Harvest of Daily Life » free craft projects

Egg coloring without the chemicals: Looking to nature

Talina — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:36:56 +0000

I figured this would be a timely post to help parents and children color their Easter Eggs naturally this weekend. Initially we weren’t planning to dye eggs with Everly this year for a number of reasons.

I hate the smell, taste and concept of hard boiled eggs. It makes me want to puke and with a pregnant, heightened sense of smell it will be even more yucky to me now.
I don’t want to buy white grocery store eggs just to dye them and then not eat them.
Everly isn’t quite at the age where she’ll care about not being given the chance to decorate eggs.
Is she even old enough to enjoy the egg dying process? I am not too sure.

Instead we got a handful of plastic eggs to fill with trinkets. Now that Nathan has discovered that brown eggs can be dyed and that they look vivid and amazing we are going to give dying them a try after all. He is going to be the one eating them after this is all said and done though.

I began my natural dye research after it was clear Everly’s 2nd birthday (in just 2 months) will be Elmo themed. She’s 100% Elmo all the time now so an Elmo cake is in order. However, the idea of red dye drenched frosting, with all it’s chemical nastiness wasn’t an exciting prospect for me so I began my research to find out ways to make natural dye easily.

I found a ton of info and not surprisingly, all sorts regular stuff can be easily used to make dye. You just need to know some basics about the dying process first.

Dye Recipe Instructions for eggs:

Image source: Flickr

Select a dyeing agent (outlined below) and place it in the pot. Add 1 quart water and 2 tablespoons white vinegar to pot; if more water is necessary to cover ingredients, proportionally increase the amount of vinegar. Bring to a boil, then lower heat. Allow the ingredients to simmer for 30 minutes. Strain dye into a bowl.

Note: If you are using the dyes to make colored icing or dry items like play dough, omit the vinegar (I’ll post more details about coloring icing and other dry items later).

Seems simple enough right? You are just heating the dye ingredients to extract the colors and juices used for dye. These are a handful of dye ingredients you can round up for your dying:

For Green Dye:
Dried powdered spinach will make a yellowish green. Add 1 teaspoon vinegar to 2 tablespoons powdered spinach and 1 cup boiling water| Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and the dye will turn green, and if you allow it to stand for several hours to overnight, it will turn a dark yellow or orange

For Red Dye:
Use 4 cups chopped cabbage to get a red dye. Also, dark red beets will make a red or pink shade (depending on how many you use.) You can use them in the wet form, if you smash them, and strain the juice through cheese cloth. You can also use dried red beets to make a great pink or red icing (perfect for valentines day). Red onion skins can also be used with very little water, boil and then strain through cheese cloth.

For Yellow Dye:
3 tablespoons turmeric works well for a yellow dye. About 4 cups of onion skins will make a deep yellowish gold color.

For Brown Dye:
Try 1 quart strong black coffee with the cold-dipping method for a nice brown color. Also, 1 tablespoon instant coffee (or loose tea) can be used. Tea and coffee produce different shades of brown, so you might to experiment with this one. For an even different color (darker) brown try cocoa powder instead of coffee.

For Blue Dye:
Red cabbage juice used with the cold-dipping method can get a blue dye color. Also, blackberry juice or fruit gives a reddish blue result or blueberry juice or fruit can be used for a blue gray result.

For Purple Dye:
Try 1/2 cup violet blossoms for a nice purple dye. You can also use lavender with 1/8 cup lemon juice, it will causes a chemical reaction and makes a pretty lavender color.

For Pink Dye:
Red cabbage makes a pink color well. Also, dried dark red beets will make a red or pink shade (depending on how much you use.) You can use them in the wet form, if you smash them, and strain the juice through cheese cloth. You can also use dried red beets.

Dye dipping methods do vary depending on the color you want to achieve and the process you wish to take. Cold-dipping produces subtle, translucent shades, but can result in uneven coloring unless the eggs are rotated vigilantly while in the dye. The plus is cold dipping is often a better choice for children who are doing the dying and decorating. The boiling method gets a richer, more even color but makes multi-colored eggs difficult and can be too scary for some parents to allow their children to do. The basic instructions for both methods of dipping are below.

Cold-Dipping Method:
With this method, the eggs and the ingredients for the dye are boiled separately. Using a metal spoon, lower cooled hard-boiled eggs into a bowl of cooled dye, and let them soak for as little as 5 seconds or as long as overnight, depending on the depth of color you desire. Remove eggs with spoon, pat dry with paper towels, and let dry on a wire rack.

Boiled Method:
This method involves boiling the eggs with the dye; the heat allows the dye to saturate the shells, resulting in intense, more uniform color. Set raw eggs in a pot of strained dye; bring to a boil. Remove and dry eggs as with the cold-dipping method.

Coloring your Easter eggs in natural ways is a great activity for children to partake in. It teaches the usefulness of plants and other ingredients in nature, it spurs creativity and urges resourcefulness too; all while having fun and celebrating the Easter holiday!

It can also be a great adventure when children are given some leaway to forage around and find the ingredients for the dyes, they can even combine several ingredients, make some predictions about what color will be produced and have a fun surprise when they actually see the results of their colored their eggs.

With earth day just around the corner, why not try a new approach to Easter Egg coloring? It is fun, creative, educational and eco-friendly!

If you enjoyed this and would like more craft project inspiration you should check out some of my past projects here.

How to green your holiday wrapping and mailing on the cheap

Talina — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:19:34 +0000

• Reuse gift bags, garment boxes, tissue paper and bows/ ribbon
It is true! After I open a gift I will fold and flatten the tissue paper so it is saved for future uses. I also fold and save gift bags and garment boxes. We have this one garment box with a creepy take on the Virgin Mary and Jesus that we wrote on and made more humorous about five or six years ago. It’s still in our gift wrapping rotation. Gift boxes last forever!

Tissue paper doesn’t last all that long when it is crinkled and balled up but you can get a few future uses out of it by simply flattening and folding it after you open that gift.

I know people that save wrapping paper, we don’t really do that (unless the paper is unbelievably awesome) because going to the effort of not ripping is takes so much time and we think the tearing of paper is part of the holiday fun. We do save scraps of the paper for gift tags and such, you’ll read about that below.

• Reuse shipping boxes, over and over
Just today I found an old box that we’ve used to move on several occasions, it was the perfect size for shipping some holiday packages to Arizona so I carefully tore the boxes seam and then hot glued it back together so it was now inside out (because over the years it was written on many times). It’s now good as new and packed with holiday gifts.

Not every box needs to be turned inside out to be reused. If your box has limited writing or labels you can easily peel off or scribble over you can skip turning the box inside out.

• Make own gift tags or bows with used wrapping paper, store catalogs, last year’s holiday cards, etc.
This is also a fun and cheap holiday craft idea for those of you with kids! I recommend just collecting wrapping paper scraps, pages from store catalogs that are pretty, old holiday cards, scraps of ribbon, loose beads, buttons, fortune cookies, sequins, pennies, hair pins, safety pins and whatever else that you have loose and homeless around you home.

When you have all these things together in a box you’ll be amazed what creative ideas strike you when you sit down to brainstorm and begin making the gift tags. The more odd-ball the trinkets the more unique the gift tag will be, plus kids can really have fun exploring the box and coming up with ideas.

• Reuse flat mailing envelopes
This one is an easy, no-brainer. If you are a member of PaperBackSwap like me or if you have other mailing needs that require the use of those yellow/ orange flat envelopes, don’t toss the used ones you get in the trash.

Same principal applies, you can peel off or simply tape a new sheet of paper over the existing address label and the envelope is reusable. I also will fold the envelopes in half (if the book or DVD fits in half of it) and hide the old address portion that way.

• Don’t toss those unneeded, windowed, letter envelopes that come with your bills
I use letter envelopes that come with bills for sending other mail! Here most of our bills are paid online so I save the envelopes and just slip a sheet of paper inside so I can write the destination address on the paper and have it show through the window. Haven’t bought envelopes in ages thanks to this trick.

If you are thinking, “well Talina tissue paper and envelops really aren’t that expensive why go to the trouble of saving and trying to reuse them?” I assure you, the monetary gains aren’t the only motivating factor here. I feel like the more our family reuses and repurposes the less crap we send to the landfill, plus if you have it and can reuse it why would you want to toss it and then put yourself out the money when later you need to buy new?

Plus, it’s not just the issue of overstuffed landfills. think about all the resources and energy that are used to transport those boxes and other things to the landfill, then there is all the resources and energy used to manage the landfill, plus the amount of needless waste we create is a obviously a burdon on our planet. Why not reused and repurpose? I am sure most of you reuse or repurpose anyway, whether you mean to or not.

Now I am curious about what things do you reuse or re-purpose in your home for or during the holidays? Share them in the comments so we can all learn some new tips from each other.

Turn and outgrown child’s dress to a keepsake apron: Tis the season to be crafting!

Talina — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:00:27 +0000

I have to tell you I am loving the toddler apron I just finished making for Everly as a Christmas gift! I knew I was set on making aprons this year but I was mildly anxious about the undertaking and didn’t have the money to buy adorable fabrics and the ones I have on hand just aren’t inspiring or fun…

I have been looking at this pile of outgrown, cute little sun dresses that Everly wore this summer and it hit me. Why not take a dress apart and make it in to an apron?

For starters, it is way less clothing construction hassle. This is always a good thing for me! Plus, it means reusing and re-purposing a perfectly good clothing item so it is eco-friendly of me and also cheap because I don’t need to buy any fabric. Double yay!

Here is a photo of Miss Everly in the dress I used for the apron. This was taken back in July when she fit in to it.

Now the dress wont zip up and it is too short to be worn as a dress anyway. It is a cute dress though and being the “visual” learner type I knew I could make this work better than going off a pattern anyway.

I basically just took a stitch ripper and deconstructed the dress piece by piece. I first separated the skirt portion from the top part, then I removed the skirt’s side zipper and continued to split the skirt’s side stitches until the skirt portion could lay open and flat on the table.

Next I pleated the skirt at the waist so it was the width I needed it to be. I used some coordinating ribbon to sew over the pleats I made and to also serve as the skirt’s waste tie. Then I tied it on the little one to check sizing and length but she wouldn’t stay still for a photo. Here is the back view, lol.

After disassembling the chest and back parts of the dress I discovered I could piece the back section to the bottom of the front section just above the joining of the skirt to lengthen the apron’s chest area.

I kept the shoulder straps and ruffles intact but simply detached them from the back portion, I also attached a length of the coordinating ribbon to the end of the shoulder straps. These lengthened shoulder straps now serve as the part that ties around her neck.

I still want to re-attach the butterfly shape that came off the back of the dress back. I thought it would make a good front pocket either on the skirt or on the top-front but I haven’t gotten that far.

I only get to sew in spurts with Everly peering over my shoulder. She even brings her step stool in so she can be at eye level with my sewing machine watching the fun.

I think it turned out pretty good for just winging it and was super easy-cheesy too. Only took me two days of sewing here and there. I say it took about 2 hours to turn the dress in to an apron and that is 2 hours of beginner sewing skills.

Now we will get some more good use and memories out of an outfit we loved so much the first time around! She should fit in it for another year or two now and it can be an item we save in her memory box once she’s too big for it.

So what kinds of crafts are you working on this holiday season or what ideas did you have? If aren’t working on anything and you need some ideas you should check out some of my past projects here.

Personally, no holiday season is complete in our home without some handcrafted gifts under the tree!

Baby leg warmers crochet fun

Talina — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:32:07 +0000

I’ve been working on making E a pair of baby legwarmers since October. I just finished them today which is kind of a big deal. You see I tend to start and never finish my knit and crochet projects…

Today will probably be the only day she’ll wear them since it took me two months to finish them and they are now too small for her. The accomplishment is still nice though.

For those of you wondering, I used this baby legwarmer pattern but changed it up a bit. I HDC for 4 rows and the did the front post/ back post every 5th row and repeated it over and over. I use these tutorials to help me through the pattern:

Double base chain: https://p9.secure.hostingprod.com/@iamintheloop.com/artofcrochet/ssl/videos/dbch.php
Raised double crochet: http://www.crochetme.com/working-around-the-post-exploring-raised-double-crochets
Half double crochet (HDC) stitch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxA2osb5Qfk
Front post/ back post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3J4P0joe48

Now that my legwarmer project is done I can finish up on my blanket project for E that I started when I was pregnant. Hopefully it will be done by Christmas!

Homemade holiday gifts are IN, what are you making?

Talina — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:31:46 +0000

My top search terms right now are homemade gift ideas. There is no doubt that the economy is impacting the way people are thinking about holiday shopping. People would rather make things to give as gifts because it saves money.

I personally like creative homemade, do-it-yourself gifts because they are more from the heart than store bought ones. Plus I have a blast making gifts for people cause I am crafty like that.

Now since so many are flocking here in search of homemade holiday gift ideas and craft projects I wanted to take a second to suggest some easy gift ideas for you to try this holiday season. If you want to check out the instructions just click on the linked text! you have a project you have written about on your blog use mister linky below to share the link with us.

Turn scrap fabric in to braided usefulness by making your very own braided rag rug. These are super easy, have tons of character and can be used almost anywhere in the house.
Make a sentimental gift and clear out some closet space by taking all those stored clothing items you can’t bear to throw away and turning them in to a functional throw or quilt. Anyone can make their own t-shirt quilt quickly and easily just in time for holiday gift giving. Use baby clothes, shirts or just about any special piece of fabric and turn those memories in to a great gift for someone special.
Have an environmental lover on your gift list? You can make several fun earth friendly gift items (like a biodegradable bird feeder or a shoe scraper) that they will enjoy and they’ll love that you took and interest in being earth friendly too.
Have some small trinkets to give? Why not make your own paper gift box using origami? It is super easy, it is fun for kids and you can decorate them exactly the way you want them. You can even make them hang from the Christmas tree.
Got a cell phone fanatic on your gift list? You can make them a cute cellphone cozy out of fabric or yarn to keep their phone protected and also in style this holiday season. Theses are also insanely easy to make and can be oh, so unique and personalized.
Know someone who is in need of some new bedding this holiday season? Put your sewing skills to work and make them a homemade duvet cover or comforter. Don’t worry even a beginning sewer (me) can do this and it is pretty fun too!

Now I know you have a project you are just dieing to share with us. If you have written about on your blog use mister linky below to share the link with us. If you don’t have a link to share but want to just tell us about your project just use the comment field below to do so.

I was not making porn I promise!

Talina — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:09:22 +0000

Just because I have a tripod set up at the end of the bed does not mean we were making porn! I am sure that is what the neighbors are thinking though.

It’s a kind of funny sight and thought so I snapped a photo of it and thought I would make it the title of this post. Nice huh? I am sure I’ll get lots of 1 second hits from people searching for homemade porn now huh?

Seriously though I was recording a video demonstration for another craft article I wrote. As I mentioned yesterday I sold another article and have been feeling highly motivated to write these days. Plus the search terms on this blog have been super instructional craft project oriented. The people have spoken and want more craft instructions so I got busy writing some more tutorials.

I sat down and wrote up an article on how to make your own t shirt quilt from shirts you have collected over the years. I used our bed to record the demonstration video that goes with the article and I just happen to leave the tripod at the foot of the bed. Nice and random huh?

What? You want to see a t shirt quilt? Well lookie here:

Snow in may, what is going on? and Mothers day weekend – part 1

Talina — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:34:07 +0000

Well, I awoke this morning to lots of fluffy white stuff falling and covering everything. We were foretasted for some thunderstorms last night and today. The possibility of snow was mentioned but no accumulation was expected. Here that means the snow melts as soon as it hits the ground.

Doesn’t look like that is the case today, the schools called a 2 hour snow delay and we had to scrape snow from the car before I could take N to work. I am sure it will melt away throughout the day. It is May for crying out loud, snow in May is not the norm!

We got back from visiting my mother yesterday and were exhausted. N had been on the road for 2 days prior to us visiting family then we stayed with my mom for 3 days.. Basically he was on the road for 5 days straight.

We always have some temperature shock and allergy issues when visiting family down in phoenix.. It is generally 30 degrees warmer where they live and about 6000 feet in elevation change.. it kicks our butts! So, when we got home in addition to being beat I had to put the house back together (the cats usually freak out when we are gone).. That is why I posted a meme yesterday instead of telling you all about our trip.

You guys know that my mom and I set out to make soap for mothers day, my mom was really excited about it. She saw this particular recipe on Martha Stuart for goat’s milk soap that was all natural. The one thing my mom was not able to pick up before we got to her home was the lye needed for the soap. We went on a quest for lye, which is said to be sold at any hardware store. We went by home depot, lowes, ace hardware and even frys.

After hitting every store we could think of we did not find the lye, we headed back home to make some phone calls to track down the lye.

Nobody knew what lye was or carried it and the process of trying to get help over the phone was enough to make your blood boil. One place had us on hold forever (6 minutes) and then it turned out the phone was in an employees locker, that is why it took so long for someone to help us!

Lye is sodium chloride which is used in pool chemicals, drain cleaner, to make soap and a number of other things. Apparently it is also used to make meth (seen the movie Fight Club?) so commercial sale has practically been stopped and sales associates have no clue what lye is or which products contain it.

Many products contain Lye (like Draino, which also contains metal shavings) but finding pure lye turned out to be impossible in Phoenix. You can buy lye online but that wasn’t going to help us to make the goats milk soap that day.. So we decided to make the soap another day, when we can order lye online and have it shipped in.

So, we weren’t able to make the soap but we had plenty to keep us busy! I’ll post more about the trip tomorrow, lets just say it involves snakes, chickens and baby chicks.. It is way too much for one post!

Happy Earth Day! Earth day tips?

Talina — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:52:56 +0000

Today is earth day and there is no better day to try and minimize your negative impact on the earth. How to you celebrate earth day? Do you plant something or maybe you pick up litter along the highway near your home.

Every effort is helpful whether you are making it on for one day or if you are setting out to try and do something differently for the entire year. Some of the things we are doing year round are rain water harvesting and grey water harvesting. I take baths often and am always feeling bad about sending the perfectly good water down the drain afterwards. Since I use biodegradable shampoo and soap I have been eager to siphon my bath water out into the garden. We life in the desert so sometimes rain water is limited.. If I can take my bath water and store it for use in the garden that would reduce the amount of water we waste and it is good for the plants! We rigged up our low tech bath water harvesting system yesterday and it worked well last night!

We also have a compost bin and are able to greatly reduce the amount of waste we contribute to the landfill by composting and recycling our waste. Our compost goes right back into the soil to replenish it and provide nutrients and our recycled stuff gets reused also.

What things do you do to tread lighter on the earth?

Anther great way to celebrate earth day is with the kiddies. After all one day tis earth will be theirs and we need to teach them to respect and value it. Crafts are great ways to teach kids things with a hands on approach. Consider doing some earth day crafts with your kids today if you can, it is a great opportunity to bond with them and teach them. Here are some ideas for parents who want to craft with their kids:

Making Earth Day meaningful for children of all ages

Recycling craft ideas

Making my own braided rug- Prairie Chic Craft Idea

Talina — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:21:27 +0000

Braided rugs (or rag rugs) are not only useful around the home but they are also a great way to recycle fabrics. You can make your own braided rug using old t-shirts, boxers, linen and even scrap fabric from sewing projects! These are sometimes referred to as “rag rugs” they have great character and are a wonderful way to recycle and reuse.

I have been wanting to make one of these for our home for quite sometime and I am finally making it happen this week. I like the idea of the braided rug because it is made from recycled material that I would otherwise throw away. Plus the rug has a unique, primitive charm about it. It is extra special because it is 100% homemade too!

The instructions I found were pretty confusing, eventually I was able to make it all come together. With my simple instructions you will be able to make your own braided rug now too!

Here are the easy instructions followed by a helpful video tutorial:

1. Get fabric & cut strips

Gather scrap fabric & old clothes, you can color coordinate them based upon the desired color scheme of your rug. I like using dark fabric colors. Using white or lighter colored fabric will only show dirt and look dirty faster. Next cut the fabric into strips that are about 1 inch wide, the longer your strips the less sewing you will need to do later. Just get as many strips as you can from the scrap fabric you have rounded up. Also, the accuracy of the strip width is not really a huge deal it is just a guideline. I am not good a cutting straight lines so my strips weren’t perfect. The condition of your strips will greatly impact the look and feel of your rug. If you don’t mind a rustic rag look then hack those strips up but if you want a neater look take care when cutting your strips so they are not jagged.

2. Join strips together

Now sew a few of your fabric strips together to form 3 longer strips. Each strip should be about 12 – 18 inches long for optimal braiding ease. Strips that are too long will tangle while you braid and that is pretty annoying, you’ll see this mistake in the demonstration video.

3. Begin braiding

Now tie a knot at the top edge of the strips to secure the three fabric strips together. You can rubber band the strips to a door handle, coat rack or whatever is convenient for you. You can begin braiding the three strips together like you would braid hair. When you get to the edges of the fabric strips (leave about 1-2 inches from the edge) pin the braid so it doesn’t come undone and sew additional strips on to the braided strips so you can braid more.

4. Rinse and repeat

Continue braiding and sewing strips on till the cows come home! Seriously though, you should continue till your braid is long enough to make the size rug you desire. This is lots of braiding and sewing! Every now and then do a test wind to see how much rug your braid huge braid will make. Use a clothes pin to secure your braided fabric while you do your test wind (like the video shows). Add more fabric strips and continue braiding if necessary.

5. Sew coiled braids to finish

When your braid is the desired length tie it off and get some thread and a needle. You will now begin sewing your braid in the shape you want it. Sew each braid coil till you have a rug in your desired shape! Trim excess string and fabric when you are done sewing and you’ll have your very own homemade braided rug. Mine is a permanent fixture in front of my washroom sink. Give it a try, its super easy and rewarding!

Instructional Video:

I for some reason you can’t view the embedded video above, you can view my instructional video here that demonstrates the process and shows my braided rug throughout the process. Happy crafting!

If you enjoyed this and would like more craft project inspiration you should check out some of my past projects here.

Make it from scratch blog carnival – Feburary 5th 2008

Talina — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:00:12 +0000

Being able to say you made something is a great achievement and Make it From Scratch Carnival has so many great make it from scratch ideas that anyone can try!

The most popular topic for this edition of make it from scratch is food, these ideas are mouthwatering and I can’t wait to try some of them out! If you are looking for creative recipes you have come to the right place.

One of the best ways to enjoy the food you eat is the raise it/ grow it yourself. This is the ultimate in self sufficiency and it’s easier than ever to Get Started Growing Vegetables. Home grown veggies are not old delicious but they are also very rewarding!

I know I enjoy freshly grown zucchini, green beans and perhaps some salad from my own garden and nothing goes better with freshly grown vegetables than some homemade Salad Dressings. Over at Funny about Money you will find six easy salad dressing recipes that are easy, delicious and addicting.

You could take your freshly grown green beans and onions to make Melissa’s Green Beans With Caramelized Onions recipe.

If you are looking for a creative sweet recipe head over at changing seasons you can find a creative recipe for Papaya Pie, it’s a great unique make it from scratch dessert recipe. If you like more traditional desserts you might consider making your own from scratch cake mix for a sweet treat.

Over at cheaphealthygood you can find a very inexpensive and delicious recipe that is great for entertaining… A Tale of Two Salsas. I love a good salsa and for about $.04 per serving the recipe is great for the pocket book too!

If you are like me you enjoy cooking enjoy making a meal for your loved one. Valentines day is just around the corner and you create a romantic home cooked meal for you and your loved one. Consider a quite evening at home by making Turkey Ragout with Rigatoni for you and your honey! Katy outlined the recipe so clearly and it seems very easy to try.

Or you could bring delicious Baked French Toast to your loved one in bed on valentines day with a single rose, a great way to start the day off and show you care!

Another delightful sweet recipe you could consider is making Quick and Easy Cream Scones recipe is courtesy of our red house and is one of the easiest and quickest make it from scratch recipes I have seen! Enjoying scones with jam and some coffee or tea is a great way to start your morning.

Making something from scratch can be very enjoyable and it’s also a great expression of love so give it a try for valentines day!

I hope you have enjoyed this edition of make it from scratch, next weeks edition of make it from scratch will be hosted by It’s all for the best and you can submit your own articles to the make it from scratch blog carnival