Naturally finished cot (crib)/toddler beds

 We got proper beds!

Ever since we moved to Port Wakefield Ive been wanting to get beds for my daycare.
It was always been in the too hard/too expensive basket.Too hard because we live far from shops and its hard to find what we needed second hand. Too expensive because even cheap beds are expensive when you need 4 plus mattresses.
Recently the big boys outgrew the sleeping mats I had for them so I started looking on line and discovered a few web sites in which people sell their old things (Gumtree and Adelaide Baby Bargains in case any one's local and wondering)
I came across some reasonably priced cots that convert to little beds. This is necessary as sometimes I have lots of babies in care that need cots and other times all bigger children that need beds. We  went and picked up two on the weekend and will get another two soon

This one was in good condition and the price was right but the stain is way darker than I like so I decided to sand it back and re finish it with natural bees wax wood polish

Of course the job was much bigger than I anticipated (it always is when stripping off varnish!) But I'm happy with the result

It could still do with some more sanding one day if I get keen (I probably wont!) but for now its cute and rustic looking. Its not perfect but I love it 100% more than the dark stain. I have always loved how light wood adds warmth and brightness to a room

I made some new beeswax wood polish to condition the wood. I infused the polish with lavender from my garden. Because relaxing lavender on an active little boys bed can only be a good thing:)

 here it is before polish

 And after. I didn't expect little boys to notice anything special about the bed but one of the first things Cameron did was smell it. "mmm, you polished it and it smells like flowers"
I will probably sand back the other bed one day too because I love for wood to real like wood

 We discovered that the high ends make them great for cubby/fort making!! So all morning long three little boy-kittens meowed about happily in their new cubby beds. These little boys are all about pretending they are cats at the moment.

I have probably said it about every age group that I work with but I will say it all the same- four years old must be my favourite age, they are so much fun and getting so clever. I really don't want Cameron and Josh to turn five and go on to school at the end of the year.

 They also make good boats, and couches to sit together and read

making a babies wooden toy bar

As I've mentioned, I've not looked after babies for 3 years. During those 3 years we've lived in small houses so in the interest of being able to 'breathe' in our little houses, everything that isn't currently being used goes straight to the opp shop.

I no longer have any of the baby things I've used for the bigger kids. I decided id like a toy bar for the baby (and possibly future babies i will look after and have myself)

my options were

 1)Find one at an opp shop

pros- recycled, can take it back when I'm finished with it rather than need to store it
cons- may take some time to find one, would probably be plastic and ugly

2)Buy a pretty wooden one

pros- pretty and natural, can find one handmade in Australia

cons- rather pricey for something that will only get used for a few month at a time here and there. I don't mind spending money on quality toys but they look so simple I could practicaly...

.3) make one myself!!!

Yep of course I went with option 3!

As I knew would be the case it didn't even take long to make. The longest part was screwing it together because the angles make that a challenge but my Dad was able to do that tricky part (while I was munching on apples from their tree:)

Because it screws together it can come apart and store easily when its not needed. Yay for the space it wont need to take up!

 I took a few photos of the process to share. Here the top piece is marked out and i'd started drilling holes for the toys to be tied to. I based my design on this toy bar.

 Next I had fun with my favourite tool the edge trimmer

 I hand sanded all the pieces silky smooth and polished them with home made beeswax toy polish. I went to visit my dad and...

It came back looking like this!
Ive not made any toys for it yet but as you can see our bell Christmas ornaments are doing the job for now. Turns out its not so bad having Christmas decorations still sitting around at the end of January afterall

Everyday beautiful and a present for me!

 I am loving how pretty my breakfast bar is looking at the moment, beautiful roses given to me by Bennys mum, a poppy from my garden and various pretty flowers from walks around town. The three metal leaf dishes were thrifted long ago and hold pretty shells, nature finds and crystals. Of course there are a few kombis (where in my house isnt there?)

Ive been very buisy lately, soon after starting my etsy shop I got quite a bit more day care work. I was still enthusiastic about getting things made for the etsy but Id been getting a bit stressed about when orders would come and if I would have time to make them so ive taken down my made to order items for the time being and will still add bits and pieces as I finish them but probably not much until after Christmas. I feel relaxed in my choice, my house is a little cleaner and I feel like I have time to make toys for my day care again, which id almost forgotten was my reason for toy making in the first place!
To celebrate my new found happiness I made myself a beautiful wooden leaf chopping board, something id wanted to do since before I started getting into wood working. Ahh, my last plastic chopping board is in a bag ready to be opp shopped!
Id been wondering for a while if chopping boards could be polished with bees wax polish and read that apparently you can but you should never use olive oil on them as it can go rancid. How funny, thats what ive always used!

I gave it a polish and of course searched the fridge for some thing to chop right away!

I also gave my other chopping boards a bees wax coating. The Jarah (dark) board was present from my parents last christmas, bought at our favourite craft co-op in Kadina. The little 'round' one was thrifted. (I still refer to it as round even though it got left in water which caused the sides to snap off. Its not so pretty but its the perfect size for chopping some fruit)

I realy do love my wooden chopping boards, they are some thing so ordinary but I enjoy using them every day  

Give away at Garden Mama!

A gift voucher for my etsy shop is being given away over at Garden Mama!

If you havent already head over and enter!

I am so thankful to Nicole for offering to host a give away for me on her wonderful blog, its one of my very favourite blogs to visit. She takes amazing photos and has so many beautiful ideas, she is a true inspiration to me and so many others

Children of the forest

Ive had a few comment about the children of the forest toys I made a few posts ago so I thought I'd  let you all know that I have some available In my new etsy shop. They are available plain or coloured with natural watercolour paints

Also with the option of having names burned on the bottom. (this is an example on another toy, the children are actually 3/4inch thick, a little bit daintier)
I am so excited to say that I have made 4 sales already! Im having so much fun having my own little shop!

And heres some 'behind the scenes' shots lol:) My chicks come and sit on my lap while I use noisy power tools, I kid you not! (its not going in the pic because I had to get up, carry 3 chickens while i set up self timer and then stage the pic coz i just thought it was so darn cute. Well im off to make some chicken size ear muffs!!!!

gardening and woodwork

My garden is going realy well. I am noticing more and more worms, there are seriously HEAPS! When we moved to the house there were none to be found but mum let me take lots of healthy soil from my old veggie patch at her house, along with the worms in it. I guess they've been happily multiplying as ive been adding goodies to the soil for them to eat.

 Benny scored me the two new wooden garden beds from work (they used to go around pallets or something) Ones already been filled with compost, chook poo, cow manure etc and planted, the other is my compost spot. I dont actually do 'propper' compost, its never worked for me (or perhaps im just too impatient, probably!) Instead i just dig food scraps onto the dirt as they are. My plants dont seem to mind that I 'dont do it right' In fact they seem quite pleased with my way and reward me with yummy food treats anyway.

The new little chickies have got their feathers already and happily wonder the garden and sleep outside. They each have their own little personality and were becoming good friends. I can tell them apart if I look closely. Isabella is lighter in colour, Lavendar has a little brown line by her eye and Gracie is the one left after identifying those two!

Im going to be growing a sunflower and bean tee-pee with the day care kids. Ive put up the structure, tomorrow ill prepare the soil and ill plant it with them at the end of the week.

Ive also been making some more toys, the children and some animals from 'Children Of The Forest' book. I think the owl is my favourite. Benny bought me a wood burner which is realy fun, I loved wood burning my projects in tech class at school, its bringing back great memories. Last time I painted with acrilyc paints but I'd rather use more natural colouring, does anyone know what i could use?

And one last pic of chooks and veggies and sunshine. Its beginning to feel like spring!