Tasha Tudor...

HOW MANY OF YOU are familiar with Tasha Tudor? Well if you love good children's literature you probably are, but maybe not. She's was a wonderful American illustrator and illustrated nearly one hundred books. I just love her things and the way she lived life. What made me think to blog about her was an email I received the other day for some fabric inspired by her and some lovely "receipts" of hers.

If you are a Charlotte Mason homeschooler you will probably love Tasha Tudor, if you're not already familiar with her. She was passionate about the "home arts". Creating a comforting haven for her and her family. Sewing, knitting, spining, gardening, keeping chickens, just creating things for every day life. Afternoon tea always included some of her "tea stories". I imagine if I was a young child in her home I would have cherish these afternoons of tea, treats and stories. Doesn't that sound lovely?

If you're ever visiting Vermont you should look up her museum. There are always events going on featuring things from her life and home. In upcoming events they will be showcasing her favorite frocks, there will be a spinning bee and other crafty things on display. I think if I lived in that neck of the woods it would make for a fun outing. The Tasha Tudor website also spotlights many of her "receipts" and patterns for aprons and other things she enjoyed.

If you too love this type of homemaking, check it out! You won't be disappointed!

Enjoy your day!

Story Time...

I HAVE FALLEN in love with these children's books! A dear friend and godmother of my little girl gave us the first of our collection and introduced us to these lovely books. For my little girl's birthday my Dad got her a couple more and they are just so lovely I had to share.

The Story of the Butterfly Children, Mother Earth and Her Children: A Quilted Fairy Tale, The Land of Long Ago, The Children of Hat Cottage

The stories are so sweet and the illustrations are fantastic. My kids love story time and these books provide me lots of inspiration. I love fairies and all things that are "gnomish" (is that a word?). I've introduced my kids to  needle felting. First because I love felted things, but also because it is such a great fine motor activity. Knitting with some type of tower, finger knitting or needles (if your child can master them) are great for fine motor too! But making felted gnomes and fairies is fun and these books inspire me to do just that.

There is a small flower bed in my front yard that I'm planning to turn into a fairy domain. There are several books on putting Fairy House's together. I also thought it would be fun thing to do with the kids. Then I could get it weeded and beautified with their help. Aren't I sneaky! Hee! Hee!

Where do you get your inspiration? What fun things are you going to do this summer? If the sun ever visits our neck of the woods, we will be out doing our "welcome summer" dance. But even if it's gloomy we'll be out exploring because "No one cared how wet or muddy they were for no child of the forest can ever catch cold" (Children of the Forest by Elsa Beskow).