Good things come to those who wait, right? Well, now that you mention it, yes, they totally do! This particular ‘good thing’ came in the post, over a week after I’d expected it. I got my book – The Arful Year by Jean Van’t Hul.
I was so relieved and so thrilled when the package finally arrived that I jumped about the house, even though I had an unpleasant head cold. Still, I was meant to be recuperating and what better way than to curl myself up on the couch, cup of tea in hand, and devour the beautiful words and images in Jean Van’t Hul’s book The Artful Year.
If don’t know who Jean Van’t Hul is, you’re about to thank me for telling you. She has the most inspirational creative blog, filled with lots and lots of crafty resources. I’ve been reading The Artful Parent since I started Mother Natured (even back when it was called Wildlife Fun 4 Kids). Yep, that long ago!
The Artful Year leads you along a gently winding seasonal path with hidden nature treasures like how to make a glorious beanpole in spring, sand-cast candle holders in summer, leaf doodles in autumn and a nature ice wreath in winter. It’s not all nature crafts though, there’s a variety of activities that suit different seasonal celebrations like Easter,Valentine’s day and Christmas. Best of all there’s also really lovely recipes in there too. The perfect way to make me want to cook is to think of food as a craft, nice work, Jean!
I may live a long way away from Jean’s lovely home in the mountains of North Carolina, but she’s captured crafts (and delish foods) that are suitable for almost every continent. It’s wonderful that we don’t have to consider the difference between countries. When it’s spring, you can flip right to it!
Crafts made with inspiration from the book
Decorated Rocks
Botanical Stationary
Sandbox Cakes
It’s written to remind us that crafts and recipes are perfect opportunities to share memories as a family unit and take notice of the seasons and celebrate them together.
The simple act of noticing and appreciating can be an act of celebration. We celebrate autumn when we go on a fall foliage drive, we celebrate spring with a nature walk to see the crab apple blossom in bloom and new life unfurling around us. It’s perhaps the simplest way to celebrate, but really noticing is at the heart of any celebration.
What you’ll love about the crafts in The Artful Year is that although they give clear instructions, they still encourage families to use the materials they are most comfortable with or already have around the house. So really, the crafts are as adaptable as you’d like them to be.
You’ll love this book, because I did! Check out Jean Van’t Hul’s website The Artful Parent if you haven’t already done so. You won’t be disappointed!
~Penny
You can buy The Artful Year from Amazon, Book Depository and other book stores.
Win it: Why not try winning one first!
 I have one copy of The Artful Year to give away!
All you have to do is answer this question in the comments section below this post:
What is your favourite season and how do you celebrate as a family?
This is a game of skill, so I’m looking for creativity and fun. Good luck! Entries close 2nd March, 2015. Please see below for terms and conditions.
Disclosure:Â I was given a copy of this book review in exchange for this post. My opinions are my own. Please note that this post also contains some affiliate links.Â
I swoon over books like this. What a lovely one, Penny. Your rocks look delightful.
Our favourite season as a family is Autumn. The leaves are turning and their colours are beautiful to make collages and mobiles with. They also get raked into lovely big piles to play around in. The days are getting cooler and we start to light our fire pit and eat outside around it more regularly (the kids adore the fire pit). Wood starts to stack up for the fire place inside too, so there is that lovely sense of anticipation of the winter season ahead. Autumn is also a time of favourite family meals involving pumpkin, figs and lemons and all our favourite stone fruits like peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots. Honestly, what’s not to love about Autumn!?
Hey Bron
I just wanted to let you know that you won The Artful Year! There were so many wonderful entries. I picked my top four and drew one out of a hat and yours was it. Well done!
I’ll send you an email shortly to let you know and get your address details.
CONGRATS again,
~Penny
Yay for me, but rather Yay for my kids! Thank you so much, Penny. x
Autumn is my personal favourite, but as a family I have to say spring. It’s like the whole world is waking up from hibernation, people too.
It’s a time to dig & get dirty. There is a great deal of activity & conversation as we work in the garden.
Most of our gardening is edible. The flowers we plant tend to be companion plants such as marigolds (natures pest control.)
The best part is that when you grow what you eat it’s healthier in so very many ways.
You didn’t win this time Mary but I adored your entry. Getting dirty whilst gardening is one of my loves too!
Our favourite season is Summer. After heavy rain when the ground is saturated, we run out in the rain and drag each other around the yard on boogie boards, sliding, spinning, laughing and eventually falling off in the mud!
You didn’t win this time Rachel but I loved your idea for playing in the rain. I didn’t add boogie board to my list of things you can do in the rain but I’m going to have to. It sounds like so much fun!
I live in Canada so my favourite season is summer. I am a substitute teacher so I fortunately get two months off with my kids. We live on an acreage and we are busy. We explore outside. We drive to the city and meet up with friends at spray parks. We spend time at grandma and grandpa s cabin roasting marshmallows and playing at the beach.
You didn’t win this time Michelle but thanks you so much for entering. All of your summer activities sounded like heaven!
We love spring! We live in Chicago, so spring is really welcomed after our long winter! We celebrate by planting and by being outside all day!
You didn’t win this time Natalie but thank you so much for entering. I think Spring after a long winter would be divine. Enjoy it because it’s coming for you soon isn’t it?
Autumn is our favourite and spend it out in the local woods looking for berries, collecting leaves for pictures (and just because they are lovely colours) and looking for bugs
You didn’t win this time Mark but thanks so much for entering. I love that you go out in the woods looking for berries. You sound very similar to me. Also, so nice to see a guy here too 😉
Living in Melbourne we have 4 seasons and sometimes 3 seasons in one day. That makes it hard to choose a favourite, What we love is the variety, so on a hot and sweaty summers day we can enjoy a dip in the ocean and stay and play at the beach, then as the day passes along comes the cool change a brief dip into winter.
In the winter we warm up with a bush walk taking in the smell of a Lemon scented gum forest, but give the sun a chance and it will burst out and warm us up so that the children are ready to paddle in a creek.
We can always get out and about because the heat will pass and so will the rain within the day.
You didn’t win this time Debbie but thank you so much for entering. Yep, Melbourne does have three seasons in a day. How do you cope? lol. Still, it’ lovely that you embrace them. A lemon scented gum forest sounds wonderful. I swear I can smell it right now!
As Canadian’s, we’re pining for Spring!
Our young daughters were born in China, so this is our first (Canadian) winter home with them.
My parents live up North and tap maple tree’s in the early Spring to celebrate the coming of Syrup season. We’re taking a road trip to spend the weekend with them; learning how to collect and boil sap. With some snow still on the ground and the blue sky peeking through the forest, it will absolutely be a different experience than Spring’s past, where we have celebrated the coming of Chinese New Year with firecrackers and dumplings in Shanghai!
You didn’t win this time Sarah but thanks so much for taking the time to enter. How exciting that you get to take a road trip. I must admit that I’m curious as to what you use boiled sap for!
Summer is my favoutite time of the year. The beach is alive with small creatures (children and sea creatures) Families spend alot more time together. The sky can be awash with many different colours.
You didn’t win this time Rosemary but thank you for taking the time to enter. I’m quite partial to the beach too. I wish I didn’t have such fair skin though!
Thank you for this post! One way or another I look forward to getting my hands on The Artful Year!
We live in a small ski town in Idaho, USA so I would have to say winter is our favorite season. As a family we love to set out on cross country ski treks on wintery afternoons, exploring new terrain. My husband and son are always on the lookout for something exciting to stop and investigate. This year the most memorable was a HUGE overturned tree. After climbing up the ladder formed by the roots we walked the trunk balance beam and then took turns jumping off the tree into the 2 feet of snow below. Oh the joy on my son’s face as he landed in soft, white snow that rose past his waist! We always end our ski trek’s with steamy cups of cocoa poured from our thermos. I hope our son cherishes these memories as much as I do!
You didn’t win this time Stephanie, but you were close. I love that you stopped to explore that overturned tree. You wouldn’t see that every day. It must have been spectacular! I wouldn’t mind jumping into soft snow one day either. We don’t have snow where we live but perhaps one day I’ll take a holiday just to do that very thing!
It’s difficult to choose just one season as they all have so many wonderful things about them. If we had to pick just one though, it would be winter. We love Christmas! Everything about the celebration is joyful and full of family tradition and love. Making our favorite cookies and other treats is just one of our many family rituals. My daughter also is a professional snow sports instructor so anything about cold weather and snow appeals to us. We live in the Pacific Northwest–an area reknowned for its natural beauty.
You didn’t win this time Christy but thank you so much for entering. I love Christmas too except our would be quite different from yours. We have out Christmas in the middle of a very hot Summer in Australia. Still, it’s nice to have a cold lunch and then a swim at the beach on Christmas day!
I adore the autumn. I was born on Halloween in the U.K. so that season will always hold a special place in my heart. The golden colours on the trees. I loved to collect the fallen leaves and balance them in an old ice cream container on my head.
i live in Australia now though…
As a family I don’t know that we have any one season that is special? We try to treasure and enjoy all of them. Summer gets us otdoors much more. The winter keeps us inside huddled up more. Spring has us being active, light hearted and looking forward to great weather. Autumn has us winding down a little, reflecting and falling into a steady pace with the year.
Our 5 year old’s drawings and craft table reflect the seasons as we gather nature from outside and bring it in for her to admire or use. The drawings/paintings and craft that she creates have often been inspired by these thinhs and they hang on our walls to show her that we love her and care about the creative side of her soul 😀
You didn’t win this time Zoe but thank you so much for entering. The activities you share with you five year old sound wonderful. She is one lucky little girl!
Hi, I hope my comment is still in time as I´m from the Czech Republic and it´s already Sunday evening here… I love all the seasons and each of them brings so many wonderful inspiration for creating. I work in forest kindergarten, we are staying in forest with children, explore, learn about nature and also create as much as possible. Children love autumn and its colors – we make “leaf prints” either on paper to make original small notebooks or T-shirts. We collect leaves from various trees and thread them to make necklaces e.g. with some berries, rosehips, acorns, chestnuts and wood. Girls love it! In autumn children also like building an ‘insect house’ using all the material they find in the forest to make the winter time for all beetles and spiders as much comfortable as possible :). This winter we painted on snow (food coloring plus water mixed in bottle), which children really enjoyed. We looked for ice and icy crystals, put them into different shapes or even mandalas and children colored them beautifully using chalks.
Thanks for the possibility to share some of these tips and if we can get more from your great book, we would really appreciate it! Thanks!
You didn’t win this time Vladimira but thanks so much for entering. You forest Kindergarten sounds so inspiring. I wish there was something like that where I live but I guess my girls get that mot days. I loved hearing how you celebrate seasons.
I’ve got 3 kids, a PhD in biology and love of arts and crafts – so I really like to merge all my loves whenever possible. This book seems to do just that. Although I have some books on the shelf with ideas anotherone would be most wellcome and very used I guarantee. Now is unfortunately not the time to buy them so this would really make the prefect match:). I keep my fingers crossed:)
Otherwise I will be looking at more ideas on your and her blog (both are very good:) for a while until the situation changes for the better moneywise:).
You didn’t win this time Veri but thanks so much for entering. I agree Jean’s website is so wonderful isn’t it! 🙂