The book "Steal Like an Artist" is a great and inspiring volume. You can read it in an hour and a half, and should, many times.
Here are a few of artist/author Austin Kleon's liberating and clarifying concepts:
I thought I’d show you some of the differences in our personal care routine now that we’re trying to make it more natural.
Natural Toothpaste
I don’t know how true it is that conventional toothpaste actually helps to destroy your teeth with all the nasty chemicals etc.
What I do appreciate about natural toothpaste is that I know what everything is in this toothpaste, it’s cheaper, and my teeth are whiter. I don’t appreciate the saltiness but what can you do :)
The recipe is super simple
50% baking soda to 50% coconut oil
50 drops peppermint essential oil
10 drops clove bud essential oil
I also added some “real salt”. Apparently it has 60+ trace minerals etc that are good for your teeth. And salt is supposed to be good for sloughing off the gunk too.
More info here:
Natural Deodorant
Also super simple to make. Some recipes add arrowroot powder. I never have had any on hand so instead I used corn starch which was suggested for a substitute. This recent batch though I cut out the cornstarch and basically made the toothpaste, 50/50 baking soda to coconut oil and added essential oils to kill the bacteria and provide a nice scent.
The essential oils I used were
Sweet Orange – because it’s cheery
Lavender – for skin soothing and antibacterial
Tea Tree – more antibacterial
Clary Sage – great for the skin and an awesome green scent
Chamomile – also good for your skin and I love the smell
Black Pepper – to ground the scent more than anything
For more information:
http://www.theeverythingsoapblog.com/2012/03/recipe-best-natural-deodorant.html?m=1
http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2011/09/gentle-all-natural-deodorant-stick-recipe.html
Natural Moisturizer
I also really enjoy coconut oil as a moisturizer, so I made up a batch of straight coconut oil with the same essential oils as the deodorant {minus the tea tree}. Slather it on while you’re still wet from the shower and then dry off as you normally do.
And then of course the natural hair care – baking soda cleanser {clear liquid} and herbal rinse {brown liquid} for a conditioner. I also added some honey to the rinse for added conditioning.
From my previous post:
For my hair, all I need is a bottle of
1 tbsp of baking soda {otherwise it’s too drying}
to
2 cups water
I add a couple drops of Peppermint,
Lavender
and Rosemary essential oils.
I pour that onto my scalp and really massage it in.
Let it sit a couple minutes, then rinse.
After that I have, premixed in a bottle,
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
to
2 cups water
with the same essential oils
I pour that through the entirety of my hair and then wash it out immediately, or, I find it weighs my hair down too much.
I’ve also started using herbal rinses more often then the baking soda.
My hair was super dry before at the ends but now they are manageable, and not frizzy, and I still have that awesome volume at the roots.
My every day I need it Nourishing Rinse
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What? |
Why? |
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1 small aloe leaf peeled |
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1 tsp basil |
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1 tsp ground flax seeds |
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1 tsp ginger |
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1 tsp parsley |
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1 tsp rosemary |
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1 tsp thyme |
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Add herbs to a bowl and pour 2 cups of boiling water over them.
Let sit over night.
So how do you use it?
It really depends on how much benefit you want.
You can just pour it through your hair in the shower and let it sit while you soap up, shave and do whatever you need to do. Then rinse out at the end. This doesn’t really let it sit in your hair though so it won’t provide the most benefit.
Or you can bring a bowl with you, sit it in the bath tub, pour your concoction in and then sit your whole head in it until you get dizzy :) Ok, not dizzy but for 5 or 10 minutes. This lets it really sink into your hair.
I poured about a cup into the bowl and filled the rest with warm water. Then let my hair soak in it for several minutes. I knotted it on top of my head and had my shower, then rinsed it out at the very end and let it air dry. My hair felt amazing afterwards. No dry frizzy ends like before.
I’m still fighting frizz with the hair. Hopefully the honey will help tame it. My scalp still feels amazing though. I also got a Denman boar bristle brush to help properly brush my hair. Maybe that will help.
I’m loving the whiter teeth with the toothpaste so I’ll put up with the saltiness.
As for the deodorant, so far it has worked. I have no idea how I’ll fair come summer though. We shall see.
Some art to inspire mending…
“Make Do and Mend”
Screen printed limited edition by Clare Owen
“Mending Dress” 1904
at Old Picture of the Day
“Mending”
at Dove Grey Reader
“Girl Mending” by Edmund Tarbell circa 1910
courtesy of The Athenaeum
“Mending” by Daniel Garber
courtesy of The American Gallery
“Woman Mending Clothing While Sitting in a Chair”
courtesy of Clip Art Etc
“Love is the Thread”
courtesy of NotOnTheHighStreet.com
A follow up to my previous mending post,
origin unknown
origin unknown
French Mending from Mrs Easton
Make Do and Mend from Coletterie
origin unknown
Simple Fixes and Mending Techniques from Threads Magazine
Found some lovely instances of mending – an absolute necessity for the slow wardrobe.
Enjoy :)
by Corinne on exhibition in Mending My Ways
Wolplamuur by Heleen Klopper
Kapital by The Bandanna Almanac
Worth fighting for. Mending is for things worth fighting for, don’t give up without a struggle.
How to Mend Knits at Martha Stewart
Kleidersachen on Tumblr
Daniel Jasiak on Tumblr
mending, again. by Shibori Girl
I made a hideous dress. One of those no closures but still shapely – or not.
The fabric is a gauzy cotton and so, with boro in mind, I ripped it up to mend it. Here are some pieces.
Stitching to mend the holes
Stitched pieces
Mending on the inside of the jacket sleeve
Pattern for Kimono style jacket made out of cotton with boro mending
stitching up close
A little slow wardrobe inspiration.
Silk and cotton han juban with some hemp thread stitching from Sri Threads, New York
When most people see a rip or hole in their clothing they immediately discard it, viewing the item as no longer fit to wear.
Hand Stitched Sashiko Farmer’s Boro Jacket, handspun and hand-loomed cotton fabrics, early 1900s
From Kimonoboy.com
For the peasants in Japan a couple hundred years ago this was not an option. Clothing was simply too valuable to discard because of a hole.
Rag sellers would travel through rural Japan selling bits and scraps of cotton. The women of farming and fishing families would purchase these scraps and use them to mend their homespun items.
Patch over patch, stitch over stitch, generation passing on to generation.
A sleeping kimono intended for warmth – often lined and stuffed with okuso, the leftovers from the hemp yarn making process. Used like a duvet.
From Sri Threads, New York
Boro comes from the “mottainai” sensibility, or the idea that the object is too good to waste.
Boro Shimacho - Strips of cloth stitched into an old ledger for boro inspiration.
From Sri Threads
How long will your clothing last?
Antique kimono, boro mending with sashiko stitch
For more information and examples of Boro
Too many projects on the brain.
Work room full of items without completion.
Sitting here staring at them doesn’t make them move along.
So many grey days in a row.
Someone said it’s spring.
I have a 12 foot snow pile in my front yard and my garden’s under 4 feet.
I don’t believe them.
Must stop looking and start working.
Some Stitches
Sorry, these pictures were taken at night so they are not the greatest.
And for any of you that were interested in the Shampoo Free post – I’m still at it.
It’s been about a month now and my scalp feels fantastic. I had to fiddle with it to make it work for my hair. Some suggestions really didn’t work at all. I also had to do some more research because I found my ends really dry and I would get weird buildup at my neckline.
For my hair, all I need is a bottle of
1 tbsp of baking soda {otherwise it’s too drying}
to
2 cups water
I add a couple drops of Peppermint,
Lavender
and Rosemary essential oils.
I pour that onto my scalp and really massage it in.
Let it sit a couple minutes, then rinse.
After that I have, premixed in a bottle,
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
to
2 cups water
with the same essential oils
I pour that through the entirety of my hair and then wash it out immediately, or, I find it weighs my hair down too much.
I was using the baking soda once or twice a week but I got a weird build up at the base of my head around my neckline. My hair felt kind of sticky or waxy. I think this is because the baking soda, for whatever reason, was just staying there once I poured it through at my scalp, even though I really rinsed my hair.
Too much baking soda = not cool!
So I’ve started using herbal rinses more often then the baking soda.
My hair was super dry before at the ends but now they are manageable, and not frizzy, and I still have that awesome volume at the roots.
My every day I need it Nourishing Rinse
|
What? |
Why? |
|
1 small aloe leaf peeled |
|
|
1 tsp basil |
|
|
1 tsp ground flax seeds |
|
|
1 tsp ginger |
|
|
1 tsp parsley |
|
|
1 tsp rosemary |
|
|
1 tsp thyme |
|
Add herbs to a bowl and pour 2 cups of boiling water over them.
Let sit over night.
So how do you use it?
It really depends on how much benefit you want.
You can just pour it through your hair in the shower and let it sit while you soap up, shave and do whatever you need to do. Then rinse out at the end. This doesn’t really let it sit in your hair though so it won’t provide the most benefit.
Or you can bring a bowl with you, sit it in the bath tub, pour your concoction in and then sit your whole head in it until you get dizzy :) Ok, not dizzy but for 5 or 10 minutes. This lets it really sink into your hair.
I poured about a cup into the bowl and filled the rest with warm water. Then let my hair soak in it for several minutes. I knotted it on top of my head and had my shower, then rinsed it out at the very end and let it air dry. My hair felt amazing afterwards. No dry frizzy ends like before.
So now I’m thinking I’ll baking soda wash every so often but anytime I need a shower I’ll use the rinse instead. Hopefully then no build up or over-dying of my hair. I also found this site, Minimalist Beauty, where she suggests using green or black tea for a cleansing rinse. Haven’t tried it yet but it looks interesting.
Have you tried anything like this with your hair? I’d love to hear what’s worked for you and what hasn’t?
A couple pictures have recently caught my eye and I’m wondering just how brain exploding they would be to turn into some hand stitching.
Mind-numbingly difficult, but so very beautiful.
Or this frescoe could be lovely repeated…
You may remember this picture from awhile ago – part of my Silk Scarves post.
To see the end result please visit Onion Skin in The Market.
Here is the first addition to The Market, my brand new little shop.
Wild Blueberries and Cream is a gorgeous crepe de chine silk scarf, lovingly dyed and prepared for you.
I’m hoping at least :)
March 20th technically speaking is the first day of Spring.
Up here we’ll probably still have 3 feet of snow on the ground and it could be -25 again.
However some of you have crocuses and daffodils already.
In thinking happy thoughts, including sunshine and crocuses and rubber boots, I’m opening The Market.
Tune in on the 20th for the first addition.
Shampoo alternatives recently caught my eye. In researching the idea many people seem to list “no poo” as a mostly a cost solution but I really think that’s the wrong way to look at it. The benefits are what are most important, not the cost.
What you may think of when you hear “shampoo free”.
About a year and a half ago I started making my own soap and loved it. I would hate that horribly itchy feeling I got every time I got out of the shower with regular soap. It was as if my skin was so dry it would crack if I stretched it too far. And the scents would give me a headache. That just can’t be healthy.
My soap is all natural and as environmentally and animal friendly as possible. I chose not to use things like palm oil in it because of the Orangutans in Borneo and elsewhere. I also didn’t use “fragrance oils”. Seriously what does that even mean? Only essential oils went into my bars. And only natural colourants. Be careful of what people call natural in their advertisements – do a bit of research first. If it’s metallic green, I’m sorry there is absolutely no way that’s natural :)
My skin felt incredible and I will never go back to regular soap after this.
But then I started having issues with my scalp. It was super itchy and flaky and had little itchy bumps all over it but felt waxy and nasty at the same time. My hair looked fine but I was a little worried. I realized I had been taking great care of my skin and horrible care of my scalp.
My sister sent me a link to a “no poo” recipe for curly hair that she was interested in. I thought that looked pretty interesting but also slightly weird.
Not “washing” your hair?
So I did some research and, of course, this has been done for as long as humans have been around. Shampoo is really a very new thing compared to what people have used for centuries, if they bathed at all :)
So I thought I would try it. If it made my scalp feel better then that’s pretty sweet.
I am just starting out so here are some links I found for and against the idea just to give you as broad a perspective as possible.
See what you think and let me know in the comments. Is this something you have tried? Are you considering it? Never would consider it? Why?
Against Baking Soda and Vinegar and for Wen: http://www.futurederm.com/2012/06/20/3-reasons-why-baking-soda-and-apple-cider-vinegar-destroy-your-hair-and-what-to-use-instead/
Against Wen:
http://jillipoo.blogspot.ca/2009/01/weird-product-wednesday-wen-hair-care.html
Over a year of “no-poo”:
http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2009/07/no-poo-update.html
2 years of “no-poo”:
http://simplemom.net/the-oh-so-important-hair-update/
Almost 9 years “no-poo” and dyed. This is an amazing resource for more than just “no-poo” recipes. She has recipes for natural hairspray and extensive information:
http://babyslime.livejournal.com/174054.html
Sorta Crunchy Why and How:
http://sortacrunchy.typepad.com/sortacrunchy/2009/05/shampoofree-why-and-how.html
I thought I’d share my new favourite breakfast with you today.
I’m not much of a breakfast person, I’d rather eat lunch around 10:30. But my Mum always told me that I needed to eat my breakfast. She was the one who introduced me to this.
When I was in school we had oatmeal basically every morning. Water and oats, some brown sugar and usually canned peaches on top. Not the most appetizing and by high school I hated it. But it was good for me.
So as soon as I was a grownup and chose my own own breakfast I just stopped eating it. Or ate it sporadically. Not good, I know.
This winter I was cold and starving quite a bit so breakfast became a necessity. Enter the Amazing Oatmeal.
I’m serious, it’s stinking awesome!
Plus I’ve been having some issues with too much milk consumption and this only has a dash while still being incredibly creamy and delicious.
I make mine in the microwave but I’m sure you could do it stovetop.
For 1 serving
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup + a bit water
Microwave for 1:30 minutes
While that’s in the mic
1 egg
dash of milk
In small bowl beat them well.
When the oat mix is done it should be a little runny, stir well and add the egg mix. Stir well again.
Put back into the mic on half power for another 1:30. I don’t know how to do half power on my microwave so I use Speed Defrost and that seems to work just fine.
While the egg mix is cooking pull out some craisens, brown sugar, ground flax and my Crab Apple Butter-ish.
When the oatmeal is finished cooking pull it out and stir well.
Then add
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ground flax
a handfull of craisens
a scoop or two of Crab Apple Butter-ish, or Canned Peaches if you want to be traditional :)
It is delightfully creamy and kind of desertish without having too much milk in it. I love it!
I hope you will too.
Enjoy!
Crepe de Chine scarves in the window, utilizing the sun for solar dyeing.
Above: Red and yellow onions skins wrapped tightly in the scarf and then stuffed into a Mason jar.
Below: Pomegranate to the right. Cranberry to the left.
I’m amazed at how green the purple plum stayed. It seems to be a pretty solid dye. We’ll see how well it lasts though.
Some of the blueberry dyed cotton shirts after washing. It was hard to get a really good shot of the colour. Definitely much more blue then red purple. But I think that’s because I washed them in the machine and town water is full of chlorine. The red purple probably would have stayed if I had washed it in distilled water.
Floral embroidery using vintage darning thread on crab apple eco dyed cotton.
A great way to reuse my husband’s lovely white cotton shirts when the collar finally gives out.
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