Ballet is my peaceful time. I could sit in a corner of the studio and watch my girls for hours. I like when they catch themselves in the mirror. Lainey is old enough that she plays it off cool–pretends not to notice that her reflection is moving so beautifully and dancerly when really I see her shy grin, tongue tucked in the corner of her cheek, and that girly satisfaction in her eyes. Nella, not so much. Girlfriend has no problem running straight to the mirror, stretching and twirling and touching palms to mirrored palms. She takes her reflection in slowly–testing movements, watching her double simultaneously copy her dance. And she smiles. Because Sister knows she’s got something.
She looks so small in that big room.
I look forward to this day every week.
Cue transition to craft.
*****
Our woodland critter ornament idea actually arose from a craft we did earlier this weekend. There are oodles of terrarium ideas online. I wanted a winter centerpiece for our kitchen table and knew Lainey would enjoy putting it together without much help. You could probably find a lot of these items outside if you don’t live in a tropical area.
Basically we sprinkled a layer of silver rocks on the bottom of our glass bowl vase and covered it with a mixture of white craft sand and silver/white glitter. We positioned moss scraps where we wanted them, pressed some branches and tree pieces into the sand, dropped some pine cones into our mini landscape and finished by placing our little deer.
We sprayed our pinecones with a little artificial snow first and Lainey accidentally had the nozzle pointed the wrong way.
And there you be, as my grandma would say: a winter terrarium.
Have some more glitter. Enjoy.
*****
Our new jewelry sponsor, Leviticus Jewelry, offers a unique style and some beautiful designs that range from vintage to edgy. Talented mama Tara is the owner and designer behind Leviticus Jewelry. Her signature line is full of dramatic elements composed of mixed metals and stones among other mediums. Her site features page after page of stunning pieces that turn heads, tell stories and set them apart from other jewelry. And they’re affordable–a huge holiday 30% sale currently being offered. I am in love with the vintage sundial, the brass feather, the vintage globe and the key holes. Oh, and those hand carved wooden swan earrings…be still my heart.
Check out Leviticus Jewelry for gifts this year and support another talented mama’s work.
And have a lovely evening.