Treasure Hunt and Suncatcher Craft: Part one

For the past couple years I always felt a twinge of envy when seeing this suncatcher craft posted around the internet (here, and here). I wanted to do this craft with my son! But with the mild winters we have where we live, I didn't even consider it. What would be the point? I thought, the ice would melt entirely too fast! I envisioned these icy ornaments decorating the yards of their crafters all winter long. Lucky people!

It wasn't until the other day in the midst of a cold snap that I realized the flaw in my thinking. It's cold right now! Temperatures were predicted to dip into freezing level all week long. I realized that this was the time to do it. So what if we only had a few days to enjoy our craft before it disintegrated? The important part was that we had those days to enjoy it. Besides it's all about the process anyway, right?

Once I got this idea planted my head, my son and I were off and running on our quest to gather the material to use. We headed for my favorite wooded trail in our local park system and proceeded to collect items from the forest floor. I prefer to call this part "hunting for treasure."

Treasure Hunt 

Running for treasure

Showing me lichen

Filling up his treasure bag

Close up of treasure bag. Tutorial can be found in Amanda Soule's Book The Handmade Home.

Collecting berries

Toting along his treasure bag, Bode eagerly started filling it with all sorts of natural objects: pinecones, pine needles, oak leaves, lichen, moss, branches, and berries. I took advantage of teaching opportunities when I saw them:

• "Pinecones house the seeds of pine trees."
• "Why do you think they call this lichen "Old Man's Beard"?"
• "Why do you think they call this fern "sword fern"?"
• "Why do you think the trees grow so tall?" 

His interest was piqued about the wonders of this majestic forest and he came up with some of his own questions as well, such as: "How can trees breathe in the bad stuff and breathe out the good stuff if they don't have any mouths, how is that even possible?"
I tried to explain the best I could in his terms that the trees were able to absorb the carbon dioxide in the air through teeny holes in the surface of their leaves. It is this way too that they release the oxygen.

After the hunt was over we headed home to craft!

Read the next post here to hear how our adventure continued!