Crafting for sanity

dragonfly — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:41:22 +0000

I have been at home all week with my spotty children (the chicken pox finally arrived). After the fevers died down they have been fine, we just needed to stay in isolation. This time made me remember when the boys were very young and I had the three of them at home. How did I get through those long days when they so needed me to do everything? I remembered…I began to craft. I learnt to knit, sew basic shorts and quilts, stitch little felt toys for them and prepare crafts for them to do when they woke. This wasn’t because I wanted to be awarded the gold medal at the Motherhood Olympics but I needed to do something for my sanity..something other than cooking meals, washing clothes and changing nappies. I felt like, if I had managed to do something creative I would feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. Something I could be proud of.
When my first son was born the blogging/ crafting world was just in its infancy and I became hooked. I related to these women who were trying to not dwell on the difficulty of the days and somehow finding the time to stitch up a felt duck. I found one of these hand stitched felt ducks the other day at home and I laughed with my friend asking ‘what on earth made me spend a night stitching this up for’. I know the answer though, the hand sewing kept me sane; crafting as a form of therapy and meditation. It was also to make something beautiful. Making something beautiful was very important to me and it helped feel like I was doing something for me (even if I was making something for them…).
As the boys got older and the school run started and I began studying and working the crafting stopped. I had replaced the meditative acts of knitting with yoga and watching Doctor Who. This week though it has all come back to me. Yesterday I picked up my needles and found one ball of wool left in my once overflowing stash. I by chance came across an old play group craft pattern and by the end of the day I had knitted this simple doll. I had knitted while they had breakfast and knitted outside while they played and knitted in between washing cycles. Of course the boys were not interested in this pink baby doll I had made. It was not for them. It was for me. I will probably give it as a gift to someone but that is not why I made this doll. I made this doll to keep me sane.

Holidays

dragonfly — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:54:22 +0000

If you still have children at home than holidays are usually marked by nothing more than no 40 zones around school areas when driving, but for those who look forward to the relief from the school term busy-ness, there comes a time when you need some ideas up your sleeve.
1. For my active boys, I will need to get out at least once a day with them- rain, hail or shine. Even if it is just a scooter ride around the streets or a walk to the park. Getting out always makes the day go a little easier. The more physical the better!
2. Playdates. I love the fact that in holidays I get to catch up with my friends as they catch up with theirs. I find the older they get the more they just want to hang out with their friends and I’m partial to a cup of tea.
3. The library. I love the library. No need to say anymore.
4. Putting together crafts for them to do- in advance. This takes a little thought and preparation but the internet is full of craft ideas for children and putting together something the night before might save an afternoon.
5. Cooking. Every single day we cook. It becomes trickier when they are all at home but I let them decide what each of them want to cook and then they can take turns.
6. Give them jobs to do. The boys spent a very productive morning washing our two cars. They loved it. The soap, the hose, the wiping…
7. Wash and clean up their bikes. Make up a bike repair shop in the backyard and make them sparkle. Go for a ride.

Below are some craft ideas we have at Dragonfly to put in the cupboard to save for a rainy day…
* The tie dye kits from Magic starfish are exciting to do AND the children get a bag to show off to their friends.
* The candle making kits are a lovely activity you can all do together.
* The papoose felt craft kits are great for those children up to stitching. Felt babushka’s, teddy bears, key rings, purses and bags.
*We have a lot of inspirational craft books for children.
*Colouring in books. Pulled out at exactly the right moment a good colouring book has made us through to dinner time.

Enjoy the holidays with your children because before you know it you will be making those lunches again.

Boys & Dolls

dragonfly — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:37:38 +0000

At what point in time did society start to dictate that only girls should be given a doll? Is it true that a child’s gender determines whether a doll could be loved, talked to and played with? Perhaps there are boys who would not be interested in dolls but many many boys are-they are just not given the opportunity. A child can only play with the toys that they are given. If a boy is only given cars, then he plays with cars. When my boys were younger I set up a beautiful play kitchen. The centre piece of the kitchen was a handmade wooden oven. My boys played with the kitchen, a lot, but it was interesting to see how they played with it. They spent a long time building the kitchen…somewhere else. They would take all the mini kitchen items and play food and build a kitchen elsewhere, and usually in a terribly inconvenient place; the hallway, a door way, the kitchen. The wooden oven would sit abandoned. The building instinct seemed to be something they were impelled to do. They rarely cooked or ‘played house’ in the traditional sense. This different way of imaginative play is no better or worse than what I had imagined they should do with a kitchen. They created their beautiful world of play. The way they play with dolls is similar. It may not meet my expectation but the dolls are played with and well and truly loved.
” Girls and boys differ in the way that they play, and this becomes more distinct as they grow older…As they reach three or four years old…a girl tends to enjoy playing mummy with her baby while a boy needs a doll that provides him with an opportunity to pour out his feelings to another, who understands and feels, unconditionally, all that he feels. “ (from Creative Play with your Toddler).
From my observations of boys with dolls, the doll is less of a ‘baby’ and more of a friend. The dolls come along with them on adventures. My son’s doll sits next to him while he plays a game of cards. I’ve even walked in on the pair playing UNO together. This is not through a lack of play mates, he has two brothers , but a genuine bonding with a doll. He was given him at Christmas time after his 4th birthday. Perhaps if I had given him the doll at another age he may not have taken to him with such passion. He called him ‘Lucky’ and put him on the back of his bike and took him for a ride. He sleeps with Lucky every night, but he doesn’t dress and undress him like I thought he might. He doesn’t carry him around or nurse him like a baby. He is a friend. Children process the world through their play so I imagine if I had a baby and he watched me feed and change him perhaps Lucky would be played with differently.
“The special relationship between a child and her doll is dynamic, and often mysterious, as relationships are. It is about love and nurturing, friendship and ownership, the emergence of the self and the subtle expression of all that the child imbibes from the adults who surround her.” (from Making Waldorf Dolls- Maricristin Sealey”
The author of the quote above has used the pronoun ‘her’ but it could easily be changed to the opposite gender. It is equally applicable to both boys and girls.
The kindergarten teacher remarked at our school, after one class with a large amount of boys who liked to bring their dolls to class, what a wonderful group of fathers they will make. It is something to love about these boys, who at 6 years old, were in no way embarrassed or inhibited in showing their love for their dolls. Dolls bring out a nurturing, caring instinct in a boy, one that is not necessarily brought out with trucks and blocks. Please don’t get me wrong. I believe you should honour a boy’s building instinct with blocks and most boys go through a car phase. No, I’m just saying that a doll can bring out qualities in a boy that are often suppressed.
There is no right or wrong when buying a doll for a child but many people opt for a doll made with the image of the child in mind. The doll often becomes like an alter ego for the child, so often people will buy or make a doll with the same colouring, or hair colour as the child. There is no hard and fast rule that a boy should only be given a boy doll but through my own observations of my child and my friend’s children, boy dolls are the favourite companions of boys. “The favourite doll can become like an alter ego for the child, invested with a bit of the child’s own emerging sense of self’ (From ‘You are Your Child’s First Teacher’ by Rahima Baldwin Dancy.)
The way a boy is given a doll can also dictate how he plays with the doll and how the relationship between the boy and the doll develops. Love the doll like the child does! Greet the doll in the morning, kiss goodnight to the doll as you tuck them both into bed at night, have a picnic and cake for the doll’s ‘birthday’. All this actions nurture the child’s imagination and also respects the child’s play. The doll is worthy and should be treated with care and respect. The boy will naturally do the same.

Dragonflytoys have a lovely range of boy dolls made by Tibetan refugees living in exile. They are handcrafted and follow the waldorf tradition of doll making.

Easter Crafting

dragonfly — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:56:04 +0000

However you celebrate Easter, make this a time when you sit down with your children and create! Time spent with them will live longer in their memories than any easter egg hunt.
The Die Spiegelburg Easter Egg Stamp kits are a simple and satisfying way to decorate eggs…especially for those little hands who need a large canvas to draw their masterpieces.
For the older lot our new Magic Starfish Tie dye kits will be much loved. The kit comes with all that is needed to tie-dye and you can tie dye the bag it comes in as well…
Our Stockmar wax sheets are a lovely way to spend the afternoon. Modelling with beeswax is part of every steiner early childhood curriculum..particularly those in the kindergarten. It is not as pliable as other modelling materials which is important. The heating and the manipulation of the beeswax evokes the child’s will. This is the age of the will and of the body so beeswax is a perfect medium. Watching a child work beeswax shows you how they use their entire bodies in the creation process to make the most imaginative, beautiful pieces of art. A sweet simple little rabbit could be added to your nature table and your child will be so proud!. The stockmar sheets come in sets of 6 or 12.
Papoose has some wonderful felt craft kits…perfect at the moment while they are on special!
Make felt bags, purses or keyrrings!
We are also stocked up in children’s sewing and craft books. We have a couple of books in the Crafternoon series- Papercraft and Sewing. Gorgeous books with tons of ideas and step by step instructions to while away the afternoon. I also love the expression…crafternoon! We also have some lovely lovely craft inspiration books for adults from the popular blogger Pip, from Meet Me At Mikes fame.
The internet is full of Easter Craft Ideas but our Easter Craft Book written by Thomas and Petra Berger is full of beautiful recipes, paper crafts and egg decorating ideas.

Books to Celebrate Autumn

dragonfly — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 02:10:48 +0000

Many of us perhaps have felt that we have not had an adequate summer but here comes Autumn! I love Autumn and perhaps it is my favourite season. Although not in abundance, the disiduous trees with their leaves are still about, still reminding me of the ever changing seasons and the passing of time. Autumn is generally a relief after a sweltering summer and there is much to love about the Autumnal harvest and the excitement of the approaching soup weather (is anyone like me…soup and children= the perfect quick healthy meal).
To celebrate the oncoming season I have many new (and classic) books in for you to share with your children. I also would like to highlight some of our craft books available for you to add meaning to all of the seasons.
For young children we have the beautiful board book by Gerda Muller simply titled Autumn. This is a picture book without words but the pictures are oh so lovely. Not only will children love looking at it but it will stimulate discussion of what is in the pictures with your child, rather than simply being read to.’Woody, Hazel and Little Pip’. This story follows the adventures of two Acorn children who get blown away in the wind. With delightful characters such as Mr Squirrel who lets the boys ride on his back and the chestnut children who help fix their raft, what is not to love!
Sibylle von Olfers’ The Story Of the Wind Children’ is stunningly illustrated and tells the story of George who is upset that his toy sailboats will not sail. One of the wind children see what is happening and says “This is no good…Let’s see what we can do”. Willow, the wind sprite then takes him to play and meet the Rosehip children gathering apples, play with the leaf children and ride on horse shaped clouds. I love this book and so will your child.
Making meaning out of the seasons and celebrating them puts children in touch with the natural world and their natural wonder and curioristy is stimulated. Young children learn by imitation so to see you pointing out and loving the changing season will make them too point out natural wonders and respect mother nature and her offerings.
Celebrating Festivals with Children is written by the famous Freya Jaffke. Although it discusses the celebrations and seasons in regard to the Northern Hemisphere, you can readily apply it to ours. Every festival is prefaced with a deeper contemplation for adults, before considering preparation with children, followed by games, crafts, activities and decorations, stories, songs, poems and the seasonal nature table.
The Nature Corner gives instructions and diagrams for making the figures and objects for the seasonal display.
Other titles that Dragonfly stocks to help make meaning out of the year and to celebrate the changing of the seasons include Earthwise, The Children’s YearAll Year Round and Crafts throughout the Year.
However you celebrate and honour Autumn, may you have a lovely season.

The Magnificent Jambu Tree Kids

dragonfly — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 01:41:39 +0000

We have a good amount of travel in our day, living 40 minutes from the school so good music in the car is a must! It can change the whole mood of our morning. If you have school age children I am sure you can relate to the morning stress of clothes, lunch, bags…goodness! Quick clean your teeth etc. Sometimes once I get them all in the car I feel just so rattled. Putting some uplifting children’s music on immediately stops this feeling and I find, no matter how the morning went, that by the time we get to school we are all singing at the top of our voices. I have an awful amount of gratitude for the lovely duo at Jambu Tree Kids for helping my family through otherwise testing car trips. ‘Jambu Tree Kids’ is the collaboration of 2 colourful Australian musicians, Rob Shannon and Rochelle Wright; both passionately dedicated to bring the joy of music into children’s lives.
Many families in Australia and around the world have loved the vibrant, fun and uplifting music of ‘The Jambu Tree’ (NCEIA award winning album). Longest running ABC children’s program ‘Playschool’ has recently performed music from ‘The Jambu Tree’.
New release & follow up album, ‘The Magnificent Mango Tree’ (2011) is another wonderful collection of fresh, original and unforgettable songs.
It is rich in acoustic instrumentation, capturing the essence of our outdoor Australian lifestyle, as well as introducing children to some enriching melodies and rhythms of world music traditions. Both albums will have everyone singing, dancing and jamming along!

Included is a beautifully illustrated lyrics booklet by Melbourne based Artist Trace Balla.

Dragonfly now has in stock both of their wonderful titles- ‘The Jambu Tree‘ & ‘The Magnificent Mango Tree‘.
There is a wonderful sense of time and place about these albums and it makes me want to move way up north IMMEDIATELY so that I too can have great big mango trees outside my window!!

Elsa Beskow’s Wonderful World

dragonfly — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:59:32 +0000

This is the first in a series of posts having a good look at some of our favourite authors and illustrators here at Dragonfly. Of course Elsa Beskow was always going to be first. Elsa is often called the Scandanavian ‘Beatrix Potter’ and her books feature heavily on our shelves and those of Waldorf kindergartens and class rooms all over the world. Her characters become integral to the beautiful stories and explanations about the natural world that Waldorf teachers give to the children in the early years. Young children have no need for scientific, rational explanations of the world around them and natural phenomena. They understand the world in distinctive human terms- Mother Nature, Father Sun, root children sleeping in the beds under the earth waiting for mother earth to wake them up- these are explanations that children can visualise and understand. With that they gain an appreciation and wonder of the natural world where their imaginations can thrive and their curiosity can lead to healthy respect.
Like Beatrix Potter, Elsa Beskow instinctively knew that her stories and characters would be something that would speak directly to young children. She was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1874, the second of six children. She grew up surrounded by fairy tales and rhymes and would constantly make up stories to amuse her siblings. Her first book she wrote and illustrated, the Tale of the Little, Little Old Woman was published in 1897.
Elsa married and had six sons, she wrote a book a year to help support her family. Elsa and her family loved in a large house with a rambling garden, inspiring her illustrations of flowers, birds and wee fantasy folk. Her first commercial success came with the publication of Peter in Blueberry Land. This is a gorgeous story of a boy who goes to pick blueberries and cranberries for his mother as a present for her birthday. He grows weary in his search and sits down, forlorn, when he felt a gentle tap on his foot. It was from the King of Blueberry land. He magically shrinks Peter and takes him to meet his sons and fill his baskets with fruit.

The Sun Egg tells the story of an elf’s discovery of a foreign object on the forest floor. She comes to the wise conclusion that it must be an egg fallen from the sun and that she must protect it. The forest folk are happy that they will have warmth all year round. The truth about the sun egg was revealed by a cheeky squirrel who takes a bite out of it.
Pelle’s new suit is another Elsa Beskow favourite. An explanation of how a coat is made has never been more beautiful. Pelle notices that his coat is getting too short and needs another one. His lamb gratefully gives his coat of wool to Pelle. Pelle washes the wool himself but needs help carding, spinning, dyeing and sewing the coat. To get this done he must do jobs in return.
Elsa Beskow’s narratives are rich in imagery and descriptive language. She never speaks down to the reader but treats their dream like imaginative state with reverence. In return children all over the world continue to love her stories and world.
We have lots of Elsa Beskow titles at Dragonfly! You and your child will love sharing these magical stories together.

Dragonfly Steiner Dolls

dragonfly — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:36:17 +0000

Our beautiful Steiner dolls are made by a small workshop employing Tibetan women living in exile in India. Mona, who established the doll making workshop speaks of the signifance of this type of work for the Tibetan women. “Firstly, the work required is easily learned and suitable for any women with an interest in handicrafts, so it lends itself to the large amount of untrained, jobless women of the Tibetan society in India.

The making of the dolls itself is a very nurturing activity, which can strengthen ones confidence and sense of achievement – both lacking in many women, especially if they didn’t receive any education or training or don’t even speak the local languages.

Also, by providing flexible work times the project aims to address specific female needs. Many women have other commitments and find it difficult to combine them with full time work.”

Linda took the idea of a Steiner doll to Mona’s workshop, who specialise in making Tibetan style dolls in traditional dress. After several prototypes we are so happy to be able to sell the Steiner doll. We have boy and girl dolls available with different colour hair and eye colour. Many parents like to buy a doll the same gender and hair colour as their child and we are happy to be able to provide this choice.

I bought a doll for my son Ezra for Christmas. He is four and I must admit, with two older brothers I was concerned that the doll would perhaps be something he wouldn’t go for but I was sure he would love one. I’m glad I went with my instincts because Ezra loves his doll, which he called Lucky. He carries him around the house and lucky either joins in or sits beside him as he plays. He changes Lucky into his pyjamas at night and when I check on him before I go to bed I see Lucky held tight in his arms as he sleeps.

And now his seven year old brother is yearning for a friend of his own….

Papoose

dragonfly — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:34:06 +0000

The word Papoose comes from the American Indian word to swaddle a baby. Renske Carobone, the lady behind Papoose, said she chose the word because it evoked the feeling of soft, natural,warm felt and she also liked the word for how it looked written down. Through a series of life changes she made her way to Nepal, where she discovered their talent for the traditional craft of felting

One of the stories about how felt originated was that it was discovered by sheep herders who had lined their footwear with plucks of wool from the sheep they were minding for warmth and found that after many sweaty footsteps around the Himilayas that the wool had turned itself into felt.

They do not make felt like that anymore (that would be very time consuming). Lucky for us this traditional craft has been turned into beautiful children’s products.

The felt food by Papoose is perfect for pretend kitchen play. What child doesn’t love cooking up a storm or creating their own shop! The new food sets come in a box and are a complete dinner- the felt bento box is a favourite as well as the felt sandwich. The fish and chip box is also a loved and ’special treat’ dinner.

The felt animals are gorgeous and very well priced. I can’t go past the giraffe for cuteness but the elephants and donkeys give them a run for their money.

The Papoose felt craft kits are good sellers for the children who can’t get enough ‘craft’ into their days. The craft bag kits are useful as well..they will be so proud to use their creations! A great thing to have on stand by for that unexpected school birthday party you completely forgot about!.

Of all the Papoose products the one item that makes me melt every time I look at it is the mushroom sitsak or ‘pouf’. Red and white mushrooms…what makes them so adorable?

Pebblechild

dragonfly — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:32:17 +0000

We are so pleased to have in stock the most gorgeous fair trade crochet baby rattles from Pebble Child. The simplicity of them makes them perfect for babies exploring this new amazing world around them. A knitted snake with a bell inside- so traditional but ever popular. All children love snakes. When my four year old came into my office I had the just delivered Pebble Toys spread out to price and admire them and the first thing he did was yell ’snakey!’ and grab one of the knitted snakes to shake and cuddle.

My favourites are the Pixie Rattle Dolls. With names like Fern, Daffodil, Acorn, Birch and Rose how can you resist! They are modelled off the Steiner idea of keeping the faces without features or expression, so that the child can allow them to be whatever their creative imaginations would like them to be; excited, happy or sad. They also have pointed hats and a pointed hat is really a prerequisite for cute.

Encourage your baby to love their vegetables and fruit with Pebble’s Vegetable and Fruit Rattles. The iconic mushroom is almost as cute as the pixie poiinted hats!

Harry, Freddie and Nancy are the Flipps. They love to hang out together. They were designed with children in mind. As much as children love to cuddle and nurture their cuddly toys they also like to throw and carry them about. The Flipps are perfect for that and I do think they have circus aspirations. They are not allowed to run off an join the circus because they are just too cuddly.

For the older child we have the cutest finger puppets. The puppets come in a set of five; Mr Elephant, Lion, Froggie, Duck and Miss Rabbit all live in a matching crochet bag. Imagine what adventures they could get up to!

All Pebble products are made by Hathay Bunano. Hathay Bunano, meaning hand made or hand knitted in Bangla, is a non-profit fair trade organisation in Bangladesh. It’s mission is to create fairly paid, good quality, flexible and local employment for rural women who are poor and often disadvantaged.

Hathay Bunano aims to provide employment which fits in with the rhythm of rural life and to prevent economic migration to the cities. It aims to keep families together and in particular to keep mummies with their babies and children by providing employment in a village setting close to their homes. It aims to address all the reasons why a woman might not be able to work and to support her so that she can work and can earn money to support her family.