*e*

wooly nativity

about this time last year, i sat sweating on a hot summers day in the perth hills, attempting to make a wooly nativity set in workshop led by nicole. with my squealy newborn by my side, i didn't get much done that day - so i pulled my mary, baby jesus and half a joseph (he had become quite dishevelled during our move!) and bundled the kids up to play outside so i could work on my little set.

 

(i want mick to grow a beard like joseph's!)

i love the natural, earthyness! the figures are made mostly by just wrapping the plant-dyed wool, but i also used my needle-felting needle to secure a few bits.

the kids weren't as into hanging out outside as i'd hoped, and man - my fingers were getting cold! so the three wise men will have to wait for another time...maybe next year?!!

if you'd like your own professionally made nativity (ie nothing like the one you see above!) you can find them in nicole's etsy shop here.

december ad space

 $25

if you would like to promote your small business/website here on my blog during the holiday season, please email me

emilyfalconbridge[AT]hotmail.com

finding the perfect tree

[hooray - i have a new (used) camera that actually takes photos of the things i am pointing its lens at! three cheers for that]

today we spent a lovely afternoon at the tree farm, hunting for that perfect tree (that perfect tree in the lowest price range mind you - which was slightly pitiful!). the sun was out and everyone was happy. we walked through the woods and then up on the hill to the farm - the tree farm! gee, we thought it was exciting when we had our first REAL TREE 4 years ago in LA, and we got that from the car-park of home depot. this was a whole new experience! the girls romped around and ran up and down the rows of trees, declaring every lopsided, bald or otherwise weird tree to be their favourite. i managed to convince them all we should keep looking...

so look we did!

(stopping for smooching breaks every now and then)

finally, as hands and feet were getting really cold, and some whining was kicking in...we found THE PERFECT TREE!

OH BUT WAIT - WHAT ABOUT THIS ONE DOWN HERE?

it was so pretty it even made daddy's leg 'pop'. and the price was right,  it had no chunks missing from it and appeared to be mostly straight. yep - we had a winner!

the girls named our tree 'twinkle' - and twinkling she is, in the living room with all our decorations strewn accross the floor. we sort of ran out of steam after all that excitement.

decorating, tomorrow!

the christmas season has officially begun - ay!

have a happy weekend :)

if you are signed up for the felting workshop

but have not received class log-in deets, please send me an email {emilyfalconbridgeAThotmail.com}

i don't want anyone lost in a black hole/bermuda triangle.

let's felt!

probably the best note ever written

while barricaded in my bedroom, alone and preparing to scream into a pillow - there was a small knock on the door and a note slipped underneath.

and yeah, it melted me - she had me at "dia, dia mamaa"!!

i may put it in a frame, or at the very least in my wallet to pull out when she is a teenager...

dots, dots...and more dots

a few weeks ago i was invited to teach a 4-day elective class at a local high-school. these kids haven't had much art and were hunrgy for it! i was excited and completely intimidated/nervous at the proposal, having never taught teenagers before (and remembering all those home ec. classes where the boys would throw dough up on the ceiling and make the teacher cry).

i decided we would do a big collage on wood - infused with a cultural mix! indian mandalas, chinese joss papers and some aboriginal dot-painting inspiration! yeah! my girls have been obsessed with dot painting on rocks, making little collections all over the house (note that there is also a red handprint on my bedroom wall - "oopsie!"), so on the first day of class i showed them some different aboriginal art symbols and some dot paintings mick was given while living in alice springs, and they dotted their own rocks. we then collaged onto our boards and began to get all sorts of messy!  we painted and splodged onto our collages and i'm happy to report that these teenagers blew me away with their awesomeness, their respect for each other, their maturity and artisticness. and the fact that no-ne squirted the ceiling (or me!) with paint. they wanted to try vegemite...so i took some in and most of them liked it! (shocker!)

(don't tell the others but this one above was my favourite!)

i really enjoyed spending time with them and also getting back in the collage/painty groove (that i have been out of for a looong time).

the verdict is: teenagers are pretty great.

but...i overheard one conversation about how cool it would have been to be born in "the eighties" - hello! 1979?!!

i am officially OLD!

(and dotty!)

weekend work

the sun was nice and warm this weekend (= happy me!) so we did some work in the backyard.

when i say 'we did some work' - i actually mean mick did work: raking leaves, moving stumps of wood, sorting the shed etc.

banjo's work was pushing a dolly around in his big sisters pram, the girls were hard at work jumping in the piles mick had raked...and my work involved...hmm...taking photos of these loves of mine, and then sneaking inside for some felting.

and lunch. i made lunch - that was hard work as you can surely tell ;)

felt-a-licious...last shout out!

calling all last minute felters!

our workshop officially begins on friday,  but can be taken anytime between then and the end of december (only thing you will miss if you join in late are the live chats and general camaraderie) - all the tutorials will be posted and remain on the site for the rest of 2010. 

wool kits are still available in nicole's etsy shop, but remember they take at 7-10 days to arrive overseas. you can source your own wool roving from knitting or craft shops too!

a flower brooch, beads, ipod cosy and a reversible scarfette...all open to your own artistic licence! can't wait to see what everyone makes...!

there will also be a couple of fun *bonus* projects perfect for the upcoming festive season...

so, join us if you can!

(there is a giveaway over on sara's blog to win a spot in the class - you can enter until tuesday)

questions? email emilyfalconbridgeAThotmail.com

life is an adventure, life is good.

mick needed to go to upstate new york for work, so we all piled into the car and went along with him!

i've been fascinated by the concept of 'forest kindergartens' since reading about them a few years ago. they have one in saratoga springs, NY where we were headed - so i arranged for a visit and yindi got to spend the day there! she LOVED it (after all, she has been begging to go to 'school' since she was 18 months old!) and we were all so inspired by the simplicity and beauty. i didn't take any pictures - but imagine an open field backing onto a forest...they had lots of tree stumps, wood, sandpits, wheelbarrows to play with. they went for a long walk in the woods and made necklaces out of seeds. they made soup for lunch (which was done inside the farmhouse, although i saw a short film recently on forest kindergartens where the toddlers had naps in little wooden beds outside in the snow - all covered up and cosy!). i will be rugging my children up and sending them outside to play in all kinds of weather after seeing how wonderful this school was. as they say - "there is no bad weather, only bad clothing"!

so while yindi was having her forest adventure - ivy, banjo and i hit the city for window shopping, the library and the park. it was really fun to just park the car and wander around a completely new place, we had a great time (although every half an hour or so we would see something that we knew yindi would love, and miss her! it was very cute.)

while we were doing all of this wandering and exploring, i realised that the old me probably wouldn't have been brave enough to boldly take in a new city like this, to leave her child in the care of people she'd just met (but really liked!) for the sake of a new experience, to find her way around in the unknown.

i have been so homesick (as you know!) for australia, for the familiar, for my people and places...and have spent a lot of time in the last few months pining and crying and questioning what we are doing - why we are doing this - living somewhere different, taking our children away from extended family...wah, wah, wah...but then i upload these pictures. and i smile at the fun we had, the adventuring we had, the talking we had, the connecting we had. and i imagine these little people when they are grown, recalling all the experiences they had together.

and it all seems worth it.

life is good :)

(i needed that reminder)

her new best friend

ivy is into 'surveying' the family on a regular basis. the same questions happen every day:

*what's your favourite colour?

*do you like 'stralia or america better?

*do you like my hair better with a fringe, or no fringe?

*what's your favourite flower?

*do you wish you had blue eyes, or brown eyes?

*who's your best friend?

it is cute. and frustrating (like, when i'm trying to cook dinner and jiggle a whiny baby boy and stop yindi from 'sprinkling' flour everywhere).

she always waits for my answer then volunteers her own answer to the same question.

the point of all this is because i have to remember this sweet girl - every day for the past week, i have been hearing about her new best friend. it is indeed, 'mother nature'!

after all - without mother nature she would have nothing to climb, nothing to eat, nothing to play with...and the fairies would have no home. so you see, mother nature is very deserving of this special title. ivy's new best friend!

thankyou, mother nature - for being such a good friend to us all! (and the fairies...)