Handmade Holiday

Here is Elsa felting soap for her teacher.  Basically, we just wrap the soap in roving and dip it into hot water and felt it all around.  Afterward, we needlefelt something on it for a design.  I  have to admit, I have not fully grasped wet felting, because it never looks that tight.  Because it was peppermint soap, Elsa chose to wrap it in white and then needle felted some red on it like a package.  It was so sweet. David also participated, and felted a blue soap for the other teacher.  (They are in the same Montessori multi-age classroom--Elsa goes five days and he goes three).   We made them on Friday afternoon, and David immediately wanted to go to school and give it to the teachers, even though generally he would prefer to stay home with me.  We also gave the teachers some lotion that we made this fall using the lemon balm from Elsa's garden (and essential oils).  The recipe is in Amanda Blake  and Steven Soule's Rhythm of Family.  The lotion is great, although it did not really smell like lemon balm.  And the water that we steeped it in didn't fully absorb, so there is a little bit of brown water in it.  But the lotion works great.

We felted and cut up a bunch of old sweaters to make a garland.  Elsa commandeered the pink sweater, though, after it had been significantly cut up, and is, to be honest, wearing at school right now.  It is pretty funny--the front is all cut up and ragged but she wanted to wear it, and I have decided that, with the exception of insisting upon basic hygiene and weather appropriate clothes, I will let her wear what she wants.  In this picture, Elsa is actually cutting off sleeves of sweaters to make bracelets for presents.  She has a shelf in her room where she is keeping all of the presents she is making.  To be honest, I really want to peek, but I am refraining.


I am nearing completion on various knitting projects (dinosaur for David, hippo for Elsa and some others for the few people who actually read this blog so I can't say.  Stay tuned for the husband's hilarious present--Elsa's idea, my execution--if I can pull it off.--David and I went to Goodwill this morning and purchased a blue sweater to felt....)

Oh, and I have to admit I am feeling kind of crazed.  I always want to keep the gift giving, particularly for my children, low key.  Then, all of the sudden, toward this time, when I am hearing requests for dolls and trucks (based on some books we have read) I suddenly feel the need to make this happen, even though they will have plenty, plenty.  And bless their little grateful hearts, will be happy with what they get.