Christmas Nature Craft

 Christmas sparkly dragonflies made using sticks, paint, glitter, beads and maple keys (seeds)

 Christmas Santas and Gnomes made from whittled sticks

 Stick Stars

  

 Nature Bracelets with some added Christmas Sparkle

Lucky Thirteen

2013 where have you gone? only a few weeks left of this less than auspicious sounding year. 13 must hold me some luck though, as I have much to be glad for since turning 40.

I have a new job where I get to share my passion for our environment, and be inspired by those around me.

I get to discover new places

Meet amazing people

And spread the word about what can be achieved with those iconic hands.

Not only do I have a great job but -

Spring brought a wonderful holiday to one of my favourite places, exploring Wilsons Promontory National Park with a great bunch of friends.

and the lead into Summer has been filled with community and the joy of helping others.

More than ever I am grateful for our families good health, when those around us have had their lives thrown into turmoil by their bodies failings. To all those that are ill or injured I send our love.

I'm not sure where my blogging mojo went, but I hope it returns, perhaps in the new year. 

I am changing my URL so its a less work related name, hope you will come find me at 

• talesfromthebower.blogspot.com

I hope 2013 was a good year for you

Snapshots from our week

We have winter potatoes. These spuds grew from forgotten potatoes that sprung up in my garden in Autumn, I replanted them in a sheltered place and they have soldiered on through the chilly winter. It's not a huge harvest, but enough for a couple of meals. They were a great find as we have just eaten our way through the Autumn harvest, the purple congos were the potato hero, storing the best of all the varieties we have grown. There are still plenty of potatoes growing, we are pretty self sufficient in spuds these days.

When life gives you lemons, there's nothing better than lemon butter. Made using this recipe, I feel like a traitor not using my Nannas recipe, but have to say this one was slightly easier.

I am working on a sourdough starter, it is only 2 days old and is yet to show signs of life. Hello wild yeast, please come to my jar.

The littlest is helping me make scones, a great winter treat to warm the house and our tummies. Made using my favourite scone recipe here, it uses cream and iced water. We had a stunning sunny weekend and ate outdoors. This is the cheats way to make scones.

There has been some bug antenna making, a practice run for a future Junior Landcare activity. The middle bowerbird found some unmade projects to play with in his room, a solar plane and a dragon lurking amongst the mess.

the fire is burning non stop, Drying our washing and warming our toes, I look forward to days when we can leave the doors open and let the fresh air in.

We got another box of delicious citrus, straight from the grower. I'm thinking about making mandarin marmalade.

Each day we run to the gate, the littlest staking first claim on checking the letter box, it's currently filled with mind numbingly dull election material. Does all that campaign paper really gain more votes?

Indian minors are a pesky aggressive bird, but this one peering through my window at me made me smile. I had the feeling someone was watching me, and when I turned around there was a beady yellow eye.

I have finally gotten around to making my own clothes washing detergent, using Rhonda from Down to Earths recipe. So cheap and working a treat.

Flowers, mandalas and the smell of spring

First there was pancake Sunday, we love the Bowerbird dad and his arty pancake ways.

Now we have a new tradition, Mandala Monday. As Spring marches its way towards us there is an increasing choice of flowers to play with. Our Monday ritual started mid winter with some inspiration from some beautiful Instagram pictures on the other side of the world, (checkout #Mondaymandala), Kirsten Rickert has some particularly beautiful flower mandalas here.

Making a mandala is so peaceful. The gathering of flowers, basket in hand, watching the changes in our garden, seeing closed petals unfurl, tight green wattle buds popping out sunny yellow stamens. Looking up close, exploring nature, even when the wind is blasting and a chill creeps through our bones. It is surprising how many flowers can be found in our winter garden. We enjoy the quiet meditation of creating patterns, the beauty of the circle and all it represents. Finally the lesson of impermanence, the joy of letting go, a mandala is not another thing to find a place for. We scatter spent flowers through the fairy garden, and by our front door. The little Bowerbird loves making them and has said making one was the highlight of her day. "Is it mandala Monday?", she pipes. The littlest has collaborated with her mum, sister, and dad, and made some of her own.

Flowers are all the rage at kindergarten too

 Lawn daisies are emerging, asking to be threaded and adorned

The daffodils are almost out, a true sign that Spring has arrived.

The “circle with a center” pattern is the basic structure of creation that is reflected from the micro to the macro in the world as we know it. It is a pattern found in nature and is seen in biology, geology, chemistry, physics and astronomy.

On our planet, living things are made of cells and each cell has a nucleus — all display circles with centers. The crystals that form ice, rocks, and mountains are made of atoms. Each atom is a mandala. Within the Milky Way galaxy is our solar system and within our solar system, is Earth. Each is a mandala that is part of a larger mandala. Flowers, the rings found in tree trunks and the spiraling outward and inward of a snail’s shell all reflect the primal mandala pattern. Wherever a center is found radiating outward and inward, there is wholeness–a mandala.

Source: http://www.mandalaproject.org/Index.html

Read more: http://www.arttherapyblog.com/art-therapy-ideas/healing-with-mandala-art-a-multi-cultural-idea-worth-exploring/#ixzz2bo10tJpD