Souricette 1 keeps asking me to do projects. She has permanent access to markers, pencils, paper, stickers, tape, scissors… But she wants to do projects. She has a really busy life and so do I but she wants to do projects. Crafting projects. Involved crafting projects. And I really want to provide that for her. I loved crafting as a child and I still do.
So when I saw that we would have plenty of time off the week after Mr. Mouse’s marathon, I planned some projects. I chose some decorating projects because they’re easy to display. I chose seasonal projects because that gives me a good reason to remove them after a few weeks. And replace them with the next seasonal projects…
The first project I had in mind was inspired by this pin.
Totally doable, right? I already had embroidery floss we could use and felt in autumn leaf colors. I cut out a bunch of leaves. I decided to add wooden beads that we got at Michael’s. I showed souricette 1 how to sew a running stitch down the center of a leaf and let her work. Souricette 2 was supposed to nap but she wanted to participate. I’d also gotten a little kit of fall themed craft supplies so I gave her pipe cleaners and she set to work putting wooden beads on them. Eventually, souricette 1 got sick of sewing and started threading beads onto pipe cleaners too. So I finished the garland.
And then we hung it up. I would have liked to hang it lower but souricette 2 would have grabbed it…
Next, I was inspired by this pin.
We have a metal bowl in the living room. It was filled with shells we collected in Cape Cod but I thought that colorful acorns would be cute for Fall. So I went outside and collected acorns. We have two oak trees in our front yard so I figured I would get a good collection. Turns out our trees produce very small acorns. I had no time to run around the neighborhood looking for bigger acorns so I just dealt with it. Most of the acorns had lost their caps too so I spent a full morning glueing caps back on acorns. Fun. Both girls and I then painted the acorns and really, I was impressed with souricette 2’s stamina. She’s only 2 years old and she painted acorn after acorn tirelessly.
Oh, actually, I let the girls paint for a bit before I joined them. See, I also collected leaves for a wreath. I melted some beeswax and dipped each leaf in it to preserve it. It works! They aren’t going brittle on me!
Which brings me to the third project. The wreath. I wanted to get one that was made of branches but they didn’t have any round ones like that at Michael’s when we went. But they had this wide jute ribbon that had an appropriately rustic look. So I painted a styrofoam wreath that I had (because it showed through the jute) and then I wound and glued the jute all the way around to cover it. Souricette 1 helped me with leaf and acorn placement and then souricette 2 added her touch with 5 acorns at the top. I added the ribbon.
Three projects in one week and they make the house so pretty! I still have tons of leaves, beads, and jute ribbon. Maybe another garland? Souricette 1 just wants to tape all the leaves to the windows…
Creative mommy at home to two wonderful little girls, trying to juggle family, sewing, exercise, family, knitting, photography, and did I mention family?
Deux souriceaux 
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