Making a Gnome Calendar

It has been a crafty summer here at Syrendell!  

We spent an inspired weekend at the Griffin Dyeworks Dye and Fiber Retreat in Castaic, CA.  Camping, spinning, teaching Tunisian crochet, weaving, dyeing, coppersmithing and so much more!  Truly a treat for all people interested in learning more about fiber arts in a relaxed setting. 

Next, we spent 4 weeks teaching, leading and assisting at the Davis Waldorf School Summergarden camp.  Week 1: Knitting, crochet, lucet; Week 2: Spinning, weaving, kumihimo; Week 3: Plant-dyeing, wetfelting, needlefelting; Week 4: Papercrafting and sewing.  Children also participated in gardening and wholesome food preparation.  


Now, we are enjoying crafting at home.  Joey is spinning yarn to earn $ for her upcoming 8th grade trip.  Her yarns are available at www.syrendell.etsy.com and by custom order (email: info@syrendell.com).  Ricky has been helping get our craft/music room reorganized (a thrilling and scary task!).  

Wilson and Mommy created a calendar with gnomes.  This was inspired by one that we had seen made by Mama Roots a while back, one of our favorite Etsy shops.  First, we ordered a wood ring from Joshua Rutherford of Honoring Fallen Trees.  He makes them out of beautiful hardwoods in different colors.  We chose maple.  Next, we selected 12 special little wood people.  We talked about the 12 months of the year, the 4 seasons, and the colors and symbols that represent the seasons.  


Next, Wilson chose colored pieces of felt for each month and matching embroidery threads.  With some embroidery assistance from Mommy and sister Joey, little gnome hats were sewn.  

Wilson painted the gnomes the color of each season and then sealed them with beeswax polish as they dried.  Hats were glued onto the gnomes.  Now, we will play games, tell stories, create math problems, and talk about the months of the year in Spanish and English with our beautiful gnome calendar!

Birthday Rings

We have always wanted a birthday ring that we could also use on our nature table for festival celebrations, including Advent.  One of our local Waldorf dads handcrafts these beautiful rings and sells them in his Etsy shop.  We asked for one unfinished so that we could paint it ourselves!

The wood is sycamore which is already so beautiful on its own.  We tested out how it would look on our kitchen table and in our nature table area.

Wilson and Mommy decided to paint rainbow colors using our Stockmar watercolors.  Then, we polished them with natural beeswax polish. 

Now, the birthday ring is ready!  It's so beautiful, we have it out in the kitchen right now.  When the new baby is born around October, we will use it to celebrate the birth with a candle.

Rhythm of the Home Spring Edition

Rhythm of the Home Spring edition is out! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rhythm of the Home is a quarterly online magazine specializing in natural living, handmade, and seasonal celebration. We unite the Waldorf and Montessori community through inspiring articles and projects.

 

 

 

We have two articles featured in this edition:

 

Wet-on-Wet Watercoloring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Felted Birthday Banner and Crown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rhythm of the Home also have an amazing give-away right now on their blog!  Come and enjoy this beautiful magazine, full of inspiration.

Syrendell Workshops and Lessons

Syrendell offers customized lessons or small group workshops for homeschoolers, Waldorf schoolers, co-ops and anyone who is interested in handwork, art or Wadorf curriculum. Lessons and workshops are offered at our home in Davis or at your location.  Email us if you are interested.  We now have a beautiful arts and crafts studio!


Some pictures from recent lessons in wet-on-wet watercoloring and chalkboard drawing.

Come and join us for upcoming workshops!  More information and registration at: http://www.syrendellacademy.com/.

Handwork in the Dell: Full Day Workshop
September 25, 2010
9:00am - 3:00pm
Davis, California


Open to adults who want to learn more about fiber arts and how to teach handwork to their own children in a homelearning and/or Waldorf-inspired environment. Limited space available. (Teens also welcome -- please email us in advance). Come join Jennifer & Joey Tan at Syrendell for a day of fiber arts fun!  Lunch included.  $80


Spinning in the Dell: 1/2-day Workshop

September 26, 2010
1:00pm- 3:00pm
Davis, California


Open to adults and teens who want to learn how to spin. Beginners will learn on a spindle. Seasoned spindlers will learn the spinning wheel. We will learn about fibers, how to card batts and make our own yarn! Limited space available. (Children ages 9-17 able to learn how to spin are welcome to attend with a parent -- email us in advance). Come join Jennifer & Joey Tan at Syrendell for a day of spinning!  $30

Aromatherapy in the Dell: 1/2-Day Workshop
October 3, 2010
10:00am - 12:00pm
Davis, California


Open to adults and teens who want to learn more about aromatherapy and how to use it for self, children and home. We will experience a variety of oils and custom blend an synergy oil to take home. Limited space available. (Teens also welcome -- please email us in advance). $30

Waldorf Watercolor Ages 3-12 Video

In this 30-minute video, Waldorf teacher Dr. Rick Tan takes you on a journey through a watercolor painting. You can choose to stop at any point in the journey according to the age of your child. This video will teach you techniques you can use with your children ages 3-12.

Rick's style is informative and engaging. Every minute of this video contains a gem of knowledge, wisdom and beauty.

You will learn:

* What tools you need for wet-on-wet watercolor* How you can save money on these tools

* How to mix paints for different effects

* How to "lift color"
* How to give a lesson for preschoolers

* How to give a lesson for KG children

* How to give a lesson for G1, G2 and G3

* How to make a watercolor lesson more complex for older children.

* How to create a story to go with the lesson

* Brush techniques & stroke styles

* Painting techniques including color intensity tips

* Tips for how long lessons should be and more!

Click Here to see the first part for free (entire video available for purchase at the BEarth Institute or free to lifetime members of Earthschooling)

Waldorf in the Home Conference - Fair Oaks, CA

This year's conference was titled: "Mothering and Spirituality: Resourcing Feminine Wisdom."  What an empowering, nurturing and inspiring weekend!

The conference was held at the lovely Sacramento Waldorf School in Fair Oaks, CA.  Because we live just around the corner from the school, we were fortunate to house the amazing Kristie Burns from Earthschooling and her daughter Sofi with us!  They came on a train all of the way from Iowa.  Kristie's workshops went very well and she had her new book on the temperaments available for sale.

I enjoyed meeting vendors that had everything that I love -- Barefoot books, naturally dyed yarns, aromatherapy, artistic clothing, Waldorf dolls, puppets, wood gnome homes, wood play kitchen items and cooperative games.  Steiner College Bookstore was on hand to tempt us with their many books related to Waldorf education.

http://www.monangedolls.com/

Our speakers this year were Nancy Jewel Poer, Regina Sara Ryan, Carol Lee Flinders and Cynthia Aldinger.  There were many wonderful workshops to select from...what a hard choice!  I ended up attending "Picturing your Child" with Lee Sturgeon Day, "Clay, Color, and Word" with Ellen Springwind, "Beeswax Painting" with Joya Birns, and "Soul Development through Changing Your Handwriting" with Jennifer Crebbin.  I could write pages about the inspiration that I received as a result of learning from these goddeses!

I look forward to going again next year!

 

What To Do With All Of Those Watercolor Paintings!

If you are anything like us, you have piles of watercolor paintings and other beautiful artwork from your children somewhere in the house.  It is hard to throw away art, so we let it pile up in boxes, cupboards and filing cabinets.  We use them as backgrounds in our bookshelves and hang them on the walls. 

This year, we decided to use our watercolor paintings for other projects.  Here are some of the projects that we have done.


Gift tags and cards for birthdays, thank you and holidays

Star lanterns

Vases for holding pencils, knitting needles, egg tree branches and more (glue onto a oatmeal can)

Cards with embroidery

Backgrounds/matting for picture frames

Rune Cards

We would love to hear your ideas!