We love creating nature tables.
And we love seeing how other families create their own natural spaces 
to mark the rhythms of the year.

Each table is one of a kind, reflecting the people who create it with love and intention.
I have gathered up some lovely spring tables to share and inspire!

First, enjoy these lovely tables with their living features, so perfect for spring!

1. From Flickr. What's not to love? Growing bulbs, pussy willows, bird's nest and lots of little gnomes and treasures in a beautifully lit and displayed spring layout.

I bet you didn't know that Tourette's Syndrome Awareness month is coming up...
now you do!
Over the next month, I will try and post a little more about this misunderstood neurological condition.
It touches me personally as our daughter lives with Tourette's Syndrome.

Make your own Waldorf style fairy or angel Mobile.
Perfect for a baby nursery, playroom, or anywhere you need a little wonder and colour!
These little fairy mobiles have been around a long time!
I can't lay claim to the idea, and you will find other tutorials out there.
I have two versions in craft books at home.
I have a special fondness for them as I used to make them with my grandmother.

Ours were made with Kleenex and cotton balls back in the day~
ghosts for Halloween, mostly.
But back when you could buy coloured tissues
(do you remember those?! popular for flowers to decorate cars at weddings!)
we made them in pastel colours, too.
We are going to be a little more environmentally friendly, today,
using natural materials and eco-friendly items!
You can, of course, use whatever materials you choose or have on hand!

Materials:
•  12 x 5" square silk pieces (or as many as you want for your mobile)
•  a small amount of wool fiber, or other stuffing
•  transparent thread OR colour of your choice
•  needle
•  scissors
•  hoop ~ wood, wire, twigs, branch (you could hang your fairies in a line, rather than a circle) etc.
•  yarn, ribbon or any other materials desired to hang and decorate your hoop

{{We are offering DIY Fairy Mobile Kits at Beneath the Rowan Tree.
Kits include: 12 x 5" square hand dyed silks in a gradient rainbow (or custom order silks in colours of your choice); wool roving for making heads; and 6 x 11" raw silk cords (various colours).
We'll let you provide your own hoop and thread as it doesn't make sense for us to mail you a stick and string! Full details HERE. }}

1. Prepare your silk.
Our kit will provide you with dyed silks, ready to use.
If you are doing your own, dye as desired and then snip and tear them to the 5" size.
The raw edges will give your finished mobile a pretty and natural look
(trim the loose threads now and then again when you hang it and it will not keep 'shedding').

2.  Prepare your hoop.
You may want to wrap your hoop or bar in ribbon or yarn, or keep it natural!
(you could even use two twins and make an 'X' with four arms for hanging)
To prepare whatever you plan to hang your fairies on you will need to string it with 3-4 pieces
of your chosen material (the raw silk cords in the kits work well for this!)
to balance the hoop and enable you to hang it once the fairies are strung on.
3. Prepare your strings.
Decide how you want to hang your fairies.
I used a cascading spiral for this sample, but you could alternate heights randomly, use an 'X' or a long branch with fairies all in a row.
I suggest cutting a 24" thread for each fairy, so that you can adjust them as desired when all are finished.
If you want to be super keen you could do the math ahead of time, but not me!
{{By the end of this tutorial you will need about 16 hands to keep everything sorted!
Just so you know. At least one more pair will come in handy!}}
Thread your needle and knot the end of the thread.
I used white thread so it would be visible for this tutorial.

4. Make your fairies!
Pull off a small piece of roving (never cut wool fiber, just pull it apart).
Roll it into a loose ball about the size of a marble.
Place the ball in the center of a piece of silk.
Wrap the ball in silk.
Pinch at the neck, adjusting the folds to your liking.
Using your needle, insert it through the center of the neck
(the knot will disappear in the folds, trim the tail when the fairy is complete).
Then, wind the thread around the neck firmly 3-4 times.
Insert the needle under the thread collar
and push it up and out through the center top of the head.
Do not cut the thread that is coming through the top of the head.
Set aside and do the next fairy.
5. String your fairies.
Once you have decided on  the formation you wish your fairies to fly in,
it is time to attach them to your hoop.
If you are inclined to math or perfection, you may want to measure and mark your hoop,
or you can just wing it and adjust as you go!
Just tie each fairy in its place loosely until are are placed.
When they are where you want them to be, secure the knots and/or add a dab of hot glue.
Trim any loose threads on fairies or strings.
And ta-da!
You did it!
Go hang it up someplace where the light and breeze will make it dance!♥♥
To purchase a kit to make your own, visit BTRT.


Please feel free to adapt (or improve!) as your heart desires.
If you do want to share the pattern, or adapt and share it, or sell the mobiles you make with it, do so with my blessing. It would be wonderfully courteous if you would also include a link back to my blog and credit the pattern to me (Lori Campbell/ Beneath the Rowan Tree).  ♥♥

Explore some wonder-full Waldorf spaces...

Today's featured spaces are all classroom environments.
(I will be featuring other aspects of Waldorf spaces in posts yet to come).
They boast wide open spaces and loads of natural light
that would be a dream for most Waldorf spaces at home.
Even so, they offer many creative, tried-and-true and well-imagined ideas to inspire our home spaces.

Each of these rooms incorporates light and space,
but also gentle colours and natural materials.
I particularly love the play of textures between wood and wool and silk features.
By using sustainable, organic materials the children are brought indoors to spaces that honour the outdoors and bring them into the rhythms of nature.

These are spaces that breathe and speak the Waldorf/ Steiner approach to childhood and learning.
They look so welcoming and encouraging.
And they look thoughtful and intentional...
each item is chosen and placed with reason and purpose.
And even above the items themselves, or the materials they are made with,
it is this intentionality that is the real inspiration of these spaces!

(Click to view larger image)

1. Crysalis Waldorf School (NSW, Australia)
The tree/ window is incredible~! along with the warm rosy hues.
At home: try a paper silhouette of a tree in the window!
2. Emerson Waldorf School (Chapel Hill, NC)
3. Photo by: Nessman on Flickr  
This space is practically outside, the walls and screens are barely there
for a feeling of being right within the natural setting.
At home: stick to colours from nature and lots of found nature items.
4. Lorien Novalis School (Australia)
Also part of a larger space, work and play space all together in one.
At home: Make use of limited space by using a focal point (like the canopied area pictured).

Do you have photographs of your Waldorf space at home you would like to share?
We'd love to see them! ♥♥

It has been said that God made people because God loves stories.
I wonder if people make things for the same reason?

I know that is what I love about handmade... the stories!
I also LOVE to dye to match (bring it ON!).
And I love to collaborate with other artisans.

So.
I want to share a new shop with you.
The shop is the work of my dear friend Donna~
you will find her at Three Fine Woods on Etsy.
I have known Donna for 19 years, since I was a young pup of 21.
Donna is a little older (she really hates it when I compare her age to my mother's, but its close!).
We attended theological school together and have remained good friends,
more like family, but let's say sisters.
She was MC at my wedding (and stand in Mother of the Bride for rehearsal).
I performed her 30th anniversary renewal of vows with her husband.
We have also been colleagues in ministry to this day.
I met Donna's children when her youngest was about 7...
and now that daughter is also a dear friend
and MY seven year old's very favourite grownup.
And a colleague... (funeral director & minister).

This handmade story has ROOTS.

Along with her flawless crochet, knitting and sewing,
Donna has begun dyeing.
I was delighted to visit last week and see her dye stained fingers to match my own!
All of which leads to the whole loving to dye-to-match AND loving a collaboration bit.
Donna and I have paired her gorgeous cotton muslin swaddling wraps
with my not-too-shabby playsilks
to create a beautiful and natural layette gift!
Wouldn't these make a perfect baby shower gift?
Get all the details HERE.
Be sure to visit Donna at her shop... Three Fine Woods
and check out all of the gorgeous stuff for babies and toddlers!

Have you got a favourite handmade story to tell?
We'd love to have you as a guest blogger! ♥♥

Spring!
Well, maybe.
Soon?

We live in Northern Ontario (well 'near North' ~ Ontario has a lot of North!).
The ice is still on the lake.
But then again, the blackflies haven't arrived...
We are anticipating spring...

My daughter came through the door, in her rubber boots,
holding her 4.5 lb. Papillon under her arm.
This was not unusual (I don't know why God gave that dog legs, he never uses them!).
What was rather surprising was to see that Murray (the dog) was completely wet on ONE side.
His normally perky ear was flattened with water and dripping.
His feathers drooping and sodden.
But just on one side.
"How did Murray get so wet?"
"He rolled in a puddle?".
Hmmm. The reply shouldn't have been in the form of a question.
"Really? And he only got half wet?"
"No. I jumped in the puddle and he got splashed."
Bingo.

So surely spring is just around the corner?
Here are some great spring outdoor ideas to dream about!