sparkling again.

I hope this can inspire you to reuse and recycle. You can both make crafts and make the world better. So why not simply doing that? :)

Story by Irene (TomBjorndesigns)