seasons round exchange - light!

presenting: our nature table (aka mantle) with sweet gifts from my partner, andrea. the theme for this winter's seasons round exchange was 'light', and andrea really nailed it. even with my waldorf-y background, i never thought of santa lucia! isn't she adorable? she's standing amongst little nature bits and a crystal in front of a small paper mache bowl (with golden flecks) - all made and sent by andrea from maine. i especially love the birch bark.

plus, an adorable tree that has been a fun plaything for the little guy, and earned compliments from guests. it's weighted on the bottom with beans, i think, to keep it upright. one of the stipulations of the seasons round exchange is using all natural materials for all of your items. bravo!

andrea also sent a gorgeous card, a beeswax star candle, and a copy of the latest issue of her zine, GEMINI (not pictured). you can see her post on the exchange for more pictures or to get more details on it all!

so, here's what i sent, getting ready to go. i nestled everything in fresh greens from mt. hood ntl. forest, where we cut our tree this year ($5 permit from the ranger station - so fun, but so so cold!). i sent a crystal window hanging (blogged). the six-sided version was a lot harder than anticipated, so i had marc's help with engineering and nailing! i just strung a simple star of david with blue mohair, but i think many different lacings and weavings could be made! this project will continue to evolve in our household! i also sent a little mistletoe (a symbol of life & light in the dark winter months), and a handmade beeswax candle. had help on that too - made by my booth partners at the sunnyside environmental craft fair, song garden school.

my favorite offering was this little lantern-bearing gnome, knitted up in light bright icy colors and felted. i shared this pattern in my insanely long sock summit post; it's another design by marie mayhew. i needle-felted his eyes and nose, and used a little thread to tack down his beard (which covers his cute pointy shoes!).

i also sent a big bunch of wool roving - it's all over our seasonal display (and tree too), masquerading as snow. we had the tiniest sprinkling on christmas eve morning, but no white christmas here in portland. lucky for us, we always have an abundance of wool! more seasons round photos and nature table inspiration here and here!

ray & michael

i had a few wild ideas for some handmade gifts for our friends' wedding. but true to my nature, i left the making of them until the last possible moment and crafted into the wee hours of the morning (just a few hours before we got to the airport). and marc even convinced me to take sewing along for the trip (but that is another project).

the first piece was inspired by another etsy seller (by way of janna) who makes cute little hearts with names in them for weddings. i personally don't dig hearts, so that was out. i actually went through tons and tons of ideas for other icons - i think i have 2 more canvases with drawings on each side AND many pages of notebook paper littered with designs. in the end, i went with some of my more abstract curliques (again with the curlies!). i love how it turned out:

i also glued a backing on, with some really old craft glue. so it isn't as nice as it could be. luckily, i have plans for another. at the wedding there were special kippahs for 'michael & ray's great adventure', and i can't pass up the opportunity to commemorate that, in the style they chose (complete with tree icon - i came close earlier with a leaf design! if only i had known!). so if you are a friend of ours getting married (*hint, hint*) and have an idea or icon - speak now or forever hold your peace or let me know later, cause i don't mind making lots of these. so fun! i'll take custom orders for your friends getting married too!

my other idea for a gift was a little out there, i realized, when i described it to anne. bendy pipe cleaner people wrapped in wool and needle-felted, with a super silky soft finishing layer of very special fiber. they are quite fabulous:

ray is one of my dearest oldest friends, and i actually hadn't met michael except through pictures. most of which were adorable photos of the two of them wrapped in each other's arms. after seeing those, i had to make these bendy people, who can spoon in as many ways as the real couple (a few wedding guests took care to point this out in a rather illustrative manner).

marc helped me lay the wool base on the pipe cleaners and needle felt it on a bit, then i took over shaping them more and finally wrapping with the extra special fiber. it is divine to the touch, and seemed just right for this endeavour (english spelling for ray). i bought it at the sock summit, entranced by its texture and the shop from which it came, a verb for keeping warm. here's the one. baby camel and silk tussah. *drool*

i was totally in love with all of the yarns and fibers from a verb for keeping warm because they are truly natural - dyed with nature. and there were lots of informative tidbits on history, how-to, and even dyestuff available. their logo is even curly! unfortunately, my budget was limited, so i will have to come back for some more fibery goodness another time.

oh, i didn't mention sock summit before? hmmm, sounds like another post...

happy wedding, michael & ray!