A new beginning

This week we will celebrate Candlemas (February 2); this day that is half way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. This day where we celebrate the light that will share itself, the lengthening of days, the budding of Spring, and the birth of new life all around us. It is a time to celebrate the newness in everyday. It is a time to awaken the parts in yourself that have been in a deep slumber through the cold winter, parts of you that have hibernated away from the blustery and cold depths of the dark nights and flurry of holidays past. Candlemas is the perfect time to reemerge from our dark, cozy nests and see what lies ahead; to take one last peek at our shadows and honor our past and move to be ever present for the now and whatever lies ahead.

from stylemepretty.com via Pinterest

In preparation of what lies ahead our posts this week will focus on how we can prepare our homes and hearts to celebrate and allow the Light in. We will focus on and offer suggestions for a good spring cleaning, lantern making, candle making, art projects, planting seeds/sprouts, and recipes that will help make this Candlemas a week long preparation and celebration! So to start......let's get cleaning!

Today, we'll talk about how to prepare our homes. There are many ideas/books/websites out there that offer suggestions and ways to organize and clean ones home. These ideas range from 10 day projects, 15 minutes per room in one day, deep cleaning, or just surface organization. For me, living in a space with less than 1100 sq. feet, with 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 6 people, friends coming and going everyday, constant cooking and baking, laundry, and being completely exhausted by days end I find that 'things piling up' is my biggest issue. Folks come and go and drop their things while in motion. Our home is lacking quality storage solutions so I need to be really creative in how I set up a room. For example, our family room is our play room, our mudroom, our reading room, and the office. This room is roughly 12'x12'. However, with careful planning we've managed to keep our coats hung on the door side wall and we keep the smaller things organized with baskets (hats and gloves,shoes and slippers). Toys are located on a book shelf and are kept organized by random baskets and boxes. Our crafting supplies are kept on another shelf (the tall skinny kind) and our books take up one whole wall using two book shelves. We have DVDs that we watch on occasion that we have taken out of the plastic boxes and then put the DVDs themselves in a round basket. That way, we've consolidated the space the disks would otherwise take up. We are a bit of a minimalist family.......we always think we have too much so constant purging is one thing we do often. If only to afford ourselves the comfort of feeling like things are neat and tidy. If I could suggest one thing on how to keep your most used room as a family organized I would say (and this is only from my own personal experience) that less is more. Keep coats in a closet or on hooks. Use baskets to catch all the little things (gloves, hats, keys, toys, movies). Shelving is a must! Adding shelving to any room will make a wall more accessible and functional. Jars, baskets, flower pots, whatever you have on hand can be used to hold items that otherwise might be rolling around on your kitchen counters or coffee tables.

To give your home a nice and quick sweep give yourself a block of time to go through each room, quickly, with two boxes (one for donating and one for trash). Don't spend time looking deeply, just grab what you can see as you glance around the room. This shouldn't take too long, maybe an hour at most! Next, start from the most used room and go through again and do your regular clean sweep. Dust, organize, wipe the windows and sills, mop and vacuum floors. I would suggest finding things you already own to help in the organizational part but if you're lacking receptacles to hold things head to a thrift shop and see what you can find first. This doesn't need to be an expensive clean sweep and really should only take a morning or an afternoon to complete.

from desiretoinspire.net via Pinterest

Even though it's cold now (where I live anyway) I like to crack the window a bit to allow some clean, crisp air to come through the room. I also like to burn a candle and some sage as a way to purify the space. If you're home is quite disorganized this might not be a one day project. I've been there. A book that inspired me not to long ago was Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. This is a 10 day home makeover, a bit more thorough than what I described above but follows the same principles. It's worth every bit of time and effort to make your home a haven, a place where everyone feels relaxed and at peace, in every room. If you're stressed out in a space in your home then it's time for a change. The one place we should all feel calm is in our home. Make it your haven, your safe place to retreat to at the end of the day. Make your home a place that when you wake up you're not looking around and seeing your 'to do' list in physical form. A very special gift you can give yourself and your family is to wake up or come home and just be in your space with no worries or concerns for the stuff lying around. No cleaning, no feelings of 'ugh......piles'. Just pure and simple bliss. Just breathing and being.

from desiretoinspire.net via Pinterest

So on these days leading up to Candlemas, shed the heavy stuff that takes over your space, throw open the curtains and let the Light in. Freshen up, spring clean! Turn your home into that place where you can just relax and be together with your family. If the debris in your home is taking up all your time.......now is definitely the moment to motivate and make your home the space you dream about.

What ideas and suggestions do you have to help make your Spring cleaning more tolerable and manageable? What are your favorite cleaning solution recipes/products? What ideas to you have for celebrating the Light in your home? Like our Facebook page and share your ideas with us here and tomorrow we will randomly select someone to receive a gift basket of Mrs. Meyers cleaning supplies! Candlemas is coming......prepare for the coming of the Light!

Making Magnets

Today has been a wonderfully creative day. Early morning rise, tea time, and then.......we made magnets. The other day to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. we made a salt dough to make decorations to adorn our Peace Tree with. If you'd like more information on that project, go ahead and click here.

We had extra salt dough left over and was trying to think of a unique way to use it up, other than just to play with! So we made magnets.....lovely, fun, creative, inspired and simple. Have fun!

Making Magnets

You will need:

1 cup of salt

2 cups of flour

1 cup of water
extra flour for kneading and rolling out
rolling pin
acrylic paints
glitter, beads, feathers, string, etc. for decorating

Preheat your over to 250 degrees

Begin by whisking together the salt and the flour.

Slowly add the water and stir until a dough forms.

Knead the dough until it becomes smooth.

Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness on your lightly floured surface.

Cut them out using whatever shapes you choose

Bake your shapes at 250 degrees for about 2 hours. Flip to the other side after the first hour

After your shapes have cooled, paint them and decorate them as you wish.

Once the paint has dried, apply your magnets to the back of the shape with some krazy glue

or with a hot glue gun

Lastly, you can feel free to spray the front of your magnet with a clear gloss to help preserve the color and the magnet itself. The gloss also adds a nice sheen, adding some sparkle when the light hits them just right.

Let them dry for a few minutes, then.......hang them on the refrigerator or other space that you might have which could us a fun and festive magnet. This is such a sweet way to not only hang a piece of artwork for all to see but, the magnet itself, is a personalized piece of artwork!!

Most importantly........have fun, be creative and let your children guide you! Wishing you all a lovely Wednesday!

First blessing of 2012

Our little girl, Charlotte, has just turned 4 years old. She seems older some how. I haven't quite put my finger on how, but maybe it's in her face, or just in her eyes. She shines more clarity and understanding with the world around her. She looks more deeply into our faces, she plays more intently, she's demonstrating more tolerance and patience. Now, I'm not suggesting that this has been an overnight flip of a switch, this has been a gradual process leading up to her birthday. It seems these are appropriately streamlined with where she is in her development. It seems as though we have a most angelic being on our hands (as one might feel about any of their children :) )!

We started the morning off with lots of snuggles and discussion on the days events. It was a weekend day so Daddy was home, which made the day that much better! We slowly climbed out of bed and found Charlotte's older sister Bella waiting for her with open arms for 'birthday' hugs. Together they made Charlotte's favorite breakfast, pancakes, and just to make it that much more special, Bella put a candle on her pancakes and shared a secret singing of "Happy Birthday". I came in at the last minute and was able to catch a snapshot......it was a very sweet stolen moment for the two girls.

I have always wanted to make my children crowns for their special days. I had one for the big kids when they were younger but I didn't make it.  I was working full time and hadn't the time or the confidence to make one. Well, years have passed since I walked out of our home to leave for a full time job, so, I've had the luxury of being able to study  and practice the art of handiwork. So, I took the leap this year (a New Year affirmation or one of my 20 wishes to do more handiwork with and for the children). It was a labor of love, just like my Charlotte. I spent 3 hours doing the hand sewing on the front and then left for my parents to get help from my Mother who uses a sewing machine. She helped attach the backing, the binding and the elastic strip in the back. All in all, it was about 5 hours of time, probably won't take this much time for the next one, the first one is all about learning! Both, my Mother and I, felt this crown was perfectly Charlotte; 4 star buttons for each year ( I will add another one for each year forth coming), a beautiful star shaped flower in the middle, purples and dark pinks as these are her favorite colors. Additionally, the Queen for the day wore her beautifully handmade 'birthday' cape that her Auntie Pfeffa gave her last year! She was definitely our royalty for the day!

Charlotte has such a lovely imagination when it comes to her ideas for cakes. Her first birthday cake was a banana cake (by the time she was one year old her favorite food was bananas!). Her second cake was the same thing, just in cupcake form (not much had changed except these had peanut butter chocolate frosting on them!). Her third cake was strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting (her new favorite fruit). But this year, she dreamed of a chocolate strawberry cake with sprinkles.......so for fun, I made an ice cream cake. It was super easy and fun to make (a spring form pan is what makes it easy!); seeing as I love ice cream and could sneak bites after each layer. It took about 3 hours for each layer (you spread a layer and then freeze for an hour in between). Then before her party began, I made some whipped cream and frosted the cake with it and stuck it back in the freezer until we were ready for it! Oh, and did I mention I made some of the cookie, crunchy, fudgy goodness that sits between the vanilla and chocolate layer! Yum! Yum! Yum! This cake was a divine success!

We had a simple day filled with family. No big, over the top gifts.......crayons, paper, play dough, a doll, a book. It was a sweet day full of sweet intentions for our little girl.

We're savoring these moments, as they slip away as fast as the time that pulls them. Thank goodness for the memories and the laughter that filled our home and our hearts; the smiles and appreciation from our little Charlotte with every gift she received; and when she received a "Happy Birthday" greeting she returned the sentiment with a smile and a "Happy Birthday to you" in return. So, in her eyes, it was every one's birthday. Everyone received a gift by sharing this day with her, just as we all are so lucky to receive when we share these special moments with any of our dear ones. To celebrate the joy that we all receive in one's life within our own.......what a blessing!