Sewing with and for Baby

Recently I did some Baby sewing. Bibs, hats, trousers..... It took me quite some time to find good patterns. Today I would like to share my (in the meantime baby everyday life tested) best of list:

Perfect bib pattern found at the purlbee
Best fitting ever and most comfortable and pretty baby hat pattern found at sew liberated

Reversible quick change trousers found in Anna Maria Horners book Handmade beginnings

A Cuddle Doll for Caroline

Made from my new ocean blue velvet fabric.

Rose Quartz Cuddle Dolls

Recently I found this beautiful light pink cotton velvet in my favorite local fabric store. Its colorshade reminds me on Rose Quartz. The two dolls shown above are the first dolls I made from my new velvet. The dolls are available at Etsy and DaWanda

Waldorf Root Child Doll for Betty

This root child will travel to Hong Kong soon.

Creating something out of nothing

Creating something out of nothing or to repurpose something You would cast away is always great fun for me. Not only is it good for our environment, it is also a great source of creativity.
Recently we made something for our little gnomes I would like to share here. We used some little brittle branches and florist wire to make some firewood
and a tripod for the fireplace
the little axe is made from a tea lights cover and one little branch.

Puppa

Of course, as a dollmakers baby, my little son got his first doll when he was very little.
I made this red baby doll for him when he was about three or four months old.
Now he is eleven months and starts walking and talking. And guess what is one of his first words?
Yes, it is Puppa!
Puppe is the german word for doll.

Dollhouse play

Lots of dollhouse play is going on around here. So I decided to make new dollhouse dolls for my daughters dollhouse. The girl on the pictures is my first attempt.

Her shoes are still missing, she is still barefoot because she was brought to her new home to drink some juice
to visit her new neighborhood
to ride her new horse
and to rest a little bit before I could finish her.

Merry Christmas

News from my Studio - Waldorf Doll for Anja

Waldorf Wet on Wet Watercolor Painting

Wet on wet painting is one of our favorit creative indoor activities these days. When I was a Waldorfstudent the Wet on Wet watercolor Painting lessons have been on of my favorit lessons at school and now it is a great pleasure to paint with my daughter using this technique.
Because the wet paint is laid on wet paper, the watercolors are flowing and blending into one another in beautiful, unexpected ways. The use of watercolors allows fluid mixing and movement on the paper.
My experience is that painting with watercolors is a very relaxing and calming activity. To invite creativity it is helpful to set up everything You need in a quiet atmosphere. All gestures of Your preparation should be performed mindful.
Our favorit Waldorf Kindergarden teacher Margit inspired us to use our pentatonic glockenspiel to surround the painting with some crystal clear and spherical tones. She always attended the childens painting sessions in her Kindergaden creating a beautiful and quiet atmosphere with her pentatonic glockenspiel. A poem can be a great inspiration as well as a little story.
To get started You will need:

A sink, basin or tray in which to soak your paper. We use a normal baking tray placed on the table for easy access.
Heavyweight or normal watercolor paper, heavyweight paper is more expensive but the result is worth it.
Some shades of watercolor paint. We use an recommend Stockmar paint
Carmine Red, Ultramarine Blue and Lemon Yellow is all You need for the beginning.
A watercolor paintbrush with flat bristles like this one.
A jar for water
One little jar for each color of paint
A flat board on which to work like this one.
A sponge like this one and a little rag

1. Soak one sheet of paper at a time in the water You have prepared. The paper can soak about 10 minutes.
2. Mix Your colors with water, add more paint to make it stronger, or more water to soften.
3. Lay a piece of soaked paper on a flat board. Watercolor paper has a rougher side and a smoother side. Lay paper down with rough side up.
4. Use a wet sponge to make sure there are no puddles of water on the paper, and wipe away any air bubbles. Paper should have a sheen to it, but not be soaking wet.

Start with just one color at a time. After painting with each of the primary colors singly, try the two color combinations: red and yellow, red and blue, and yellow and blue. Children will be excited as they experience how secondary colors are formed when combining two colors.
Let Your child experiment with the colors one by one, there is no need to explain to much. Just sit down with Your child and start painting and be a good example. Childen find out and internalize soon, that yellow and red will make a beautiful orange and that red and blue can be all shades of violet.

Imaginative play & fairy Waldorfdoll and girl hair decoration

We made some Fairy Waldorfdoll and girl hair decoration in beautiful color shades last weekend. Each of them is handmade from different types of wool yarn. The wool strands can be styled with the dolls or girls hair or hang down loose. A small soft holder allows easy attachement as well as removal.

Total length approx. 30 cm for dolls and 60 cm for girls.

The girls size is just perfect for dress up play and they are beautiful in combination with play silks.

Childrens and dolls costumes and dress up accessory invite the kind of imaginative fantasy play which is so important for children. Fantasy and role play engage the imagination. Dress ups are nourishing to the senses and and encourage openended imaginative play. My daughter just loves them in all color shades. I just listed some of them in my shop here.

More Appleprints & a new Doll

I just completed this girl and made her a appleprint pocket on her dress too. She is available in my shops at etsy and DaWanda.

Babies first Rootchild Doll

I just listed this new Babies first Rootchild Doll in my shops here and here.

Gnomehomes and Martinmas

When days become shorter and nights are cold it is the perfect time to create some gnomehomes around the house for some little gnomes to gather in a cosy place. Each year before our Martinmas lantern walk we collect moos and bark and wood pieces and set up some gnomehomes. We add some tiny apples and rose hips to prepare a little gnome snack.

Es zipfelt ein Röckchen,

es klingelt ein Glöckchen.

Pantöffelchen klappen,

zwei Händchen die tappen,

es guckt ein Gesichtchen.

Was war das? - Ein Wichtchen!

Marianne Garff

Children of the forest inspired Waldorfdoll

This doll was custom ordered for a little girl in spain who is in love with the children of the forest written by Elsa Besow.
The children of the forest live deep in the roots of an old pine tree. They collect wild mushrooms and blueberries and shelter under toadstools when it rains. They play with the squirrels and frogs, and when autumn comes, they collect and prepare food to see them through the long winter, until the warm spring breeze starts to blow.