MAKE A DREAMCATCHER

 Dreamcatchers can remind us of our dreams as well as chase the bad ones away.  

We made dreamcatchers using natural items; the grapevines we collected and feathers from our hens. 


Supplies:
~grapevine ( or any other vine)
~ a bucket of water to soak the grapevine if it's too stiff

~hemp twine

~wooden beads and markers to decorate them

~feathers ( you can also get them from a craft store or make them from cardstock and embellish them.


Start by forming a circle with the grapevine. You can soak it in water to make it more pliable.

 Weave in and out until secure

Decorate wooden beads with markers.

Tie hemp and weave around and across the circle.

Add a bead here and there and tie a knot to keep beads in place.

The children chose to weave their own way..free form. 

 (Directions here for traditional weave)


 Tie on feathers and hang them from the bottom or sides.

    Each one is unique. . . just like each child.

"While dreamcatchers originated in the Ojibwa Nation, during the Pan-Indian Movement of the 1960s and 1970s they were adopted by Native Americans of a number of different nations. Some consider the dream catcher a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures. However, other Native Americans have come to see dream catchers as over-commercialized. Non-Indians have also used the dreamcatcher for their own purposes, sometimes New Age in nature."  ~ from Wikipedia
                   happy day! happy dreams!