Ice Dyeing and Exciting News!

Wow. It’s been a loooong time. I’ve really been neglecting this blog, and I’m sorry about that! I hope some of you are still hanging in there with me! I do have a fairly good excuse for my absence this time: I’ve been busy growing a human!

Look at that little thumb sucker!

I found out in late April that I was pregnant, and this little one zapped my energy (and my desire to eat or keep food down) for quite a while. Now we’re doing pretty good, cruising through the very end of the second trimester and prepping for his or her arrival in a few short months. In the meantime, though, I’ve done very little card making or crafting, and even my soapmaking ended up on the back burner. The good news now is that I’m feeling a little more energized and a lot less nauseous lately! So, I’ve started to do some little DIY projects here and there that I plan to start sharing here soon.

The first of the projects I want to share is an ice dyeing experiment I tried (and re-tried) last week.

My friend gifted me a massive, amazing, pregnancy pillow (that I now can’t imagine living without) and the all-white pillowcase was screaming at me to do something with it. After some pinterest searching, I decided that I loved the look of Ice-dyed fabrics. They’re not in-your-face tie-dye. To me they seem a bit more subtle than that, and you end up with great results using minimal effort. The set it and forget it aspect really appealed to me.

Here’s how I did it:

Materials:

1. white fabric
2. soda ash (this is an optional ingredient, but I would recommend it. It helps your fabric to absorb the dye and is said to make colors more vibrant overall)
3. ice
4. fabric dye (after one failed attempt using indigo powder, I got smart and ordered this stuff, which worked fantastically)
5. dish rack
6. wash tub
7. plastic gloves (important! I learned this the hard way…)
8. spoon

Instructions:

1. Put your fabric(s) in your was tub (or sink) and soak according to soda ash package instructions. I soaked mine in a ratio of 1 cup soda ash to 1 gallon water for 15 minutes.
2. When time is up, wring out all the extra moisture from your fabric(s), but do not rinse.
3. Spread your damp fabric on top of your dish rack that sits atop your wash tub. Add some twists and turns here and there to give the end product a nice, interesting look. You could position your dish rack over your sink but I’d recommend doing it over a wash tub because you don’t want to stain your sink. As the ice melts, the water and dye will drip into your bin.
4. Cover the fabric in lots of ice. Lots!
5. Put your gloves on if you haven’t already.
6. Using a spoon (metal is best), sprinkle your dye on top of the ice. If you want a less saturated look, use way less dye than I did. I went a little overboard, I think.  Feel free to add lots of different colors here, too!
7. Now you wait. Let the project sit for about 24 hours before you give it a good rinse with cold water until the water runs clear.
8.  Throw your fabric in the washer with detergent on a cold cycle and then send it through the dryer or hang to dry.
9. All done! Enjoy your new colorful project!

It’s so fun to watch the magic happen!

I have a few more onesies and some other colors of dye, so you know what I’ll be doing this weekend!

Let me know if you try this technique for dying fabrics. I’d love to see how your project turns out!

On Smoothies, Part III

I’m wrapping up this three part series on smoothies today. If you haven’t read them already, click here to read the first post about what I put in my smoothies, and click here to read part II on how I layer the smoothies and what I like to put on top.

Part III is all about smoothie inspiration! I find that instagram is a great place to find inspiration for smoothie recipes, ideas and techniques. So, here are my favorite instagram accounts for health food inspiration.

 

1. amillionmiless is a great instagram feed for all kinds of incredible health food recipes and beautiful photographs. Don’t these juices look mouthwatering? Her smoothie bowls and energy balls are just as delicious-looking. She also has a blog with recipes – A Million Miles.

2. melodyorganics is another great account for juicing recipes and healthy living. You can also find Melody Organics on YouTube. …I’m currently saving up to buy a macerating juicer…

3. anneem83. Lots of great smoothies and juices, plus a lot of humor! She also has a beauty channel on YouTube called My Invisible Chrysalis.

4. liverawlicious is another great instagram feed for smoothie and raw food inspiration. I aspire to make such lovely smoothie bowls!

I’m so hungry now!

Tell me what some of your favorite instagram feeds are!

Follow Friday // Emerson’s Sewing Post + A Coupon Code!

Has anyone ever seen the follow Friday hashtag on Instagram? I thought I’d do something similar here on the blog today. This week, I want to share a new Etsy shop started by my friend Stephanie, called Emerson’s Sewing Post.

Steph is one of my crafty friends who also runs Liam’s Post, where she creates all kinds of fun cupcake toppers, banners, confetti and other celebration necessities (so be sure to check that shop out, too!). At Emerson’s Sewing Post you can find THE CUTEST bibs & burp cloths for little ones. All of the patterns Steph chooses are just so cute, and the bibs look so, so soft!

For crafty inspiration, sneak peaks of Steph’s fun creations and photos of her cute kiddos, follow Emerson’s Sewing Post on instagram @emersonspost.

And I can’t forget the coupon code! Use MIXEDMETHOD15 to save 15% on your order!

Happy #FollowFriday!

So That Your Headphones Don’t Get Tangled…

Posting today to share a quick tutorial I followed a few months ago to create this cute pouch for my earbuds.

I am not someone who sews. by any stretch of the imagination, but with a lot of help (many thanks to my friend, Molly!), the little pouch came together. Now it lives in my purse helping to keep my earbuds from winding up in a tangled mess at the bottom of the bag. All you need is a sewing machine, some fabric, a zipper and some basic sewing skills.

The Circle Zip Earbud Pouch Tutorial from Dog Under My Desk can be found HERE.

DIY Confetti Bags for New Years Eve

I hope everyone had a merry and blessed Christmas! Mine was great. Lots of family time and lots of good food. I think I’m finally coming down off of the 4 day sugar high I was on, too.

I’m just popping by today to share this great idea for a quick and easy New Years DIY that I saw this morning on the LawnFawn YouTube channel. I loved it so much I had to share.

I just love how fun and colorful the confetti bags are. They add a nice hand-made touch to a new years celebration, yet they look super easy to make. I wish I had thought of them myself! Since I’ll be celebrating at someone else’s house on New Years Eve, and won’t have to clean up, I might have to make some of these bags to bring along…. :)

And just in case you’re looking for some more easy New Year DIY projects here are a few others that I love:

• Printable New Year Decorations from Lil Mrs. Tori
• Art Deco Cocktail Sticks from The Candid Kitchen
• New Years Eve Printable Party Hats from Lia Griffith
• Gilded Ombre Flutes from Francois et Moi

A Different Kind of Gift-Giving // My Subscription Addiction

I’ve been toying with the idea of gifting subscription boxes this year. I think they’re a fun and unique alternative to traditional gift-giving, and there are some really great subscription boxes out there, for just about anything you can think of. After some googling today, I found this website, that lists just about every subscription box available, ever.

I spend so much time debating over the perfect gift for those hard-to-buy-for people on my list, and subscription boxes do a lot of the work for you! Some of the companies even allow you to just purchase one or three month subscriptions, as opposed to having to sign up for a yearly or month-to-month subscription. AND there are some coupons for boxes! Just thought I’d share. Happy Hunting!

A Weekend In Nantucket

A few weekends ago, I headed down to Nantucket for a mini-reunion with two college friends who I hadn’t seen in quite a while. I was doubly excited because this was also my first time visiting the tiny island.

The 2-hour ferry ride to Nantucket was actually very nice and relaxing. I stayed on the top deck for most of the ride and enjoyed the views.

Unfortunately, it was a pretty rainy weekend, but we were still able to enjoy ourselves and made the best of it. We stayed in my friend Kasey’s apartment which was walking distance to the downtown area. On the first night Kasey and I had dinner at Millie’s. I ordered the Tuckernuck tacos and of course had to order their signature Madaket Mystery to drink – don’t ask me what’s in it. One of my favorite parts of traveling is trying new restaurants; Millie’s did not disappoint.

On my first full day on the Island, Kasey gave me a great little walking tour. Our first stop was at the Museum of African American History, which unfortunately was not open at the time, but resides within a newly restored meetinghouse (so far I have to go back to Nantucket if only for another dinner at Millie’s and a visit inside this Museum). We also spent some time enjoying the many historic and notable houses along the streets, like the Starbuck house (above). Yes, those Starbucks.

WIdow’s Walks, everywhere.

Of course we visited several shops. I was able to exert some self control and survived this sopping trip only having bought a magnet, a sticker and a bookmark. What I realty wanted was this bird beautiful birdhouse. I don’t even really LIKE birds, but this simple clay abode was calling my name. I’ve started to realize that the best way to avoid frivolous purchases while on vacation is to pack your bag so full of your own clothes and necessities that there’s not even a remote possibility of anything larger than a bookmark, magnet or sticker fitting inside your weekender tote.

Our day also involved a trip to the ferry docks to pick up the third amiga, Rebekka, and a trip to the Cisco Brewery (add that to my list of things to do again).

Kasey even serenaded us with some Darius Rucker on guitar while we waited for the rain to stop and the sun to come out again.

More sightseeing included a trip to see this windmill – the Old Mill. I later learned that this mill is the oldest functioning windmill in the country, built in 1746. After taking a few photos of the mill, we headed to east to the village of Siasconset.

‘Sconset is where the Sankaty Head Light is located. I promise the lighthouse is not leaning – that’s just my handy camera work.

See?

Strolling the roads along the shore in ‘Sconset we saw these berry bushes(??) everywhere. I’m still not sure what they are. If someone knows, will you please tell me? I’m very curious.

Sunday afternoon, after an ice cream treat at the Juice Bar, it was time to get back on the ferry and start the trip home.

The weekend went by in a flash, but I had a fantastic time discovering a new place and reminiscing with old friends!