[EVENTS] Valentine Pop Up

I am overwhelmed by all the creative endeavours in my life at the moment, that I find there are not enough hours in the day for me to produce, reflect and let all this beautiful inspiration around me, sink in. My little Island Collective is attracting some amazing local artists and the ideas and future of this collective is starting to take shape and is incredibly exciting.

This past weekend, the Bowen Artisans Island Collective hosted a Valentine's Market at the beautiful Sugar Cube Gallery. Our newest artisan wares melded perfectly with our existing members creating a beautiful market for the senses. 

Now that the Collective has been operating for a little while, I have decided to update the branding to better reflect our wares and our artisans. The goal is to create a more 'Indie Inspired' look and feel to our markets, our social media and our NEW BLOG coming soon. Lots to look forward to!! Inspiration overload xoxo

To learn more about our markets and our talented artisans, please visit our site.

[LIVING LAB] Owl Pellet Dissection

Good Morning. Here's a little update on our Owl Pellet find from yesterday. After letting the hair ball pellet dry out for a couple hours, it looked a bit more appealing...no that's not the right word...approachable? Sure, we'll go with that. 

We set up our tools - two pairs of tweezers, toothpick, magnifying glass, paper towel and a petrie dish for viewing. We slowly started pulling apart the bits of fur and collecting all the teensy, tiny bones. We found teeth, claws, a skull, and many small bones. It was amazing how much was packed into that small mound.

LOGAN CAREFULLY PULLING APART THE FUR USING TWO SETS OF TWEEZERS

MY LITTLE SCIENTIST GETTING A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BONES COLLECTED

Little L has done this project at school a couple times and found it fascinating...it became a bit of an obsession goal of mine to try and find pellets in nature. So what a score yesterday when we found not one, but TWO! We sent the other pellet home with our friends (much to their Mamas dismay) and can't wait to see what they found!

[NATURE + EXPLORE] Adventure Backpack + Nature Finds

How thankful am I that our little corner of Canada stays fairly mild all year long - we maybe get a day or two of snow and then it all melts away. Replacing this snow, however, is short, dark, rainy days that chill you to the bone. We can sometimes go weeks without seeing a speckle of sunshine. It's difficult to get out of bed let alone the house sometimes which can certainly cause our spirits to drop. Luckily my kiddos aren't afraid of getting a little drenched and are up for exploring whatever the weather may be doing (okay...so maybe I have to drag them kicking and screaming...but they do have fun once they're out there; I promise). To make these excursions a bit more exciting, I have created us an Adventure Pack - an MEC backpack with lots of pockets and a nice big interior to carry our nature journals, test tubes, magnifying glass, pencils, petrie dishes, critter container, mason jars for water collection, first aid kit and lots of room for snacks.

Last weekends adventure, we found a raptor egg (eagle we think) and discovered a cool bridge over a rushing stream made from an old train car. We'll need to go back and explore the stream a bit further, as we noticed some nice flat picnic spots that need to be taken advantage of.

We also have acquired a nice stack of empty icecream buckets with lids that work great for tide pool exploration (because it's white, your critters colours don't get distorted) and making temporary habitats for salamanders, insects or carrying all the nature finds on our journey. We got our stack from a local eatery and I've seen them at the recycling depot - worth asking for.

Todays nature find was pretty awesome (and a bit gross) - owl pellets. I think what made my stomach a little queasy when flipping it into our bucket, was that it was wet and had too close a resemblance to something my cat would cough up. We're drying it right now by the fire, and will be dissecting it later this evening so stay tuned. Yes...I'm one of those weird Moms!!

[TUTORIAL] For the Birds!

My little birdie and I made these orange cup feeders a couple weeks ago and boy were they ever a hit with our feathered friends. Not sure what was more fun - watching the little birds lining up along the branches to have a turn at the feeder, or watching Chloe have free reign on adding the ingredients to her peanut butter. Either way, it's a great rainy day craft to do that is fun, easy and helps out the little tweeters.

Supplies

Large Orange

Twine (we used yarn)

Toothpick or Skewer

Peanut Butter

Mixed Bird Seed

Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

Sunflower Seeds

Raisins

Instructions

1. Cut orange in half through the middle and scoop out the insides 2. polk three holes about 1/4" below rim and at even distances from each other with your skewer. 3. Cut three equal pieces of twine approximately 18" in length and thread each piece through holes and tie - gather up all three pieces of twine and tie together in order to hang feeder. 4. Start with a large dollop of peanut butter and add remaining ingredients with seed being the main show. 5. Fill cups and hang outside - it may take a day or two before the birds discover the feeder but when they do, word gets around awfully quick!

[NATURE] Woodland Fairies

I think it's pretty safe to assume our Nature Pal Exchange family has received their goodies from us. I've been dying to post what we made for them but in my regular fashion, I was late with the final step of this project...mailing the actual parcel!! So off it went Express Post (ouch...$$!) and was guaranteed to land in Nova Scotia last week of December. BUT IF NOT AND YOU ARE READING THIS PLEASE DO NOT SCROLL DOWN!!

First step, was me and the kidlets went on a cold nature hunt for pretty sticks, lichens, pinecones, seashells, feathers and whatever else we could find. We were not quite sure at this point what we were going to make - we were just enjoying the scavenger hunt of what was available to us in winter.

After laying out all our finds and drying the sticks and pinecones in the oven to kill any unwanted parasites, we were ready to get crafty. This part of the task held my kids attention for all of 30 seconds, unfortunately, and it ended up being my playtime to put together these lovely little woodland fairies.

TWO DIFFERENT LICHENS DECORATE THIS LITTLE GAL

SUPER SOFT NATURAL WOOL SCARF AND SEAFOAM GREEN LICHEN HAIR. LOVE HER.

I LOVE how they turned out. The bodies are beautiful Dogwinkle Snail shells that we washed and lightly oiled so their true colour was restored, the wings are pieces of pinecone and chicken feathers from our backyard flock, the little details are bits of lichen, natural wool and seed pods (which we first microwaved to kill the seed inside).

LOVE THE COLOURS OF HER SHELL AND WHISPY SCARF

TWO DIFFERENT LICHENS AGAIN AND A PRETTY SEED POD CORSAGE

I would be more than happy to put together a little tutorial if anyone is interested - just leave a comment below or on FB. Happy woodland crafting xoxo

[HOMESTEAD] Always Changing.

Our little homestead is always changing - last summer we added four muscovy ducklings which we really enjoyed having, however, it turns out that ducks are just not for us. The heavily clayed soil on the ridge we live on, did not allow proper drainage of all the wetness ducks need 'and produce - yuck' so our backyard was turning into a slippery mess. Too bad...they were really quite adorable.

So now onto our next adventure - COTURNIX QUAIL!! My incubator arrived today (Christmas present from the husband and kiddos...yes it was on my list and yes I know I'm a huge nerd) and the eggs have been ordered. We our ordering our eggs from a gentleman that runs the Canadian Coturnix Quail Breeders page on Facebook and are getting a mixed flock of colours.

I cannot wait for them to hatch...just think how teensy tiny they'll be - and they're not even the smallest breed. Button Quai are the size of bumble bees when they hatch - can you imagine?!?

[JOURNAL] Nature Journal Inspiration

Back in 2015 BH (Before Hazel) we had a lovely Nature Table in our living room filled with finds from our walks, travels and gifted to us from our fellow nature enthusiasts. But alas, 'the dog' came along, and my beautiful table came to an end. I have thought up some other clever ways to display our collections that are more pet friendly which I will post soon, but in the meantime, my head has been spinning with ideas on how to create a Nature Journal.

I have been wanting to start a journal of this sort for quite some time now and found myself up wayyyyy too late last night looking for inspiration.

During this search, I came across Fionna Watson - an illustrator from the UK - her nature pages in her untitled book are so simple and unique. I want to put them on my wall!

I love the journalistic approach Kolby Kirk aka 'The Hike Guy' uses in his journals - lots of documentation with beautiful illustrations. His journals are amazing...make sure to visit his site.

Botanical specimens pressed, taped and labelled on pages from the famous poet, Emily Dickinson's journal!

Beautiful watercolour illustrations by artist Claire Walker Leslie.

Whatever style, medium or process you choose, a Nature Journal is a wonderful way to document, research and learn more about the natural world we live in. Happy Journaling!

[NATURE] Nature Pal Treasures

Our treasures from Nova Scotia arrived on Christmas Eve - beeswax candles both dipped and in walnut shells, natural Christmas scents to simmer on our stovetop, lovely kids artwork, a handfelted fairy (check out Marissa's shop Chickadee Swing) and Frankincense and Myrrh to burn on January 6th in celebration of Epiphany.

A closer look at our beautiful fairy that we'll find a special spot for on our nature table to enjoy all year round.

EPIPHANY Epiphany is celebrated in Canada on January 6 each year. It remembers the three wise men’s visit to baby Jesus and his baptism, according to events in the Christian Bible. Mummers or naluyuks may visit homes in Newfoundland and Labrador at this time of the year.

Epiphany is one of the oldest Christian feasts. It was celebrated since the end of the second century, before the Christmas holiday was established. It is commonly known as Twelfth Night, Twelfth Day, or the Feast of Epiphany. It means "manifestation" or "showing forth". It is also called Theophany ("manifestation of God"), especially by Eastern Christians.

It commemorates the first two occasions on which Jesus’ divinity, according to Christian belief, was manifested: when the three kings visited infant Jesus in Bethlehem, and when John the Baptist baptized him in the River Jordan. The Roman Catholic and Protestant churches emphasize the visit of the Magi when they celebrate the Epiphany. The Eastern Orthodox churches focus on Jesus’ baptism.

Mummering around the Christmas season until Epiphany is a 200-year-old tradition in Canada. This activity declined in the 1960s but became more popular in the 1980s and 1990s. It may include the custom of the naluyuks, which has a half-foreign, half-Inuit origin.

So not only did we receive wonderful nature treasures but we also learned about different traditions and celebrations. Nature Pal Exchange - so awesome...seriously, you need to join us!!

[NATURE] Nature Pal Exchange

Scavenging, collecting, documenting, researching and packaging up a natural treasure to send to another family in this lovely country of yours.....ummmmmmm YES PLEASE!! Well my friends, when I was introduced to the Nature Pal Exchange I pretty much lost my mind did a little happy dance.

THE NATURE PAL EXCHANGE "Nature Pal Exchange began in 2015 when two homeschool moms on separate coasts thought it would be fun to collect and exchange nature items their families discovered in their native environments. Once we stepped foot in the outdoors, discovered new pieces of God’s creation, and then shared this with new friends, we knew we had to keep this going. Now, we get to share this amazing experience with you!" Go check out their Instagram Account @naturepalexchange to swoon over all the gorgeous packages being exchanged across North America.

source: naturepalexchange.com

We participated in our first exchange this December - rather than collecting various items, this exchange had a theme - a Christmas Exchange. The object was to create a holiday themed decoration using nature SO . MUCH . FUN!! Oh...and did I mention the site has tutorials!! Yup...it's pretty perfect.

source: naturepalexchange.com

OUR EXCHANGE FAMILY This part of the activity was probably my favourite part - being matched up with a family somewhere in this vast country - a nature pen pal. Well, our first match up did not disappoint - meet Marissa - the author behind Becoming Kindred and the Mama of three beautiful girls on the opposite coast of Nova Scotia. Her blog is beautiful, her house is beautiful (a turn of the century farm house...bestill my little heart) her girls, her animals....wow!!

Here's a few pictures from Marissa's site that are just so beautiful. Her posts regarding her home are my favourite - what a dreamy life. Click here to view her 'Making Home' series.

So if you and your kiddos are anything like us, then you MUST check out the Nature Pal Exchange - it's such a wonderful way to learn more about your environment, your country and to make wonderful connections.