People are always asking me what blogs they should read (I mean besides this one) and I usually start listing off the well established names as starter reads, even though I myself don't really visit them as often as I used to. I find that many slightly smaller blogs have more unique projects and recipes. I met so many talented, lesser known bloggers at Alt, and my favorite,favorite was Tiffanie Turner from Corner Blog.
Read MoreLet me start with the fact that I made a BIG mess in my kitchen doing this project. I also had a lot of fun. I've been wanting to make my own food coloring for a while, not only because it seems like a good idea, but because I love the colors I've seen produced from vegetable dye. I had some wins and some losses with this project. Green was a fail. I used my juicer to extract the color, then cooked it down, adding a few tablespoons of vinegar to ready it for dying eggs. I tried to make green using spinach. Unfortunately the meaty plant part separated from the water part and it became kind of pulpy. No prob, I strained it, but then when I cooked it, it turned brown. That's not green! I tried it without cooking it, but the dye wouldn't stick to the egg. So no true green. Boo hiss. I read that you could boil yellow apples to make light green, or red onion to make jade, but I was looking for kelly, so I moved on. I did have some big wins. I made blue! This involves some chemistry, which was very exciting for my little helper Wylie. This is a great activity to do with little kids! Scroll down for my vegetable dye recipes.
Read MoreI like to grow my own herbs, mostly because they last much longer growing in soil than they do wilting in my refrigerator all week. I use herbs a lot in cooking; my absolute favorites are cilantro, thyme and oregano, and it just so happens that this is the best time of year to get them going, so I decided to make a kitchen herb garden for my counter top. You can use these indoor gardens to get seeds started for transplanting outside, or to keep inside by a sunny window. I like having indoor plants that do something beside look pretty (like my collection of air plants). To make this sorbet colored kitchen garden I bought three stone colored 6" plastic pots and a matching tray for about $10. I used wide rubber-bands to divide the pots about 1/3 up, and painted them with two coats of acrylic paint (Martha Stewart: Geranium, Pink Salmon, Neon Orange).
Read MoreI tried my hand at potato printing on fabric this week. Have you ever done this before? To make a stamp all you need is a potato (any kind will do) and an X-acto knife. I decided to make my own textile print, but you can use a potato stamp to print on paper as well. All you have to do is trace a design onto the potato and cut it away from the detail about 1/4" deep. I found it helpful to cut a pattern from colored paper which I applied it to the surface of the potato (held in place by the moisture). I traced the pattern with my knife, and cut it at 1/4" deep, then cut away from the design in thin slices. I also used a brayer to roll the paint onto the stamp, but you could dip into a thin coating on a flat surface. Use the appropriate paint for your application, I used textile paint on heavy cotton. Now, what to do with it?
Read MoreAt Alt Summit last month I got to do a little party hopping. This doesn't happen in my everyday life unless both kids get invited to birthday parties on the same day. Anyway, I wandered into the "I've Got A Crush On You" themed party hosted by Go Mighty! and Red Envelope. It was really the sweetest. They had an old fashioned photo booth, and a valentine crafting set up for you to write to your favorite blog/blogger. The string art installation on the wall was a real show stopper. Check it out here. I really wanted to put that idea into practice at home, but it looked pretty complicated, so I was VERY excited when I received an email from Creativebug last week, with the string art tutorial. Please visit their site for this DIY. The version I made for our home now hangs in our dining space, and is the first thing you see when you walk in the door. I've been so charmed by all the "hello" themed brands of late, and it seemed like a perfect greeting. I actually used crochet yarn for mine to make it look less crafty, but followed their instructions for the canvas and tips for stringing. See more below...
Read MoreMake + Haus is the new name and online home for the blog Poppy Haus. Established in 2011, the blog archive now contains hundreds of original design projects and whole food recipes, many featured on the likes of Apartment Therapy, Martha Stewart, Design*Sponge, Curbly, and Epicurious.
