story stones...

a few weeks ago, i came across this wonderful idea on a great website, red bird crafts.  they're story stones, to go along with a cute mouse story.  click on over to see how she made them!  i love the fact that she uses fabrics for the pictures... they're really adorable!

since i saw them, they've been sticking in my brain...

and i knew i had to make them! 

it's been kind of an ongoing project.  i've seen story blocks before, but i just love her idea of using stones instead.  it involves such a nice process... both in and out of the home.  it's not just about the end result, but all of the steps along the way.  i'm realizing the more and more leo and i do projects like these together, the more valuable the creations become.  and the actual process is even more precious.

we had a good excuse to head to the beach...

and collect a nice bunch of stones... talking about the sizes, the shapes, the colors...

we took them home, and gave them a good scrubbing (leo can always find a good reason to use a spray bottle)...

and were left with this lovely pile of stones.

i started by trying to recreate the fabric made pictures, like on red bird crafts, but then switched over to using paint markers.  once i got drawing, it became a nice hour or so of quiet time, with nothing to think about... while my wonderful husband made dinner.  with a bunch of good ideas from leo for pictures, this is what we finished with...

a great pile of story stones.  i love them!

at a little over 2 1/2, leo is not quite at an age where he is creating stories on his own, so these stones are such a wonderful prompt for him.  we'll sit, grab some stones, and take turns building stories together... it is just so wonderful to hear the ideas he puts into words.

 he is so enthralled with these... and the possibilities are endless...

thank you, emily, at red bird crafts, for such a wonderful dose of inspiration!