Little Nutmeg » winter

The Leprechauns are Listening!

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:38:12 +0000

Leprechaun Trap Illustrated

“Mom!! Shhh!!!” there was a look of utter horror on Wiley’s face as I began to read aloud the step by step instructions for creating a leprechaun trap. “They CAN HEAR YOU!” he exclaimed trying to muffle his voice but also trying to make sure he communicated the urgency of his plea.

“Huh?” I thought. And then it clicked. The “they” that could hear me were the leprechauns! What was I thinking revealing our plan to capture them when they were in our midst?!

Ah well, live and learn. Looks like we are going to have to be EXTRA crafty because the cat is out of the bag. The leprechauns staking out our house now know what we’re up to. I share this with you so you can learn from my mistake and make sure to speak in hushed voiced, or plan your conversation to take place out of their ear shot. We don’t want word to spread about what we’re up to!

Keep the comments and tweets (#Leprechauns) coming!

Leapin’ Leprechauns!

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:03:07 +0000

Wool Felt Play Food

“Leprechauns! Those sneaky leprechauns!” This is the refrain you’ll hear in our house these days when anything is amiss. The overdue library book is nowhere to be found? Leprechauns! Homework folder is not where you left it? Leprechauns! These little creatures seem to be full of mischief.

Leprechaun Facts and Folklore

We are determined to trap a leprechaun! We’ve done a bit of research we can share with you below. We are also recording our observations. We are formulating a hypothesis. And then we’ll begin crafting our leprechaun traps. Join in the fray by leaving us some comments. What do you know about these petit pranksters? What do the look like? How little are they? What do they like to eat? Lucky Charms? The Wool Felt Play Food pictured above? Irish Soda Bread? Or do they eat at all? These are some of the questions we are pondering right now.
Facts

They are crafty and cunning but they don’t tell lies!
They make shoes for fairies and work mostly at night.
They don’t like to share their pot of gold!
They are able to make their pot of gold appear/disappear at the end of rainbows.

Our research sources include these lovely picture books:

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Leprechauns Never Lie (Hardcover)

By Lorna Balian, Lecia Balian

List Price:	$14.95 USD
New From:	$9.55 In Stock
Used From:	$9.98 In Stock

See larger image

Too Many Leprechauns: Or How That Pot o' Gold Got to the End of the Rainbow (Hardcover)

By Stephen Krensky

List Price:	$12.99 USD
New From:	$5.11 In Stock
Used From:	$0.57 In Stock

Our “Leprechauns!” Campaign!

We’ve realized we are vastly outnumbered. Possibly outsmarted. We do have the height advantage going for us though. And a lively imagination to boot. So we are enlisting all of you out there in Internet-land to join us in an adventure! Do you have any thing to add to our facts or folklore research? Please do comment below or tweet with the #Leprechauns! (be sure to spell L-E-P-R-E-C-H-A-U-N-S correctly and include the exclamation point at the end for emphasis!) We’ll keep a log and publish our findings. If we work together we can capture these wiley wonders in time before they disappear for another year after St. Patty’s Day.

Photo credit: bugnikdesigns, Etsy.com

Penguin Valentines (Inspired by the My Penguin Osbert Picture Book)

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 07:55:52 +0000

Wiley and I carried on our tradition of making our own Valentine’s Day cards for his classmates. We went with a penguin theme this year, inspired by this adorable picture book, My Penguin Osbert in Love. This is the second in the “Osbert” series. The first book, My Penguin Osbert is probably my favorite, but this one is pretty cute too. (A nice review of the book can be found on the Curled Up Kids blog – the only caveat I’d add to this review is that the book is it is a tad long, but otherwise, it’s a fun read aloud for Valentine’s Day).

I found this printable template online that called for lots of cutting of hearts. And cutting. And still more cutting. But once all that cutting was behind us, gluing them together was quick and easy. We also added our own little “sweet” embellishments. Since penguins are fond of fish, we opted for these colorful candy Swedish fish.

We haven’t quite completed them yet, but I am thinking we’ll try to come up with something clever to print out on labels and affix to the back, maybe: “Valentine, You’re Cool” or “You Melt My Heart.”

If you are looking for a unique “do it yourself” idea that involves slightly less work, these Valentine bookmarks I found on Martha Stewart.com are pretty darn cute (and practical!) too.

Gifts that Cultivate a Sense of Wonder of the Natural World

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:32:29 +0000

Little Nutmeg’s Winter Book Selections & One of a Kind Gift Guide

Celebrate the Season with Picture Books about Winter

Do you remember your own winter ramblings as a child? Over the next few weeks we’ll be provided with time away from our everyday commitments. There may be snow to romp through, ice to skate on, puddles to jump and hopefully a friendly snowball fight. Sieze these opportunities to listen, look and wonder about the world we live in. Sharing these opportunities with children will helps us recapture our sense of wonder and develop a connection with the natural world.

Let these books help you start that conversation:

Snowballs (board book) by Lois Elhert
(pair with snowballs or build a snowman can)

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Snowballs (Board book)

By Lois Ehlert

List Price:	$6.95 USD
New From:	$2.25 In Stock
Used From:	$0.01 In Stock

White Snow, Bright Snow (Hardcover) by Alvin Tresselt (Author), Roger Duvoisin (Illustrator)
(pair with Red Mittens Hair Clips or Mittens)

See larger image

White Snow, Bright Snow (Hardcover)

By Alvin Tresselt

List Price:	$17.99 USD
New From:	$7.99 In Stock
Used From:	$3.53 In Stock
Released April 1, 1947.

Owl Moon (Hardcover) by Jane Yolen (Author)
(pair with Snow Owl)

See larger image

Owl Moon (Hardcover)

By Jane Yolen

List Price:	$16.99 USD
New From:	$6.94 In Stock
Used From:	$3.44 In Stock

If you are looking for gifts, these book selections are holiday-agnostic. No worrying if the recipient is a believer or not, observes this or that, these books celebrate the season (winter that is).

Picture Book + Handmade Item = Heartfelt Gift

Traditionally, I’ve purchase a holiday picture book and new set of cozy fitted pajamas for the little ones on my Christmas list. With the winter-themed picture books (above) selected, I was inspired by the imperfect beauty of the natural world to find related gifts. But I wanted gifts that were more meaningful than something that mass produced, imported from faraway, or encased in clamshell packaging and laden with anti-theft devices.

I’m funny like that I guess.

Celebrating the Work of our Hands

While watching a holiday movie depicting a scene in Santa’s workshop Wiley remarked about the elves making the toys for the children. He was so impressed. It occurred to me that with web sites like etsy.com, we can celebrate the work of our own hands. There is just something about that connection to the person you are purchasing from that adds a new level of thoughtfulness and maybe even a bit more intimacy. Many of these items are handcrafted with great care and with an eco-friendly sensibility.

And for that I say: rejoice and be glad.

Handmade Gifts for the Young (and Young at Heart):

Snowballs

$19.95 for three at jojoebi’s Shop on etsy.com

Felt Fuzzies - Red Mittens Hair Clips (Pair)

$12 at KarmaBoxCom’s Shop

Navy Snowflake Mittens for Kids, Upcycled Felted Wool

$14 at FeltSewGood’s Shop

I CAN BUILD A SNOWMAN CAN
$25 at PitBullLadyDesigns’ Shop

Snow Owl
$3.50 at Emmalees Boutique

There really is nothing like the hush that falls on the landscape when it is being blanketed with snow. It’s like the world stops spinning quite so furiously fast to allow us to enjoy the moment.