Celebrating Advent-Week one, the Mineral Kingdom

Beneath night's dark blanket

a white candle is lit.

A warm Advent gift,

the flame of human spirit.

With this first light of Advent,

we give thanks to the stones.

To the shells and the sand,

to the crystals and bones.

Bless the strength

and support they provide,

holding us steady

on our foundation outside.

Bless their beauty

and inner light.

Illuminating our lives

in the darkest of nights.

Anticipating the return of the light, both the physical and the spiritual, is a revered and important event -especially living here in Alaska where our days are currently averaging about 6 hours of daylight! At a time when the outer world is asleep, we attempt to temper our own deep inward turning with the reawakening and aching longing for light. Whether wrestling with ones demons, coming to peace, or warmly incubating the next step of one's evolution...the Advent season is a most welcome time.

About 3 years ago, around the winter holidays, I got the inspiration to create a Better Advent Calender. Actually, I was just beginning my journey into the philosophies of Rudolf Steiner and Waldorf education . The plastic and/or obnoxious toys had recently been donated and I was anticipating the wonderful new natural toys that "Santa" would bring. At the same time, I wanted to make the season meaningful with less emphasis on list making and mall shoppping . I wanted it to truly be a SEASON of celebrating, sharing, giving, and above all, being thankful. I was tired of hectic, arrhythmical days after Thanksgiving leading up to the One Carnal Christmas Day Frenzy and the CRASH soon after. Our society has distilled the Advent season down to Black Friday, advertising bombardments, and a simple cardboard calendar containing cheap waxy chocolates under it's flimsy doors. I wanted something more for my family. I created our current Advent calendar containing the occasional chocolate, but also little gemstones and gift cards for special events like sledding at the park, an owling walk, a foot rub... We had always made our own Christmas cards and yearly ornament, but now it was the start of emphasising gift giving from the heart. I helped to kids to come up with handmade gift ideas for our family and close friends. Things they would enjoy making and feel proud to give, knowing the recipient would cherish their gift.

Last year was my first attempt at incorporating the 4 weeks of Advent into our holiday season. Each week is a celebration of one of the four worldly Kingdoms: Mineral, plant, animal and human. A new candle is lit for each Sunday of Advent, and depending on what Kingdom is being celebrated that week, we add special items to the the nature table, read stories and poems, perform table plays, make crafts, and enjoy special outings. The morning after each Advent Sunday, a gift from the Advent gnomes can be found on the nature table. Yesterday, Lo found the beautiful tall quartz behind the candle that you see in the photo above! For week four, I'm sure the gnomes will bring our new Mary and Joseph to the nature table. And, of course, sometime on Christmas Eve the Child of Light will appear with them.

Here are some of our Advent ideas for this season:


The Mineral Kingdom

Trip to the crystal and rock store
Add rocks, gemstones, crystals, bones, and shells to our nature table and candle.
Dig out the bags of rocks and shells we have for counting, sorting, building, and creating designs and patterns.
Basalt stones that we have collected from Alaska rivers can be warmed up and used for massage or just to hold in your hands. WONDERFUL on a cold winter day! Yay Kingdom of Stones!
Read the Festival of Stones from Tiptoes Lightly-The Festival of Stones


The Plant Kingdom
This year will be our first trip out to buy a REAL tree!
Collect pine boughs for decorating
Trim the tree
Add pomander balls, pomegranates, and plants to the nature table
Feed our many hungry houseplants with fertilizer
Make a yummy holiday salad with dried cranberries and winter nuts
Trip to the botanical garden
You can order gifts from companies using GoZero to eliminate the carbon footprint of online shipping!
Read The Festival of Plants from Tiptoes Lightly

The Animal Kingdom
Add little wood and felt animals, feathers, tufts of fur to the nature table
Volunteer to walk dogs at the Humane Society
Groom our nappy pets
Make treats for the hungry birds outside
Take a winter trip to the zoo!
Read the Festival of Animals from Tiptoes Lightly


The Human Kingdom
Add gnomes, and fairies to our Mary and Joseph on the nature table

Adopt an American soldier and send a care package- Soldier's Angels
Buy a chicken, goat, or even a yak for a family in an impoverished country! Heifer.org
Visit our elders at a nursing home
Bake and deliver goodies to our neighbors
Enjoy all the socializing that we do with our loved ones this time of year!
Read the Festival of Light from Tiptoes Lightly

*Ecofun gift ideas:

for those kiddos who would love to help with cutting the firewood for warm toasty woodstoves-SAFELY! Head over to Learning Apple Gardens and their Etsy shop for wooden chainsaws!

*Nicola from Which Name? is doing a giveaway for one of her amazing natural crayon caddies on her wonderful blog this week! Please do take a moment to check it out!*

Advent so far

Willa has taken quite a leap in her reading as of late!  While in public kindergarten, she was taught to read, but neither she nor Miles and I pursued if after she was accepted into Winterberry Waldorf.  Now that she is in second grade she has taken a big interest and has leapt right over the basic "See Jane run" to more advanced stuff.  Her comprehension of these more sophisticated stories comes into question, but she just loves to quietly and diligently decipher the code of wordage in her "Guardians Of Ga'hoole" book.  We have to coax her into balancing things out by reading and talking about the easier stuff like "Frog and Toad".

This year for the First Night, I created a special book of the Advent blessings I wrote to read on each Sunday.  Willa now gets to light the candles and read the blessing aloud to us.  While the reading was slow going, I think she appreciates her new role.  And the next morning, those generous Advent faeries bestowed upon us a beautiful rose quartz mother and child duo in honor of the Mineral Kingdom!

Later today, we will adorn the Advent table with symbols of the Plant Kingdom.  However, mom here has a problem.  After the most glorious snowfalls, November was an uncharacteristically white one laden with ton's of  ski-able sled-able snow!  Just FABULOUS!!!!  It is now 40 degrees and POURING rain.  Winds up to 100MPH!  It has been like this since Friday when all after school events were cancelled-including the already once postponed Lantern Walk!!!!  Due to the VERY unsafe roads, I did not get the chance to run to the store to buy the sweet mini Christmas tree that I always get for the "faeries" to put on the Advent table!  :(  My bet is that I could rig something up with small pine branches and a pot...and I'm sure Willa would enjoy it just as much...but it won't be quite the same.  We always enjoy the challenge of trying to actually keep that little tree alive after the holidays to grow to adulthood.  Hey, my MOM can do it-she's got a bunch in her yard!  In the past, we have not been diligent enough with the watering.....  But we had talked about the fact that THIS was the year we were going to grow that tree!  .....Maybe the faeries could leave a note with the "temporary" tree stating that due to the weather, they were afraid that transporting the delicate tree in the wind and rain would hurt it.....so they will bring one by this week when the rain stops?     We'll give that a go, methinks.

Celebrating Advent-Week 3, The Animal Kingdom

Beneath night's dark blanket
a white candle is lit.
A warm Advent gift,
the flame of human spirit.

With this 3rd light of Advent
We give thanks to the animals
To beasts large and small
Who reflect back our souls

Bless the friendship
and wonderment they provide,
Their gifts of self
nourish our lives.

Bless the deep knowledge
and the lessons they offer,
about caring and loving
And sharing Earth with each other.

(This week's gift from the Advent faeries is this sweet Buntspechte donkey -from the Puppenstube ;) -Just in time for our reading of Mary's Little Donkey!)

Our Advent calander

After years of using the same old shoddy plastic and cardboard store bought Advent calender(yes, we re-used it every year by pouring melted chocolate into the little molds in each window!), I decided it was time for a change. For a couple years I envisioned making some sort of big spiral with pockets in it, kind of along the lines of the Advent Spiral but just haven't been able to get ti quite right. I would still like to make it a reality some day. For now, I've got this funky calender that I found about year ago from Martha Stewart, made with various boxes. Eco-friendly. Re-usable. The kids alternate opening that day's box each night-a good lesson for Lo in delayed gratification and patience! Inside the boxes they usually find a little chocolate, a gemstone, a special trinket, or a "coupon" for special events like going for a horse & carriage ride in Anchorage. Uncommon Grace has a large and wonderful list of ideas to include in an advent calender!

Celebrating Advent- Week 2, The Plant Kingdom

Beneath night's dark blanket
a white candle is lit.
A warm Advent gift,
the flame of human spirit.

With this 2nd light of advent
We give thanks to the plants.
To the flowers and trees,
to the vegetables and grass.

Bless the shelter
and life force they provide,
their nourishment and oxygen
Enfolds our lives.

Bless their beauty
Gracing the land,
The strength of their roots
Above which we stand.

(the little tree you see on our Advent table was this week's gift from the Advent faeries)

Our first REAL Christmas tree!

Making decorations

Huz made this beautiful Pan au Lait braid as well as a loaf with a cinnamon swirl. We made the YUMMIEST french toast out of the loaf!

Pan au Lait ingredients:

Pâte Fermentée (starter):

½ tsp. (2.5 mL) traditional dry yeast
1/3 cup (80 mL) lukewarm water, 75° to 95°F (24° to 35°C)
4¼ oz. (120 g) unbleached hard white flour

Pain au Lait:
2/3 cup (160 mL) lukewarm water, 75° to 95°F (24° to 35°C)
25 oz. (710 g) unbleached hard white flour
8½ oz. (240 g) semolina flour
3 oz. (90 g) sugar
¾ cup (180 mL) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups (300 mL) homogenized milk, at room temperature
2 extra large eggs
4 tsp. (20 mL) traditional dry yeast
1 recipe Pâte Fermentée, fermented 4 to 6 hours
4 tsp. (20 mL) salt
canola oil to lightly coat mixing bowl and pans
1 egg white for glazing
cornmeal (for baking boules)

Instructions
For the Pâte Fermentée:
Carefully measure all the ingredients. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) of the water. The yeast should take on a creamy-looking consistency within a few minutes. (If it has not, discard it and buy new yeast.) Add the remaining warm water and stir. Place the flour in the standing mixer bowl with the dough hook attachment. Add the water and yeast mixture and mix on slow (#2 speed) for 2 minutes until the flour is incorporated and the mixture has the look of playdough or silly putty.

Transfer the pâte fermentée to a lightly oiled, medium-sized bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to ferment at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours. It should look puffy and have a few air bubbles when it is done.

When the pâte fermentée is complete, it can be used immediately or refrigerated for a few hours. Bring to room temperature before continuing the recipe.

For the Pain au Lait:
Pour 1/3 cup plus 3 Tbsp. (125 mL) of the water into the standing mixer bowl. Add the white flour and semolina flour, the sugar, butter, milk, and eggs. Hold back ¼ to S of the flour mixture if your bowl is not large enough. Attach the dough hook and mix on slow (#2 speed) for 3 minutes. Drape a kitchen towel or plastic wrap over the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. This process is called autolyse. It allows the dough to absorb water and the gluten to develop. Don't be concerned if the dough clings to the dough hook.

Pour the remaining 1/8 cup plus 1 tsp. (35 mL) of lukewarm water into a small bowl and stir in the yeast until dissolved. Add the pâte fermentée and the dissolved yeast to the dough and mix on slow (#2 speed) for 1 minute. Add the salt and mix for 2 minutes on slow (#2 speed) and then on fast (#4 speed) for 3 minutes. If you have not added all the flour, remove the dough from the bowl and knead it in now. Use the push-pull method, allowing your palms to push the dough away from you along the surface. Pull it back over itself and continue the action for about 4 minutes. The dough, when ready, should feel slightly sticky when pressed with your palm.

Pat the dough into a ball and place in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Turn it over so that it is completely coated in oil. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for about 1½ to 2 hours. The dough should almost double. Leave it up to an extra hour if necessary.

To Make Loaves
Lightly oil 3 pans approximately 3¾ x 7½ x 2½ inches (9½ x 19 x 6½ cm) in sizeTeflon-coated if possible. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in 3 equal pieces, approximately 1½ lbs. (700 g) each. Shape each piece into a ball, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let them rest for 15 minutes. Gently pat each piece of dough into a rectangle 8 inches (20 cm) long and of even thickness. Using your palms, roll one long side of the dough toward the other like a long jelly roll and pat into a shape that will fit your pan. Gently press the seams together. Put the dough into the pans, seam-side down. Again, drape with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature until approximately 1½ inches (4 cm) above the rim of the pan (about 2 to 3 hours). Press your finger into the dough. If it leaves a slight indentation, the bread is ready to be baked. If it springs back, cover it and check again in 15 minutes. As the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C), or 325°F (165°C) for a convection oven. Check the temperature with an oven thermometer.

Uncover the loaves. Brush the top of each loaf with lightly whisked, room temperature egg white. Open the oven door and generously spray the sides of the oven with hot water. Alternatively, place 5 or 6 ice cubes on the oven floor. Close the door. Wait 10 to 20 seconds and place the pans on a rack a third from the bottom of the oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Breads put in a convection oven may bake slightly faster.

The bread should be a golden brown and produce a hollow sound when you tap the bottom crust. To do this, carefully tip the bread out of the pan. It should just slip out. Tap the bottom crust with your fingertips. If it is fully baked, it will sound hollow. If not, return the bread to the pan and bake a further 5 minutes. Repeat until the bread is done.

Remove the loaves immediately from the oven and cool, well spaced, on a wire rack. Resist the temptation to cut into them immediately. They will taste much better about an hour or two later.


***Great gift ideas: Check out Mama4Earth's wonderful shop! The Magic Onions is offering a giveaway of Mama4Earths sweet pink mohair kitty!

Hop on over and check out Onion's ETSY shop as well! I'm loving her round felted mice and little seed pod babies-which I've just discovered have already sold! :( I'm so SAD. Should have been on top of it.

Gathering in the light

The Advent Spiral

"When Christmas arrives, a turning point is reached. The light increases, days grow longer and nature reawakens. So the birth of the light at Christmas time has been celebrated since the times when the light became the symbol of revelation in the world and man."

~ Rudolf Steiner... Read full context

A darkened room quiet with anticipation illuminated by candle light and the gentle song of a harp. Fragrant pine boughs laid out on the floor in a giant spiral with silver stars twinkling among the branches. Everyone holds a space of reverence to this season of dark. Each child, in turn, takes a small red apple with an unlit tea light inside and slowly walks the spiral path to it's center where the largest and brightest candle sits. There, they carefully light their candle from the center's strong light. As they walk the spiral path outward, they place their candle somewhere among pine boughs- each child's candle adding more brightness to the spiral.

Such a simple yet deeply powerful ceremony. A gentle ritual for younger children who do not yet fully have their own Light and so must take from the Central Light. I was caught off guard by how deeply moved I was while witnessing the children's Advent Spiral. I held my tears at bay as I watched those precious children so reverently journey within the spiral. Lo, who had never lit a candle or really even held one, handled hers with such confidence and calmness as if the whole act was a natural extension of herself. All the children took the ceremony so seriously and were so well behaved-again, it was just second nature to them.

I now regret not continuing to hold the mood and the image of that light for the rest of our evening by returning home to eat by candle light and perhaps snuggle on the couch and tell stories among the light of our own holiday candles. ~Sigh. Whipping up a raucous batch of ravi's and watching Fred Claus was very not the way to end the evening....

~Bangs head with pan. Then flushes it in toilet.~

Live and learn. I WILL remember to plan for a quiet electronics-free evening for next year...



Advent Story(a nature table play from TODAY IN FAERIE SCHOOL)

Softly in the earthly darkness
Seeds are stirring towards the light
In the earth the seeds lie dreaming
Nestled under crystal white
When in winter's deepest darkness
There came a shining light…

(light candle and add)

Sing: From Heaven's arch so high…
From Heaven's arch so high,
A little Light draws nigh.
Shines so bright,
In the night,
All the children take delight…

A little hare hops nigh
And holds his head up high
Stops to hear, stands quite near,
Wonders what is happening here

The little mouse…he scurries from his frosty house
Stops to hear, stands quite near….

Then came the gnomes, the plants and the stones…

All the creatures drawing near
Stop to hear
And wonder what is happening here
The snow fell softly in the night (add snow)
And all the world was crystal white
The angels from the stars looked down (add angel)
On Mother Earth’s new shining gown.

Sing: Second verse of "From Heaven’s Arch.."
And shining ever clearer
The light shines softly nearer
Shines so bright
In the night
So that all may take delight.

(as you sing draw creatures closer to the light)
(Pause and sprinkle stars)

Closing: And so it was that this tiny light that shone on the darkest night grew in the hearts of all people and filled them with peace and joy.

Celebrating Advent-Week 4, The Human Kingdom

With this 4th light of advent
We honor the fold.
We give thanks to humans,
the young and the old

Bless the earth's people
a wish for peace among all
hand in hand, united,

together standing tall

Bless our family

and friends far and near
where there is so much love
and connection so dear

Holiday happenings

Oooooh,
         the weather outside is
                  TOTALLY FUCKED UP!!!!

From our front door two weekends ago.  Winds, rain, bye bye, Snow.   Wish I had tried to capture the wind with my camera.  Trees bending horizontal.  Weeeeeeeeeeee.

Last weekend as I drove down the mountain.  Snowing at the top, raining at the bottom.

Wind blasted snow turning the house white.

The last three weekends have seen the most insane winds we've experienced up here. 100+MPH.    Just, NASTY! Rain and grey and yuckily warm out.....ECK! and, MEH!!!! The 12+ new inches of snow we got LAST weekend...ruined. 2 Lantern Walks cancelled, my December First Friday art show opener cancelled, a second show cut short, birthday dinner cancelled (and well, I won't complain about missing a day of work-didn't have to deal with the Client From Hell) all due to hazardous conditions.

Scattered about between this month's meteorologic fiascoes there have been a few respites where we've enjoyed good old winter in Alaska. Willa has been enjoying her twice a week Junior Nordic skiing class(me, too. One night I volunteer with her group and the other I just ski off into the dark by myself or with Miles when he can join us- skiing at night is so friggin' awesome! Quiet, beautiful....). Willa's school FINALLY got that Lantern Walk in, although abridged. We held it on the play yard grounds of the school right smack in downtown Anchorage instead of out in the woods of Goose Lake. And it was first thing in the morning as opposed to in the evening. And sans hot cider and cookies....

:(  But the kids still enjoyed it very much-all proud of their beautiful lanterns and full of song.

Willa's class made goose "G" lanterns

  It really goes to show you how easily pleased  kids can still be with the minimum. Speaking of, a post or three ago I mentioned my dilemma in buying our usual little Holiday tree to put on the Advent table from the Advent faeries.  I wound up doing the note and pine branch in a vase thing.  Next morning the kid was thrilled! She thought it was so pretty and even kissed it. Why bother getting the store bought tree?!?! Well....the faeries did promise it in their note.... Point is, she would have been just FINE with the branch and vase!  No great expectations there.   ...And then there is the sword. A gorgeous leather play sword that I saw on A Small Tribe's blog. A perfect Santa gift for a kid who is very into LOTR! So I ordered it on ETSY. In the meantime, Willa found a stick that appeared on the porch during on our the recent thaws. That kid is a stick MAGNET. Sticks everywhere in this house. And god forbid you try to chuck one outside.....have to do THAT when she's not lookin'. So she takes the stick and lays it on a towel by the front door and starts scraping away at the bark with a rock like a little Neanderthal. 3o minutes later she is the proud brandisher of the Worlds Most AWESOME Sword! A stick. I just spent $ on a handmade, killer(and I mean that NOT literally), leather sword resplendent with dragon embellishment and handle wrapped in pink cord. A stick will do just fine , thanks. Haven't I always said,"BEST toys EVER: Sticks, rocks, boxes and silkies"?!??! WHY don't I listen to myself?!?! Sometimes we parents still go overboard even while we think we're going minimal. Sometimes our kids will surprise us with their simple desires. Refreshing in a world of entitlement and greed. A stick and a pine branch....and the imaginations SOAR.

Off on a tangent there...back to the holidays.  We have a house guest and he's WONDERFUL.  His name is Rocket and he's a handsome polite fella. 

Dog and cat dig each other.  Took this shot from my perch on the couch.

A malamute?/sled dog?/golden lab? type.  Most low maintenance dog EVER!  And it's just so nice to have some doggie-ness around the house again.  Had to kick him out of bed twice...and he'd sit right on our laps if we let him, but he's a BIG dude and the rule is no dogs on the furniture.  So we totally succumbed to his cuteness and let him sleep on the ottoman while we watch TV.  He has the amazing ability to curl up in a wee ball.  A delicate flower he is.  We have him through Christmas while his people are in Mexico.

Tangent number 2 scratched off the list.  It's an ADD day for me.  Holidays.....tree is up and half decorated....working on handmade prezzies...watching Christmas movies.....makin' fudge....rescued a bird from our new addition today....baking cookies...wrapping, wrapping, wrapping....looking forward to king crab, skiing with and visiting friends, and skiing out to a cabin we rented for 3 days...and a WEEK OFF WORK HOME WITH MY FAM.

This just in:  High wind warning remains in effect from 3 pm this afternoon to midnight akst tonight for turnagain arm and the hillside...  100MPH winds expected

Sigh.........  We better get today's skiing and shopping in before the winds hit.  Again.

Magic crystals abound in our wonderland!

We have a burgeoning tradition of honoring the Earth and it's mineral world in the first week of Advent. I've been trying to find more ways of incorporating my collection of crystals into our week of winding down and spiraling within. (At least I'm trying to ease us into that, while trying to keep my own inner turmoil over getting things accomplished hidden. Hoping that the kids don't pick up on it anyway is probably dreamin', yes?) We've read a couple stories(Tiptoes) about gnomes and magic gemstones, and then put on the "puppet" floor play with a wonderful rainbow gnome story that I found over at NATURAL PLAYGARDEN last summer. Her story is about a group of hardworking underground gnomes who long to see what the world looks like above ground. A MUST check out! If anyone has poems, songs, fingerplays, stories, etc regarding crystals, rocks, etc. I'd love to hear them!

When I picked up Lo from school the other day she excitedly showed me the "magic crystals" that she and a friend were playing with in the play yard. Looks like they found some frozen pieces of colored ice -probably discarded from some other class's project- outside the door. It gave me a great idea for improving on the ice crystal idea and making a little surprise for Lo. That night I picked out a few choice crystals from said collection and attempted to make molds for creating our own ice crystals. If anyone has any alternative ideas for making magic ice crystal molds, I'd love to hear them! Here's how I made mine:

What you'll need:

Large well defined crystals


Aluminum foil
Food coloring
Ice cube tray
Tupperware container
Water
Hopefully some snow!


What I did:

*Gently mold a piece of foil over your crystal-be careful not to poke any holes in the foil.

*Now remove the crystal from the foil. You may have to gently pull the foil apart a bit to release the crystal.

*Fill the mold with colored water. I used food coloring for the ones pictured but I have one made with tempera paint in the ice box freezing right now. If you try anything different, let me know how it goes!

*Fill a Tupperware container with snow. Poke a hole in the snow so that your mold can fit down in it and be held up-right and stable while freezing in the ice box.

*Place in ice box and freeze solid.

*When frozen, just remove the foil and there's your magic ice crystal!

I also filled an ice cube tray with colored water to freeze and make into smooth gemstones. Once frozen, I ran them under warm water to soften the edges.

I was so hoping to go outside this morning and place the magic crystals and gem stones within Lo's special cluster of trees. How surprised she would be to find them! But, alas, it's 41 friggin degrees today!!! :( Up from 3 degrees on Tuesday. Well, they are back safe in the freezer waiting to be discovered on the next single digit day! They would also be great for a treasure hunt in the snow!

Some random holiday stuff I would like to share...

I found these inexpensive cool crystal candle molds which might work well for ice crystals. I think I may order them for next year.

Here are some great websites for those who honor the Earth, it's seasons and rhythms, and/or with a more Pagan leaning then the traditional Christian holiday. We try to incorporate it all into our family's traditions:

School of the Seasons-The School of the Seasons is open to anyone who is weary of the frantic pace of modern life, who wants to slow down, connect with the natural world, and live a life filled with heart and meaning. Each season has its own flavor, captured in the folklore of seasonal holidays, preserved in rituals and recipes, ceremonies and songs.

Inner Christmas-A yearly practice of inner renewal and development for individuals of all beliefs and traditions during the Twelve Holy Nights between December 25 and January 6

Candle Grove- One of the definitive Web resources about the ancient origins of the winter holiday season. Much information on Solstice, Sacaea-Saturnalia, and Yule.


Fabulous onlineToy Stores:

Georgian Wood Toys-Beautiful all wood hand carved Toys and Ornaments Imported from "Georgia" on the Black Sea in Europe

Heartwood Arts- Heartwood Arts was founded in 1981, inspired by the Waldorf School pedagogy and the artistic and architectural indications of Rudolf Steiner. Created with the needs of the child in mind, our toys nourish the imitative and imaginative capacities of the unfolding child. They warm the heart and engage the hands in healthy play and are found in homes and schools throughout the world. Our natural finish is composed of beeswax and linseed oil.

For more holiday ideas, just scroll down!

Wishing you all wonderful holidays!

LOVE AND LIGHT FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

We woke to find the Child of Light on the Advent table with an angel overhead.

The stable I made for Lo's Buntspechte animals. Huz helped quite a bit in the building-we cranked most of it out on Christmas eve. Thanks hunny!!!!!

Dea with the canvas lightscape that I made her

I edited and converted to b&W these pictures that Dea took on her trip to Europe. Printed them on canvas paper and mounted them on artist canvases.

Huz made Lo that great painting board for watercolors.

Dea made Lo this nice tray