busy hands: the sun, the flowers, the fireflies

small projects for June's long days

Note: for the duration of summer, my Busy Hands letters will be public and free to all. We’ve got a little extra time for handwork and some little hands to keep busy, so feel free to send these projects along to anyone who might find some creative, practical joy in making them.

To my right a child is making Sand Stew, to my left another is picking through rocks along the riverbank for special stones; my toes are squished into wet sand and the sun is overhead, dappled onto my lap through the ash and river birches. I’m dressed in what will be my summer uniform: a new black swimsuit, an oversized linen button-down, and a thin cotton triangle scarf to keep the sun off my neck. I sewed the neck scarf last week at baseball practice from a small vintage child’s apron I spotted at the thrift store in the most compelling juicy pastel plaid, aged to near-sheerness. I cut the waistband off and ironed the gathers out and cut out a triangle with long corners. I used a rolled hem to tack it down on all three sides, and now I have a sweet summer kerchief for my neck or to tie up my hair.

The temperatures are climbing in Vermont – 80 today but come Monday and Tuesday we’ll see 90s for the first time this year. I’m planning to be right here by the river between batches of bread and shortbread biscuits and garden work all next week, this very uniform in heavy rotation. It’s fitting weather for the sun’s big moment; he’ll be shining his longest shines over these next few days. And this week when the sun has set at nearly-past-my-baker’s-bedtime, the fireflies have been coming out. Sparkling and blinking, lighting up the trees in the woods like a forest of December-decorated evergreens. Last weekend we were up late with friends roasting marshmallows and telling stories when the fireflies came out. River ran up to me with one cupped in his hand, his smile beaming brighter than all the lightning bugs’ put together. I went over to join the children, the tall grass tickling my ankles as the grown-up voices got further away and the children’s giggles got louder. I caught one of my own and passed it from small hands to smaller hands, sweet little eyes looking up at me in the dusk, “Jessica, can I have that one please?” I fell out of time, I wanted to be nowhere else. It’s that summer magic coming in, you know?

We’ve had our first few days off from school and we’ve been reading and biking and eating popsicles. I’ve been writing and re-writing my baking schedule so I don’t miss anything, my bread and donut schedule fuller than ever during farm stand season. It’ll take a little longer to find a stride, but I’ve got faith (and seasons upon seasons of mothering + working togetherallatonce) so I know it will come together into a summer cadence that suits us.

For today, I’ve got some fun and simple projects perfect for June sun and June flowers. Yesterday we made a new solstice sun for the kitchen window, a design I particularly love for all its layers and patterns when the light hits it. This is the video I used to learn the folds for each point, and I used 4 pieces of kite paper each cut down into 4 smaller squares for a total of 16 points.

Before school let out, I brought air-dry clay with me on a Wednesday morning and me and the children made flower frogs. If you haven’t heard of flower frogs before, they are little contraptions that make it possible to arrange flowers more beautifully over a wider mouth vase or jar. Osa takes his job as house flower-gatherer very seriously and my kitchen table hasn’t been without blooms since the first daffodils opened. He usually comes in with a sweaty handful, grabs a jar, fills it a little too high with water, and drops the slightly-too-short stems right in. With the flower frog over the top, he can arrange the stems so they aren’t falling into the jar and boy has it made a difference in both his commitment to the art of arranging his flowers and also to the aesthetic outcome we all get to enjoy. Flower frogs forever!

These are incredibly easy and straightforward to make:

Use a small golf-ball sized piece of air-dry clay. Knead the clay to release any bubbles and roll it out on your table or counter to about ¼-1/2” thick. Use the ring of a wide mouth jar lid to cut out a circle, and using a straw or chopstick or other similar object, create the fluted edge by lifting up and curving the clay around the straw around the perimeter of the disc. This is optional, and your flower frog will work just as well flat! Or you could use a biscuit or cookie cutter to give it a scalloped edge or a heart shape, etc. As long as it can rest over the top of your intended jar, there are no rules or limits to the shape of your flower frog.

Finally, use a straw to punch several holes out of the middle of the clay disc. I would suggest making larger holes than you think you’ll need as ours tended to shrink a bit as it dried. Lay the finished flower frog on wax or parchment paper to dry completely before using.

If you’ve got a perfect piece of summer cotton fabric and are prone to back-of-the-neck sunburns (or you just like the vibe), here’s a page from my copy of the summer issue of Edie Lune that describes just how to make a sweet summer kerchief.

Speaking of the summer solstice and Edie Lune, it’s most certainly flower crown season and a couple of summers ago Michelle and I made a video to show you how she makes the most perfect ones. Watch it here and braid yourself a crown while the fireflies flash.

Here’s to simple summer projects, to staying cool this coming week, to the sun, to the flowers, and to the perfect magic of fireflies –

warmly,

Jessica