NATURAL DYE EASTER EGGS WITH RED CABBAGE

EASY EASTER DIY - BLUE EGGS

How are you? I hope you have had a very pleasent weekend and energy for coming week.  

I've spent my day making things I haven't had time or things I've been too lazy to do before...I read a book. Made finally a bird house from recycled wood. It's very bohemian looking, I have to say ;) Played with red cabbage and eggs because during this weekend I found a very beautiful pic of blue colored eggs in Instagram @minorgoods. They had made many shades of blue but me - usually I go with the flow and want to have things ready - so mine are just same blue. Although I left two of these eggs still in colored water. I will see how they look tomorrow. 

But this is the blue you get when you natural dye your white eggs with red cabbage. Isn't it amazing?

HOW TO 

You need white eggs, red cabbage, water, salt and white wine vinegar. 

First cook the eggs. I made 4 eggs 

Then I make the color water. I used 1 litre pot and used a bit less water and filled the pot with red cabbage, 1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar and one tsp salt. Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes and after that let it be for awhile like 10 minutes.

Meanwhile decorate your eggs. I used candle wax to make the pattern. I used those small birthday cake candles, they are great to draw. I also used lace. I wrapped it around the egg and sew it enough tight that the water can't get under it and one without masking.

I put the eggs in colored water (it looked strong purple) for few hours and look - they are all blue. 

Take them away when you are happy with the color. Deeper color needs more time. 

That's about it. You can eat the eggs even though the color is maybe reached the inside. All is natural. 

What do you think? Are you making these for your Easter dinner table?

xoxo

Kreetta

EASTER EDITION

INDIAN CUISINE MEETS FRENCH KITCHEN WITH SCANDINAVIAN TWIST

I love to work with intuition. When talking about food I often have certain taste in my mind what I would like to eat and of course when I'm cooking I try to reach that.

But have to admit I don't always get there, haha. Today I wanted to make some strong flavors with little twist of something that is new to us. 

Walking in Paris

Love.

Timeless walking at Montmartre.

Art. History.

In front of Musee d'Orsay. It was too long line. We decided to go there next morning before it opens. That was a good call - much faster one. Saw beautiful work of art.

 Louvre.

We used metro a lot. Saw many neighbourhoods.

Shape of house.

Atmosphere.

Small shops.

Artisan bread.

Fresh green. Sunlight.

This was my tour in Paris for you. We spent our Easter there. I have decided that next time when I go there I can speak French. It's lovely language but need practising before I can order my dinner in French, haha. 

What is your favorite place in Paris? I can't name only one. But I loved to stay in Saint Germain des Prés area. Musée d'Orsay was wonderful. Sacré Coeur and Montmartre has lovely atmosphere. There are so many great places. So many places unseen. This city won't let you down.

Have a lovely week!

xo

Kreetta

Feeling Easter

Happy Easter! Spring is giving it's best at the moment. We have light, birds are singing, little by little the green is growing and we are starting to get warm days with bright sunlight. Hooray the winter is gone! I have been working the whole autumn and winter with my project "frayed and crackled" in ceramics. I'm so happy to say that finally I've got something to show to you. But before that I wish you enjoy my Easter feeling photos! Yes, they are dark. I followed the idea of traditional still life painting. I made them two weeks ago when I was working with air plants. Those photos you can find here.

What kind of Easter you are going to have? I'm off to Paris with my husband! It's my birthday present...I've waited this so much. It's good to get older I guess, haha...and enjoy the spring in the beautiful city.

xo

Kreetta

Easy DIY Easter Egg - Dyed With Turmeric

This method is so much faster than my avocado natural dyed eggs. I made this DIY while I was waiting my avocado dyed eggs...This is so simple that you can make these on Easter day and you won't be late with your Easter decoration for your dinner party. All you need is cooked eggs, vinegar, masking tape, pencil, utility knife, cutting board, measuring tape, turmeric and a kettle with warm water....ok, you need more than one or two things, haha. But very basic ones!

Measure the egg's circumference. Use that measurement with masking tape on the cutting board. Draw the pattern. Cut it with the utility knife. Attach the patterns to the egg carefully. Then warm water and add turmeric, 1-2 tablespoons and a bit vinegar. Put eggs to turmeric water. Leave them there for 5-15 minutes. Move eggs time to time. Longer the egg is in the water more the masking tape leaks. The time depends on how deep yellow you want and how sharp pattern. 

Masking tape takes a lot of color too. Take it off.

This is easy way to make quite lovely Easter eggs. You can make these with kids too. I'm sure the kids will enjoy of making them! They don't have to be too perfect, I think...and I just love the yellow I got with turmeric. 

Here you can find a bunch of different kind of Easter egg natural dyeings.

Have a lovely weekend!

xo
Kreetta

ps. I can't wait to get my fingers on my air plants! You'll see!

Beautiful DIY Easter Egg - Dyed With Avocado

Today I have some Easter inspiration for you. Doesn't these ones look real bird eggs? I don't know which bird...but still, haha. As you might remember I have tried few times natural dyeing on fabric with avocado with different kind of results. Good and not so good. And why to dye with avocado? Because we eat them quite a lot and they taste sooo good. Of course they have good fat and it is great to use the whole fruit because they have arrived here from far far away.

 I used ordinary organic eggs.

Avocados are dried on the table. They don't have to be. They can be quite fresh too...maybe you get better red when they are more fresh? I got a little bit brownish color. In pic above you can see amount that we have used during about ten days. 4-5 avocado peels. So that is a amount what I used in dyeing.

Basic ash from fireplace. That might get you in trouble if you don't have fireplace. But you know it is very common that when you dye eggs with natural dyes you use vinegar. For this amount I used 2 tablespoons. You have to be a little bit open to try different things and enjoy of excitement of what's going to happen when I do like this or this? I guess I love to try but get also very frustrated if I don't get good results...like today but still I continued...sometimes you just can't stop the moving train and you want to see more.

First I decided to empty eggs. Then you can use them more freely as decoration. So you have to get the raw egg out of the egg shell. Make two holes. A smaller one and the bigger one with needle or sharp utility knife to the both ends of the egg. Try to break the yolk with needle. Then you just blow. Here you can find cleaner solution. Wash the eggs.

Because the eggs are empty, they are also light. So I used some iron wire and put the wire through the eggs. With the help of wire I can get the eggs more under the avocado water. Otherwise they just float...

So you need a kettle, hot water, avocados, (ash if it's possible), vinegar and the empty eggs in wire. But the most important thing you need is patience. Really. 

I kept the eggs in the kettle almost 3 hours. It doesn't have to boil just simmer. In some point I was so frustrated that I decided  to make eggs with normal way of natural dye. Turmeric and vineger. But I tell you about that later this week. BUT after those long hours I was very happy. The avocado dyeing worked so well. The eggs looks so real.

That was a story about my Sunday. I guess this is just what is called slow living. You just have to make yourself open to it and give the time to things and the most of all to yourself. It's not about being fast and make great results like we have use to do in our daily work. It's about enjoying the day and feeling and making things that makes you smile or even laugh.

To be continued this week...

Have a great week!

xo

Kreetta 

ps. I got the uneven surface with putting the avocado peel on the egg when my eggs were in the kettle. That effect is cool I think. That's why the egg looks so real.

Easter holiday still in my mind - at home

at home natural dyed eggs and Easter card from my mom

black bean "un-meatballs" i got recipe from Stay Basic blog

It's been sunny and relaxing holiday. Spent time with friends and spoke a lot from all kind of things. Serious and funny. Played games like Scrabble and Biribi. Biribi is a very old game. It's a fast gambling game from 1500-1700 century. It's a little bit like a roulette. But of course we didn't play for money. We used these "coins" that you get with the game. I don't say it's a game that I would play often but sometimes yes and not so long. I do think it's very pretty, though. That's why I bought it and because it's very old and it has a history.

love tomato and basil

yum ginger pear

beautiful card of Biribi

Pääsiäismatka - Easter road trip

This is a photographic essay of our Easter road trip to see our moms in Western Finland. We found lovely grove and rapid and I found out that my mom's orange tree is 47 years old and that it has grown from fruit seed which was bought at a grocery store in 1965. I was amazed. I knew it was quite old but 47 years that was surprise. Spring in Finland is just beginning. We have harsh light and it reveals everything which has been sleeping under the snow.


Tämä on kuvaessee matkasta äideille pääsiäisenä. Kevään kova valo paljastaa lumen alla nukkuneen luonnon, joka on heräilemässä uuteen kasvukauteen. Äideillä on hauskoja harrastuksia. Toinen keräilee kiviä ja toinen maalailee posliinia. Ja itselleni yllätyksenä tuli, koska olin täysin unohtanut, että äitini olohuoneessa kasvava appelsiinipuu on 47 vuotta vanha. Se on kasvanut vuonna 1965 kaupasta ostetun appelsiinin siemenestä. Hullunkurista. Todellakaan en voisi kuvitella, että nykypäivän kaupan hedelmien siemenistä kasvaisi yhtään mitään. Ja aika hurjan hieno onnistumisen tunne on äidilläni ollut, kun on saanut siemenen kasvamaan. Puhuimme, että ensi kerralla voisin ottaa oksan puusta ja yrittää kasvattaa siitä uutta puuta. Voi olla mahdotonta mutta voihan sitä aina kokeilla!

Willow in the sun

Snack

Run-down old gas station. Or it was before big chain of stations.

Pines and the blue sky with sweet clouds.

Run-down house next to the road. I wonder what kind of history it has.

Pheasant's feather at mom. She also collects stones.

Old-fashioned lace in a window at mom.

Barn in the middle of field. In Finland you can see a lot of barns 
when you are driving through the countryside.

Barn close-up

Coltsfoot - first spring flower

Someone's road to home

Red is the color of the countryside

My love and power lines

Our destination -  Mommola rapids

There was a grove next to rapid. Beautiful.

Mom walking with her green colors

Mommola rapid

On the way back mom's place -reflection of us and the road

Mom's hobby - porcelain painting. Rose vase and below there is the table cloth made 
by mom's auntie. Crafts run in our veins. 

Orange tree. My mom has grown it from an orange seed bought at a grocery store.
It's very old tree because the year when the orange was bought from grocery 
store was 1965. So orange tree has been in my mom's living room 47 years.
It has lot of  thorns - oranges are safe.

On the way back home