Tell Me A Story - Princess Twig

Princess Twig, princess of the forest, was a friend to all the creatures of the wood - fur and feather, clawed and winged. She cared for the animals of the forest so much that she made her castle in the mighty oak tree tall and regal, her bed in a nest.

One day while feeding the birds, Princess Twig noticed fewer birds singing and it alarmed her. The next day, even more birds were absent. She inquired of all the animals. One frightened hedgehog said, "They were swallowed up by the darkness."

Princess Twig armed herself with her bow and was escorted by a Bear Guard through the forest. She followed a trail of sunflower seeds on the ground deeper into the forest.

At the edge of the woods, in a thicket, a cave of sorts had been carved into a dark lair. It was cluttered with vines and crowded with dozens of wire cages.

Cages.

Princess Twig and her Bear Guard could see all the birds of the forest - from the Great Horned Owl to the tiny Hummingbird - all trapped in the Cages.

"Let them free," demanded Princess Twig to the darkly cloaked figure.

But the cloaked figure only cackled. "I like to hear them sing.  They are mine now."

"No." Princess Twig said. She walked boldly right up to the cloaked figure. "They were not meant to be in cages. They are meant to be free and wild."

"Who will stop me?" asked the cloaked figure. "A little princess like you?"

Princess Twig smiled. "Yes. And my friends."

The Bear Guard stood in their hind legs. The cloaked figure backed up, tripped over a log, and fell into one of the empty cages.

Princess Twig grabbed her keys, unlocked all of the Cages, and sprang the doors open. The birds flapped, flew, and fled. The cloak had fallen to reveal an old, old woman. She called after the birds.

"Nooooooo!" she cried. "Let me out."

"A cage is not a nice place to be, is it?" Princess Twig asked. "I will let you out if you promise something."

"Anything!" the old, old woman croaked.

"Promise to leave the forest and never cage another living thing." Princess Twig said.

The old, old woman agreed and was escorted out of the forest by the Bear Guard, never to be heard from again.

The end

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Tell Me A Story Wednesday - A Princess and a Dragon

Once upon a time, a princess found a very old map. She followed the map into the forest, where she found a baby Dragon in a cage. She unlocked his cage with her magic keys and rescued that baby Dragon.
 The end

I am a preschool teacher in my heart and always will be - even if I never step foot back in a classroom. I have created three Tell Me A Story Sets in my Etsy shop.

Parents, grandparents, teachers can present the set to the child and simply say...tell me a story. The child will use his/her Imagination and creativity as well as build language and vocabulary skills.

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Tell me a story Monday

Have you ever collected a few random items and asked your child to tell you a story? It's a fun way to explore language, vocabulary, and imagination.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who lived on a farm at the edge of the kingdom. She raised chickens. They were not ordinary chickens. Oh no. They were colorful chickens. And they did not lay ordinary eggs. Oh no! They laid gems of every color - rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds.

One day, the King paid her a visit. "How do you get the chickens to lay gems?"

The girl did not have an answer. She did not know HOW she did it.

"What do you do with all the gems you get? For you could be richer than me." said the King.

"Oh," said the girl. "I only keep what I need to buy grain for my chickens, food for myself, and Wood for my fire to heat my home."

The king was surprised. "My dear girl, you are richer than me. You give away your wealth to those who need it most. We can all take a lesson from you."

And so, the girl and her colorful chickens lived happily ever after.

The end

What stories will you imagine?

Have a fun and playful day

Mel

Sewing my fingers to the bone

 I am constantly working on NEW projects.

 Here's a little bit of what I have been up to this week or so.

 The Lily of the Valley Hollow Log Cottage Playscape might be the most whimsical of them all.

 I have two playscape minis back in the shop.

 The hand painted wood mountains are a big hit. They just complete this Frozen scene.

 I just completed a new barn last night.

 Rainbow Forest trees!

 This Grey Castle was a custom order for a birthday girl.

 I love the way the Calico critters play on the tree stump Playscape.

This Red Barn Farm Playscape took about 6 hours to make - all hand-stitched!

I love what I do!

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Jane.com

I am being featured on Jane.com today!

Check out all the daily deals on Jane.com

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Down on the Farm

Welcome to the Red Barn Farm Playscape Play Mat!

I have been working on this for hours...and it SOLD in less than one hour.

The farm theme tends to attract all children. There is just something about the farm.  It is universal. I used to love girls trips to the local farm while teaching preschool.

I am blogging from the stands of my daughter's basketball game. Senior year. I forgot my sewing bag, so nothing is getting done tonight! :)

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Frozen Party Centerpiece

Let it go...

Today, I made a Frozen centerpiece. It's easy peasy.

I bought a glass cake plate from Goodwill for $3. I added my Winter Forest set of five wood trees, my Mountains (found in my Etsy shop), a set of Frozen characters from the Disney store, felt, pom pom balls, and icicle trim that I found at Hobby Lobby.

Easy.

Simple.

Beautiful.

Parties don't have to be a lot of work to be amazing.

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Winter has come to Ohio

Winter has come to Ohio.

I was hoping that Winter might have forgotten to arrive all together this year but no such luck.

So...I decided to embrace Winter.

I made this Winter Forest set of five trees (available in my #etsy shop). I have so many ideas how to use these trees.

*Add to a train table to make a winter scene
*Add to a Dollhouse
*Add to any pretend woodland play
*make a centerpiece for a Frozen or polar party
*Add to a science area in the classroom with polar animals
*Add to the classroom block play for kiddos to act out winter scenarios
*make a mini winter village
*pair these trees with a winter or snow themed book to extend the learning

The play possibilities are endless.

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Happy 2016

Happy 2016!

2015 ended in a whirlwind for me. My Etsy shop Was sooo busy! I was seeing 12 to 15 hours a days! Orders are STILL coming in, but not as quickly. I am working on new items, but not in such a frantic pace. :)

I can't believe how long it's been since I last blogged - nearly two whole months. I am sorry about that and will try to be better. A better blogger, a better wide and mother, a better maker, a better EVERYTHING. But mostly, a better Christian.

I sometimes get overwhelmed and pray then. But I need to also pray in the calm, in the peace, in good and bad times.

I am working on items for my Etsy shop every single day. My husband and daughter are driving different directions to find the specific fabric that I need. My high school senior is letting me brainstorm ideas with her (well, she is trapped in a car with me while I taxi her to and from basketball practices! But we will pretend that she is willing to listen hee hee!).

I have some news...but it has to wait just a little while.

Have a fun and playful day!
Mel