Natural Dyes for Easter Eggs

This afternoon, when Leif wakes from his nap, we're going to dye some Easter Eggs.  I've been dragging my feet on the Easter preparations which makes me a little sad, since it was one of my favorite holidays growing up.  My mom always did such a great job making the holidays feel magical and I want Leif to have that too.  With Easter just a few days away, it's time for me to step it up and make some magic.

Image via curbly.com

Looking for an alternative to the grocery store's dye kits, I set out to find a good resource for natural dyes.  What I found just may be the coolest looking Easter eggs ever.

 

Image via curbly.com

Follow this link to learn how to make these beautiful eggs using all natural ingredients.  I only hope that ours turn out half as cool as these did.  

Powdered Milk - It's Not Just For Faces

I would hate for you to think that there aren't other great uses for powdered milk.  Here's my (only) other favorite use for the stuff:  homemade yogurt.  I love this recipe from Mother Earth News.  I make mine in a 70 oz. Bubba Keg thermos and it always turns out great.

www.getyourbubbakeg.com

Can you imagine using this thing for coffee?

Natural Skin Care

The last time I talked about natural beauty products I wasn't quite ready to tell you what I thought about my face care routine.  I've been testing a few things on pregnant skin and didn't want any hormonal issues to be messing with my results.  Now that I'm settling into the 2nd trimester and feeling much more like myself, I feel safe in making a few recommendations.

image via meyenberg.com

Powdered milk is the best face wash I've ever used.  It worked when my mom convinced me to try it in college and it works just as well now.  I wish I could remember why I gave it up (probably got lured by some corporate advertising) but I'm back and loving it.  Milk naturally exfoliates and softens the skin.  It also leaves behind a bit of moisture which feels so much better than squeaky clean skin.  I'm using a hormone free goat's milk now, but any powdered milk will do.  Just put about 1/2 a teaspoon into the palm of your hand and add just enough water to make a thick paste.  Give it all a good rub and then rinse as you would with any cleanser.

Image via desertessence.com

JoJoba Oil is my new natural moisturizer of choice.  If you're like me, then the thought of rubbing straight oil into your sometimes oily skin is a little scary.  I've tried using coconut oil and olive oil as facial moisturizers in the past and felt like they caused break outs, so I was especially wary of yet another oil.  As promised by countless sources, including my favorite, acne.org, jojoba oil is great for all skin types.  It mimics the skin's natural sebum and helps to balance oil production.

Image via wellsphere.com

Vitamin E is known for its antioxidant and anti wrinkle properties.  Because jojoba oil absorbs so well, I sometimes feel like I should be doing a little more around my eyes which are starting to wrinkle.  When I think of it I'll break a Vitamin E capsule and mix it with a bit of jojoba and then dab that around my eyes.  It leaves a greasy and almost sticky sheen, so I only do this at night.  I've also used Vitamin E mixed with jojoba to treat Leif's dry and rashy cheeks and chin after he's eaten too many acidic foods.  I rub it in before bed and by morning his skin is clear. 

Why buy a product that contains natural ingredients (plus dozens of other stabilizers, thickeners and chemicals) when you can head straight to the source?  Cheap, easy and completely natural, these ingredients have replaced and out performed everything I've tried before.  They're yet another example of the formula that seems to be proving itself to be true everywhere:  simpler is better.

When Life Gets in the Way

After being away from the computer for a week, I thought I'd finally get a chance to sit down and write a new post.  I put Sesame Street on for Leif, and thinking that I had at least a 1/2 an hour, I sat down at the computer.  It wasn't long before I heard the sound of liquid hitting the floor.  I ran to the kitchen to find this:  a collander full of cereal being filled with milk.  I guess he didn't see the holes. 

Obviously, the milk spill is gone, but you get the idea.

Maybe tomorrow I'll have something important to write about...

Sunshine!

Outside for a few days.  Catch you later!

Home Made Muesli

This one falls into the why did I not do this sooner? category.  I LOVE muesli.  And the packages at the grocery store are always so small and expensive.  Turns out it's simple to make and you can't screw it up.  Here's what I used, but really, anything will work.

Simple Muesli

raw oats

dried and chopped fruit (apricots, cranberries, dates and mangoes)

chopped raw nuts (almonds)

raw seeds (sunflower)

Make sure everything big is chopped into small pieces and then mix it all together.  

 Store in an air tight container.

Enjoy your muesli hot or cold (I like cold best) and feel satisfied knowing that you made a healthy and inexpensive breakfast.

If you like having a bit more direction, check out this very similar (and well measured) recipe.

Baby Shower Gift Inspiration

I've spent the morning searching Etsy, looking for inspiration for a friend's upcoming baby shower. I like to make baby gifts myself and always find great ideas on the internet. Here are a few of my favorites:

Thanks to the amazing properties of wool, these hand knit wool slippers are perfect for babies year round. They'll keep little feet warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

via Handknit Hugs

Easily the cutest and safest looking teether I have ever seen.

via Little Sapling Toys

This cute wet bag definitely tops our throw-it-in-a-grocery-bag method for dirty cloth diapers!

via The Pat-a-Cake Baby

Obviously not a great shower gift, but so cute for after baby arrives.

via Chichiboulie

A little local love - everything Silk Oak makes is adorable.

via Silk Oak

Safer CFLs

Remember my paranoia about breaking compact florescent bulbs (mercury contamination, etc.)? Well, apparently I'm not the only conflicted and concerned consumer. Enter the Armor Lite by ClearLite. The Armor Lite bulbs are created without the use of mercury. More importantly, they also encapsulate the bulb's glass with a "flexible eco safety-coated shield of SX-4000" making harmful breakage a non-issue.

Images via clearlite.com

I don't know how the shells will affect the recycling of these bulbs, but I'm glad that at least one company is working to address the mercury issue.

Nurturing the Budding Artist

When Leif was very young, a forward thinking friend's mother gave us this book. I love the author's philosophy and agree that art, especially in the early years, should be more about the process than the final product. It's all about exploring with textures, colors and methods and allowing the creativity to flow.

So yesterday I realized that we hadn't done anything artsy in a while. I pulled out the book and quickly found a recipe for paste paint:

1 cup flour

3 cups water

food coloring or tempera paint (we used food coloring)

Put the flour in a saucepan and slowly add the water while whisking. Bring it to a boil on the stove and feel free to add a bit more water if you want a thinner paint.

Once the texture is set, pour into jars and add your coloring. I stuck with the primary colors, thinking that simpler was better at this age. Here they are cooling under Leif's supervision.

The end result was pretty satisfying. Leif loved mixing the colors and with the amount we made, it looks like he'll have enough paint to keep us busy for many, many mornings.

You can find MaryAnn Kohl's book, First Art; Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos here. For more thoughts about how to nurture your child's creativity (and much more) I recommend the book, You Are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy. You can find that Waldorf inspired book here.

Seasonal Beauty

So today is the first day of March, and this means that spring is right around the corner.  By around the corner, I really mean that it will still be about a month before we can stop wearing our winter jackets and a month and half before we can stop worrying about snow.  Feeling like spring never comes fast enough, I planted a few hyacinth bulbs a couple of weeks ago.  

Yesterday we came home from this beautiful winter scene

to find this!

To learn about forcing bulbs, check out this article at savvygardener.com