heather renz

twig journals : a tutorial

Crisp fall air and cooler temperatures make wonderful walks in the woods. Both my girls love drawing and collecting, So, I thought I would make them little journals to take along on our walks.

Here's a little tutorial if you are interested in making a few for you and your family...

SUPPLIES:

kraft paper, chip board, or recycled cereal boxes for cover

paper for writing on (I like 8.5x11 sheets for easy measuring)

standard rubber bands

twigs (4-5 inches in length)

scissors or paper cutter

hole punch (standard size or smaller depending on the thickness of band)

pencil

fabric, paper, buttons, etc. (to embellish the cover)

I like to work with 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper. They can easily be cut in half to make 2 larger landscape journals or into quarters for 4 mini journals. 

Once paper sheets and covers are cut to the size you want, mark two holes in one of the covers about one inch in from top and bottom of cover and a half inch in from the left side. Punch holes in cover and use as a template for marking holes on the remaining cover and paper sheets.

Thread the elastic band through the back cover, paper sheets and front cover...

Slide twig through the elastic loop and pull elastic from the back of the journal to tighten and secure...

Stretch the band across the length of the journal and thread through the other side, looping the elastic around the remaining end of the twig. If there is any slack in the loops on the front, pull the elastic on the back of the journal until they are snug around the twig. 

Have fun with this project. It's simple and fun and the kids will love decorating and filling up their new journals. 

Happy Hiking!

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And the winner of the halloween kitty plush doll giveaway is ALYA. 

Congratulations! 

hallow kitty...and a giveaway!

I've been busy sewing up a storm the last few weeks. Getting ready for the upcoming holiday season, including participating in a local fine art & craft event called ARTISTRY at our local art center. The deadline is next week!

This year, I decide to change the kitty character a bit. This one is Ginger dressed up as a black cat. She has sunset red hair and a sprinkle of freckles across her sweet face. I made a limited edition of only 7 this year. They all can be found in my doll shop. 

It's been awhile since my last giveaway and thought it was about time to have another...

So I'm giving away one of my halloween kitties!

Ginger kitty measures 14 inches tall and is made from a super soft black fleece. Orange and black cotton striped legs finish her costume. To enter, just leave a comment with one of your favorite halloween tricks or treats by midnight(EST)on Wednesday, October 19th. I will randomly draw a name the next day. Good luck and...

Happy Fall!

where i've been - part two...

the enchanting woods along the walk from sugar house

creating talisman necklaces with alix bluh

the abundance of mushrooms covering the forest floor

and the docks where solace and friendship were enjoyed by one and all..

I've been putting off this post for weeks now, as I wasn't ready to put into words about such a transformative and magical time in my life. This was my first road trip and first retreat, all on my own, since before I married my husband and we had our beautiful girls. This, in and of itself was a huge deal. So after eight years, I had the opportunity to reconnect with myself for four whole glorious days at Squam Art Workshops. And it was just the medicine I needed. To have solace, to connect with others that "get me", to relinquish (for a bit) the unconditional giving of myself day in and day out, to create, to talk, to cry, to laugh...

to just be. 

where i've been - part one...

 
 

prayer ties in Block Island, RI

This past few months have been a time for me to cherish moments with our family and honoring myself with care, comfort and creativity. I enjoyed six transformative weeks in the Summer SouLodge with Pixie Campbell. If your ready to connect with kindred spirits, release your fears and have trust & faith in your own intuition, then her Autumn SouLodge Session is just around the corner...

At the end of August, Hurricane Irene made landfall on the shoreline of Connecticut. Many families we know were evacuated from their homes due to the storm surge to hit in the middle of the night. The surge made it to the bottom of our road, but our home is far enough & high enough away that we were not affected. The winds were very strong and we lost some tall trees...I woke to a loud cracking sound at 4 am, peered out the window of our bedroom to see our 70ft plus majestic white oak whipping around like a windsock and watched another section split and fall onto our driveway. We could not sleep after that and as daylight broke this is what we saw...

 

A huge section of the tree landed on top of our garage & my studio.

Luckily, no serious damage..

Not so lucky with my garden.

So long, corn, beans and tomatoes...

Trees continued to topple from their roots all morning and into the early afternoon. We had a very close call...

was the tree landing just outside our front door and nearly missing our glass roof. 

We were out of power for 8 days, had some flooding in our basement due to the sump pump not working without electricity. But, through it all the girls were very resilient (G & I, not so much) Family & neighbors came by to help with the clean up and my youngest daughter managed to give herself a haircut.. 

 

The very next day they were climbing trees they couldn't reach before!

School was delayed until after Labor Day Weekend. When the frenzy of new schedules and activities began. Mina began 1st grade and Lana her last year of co-op nursery school. By the second week of September, I was SO ready for a road trip & retreat, all alone, since the first time our little family began. More on that, very soon.