Scarecrows and Felted Balls

Eliza got a bee in her bonnet about doing a play this week, and decided it was to be The Wizard of Oz and she wanted to involve two sister friends as well as her sister. She, of course, would be Dorothy, as well as the Director, while she divvied up the other roles amongst the other three actors. She put a lot of thought into this and called the sisters ahead of their playdate over here to prep them on the plans...alas, they never got the message and her plans were dashed when they showed up, unprepared and unenthusiastic. While the project may get another opportunity in the near future, I actually think the making of the props was probably the best part anyway...

Ani, holding Dorothy's bedroom window

Ani, cast as all the munchkins, Toto and the Wizard,
practicing her fourth part, as the Scarecrow

Demonstrating one of the puppet effects of the
cardboard witch flying by the window,
during the twister
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On Friday we decided to spend the afternoon trying a craft I've been wanted to jump into for a while - since getting a brief tutorial from my brother-in-law this summer: felting. This post was the final push towards the perfect starter project for us - little jingle balls for the kitties. Friday was a beautiful fall day, so we decided to set up in the backyard.

This project was a little harder to do with the girls than I had anticipated. It could have been my patience level, it could have been the many trips back and forth from the kitchen that I took with heavy pans, to refill them with hot water...I think it will be easier next time, as by the time we were finishing they seemed to be finding it easier, but I did a lot of rolling on each of their balls for them. The funny part is that we set them out to dry on the table in our kitchen, on a towel, and the next morning they were nowhere to be found. Guess who must have known they were for them...? Two have shown up, but the other three...maybe under the fridge?! (The girls panicked that the cats might have eaten them and told me to listen to them as they walked to see if their bellies jingled...)