Silk Dyed Eggs

Growing up, our family had an Easter tradition of making pysanky eggs. It was very time consuming but the results were lovely. I have fond memories of all of us around the table for many hours working on our eggs.  Each year we brought out the eggs we had made in the past years and had fun deciding what designs we would take on that year.  My mother still has egg cartons full of them from our childhood and has now introduced the tradition to my children.

A few years ago I saw eggs dyed with silk. The intricate patterns reminded me of pysanky and I was intrigued. I liked the idea that they took a fraction of the time yet looked elaborate and beautiful. This year we decided to give it a go. It was so simple and we loved unwrapping our little egg packages to see how they turned out!

To create you will need:

eggs (at room temperature ~ it helps when blowing out the insides)

100% silk scarves or ties

white fabric (we cut up an old pillow case)

vinegar

elastics

tapestry needle or nail

To begin:

Begin by taking your eggs and pierce the top and bottom of the egg with a large needle. This can be done by older children (my nine year old loved the whole process) but obviously with care. 

Next,  pierce the egg yoke (we used a bamboo bbq skewer) to make for easier blowing and enlarge the hole at the end of the egg you will be blowing out from.

Seal your mouth around the top of the egg and blow. 

Once the eggs are empty, rinse them out with water and blow out the water for nice clean eggs.

Gather up your silk.

Cut your silk into squares that will be large enough to wrap around the egg with some fabric left over to wrap an elastic around. 

Decide what part of the pattern you want transferred onto your egg and wrap the silk tightly around the face of the egg. The tighter the silk is to the egg the better it will transfer. Be sure to have the right side of the silk on the inside, facing the egg. 

Secure it tight with an elastic band in the back of the egg.

Wrap it again in a square of white cotton.

Place 1/2 cup of vinegar in a pot, fill with water and then add your wrapped eggs. Gently weigh down your eggs so they don't float above the water (we used a glass lid that was a bit smaller than the pot).

Bring it to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Rinse them in cold water until you can handle them and then it's time for the most exciting part! Unwrapping them!!!

We were in awe at how this process worked. So amazing!

The back where it was scrunched up was even beautiful. Almost a tie dyed look. 

Here are some of the results we had. 

I think we are hooked.  I highly recommend giving this a try. 

Easy, with long lasting and gorgeous results.

Roving Angel

Each Christmas we have a family tradition of placing an angel on our tree, to represent each of our loved ones that have passed away. There has become a real reverence for this tradition with my daughters and they never seem to forget year to year, which angel represents which one of our loved ones. I enjoy having these little angels on the tree, reminding me of the connection with those we love who are no longer with us. 

This past year my dear friend lost her mother. I decided to create an angel for her tree, in honor of her loss and as a reminder of the love that lives on.

Here is how this little roving angel is made

To create you will need:

A wooden bead

Pipe cleaner

White or flesh colored roving

Colored roving

Sparkly string

Needle felting needle (not necessary but it helps)

To Begin:

For the head and arms: fold a pipe cleaner in half.  Attach wooden bead to the kink and bend each arm in the opposite direction. 

For the arms and hands: starting at about 1/2 inch from the end of one arm, wind a thin layer of roving onto the pipe cleaner, working towards the direction away from the head.

Once your roving holds on to the pipe cleaner, fold about 3/4 inch  of pipe cleaner back towards the direction of the head. Continue winding over this fold and towards the direction of the head.  Be sure to use flat layer of roving, so your hand looks nice and even. 

For the face and body base:  Make a hole in the middle of a  flat layer  of roving and pass the angel’s head through the hole.

If you want a smooth and nice “face” be careful with arranging your roving flatly and tightly on the wooden bead  Take two small strips of roving, tightly tie at the neck and the waist.

For the sleeves: wind a flat, thin layer  of roving starting at the cuffs and work in the direction towards the head on both sides.

To dress your angel: take new piece of roving about 7″ long. Make a hole in the middle and pass the angel’s head through the hole.  Fold the roving tightly over the shoulders and down around the body.

Use a small thin piece of roving to wrap around the angel’s waist. Spread the roving evenly around the white skirt.

For the hair: fold a piece of roving in half that is twice as long as you wish the angel’s hair to be and place on the angel’s head and needle felt it a bit to hold in place.

You may also want to braid three pieces of thin roving to create a braid and then needle felt that onto the hair. 

For the halo: twist a piece of pipe cleaner into a halo shape and wrap with a thin layer of roving.

Tuck it into the back of the hair and needle felt the hair around it to hold in place.

For the wings: take a 5 inch piece of white roving and lay flat. Tie a thin piece of white roving in the middle and then "fluff" out your wings to the shape you want. 

To tie on your wings: wrap the string around the waist, cross over in the back, come over the shoulders and cross in front. Then tie at the waist. Take the ends of your string and go behind the waist once again. Tie a knot and then use the remaining ends to create a loop to hang it with.

That's it! You now have an angel.

I found creating this with my dear friend and her loss in mind the whole time, felt like a special way to connect with her grief and to offer my love. 

May you have many angels around you in this season and always! 

With love

Wooden Spoon Garden Stakes

With the fabulous season of gardening upon us we decided to create some sweet garden stakes!

This is a very quick, inexpensive way to mark the tender beauties growing for you.

To create you will need 

Wooden spoons

Pencil

Watercolor pencil crayons

A wood burner

Outdoor modpodge or a sealant of any kind

Begin by drawing your plant pictures and words on your spoons.

Next, take your wood burning tool and trace over your picture and words. 

(With close supervision it seems to be easy and safe for little people (sevenish and up)

Color them in with your watercolors... 

Put a sealant over your spoons

and there you go!

Unique garden stakes that will always remind you of your kiddies.

Thinking these would make a great gift for grandparents!

After admiring their colorful handiwork we decided to give them a home.

First up was planting our sweet peas...

 giving them a good drink...

and marking our new babies!

Now they smile up at us, reminding us of the beautiful bounty soon to fill our table and bellies.

Celebrating the goodness of gardens

~ Shanti ~

PS.  Don't forget to enter our giveaway...it's running all week long...the prize is a beautiful hand felted Toadstool purse.  Enter HERE and leave us a comment with a way of contacting you in case you're the winner!