counting down

When I think of all that has happened this year it overwhelms me. The year has proven to be one of the most difficult years of my life. Yet through all of the craziness, somehow, I have my feet planted firmly on the ground.

When I think back through the year, I am truly grateful for my family and friends and all of the joyous moments we have shared. I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to jump full throttle into my love of creating and crafting and to meet others that share my same passion. I am in awe of our teachers and the warmth of our school. I am forever inspired by the beautiful landscape and energetic city around me. And with all of this, I move forward into 2008 with a full heart and an excitement for what the coming year will bring.

Blessings to you and yours in the new year!!

a search for the light

This past Wednesday at approximately 2:14 pm, we caught a glimpse of sun sneak it's way into the house. For a split second, I basked in it's warmth and then ran off to find the camera. It is these moments, in a season of darkness, that keep me whole and lively. I have found living in Oregon that the weather can really predict the way I feel on a given day. A rainy, dreary day can make me feel quiet and sleepy while a sunny or even a "bright white" snowy day can have me full of energy and bubbling over. I suppose again this is a reminder of how connected we are to the Earth and everything around us.

Because these light filled days have been few and far between, we "the Hammerwig's" are embarking on an adventure in search of the sun. In January, we will be traveling to Arizona for a complete vitamin D refill and plenty of relaxation and fun. I am finding that in order for me to be a truly balanced individual, I need to listen to my heart, mind and body and right now, I simply need more light.

Dear friends, may you have many moments to bask in the sun in the coming months and may your hearts remain warm as the darkness approaches.

-sibling love-

Samantha and Jasper share a sibling love like no other. They spend their days playing together from the moment they rise until bedtime when their pillow talk lulls them to sleep. They often refer to themselves as "best friends" and treat each other- most of the time- with such care and respect. I have learned so much from these dear children.

When it is time for them to brainstorm gift ideas for each other, they always seem to know just what the other would love- not like- love. This tool belt was Samantha's idea for Jasper. The guidelines she gave me were......

1. It needed a pouch for a tape measure (then she told me where to buy the tape measure and what color).

2. It needed to hold all of his tools (I wanted him to be able to walk so we settled on three).

3. His favorite swirly brown jacquard needed to be somewhere on the belt.

4. He would need to share it with her and her friends when they were over for playdates.

Well, as you can see the belt turned out to be a hit. Jasper has been fixing everything in sight-including the cats- and has even allowed Sam to wear his tool belt for maybe a minute.... or two!

White Christmas

We never expected this! What a truly magical day we had. Doesn't every child wish for snow on Christmas? When it started to fall, we were in the middle of lunch. The children dropped their spoons and began running from window to window almost in disbelief. When they realized that the snow was falling outside every window, it was time to go outside......

John, Samantha and Jasper made a cheerful little snow person complete with rosemary hair and a carrot nose. I suppose Samantha didn't get enough lunch as I caught her snacking on our new friend!

By the end of the day, the snow was only a memory as it began to disappear right before our very eyes. Thank you Father Winter for a preview of what is to come; snow angels, sledding, snow forts and a truly tranquil and stunning landscape. Merry Christmas all!

Jasper's gift

We have yet another flag in our house!! It is amazing to me how popular flags are around here. Jasper always seems to have his flag and often uses it to mark his space. Sammy is very intrigued by this and has created her own flag with a dowel and a pink silk with a rubber band holding it all together. When I asked Jasper what he wanted to make Samantha for Christmas, he knew exactly what she needed. I do have to admit that I did 99.9% of the work but he completely approved the final product. Jasper is excited to give it to her; I am excited to watch the play that follows!

Just the girls....

In honor of our good friend Megan, Samantha and friends visited the Pittock Mansion in the NW hills in Portland. Not only was the architecture and era of the home truly beautiful, but for Christmas each of the rooms was decorated with a fairy tale theme. The girls were giddy with excitement. Upon leaving the mansion, we stopped at the Pearl Bakery for steamers and cookies. Thank you for a wonderful afternoon, friends!

"My Kitten"

Hi, this is Samantha. I made this in handwork at school. It is a kitten. It took a long time to make it. I sewed it and I knitted it. I finger knitted the tail. I chose a blue bow for my kitten. Blue and pink are my favorite colors. I like to knit. That's all.

teacher gifts

teacher gifts and an excavator

It is so fun to be apart of the action. I can't even tell you how many times that little hand has snuck into one of my pictures. A sweet, warm hand that always has the best intentions. Maybe he knows something that I don't. The excavator does make the photo much more interesting. A beautiful balance of rugged and flowery goodness.

A story in pictures

Happy Wednesday!!

Samantha's vision

This is a present that Samantha has been working on for a long time. In November, when she was working on Jasper's birthday flag, she came across a piece of soft navy blue corduroy in the fabric basket. It seemed that as soon as she saw this fabric, she knew what it was going to be. After carefully cutting her fabric into an evergreen tree, she decorated it with ornaments and garland. All she needed was few buttons and some carefully chosen rick rack and ribbon to turn this evergreen into a festive Christmas tree. To better display her tree, we decided to make a bag out of it. Samantha is so proud of her work but what is even more wonderful to see is how excited she is to give it to that special person.

deep concentration

Wow! Daytime pictures. The last couple of posts you would think I was taking pictures by candlelight as I am deeply opposed to using a flash unless absolutely necessary. I just think that natural light gives your photo dimension. I love to feel like I can reach into a photograph and touch its contents. A beautiful photo with shadows and irresistible, touchable texture.

Just after sunrise, when the brilliant light was inviting us into the art room, we began Jasper's gifts for his classmates. This is something that we had attempted before when Samantha and Jasper were much younger. As I remember, there was not much interest so when I thought of painting these little people again, I really didn't know what I was in for.

Boy, was I thrilled to see how excited the children were when they saw these little guys . Their concentration was intense as they painted one head of hair after another, each with their own unique hairstyle. Jasper was into the receding hairline look while Samantha painted sophisticated bobs with heavy bangs. As their masterpieces dried, we all picked out fabric and rick rack for clothes and scoured the house for acorn hats. Through the top of the acorn, I threaded golden floss so that each little person could be hung as an ornament. Jasper is beyond excited about his gifts. Oh, just think of the fun adventures these little people will have with their new families.

work in progress

This is what has kept me from the blog in last couple of days. Christmas present making is in full swing. Enough said; I must get back to work!! Happy Friday to you all and have a beautiful weekend.

A crown for Noah

How sad we all were to hear that Noah, Jasper's good friend from school, would be moving to Ireland for the remainder of the school year. Not only will we miss Noah, but also his amazing family. I personally have never met a woman as inspiring as Julie (Noah's mom) in my life. She has a way about her that people are drawn to; a playfulness that can ease an awkward situation, always an endearing story to tell, and a deep love for the people around her.

We will miss you friends...

lucky treasures

December 5 gave us a thrilling morning this year. When the children awoke (30 minutes earlier than normal- yawn...), they found that a special visitor had been at our house.

In anticipation of St. Nicholas' arrival, Samantha and Jasper carefully lined up all of our shoes in front of the fireplace. Tradition has it that if children leave their shoes out on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, that he will bless them with a lucky treasure. Well, Sam and Jasper where blessed with cookie cutters and John and I with cookie recipes. Who knew that this St. Nicholas guy was so creative and knew us so well!!

The children had quite the exciting day at school when they found that St. Nicholas had also blessed their school slippers with golden walnuts and clementine oranges and Samantha got to meet St. Nicholas in person. But the fun didn't stop there. When we got home from school, we began our work at "The Harrison Gingerbread Factory" where our cookie cutters and recipes really came in handy. After an afternoon of baking, eating and decorating, we all went to bed with the inviting smell of gingerbread lingering throughout the house.

the great "indoors"

A chill has finally hit Portland and as Samantha says, "Jack Frost has come for a visit". Each morning it seems we are frantically scraping the mischievous work of Mr. Frost off our car windows, hoping our little detour from our morning ritual will not make us too late for school. All the while, the house has become our warm nest; our retreat from the cold- did I say cold?- rather bone chilling world outside.

The weather is not my idea of a good time (being a California girl and all) and I feel that I will never get use to it but what I do love about this time of year is how it brings us all together. Not just emotionally and spiritually, but physically. We are physically forced to share a smaller space and in doing so, I feel more connected to my family.

With all of our new found "indoor time", guess what we have been up to? ....Crafting, crafting and more crafting. Last week we got our beautiful noble fir and began to adorn it with handmade goodness. The kids started with these star ornaments that they received in their Advent stocking. With a little tissue paper and some icy glaze (aka. watered down glue), they were able to make these completely on their own. Samantha enjoyed herself so much that when her ornament was finished, she began decorating paper plates.

advent arithmetic

A jar of yummy vintage buttons

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Yards of vintage trim and repurposed wool

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24 Advent stockings awaiting treasures for little ones.

*Have a joyous "5th day" of Advent *

simple gifts

This time of year gets us thinking about those people in our lives that we are truly grateful for. Sitting at the table today, we began our lists of gifts that we would like to make for our family, friends and teachers. The lists are long and a lot of work needs to be done but it feels so fulfilling to know we are putting our precious time into something that will be cherished and appreciated.

Our work began with candle making. This activity is so easy, open ended and is appropriate for children as young as 3. We started with sheets of beeswax that we found at the school store. Both Samantha and Jasper chose to cut their sheets in half to make shorter candles. After cutting a wick (also purchased at school), they placed the wick at one end of their sheet and carefully pushed it into the wax. Then using their fingertips, they rolled the sheet around itself. Voila.... a handmade, sweet smelling candle. But we were not done there; our favorite step was next....Embellish.

With a box of wax sheets and small clay cutters (found at Michael's in the Fimo isle), the children easily punched out shapes. Then they warmed the shapes in their hands and gently pressed them onto the candle.

These particular candles will be used as package decorations for Samantha and Jasper's teachers.