Mouse House

As a little girl, I spent hours out in the garden with my set of plastic gnomes or tiny stuffed animals. I would make them houses from sticks or bricks in the moss and use the flowers and plants as props in the stories I would make up for them. Imaginary play is really important for children's development and most kids these days don't get enough of it. Some kids don't even seem to know how to play anymore! Our yard includes a section where the boys are allowed to trapse around, dig ditches and pick any and all the flowers. I decided they needed a little mouse house for their garden play, similar to the one I made my niece(see the crafts page). So, I crocheted a gourd, dyed it in Kool Aid and made little mice to fit inside it. This is a durable toy that can be carried outside or to the grocery store and the little mice bounce aruond inside their gourd without much risk of falling out. The boys love them! They are also for sale in my etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/HILLSIDEminiFARM