I Just Reopened My Etsy Shop

I make crochet toys.

I am working on wool and organic cotton items, as well. I have an organic cotton butterfly in the works, as well as crocheted bean bags. I want to design a mermaid doll and a collection of bugs.

I will also be putting some of my patterns on PDF and selling them.

Come visit me at http://alisaterry.etsy.com.

You can also see my craft projects and works-in-progress on my craft blog, http://yarnovermama.blogspot.com

Spring Fling Give-away Part 2: April 15-30

Thank you for the wonderful response to our first drawing! Check back for an announcement of our lucky winner!!

On to phase two...ANOTHER DRAWING! This time the focus is on mothers with babies. To that end, we've gathered useful, beautiful and relaxing things for mamas and some simple, open-ended toys for your little one made of all natural materials. The rules to enter are the same as before: Talk to us, Talk about us and Shop with us! (See below for more details.)



The goodies up for grabs in this give-away include: a small needle-felted ball from Sun Anthem, a white stone nursing and healing necklace from Stones of Healing, a set of Boogie Buddies (eco-friendly, reusable hankies) from Little Peanut Shop, a Jingle Belly Ball (soft knit ball for baby) from Sugar Kane Creations, a jumbo 44"x44" blue playsilk from Lyneya's Toys, a set of hand-crafted nursing pads from Lil Bees, a beautiful large diaper bag from Michael Grace Designs, a bike screen-print patch and organic seeds for your garden from Beans Rice Revolt, a stack of breast-feeding advocacy bumper-stickers (to share!) and other natural decals from Elemental Handcrafts, a small Guatemalan sling from MayaMade, and last, but definitely not least, set of soothing foot soaks to pamper yourself with from Circle Natural Goods.

One very lucky mama will win it all! On to the rules...

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There are three easy ways to earn chances to win these collection of great items made by MDC mamas all over the country: Talk to us, talk about us, and shop with us! On April 15th, we'll put all of your chances to win (tickets) in a pool and randomly select one lucky person win it all!!!

How to earn tickets to go into the drawing:

1. Talk to us. Leave a comment here between April 15 and April 30. (Remember we need a way to reach you if you win, so make sure your email or blog is linked in the comment.) One comment entry per person. Comment = one ticket.

2. Talk about us. April 15 - April 30: Blog about our give-away! Leave us a comment linking to your blog. Blogging = two tickets!

3. Shop with us. April 15 - April 30: Turn your shopping habit into more chances to win! Purchase something from one of the participating stores listed and leave a note to seller that you want to be in the giveaway. $1 = one ticket. No limit!!

Participating stores to earn more chances to win are (you can also run a search for MDCSPRINGFLING to find these participating stores on etsy!):
BeansRiceRevolt
BrightBlack
Circle Natural Goods
Creations by Hippie Fairy Lover
Elemental Handcrafts
Imagination Kids
LilBees
Little Red Appleton
Little Peanut Shop
Lyneya's Toys
Michael Grace Designs
Small Town Toys
Stones of Healing
Sugar Kane Creations
Sun Anthem
Whole Mother Creations
You're Inspired
MayaMade

Thank you! Have fun shopping, good luck and Think Spring!!!

New boy dolls!

Lyneya's Toys is proud to introduce some new little friends that have just been listed!





Remember, all purchases in April can go towards are great team give-aways. Just let me know you want to enter in the "Notes to Seller". Happy shopping!

Crochet Autumn Butterfly Doll

Stay tuned for Winter, Spring and Summer colors, as well as one made from natural organic cotton.

Soft Crochet Things

Something Fishy!

I am completely addicted to needle felting and I wanted to share my new fishies!

They are 100% wool, firmly needle felted and great for toddlers and preschoolers to learn colours, numbers (numerals and quantities) and for imaginative play.

The set includes the 6 fish, the silk pouch and a Fairy Silkie(tm). Each fish is a little different than the others in shape and size and the largest is about 2.5 x 3.5".

Listing soon at Etsy!

Still Not Sure What to Do With a Playsilk?

Playsilks are simple. So simple in fact that many adults balk at the idea of a toy that does nothing. Toddlers, however, revel in such toys!
Today after work, Rowan(age 2.5) and I pulled out the silkies to see what we could come up with for indoor physical activities to help beat the winter blues and I thought I would pass these along for the adults out there who may be looking for something to help them get into silkie play, or for some fresh ideas to get in some extra activity before spring releases us all to the outdoors!
You can read some basic info about silkies here.
We had four of different colours, we could have done all this with one or two, too!

1) Practice colours. Lay out various coloured silkies around the room. Child stands at center and runs to the colour you call. Add some more activity by having them jump on it, spin around with it, whatever!

2) Practice counting. Lay silkies on the floor and have child step on them like ladder rungs, counting as they go.

3) Literacy?! Our local literacy worker has told us that one of the big concepts children lack when they reach kindergarten is a sense of position/ relations. On top, beneath, beside, along, between... Use a silkie and practice! Put it on your child's head ~ they are under the silkie, the silkie is on top of them. Have them place it in various relations to their body, or yours (put it behind mommy). Up, down, away, left, right...

4) Throw and Catch. Bundle one silkie into a ball and knot a second around it and you have a lightweight indoor-safe ball with a handy tail to help novice catchers and throwers feel successful.

5) Jumping and other Gross Motor Skills. Jump over the silkie river, walk along its bank (balance), crawl under a silkie thrown into the air, spin around with one in each hand, step over and crawl under one held up like a limbo stick.

6) Fine Motor Skills. Weave two silkies together. Stuff them into a cup. Lay them down in a straight line.

7) Imagination. Rowan wore her extra silkies as hat and snowsuit while we played. We hid one another and popped out to scare each other (she is at the stage where this is big fun!). She pretended to be a kitty curling up on a kitty bed. She made her big girl bed all up and climbed in to 'sleep'.

8) Rhythm and Body Awareness. We finished with dancing with our silkies~ feeling the music, moving our arms and legs in various patterns (flapping wings, waving in the sky, tiptoeing).

Exercise for body, mind and spirit.
All in about 30 minutes.
Using only a couple 35 x 35" squares of silk.
It doesn't get much better than this!

If you've got Cabin Fever...

For many of us, it has been a long, snowy winter. What to do when it's too cold outside? Play of course! I've got some new puppets for the children to put on shows and befriend.These are princess and prince Waldorf inspired puppets. What fairy tales could be told with their swashing capes and adorable dress? Or how about doing a dino dance? Or playing sheepishly? There's no telling how much you'll laugh and how much memory space you'll take up watching their shows!

I also have mini 12 inch Waldorf inspired dolls. The bodies are made of warm, easy to clean, made from recycled pop bottles fleece. Some have a removable jumper so that his/her friend can dress and undress for additional fun. Stay tuned for more animals coming up...and if you need an animal that I don't have, let me know! I love making new puppets! www.tuition.etsy.com

Having a Ball!

I have *really* wanted to try felting. I just love the look, texture, colors of the wool. I ordered a couple of kits on Etsy, but got too impatient and grabbed some roving in the city last week. Used to dyeing silk, the dyeing wasn't as much of an issue as my fear of felting my roving before I felted it on purpose!

Given that wet felting has caused me a ridiculous amount of pain with my carpal tunnel syndrome, I don't have high hopes for needle felting. But I can do balls!

In fact I came home today and my husband had made some (for me to felt, of course!).
So I have listed a custom pair of felted balls (recycled core, new roving, 100% wool) ~ buyer chooses their colours!

What to Do with a Playsilk?

Silkies are simple. In a world of bells and whistles and one-trick toys, they float on a whisper of possibility, inviting children to touch their softness and experiment with movement and colour, letting their minds and bodies take the lead (rather than the toy!). They are an open ended, child directed toy with enormous play value.

But what are they? Silk! People are often shocked to find that our daughter plays (daily!) with silk ~ and sits on it, throws it, pulls it, ties it and drags it on the ground. We tend to have an image of silk as both expensive and delicate, yet it is one of the strongest fibers and very affordable depending on production and processing. Add that it is a natural fiber with gorgeous body and hand (the feel of the fabric) that flows, shines and warms to the touch, and what's not to love?!

The use of silk for children's toys has a long history but the particular use as child directed plaything arises from the Waldorf school traditions. In this educational philosophy children are surrounded with simple toys made of natural materials. This allows the child's imagination to determine the course of play, rather than the toy (think of a battery operated toy that does 'something' and thereby dictates how the child will play with it~ if it rings it must be a phone, if it cries it must be a baby). This encourages the child to live in the world of wonder, to move, and play as their spirits lead them. Playsilks are a staple in the type of play.

Playsilks come in many shapes and sizes ~ long and skinny, giant canopies, tiny hankies, and most commonly in squares of 21.5 x 21.5" or 35 x 35". They may be dyed in solid colours, rainbows, mandalas, tie dye or other variations. Some folks use acid dyes for silks, others use natural plant based dyes and still others use simple food grade dyes. Every maker aims to make a non-toxic product that is safe for children and colourfast, as well.

Playsilks appeal to children from infancy on up! Not sure what to do with a silkie?

Give one to a child, and let them will show you. One of our favourite moments is when we give a playsilk to a child who has never played with one before. Their eyes light up and the wheels start turning and within moments they are deep in play. Fabulous for play therapy and kids with disabilities, too.

At Beneath the Rowan Tree we have started a fun list of all the ways we have seen playsilks used and we'd like to hear from others and grow our list~ Not as a prescription for how to play, but so that we grown ups can marvel at the creativity of children at play and maybe catch a bit of the wonder as well! Add your ideas to the comments here, or through our Contact Page and we'll enter you in our February 28th draw for a free silkie of your choice of colour (35 x 35")! Be sure to leave your e-mail.

Forget that Icky Plastic Grass!

For your Easter Baskets... think silk!
Available in solids or custom multi-colours at BTRT (some images below).
And also in lovely pastels and combinations from Cara at Green Bean Boutique, including an Etsy Easter Basket Set!
And I know Desert Dyeworks has incredible mandalas, canopies and capes!
I am sure there are others, too!

It's Cooler in the Shade!

Beneath the Rowan Tree is our little family venture. It grew out of the need to find clothing for my daughter (now 28 months) that was fun, bright, natural and non-commercial. Since we live in an area where our only options for children's items are Wal-Mart or a *very* upscale (read: $$$) boutique, I started dyeing and painting cotton clothing for her (Rowan) and the rest is history, as they say!

Our core product is still our hand dyed and hand painted clothing in sizes 6m - 6t, along with our playsilks. We have also branched out into other natural toys, including Square Roots (tm), wooden vehicles (natural or personalized and painted), upcycled wool finger puppets, crayons... Whatever catches our fancy. My husband Andy does the woodwork, I do the painting and dyeing. Rowan does the inspiring!

We are committed to supporting and encouraging families to nurture their child's imagination, wonder and creativity in these crucial early years.

Andy and I (Lori) both work full time, so we are always working on achieving balance between work/ home and art. We welcome customs as time and energy allow (including a wider range of sizes and adult wear) and really enjoy collaborating with other artists and crafters.

We have been on Etsy since May 2007. We also sell on Hyena Cart in our own shop and a couple of congos. All of our information, including the link to my blog, our gallery and product info can be found on our new website: http://beneaththerowantree.com