In the cold months of winter here in the northern hemisphere, a lot of us are probably spending a bit more time indoors than we'd like to. Creating a nature table can not only invite you to adventure outdoors a little more, it also provides space for many crafts to make it a beautiful, peaceful, well loved space in your home. Today we will share how to paint Waldorf winter verse cards to display on your nature table, complete with a frosty, icy-touched look! After the tutorial, we share a few of our favorite Waldorf winter verses for inspiration.
Gather Your Supplies
- Thick, watercolor paper
- Scissors
- Stockmar watercolor paints, in concentrate or in a palate, or any watercolor paints you have
- Paint brushes
- Waldorf watercolor painting board
- Salt (any type will do. Here we used kosher mixed with table salt)
- A pen
- Winter verses (see below!)
Prepare Your Cards & Paint:
1. First, cut your water color paper down to the size you'd like each verse card to be. We have our Wooden Artwork and Candle Holder here that you can use to display your card, a tealight candle, and a celebration ring decoration.
2. Mix your paints. Stockmar watercolors come in very concentrated solutions. Fill a small jar from our Wooden Paint Jar Holder with water and add a few drops of paint. Mix well and test the color on a scrap sheet of paper. If you're satisfied, move on to your next color. Otherwise, continue to add concentrate to the jar until you have your desired color.
3. Fill a bin with water and place your watercolor paper in to soak for roughly 3-4 minutes. When you take it out, put it down a painting board, and use a sponge to wipe away excess water.
Paint Your Cards:
4. Spread the paint onto the watercolor paper, one color at a time. If you are painting with children, remind them to rinse their brush in water before changing colors. Watch the colors play together on the wet paper- they spread, dance, and blend and this is a fascinating way to show children color mixing.
5. While the paper is still visibly wet, sprinkle the salt on top, where you would like it to look like frost. The salt will have different effects depending on quite a few things - how wet your paint is, how big the salt crystals are, how much salt you use in one place. Try different types of salt (think Epsom, kosher, Himalayan etc.) or different amounts to achieve different looks.
6. Leave the paper to dry on the painting board, or gently move it to a cookie cooling rack. Let them dry for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight so it dries completely.
7. When the paper is fully dry, brush off the salt. You may need to pick a few pieces off here and there, but most of it will brush off.
8. Paint cards using different winter colors to see how they blend together differently and experiment with different variations of the salt. We like to keep a stack of these painted cards on hand all year to use for verses, thank you cards, unique gift tags, and more.
Add Winter Verses:
9. See the collection of Winter verses and songs below to pick which ones you would like to have on your cards. Or use verses you already know and love!
10. I like to write the verses in pencil first. That way, if I make any mistakes, they're easy to correct without having to completely scrap the painting. Once written, go over the pencil with a dark pen that will show up against the paint.
11. Display your card on your Winter Seasonal Table and learn the verse with your children.
Our Favorite Winter Verses:
Come little snowflakes, dance through the air -
Making the world so pure and fair.
Light and bright, sparkling white,
Soft as the wings of the dove in flight
-N. Foster
The snow fell softly in the night.
All the world was glistening white.
The angels from the stars looked down
On Mother Earth's new shining gown.
The moonbeams danced down silently
And kissed each sparkling branch and tree.
-Wynstones
See the Snow King and his Queen,
fly in the sky so high.
Shaking their snowflakes as they go -
Falling, falling down below.
-C. Crane
King Winter now is in the land.
He reigns with cold and freezing hand.
He makes Jack Frost touch nose and toes,
And brings us white and shining snow.
-N. Foster
Let's put on our mittens
and button up our coat.
Wrap a scarf snugly
around our throat.
Pull on our boots,
fasten the straps,
and tie on tightly
our warm winter caps.
Then open the door...
...and out with go
into the soft and feathery snow.
The North Wind doth blow and we shall have snow,
And what will the robin do then, poor thing?
Sit in the barn to keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing. Ah!
The North wind doth blow and we shall have snow,
And what will the doormouse do then, poor thing?
He's rolled up in a ball in his nest, oh so small,
He'll sleep till it's springtime again - Ah!
-Traditional song
In a Winter Garden,
seeds lie warm below.
Flowers waiting, waiting, waiting,
For the Spring to grow.
-N. Foster
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