Wildcrafting

Wildcrafting is the art of using the gifts of nature in the creation of herbal medicines or other goods, but can also be applied to any crafting where you use, but do not harm, nature's bounty in the making of other items. And I figure if a couple of wild women went crazy in less than two days time, making all of these...then they were definitely wildcrafting in one way or another!

So, today as other challenges and worries over friends surround me, I think of good things and good times to lift my spirits and remind me that life is always about choosing joy over the magnitude of other feelings that might make us all worry, or be sad.

Some days, that is easier said that done, I know...but we all need to keep ourselves, our energy, and our spirit in a good place to be of service to others when they need us most. And having fun and feeling the joys of creating... whether it is quilting, or crafting is a huge part of putting joy-filled faith into action!

And what could have been more fun than our flurry of crafting last week when my sister-in-law from Alaska and I made two twig chairs......a rustic, tiny one and a big leafy, goddess one....and then crafted paper from recycled scraps,flower petals, lichen. And then in between DH and I picked fresh vegetables from the garden for dinner and wild blackberries and blueberries for cobblers. And then...we fit in some leaf molding using leaves from all over my yard and garden, some sand and yes, some purchased concrete (sorry, but I don't have any limestone cliffs in my yard!)

While I was cooking and baking on the third day of the visit, my family went on an eight mile hike in 95º weather. My kitchen got pretty hot making potato salad and two cobblers without air conditioning, but I wasn't nearly as hot or tired as the rest of them were;) Yep, when I said flurry of activities....I wasn't kidding!

For the whole five day visit, we just went from one thing to another and it was fast and furious fun! Now, this was the fourth time I've made paper and I still haven't shown my photo tutorial for that, so maybe I'll do that later on..but for now, here is a little collage above, of all of my projects. And a few closeups of some of the projects, below. It's amazing any photos at all were taken with so much going on!


My great big, leafy, Green Goddess chair! And yes, all those lovely leaves will wilt and drop off but the beautiful wood will still arch into some heart shapes!



My itty, bitty chair.....it ended up a bit rustic and more than a little wobbly but I still love it! Sophie, Penelope and Matilda (the chickens) and Willow and Kermit, (the cats)...all think it is for them.....and yes, they have all hopped up on it!



Paper crafting outside in the sun. You blend up any old fibers you can find from the leftover pieces of emails to laundry lint and add flowers, herbs, and mosses for fun. My fourth time this year with the wonderful fun of paper making and I will continue to make more and more!



Leaf molding from sand, water, and concrete...plus real leaves for the molding...to make yard art for my whole family! You mix them up, shape the sand, spray leaves with Pam and press them ontop of saran wrapped mounds. When you peel everything off 24 plus hours later...lovely outdoor art to nestle among the fern fronds and flowers or hide secretly in shady spots for the elves and fairies to come sip dew out of ...oh wait, that was Willow, Kermit, Sophie, Penelope, and Matilda...silly pets!

Now say a quick prayer for all of my dear friends and family members who are going through hard times and let your wishes fly on the wings of joy...they get there faster, and do so much more good that way!

Such great, great fun in the last of the summer sun!



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