Heart pouches

February 2017: The Hartsbrook School Store is selling heart pouch kits for $2-3 to make two felt heart pouches on necklaces. Order your kits now, pick up at the office!

Email hartsbrookschoolstore@hartsbrook.org

Valentines heart pouch

Materials for 2:
2 6" squares of felt in contrasting colors
~ 60" embroidery thread, 36" of it split into two 3-strand pieces
Needle
Yarn for braided or finger knitted length for making it a necklace (more photos soon)

Instructions:
Cut hearts on folded square of felt
Cut accent hearts from the remaining corners
Alternate contrasting colors and stitch the small hearts on the large ones (all around or as a pocket)
Braid or finger knit a strap to hold the pocket around the neck, and sew in place at the beginning and end of sewing up the pouch.
Stitch the large hearts together leaving the top open - use blanket stitch to get nice edge

Mending bee

Dec 15th

Bring your mending basket and let's patch things together! Come see how other parents mend their children's clothes, and show us how you mend yours, and we can make things whole together. We will be fixing holes in woolens, or whatever else you want bring, and sharing ideas as we go.

You could bring:

~ Clothes with holes

~ Mending examples to share 

~ Patch fabric

~ Needles and colored thread

~ Felting needles 

~ Wool roving 

~ Cookie cutters for felting

~ Yarn

Dodecahedron star lanterns

Dec 8: Star lanterns

If you have some, bring:

watercolor or other heavy paper

watercolor paints or crayons

metal ruler and knife

cutting board

glue

Paper clips 

RSVP helps me have enough materials. 

The instructions are here:

http://www.happinessishomemade.net/dodecahedron-star-lantern-tutorial/

I plan to try hexagons and six-pointed stars or octagons and eight-pointed stars, but those polyhedrons may not lend themselves to the magic of this dodecahedron lantern. Geometry will be relevant but optional conversation topic!

Thursday morning fun and productivity

So far we have been crafting each Thursday with an eye to the Holiday Fair young children's activities, Treasures in a Haystack, where children dig in a big heap of hay for a treasure to keep, and Children's Bazaar where young children can choose a gift to give a friend or relative. The crafts for these activities are made by the parents, primarily, of all the early childhood classes. Here's some of what we've done!

Holiday fair Pinterest boards

Amanda put together these boards for parents over the past few years. Lots of ideas and inspiration!

Tutorial board

http://pin.it/Q59-Bog

2014 board

http://pin.it/elNdQBt

Peg dolls

http://pin.it/uig9r0o

2015 board

http://pin.it/e2Zxh3w

India's board:

http://pin.it/bnvW0JT

More felt and felting small creatures

Come craft with us on Thursday morning after drop off! We will be making felt mice and necklaces, pine cone hedgehogs, wooden peg fairies, felted acorns and bees, and more. You can take them home or contribute for the Holiday Fair. We have supplies but if you have felt, embroidery floss (colored string), colored ribbons, wooden pegs, please bring along. You may also want to bring your own scissors.

Felted acorns and felt birds

Last week an enthusiastic group of parents cut and stitched felt birds and felted little acorns. This Thursday morning after drop off, come join us to make felt mice and felt necklaces! We will have plenty of supplies but could use more felt, embroidery floss, and thin, colored ribbons.

If you find little pinecones about 1-1/2" long, please collect for us to make hedgehogs one week soon. Thanks!