I was inspired by a page in one of my favorite childhood books, together with a Milly Molly Mandy story, to create another outdoor spot for my children to enjoy. Together, we are constantly creating new outdoor “homes” of sorts, just as I did with my brother and sisters when I was a child.
To make this tent, I just sewed loops of waistband elastic at each of the corners and in the middle of two sides of a thrifted sheet. The tent is resting across a piece of old rope that is connected at one end to a fence, and at the other to an old pipe buried in the ground. Sticks are driven into the ground through the elastic loops to keep it in place.
(Keats is sticking his tongue out in every single picture I take of him lately. A lovely phase.)
Larkspur adds fresh flowers everywhere she goes, and right now we have an abundance of wild violets and dandelions. The wild violets are my absolute favorite.
I love the way we can take a few simple materials to create a very simple spot, that when paired with the imagination of my children, can become something magical. I like to place myself in the mind of my childhood self, wondering, “what would I have loved?”
I remember well being that little girl, and my little Larkspur loves it best when I play as if I am still that little girl. I do believe I will always be her on some level. I remind Larkspur often that it is good to be little, as the child in one of her favorite books also tells her.
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