Here's OUR silk dyed Easter Eggs!!!!

OOOOOOOOOOOOh MYYYYYYYYYYYY GOODness!!! seriously!!!! This was SUPER easy, ya'll. I'll show you a few pics, (obviously, they loaded in reverse order, sorry about that....just look from the bottom up, lol) the first being the eggs as we tied them with the silk, then a pic of them after some of them had been covered and tied with the muslin in the enamel pot, and the 3rd 'in-progress' pic is of the eggs as they're boiling. THEN, you'll see the final, most beautiful, product...GORgeous dyed eggs. Ya'll, I wish I would've discovered the ease of this project years ago when my girls were younger, there's literally NO mess, NONE! You can see the dyes running while in the pot, but that's it, you don't get it on your fingers or clothes or anything. I'm tellin' ya, you GOTta try this super easy project.

Silk dyed Easter eggs

Photo taken from MarthStewart.com

Aren't these Easter eggs beautiful????! My girls and I are going to do this with our own eggs this year...probably over the weekend (I'll post pics afterward). I'd heard about it, but didn't really know how to do it, and then I saw it last year (AFTER Easter, of course...my luck) on the Martha Stewart Show. I've been collecting 100% silk ties and scarves over the past year with bright colors and designs and geometric shapes...picking them up here and there for 69 and 99 cents at the Salvation Army, Goodwill, yard sales, and other used clothing places. I think I've finally got enough. You can watch a video about them on the Martha Stewart website, along with her more detailed instructions. Here's how to make them so that YOU can try it too:

Materials:

raw eggs
glass or enamel pot
scissors
pcs of 100% silk (cut up ties and blouses, scarves, boxer shorts, etc), pcs should be large enough
to cover an egg & secured
squares of undyed cotton or pieces of old white sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths etc..large enough
to cover the silk covered eggs and secured
twist ties
3 tbls white vinegar
warm water
tongs or spoons
cooling rack
vegetable oil
paper towels



Instructions:

1. Cut silk into pieces large enough to wrap around a raw egg

2. TIGHTLY wrap an egg with a pc of silk, making sure that the printed side of the material is facing the egg, not facing out! secure it with a twist tie.

3. Place the silk wrapped egg in a pc of undyed cotton and secure it tightly with a twist tie, as well.

4. Place eggs in an enamel or glass pot filled with enough water to cover the eggs completely. Add three tbls of white vinegar to the water.

5. Bring water to a boil, turn head down and simmer for approximately 40 min.

6. Remove eggs from water with tongs/spoon, place on cooling rack and let cool completely.

7. Remove the cotton and silk from the colored egg.

8. (optional) if you'd like your eggs to be a bit more shiny, with with a paper towel dabbed in vegetable oil.

9. Display and enjoy...don't forget to take pictures because they're SURE to be beautiful!



*note: Martha's crew says that the pcs of silk material can be reused multiple times to dye eggs...so you can make another batch and/or save your pcs for the following year!!!

Tags

*photo taken from Michael's Craft Store site

I've been making tags...little tags with a 'to/from' on the back in block style letters...and on the front, a stamp of a bird, bird's nest, stamp of a postage stame, etc. THEN I decorate it with some antiquing stamp pad ink, an embellishment here and there and viola...that's VI-O-LA, lol I haven't taken any pics yet, but here's some that was on the Michael's Craft Store web site...aren't they pretty? Here's the supplies and instructions that you'll need to make your OWN tags...and use your imagination and the embellishments that you have on-hand or pick up the embellishments that YOU like verses what the supplies list suggest...then, send us a pic so we can see too :)

Supplies:

craft papers of your choice; a variety sticky crystal dots;

paper flowers (stickers or glue dots to adhere); paper leaves to go w/the flowers;

antique stamp ink (or you can stain it with tea); sticker letters or stamp letters;

ribbon to match paper; adhesive (glue, glue dots, dbl side tape, etc);

scissors and/or paper trimmer hole punch;

Instructions:

Cut paper 2 1/4" X 4 1/2". Layer flowers and embellishments, adhere to tag...tuck leaves in and adhere. Add letter stickers/stamps to say what you want it to...don't forget to do a to/from stamp on the back if it's a gift tag. Punch a hole and loop ribbon through (you can staple the ribbon down, but it may not look so good, lol).

suggestions:

Use 2 tags made of coordinating papers, one a bit smaller than the other...place the smaller on top of the larger.

Use actual vintage papers from old ledgers, diary pages, lined pad paper...or vintage sheet music or book pages for the back tag.

Just use your imagination and experiment, they're fun and super easy to make!!!

My garden...

Speaking of gardens...this is the plan for mine (see pic). note that I said 'plan,' lol The raised beds are already built and installed, just need my dirt and mulch brought in, then distributed. Then the fence and gate needs to go up...the compost bin can be built later, and the placement may change, as well, I'll have to work on that one.

Peonies

I just love peonies. They're so delicate and pretty, lasting only a few weeks once they bloom. The problem with me and peonies is, I can't seem to grow them. I've had no luck whatsoever growing peonies. I've bought yet another peonie rhizome in yet another attempt to get it to grow. I have a friend who's tried and tried and tried to grow lavender, to no avail. Like me with peonies, she's tried everything to get her lavender to grow and yet I seem to be able to grow it just fine. Lavender can be fickle, though, but peonies aren't suppose to be as fickle as they're proving to be with me...grrrrr. The guest on this Martha Stewart Show clip swears that they're super easy to grow...I'd like to know how she justifies this statement...and how does that woman sleep at night knowing full well that there may be someone out there that's having difficulty growing them, lol. North Carolina State University gives instructions on preparing, planting, and caring for peonies...I've done it all, textbook style...still nothing. Wish me luck, because as soon as I get my garden and the garden fence put up, I'm planting this lone peonie at the corner of it...

ahhhhhhh, my garden....I literally can't wait!!! seriously! last year, with help from dear friends, we were able to get the raised beds built (only 4 for now, but that will expand soon), however, it was very wet and stayed that way for months and we weren't able to get our topsoil delivered in time to establish the garden...this year will be different!!! I demand it to be! I was able to buy seven dog-earred picket fence sections at Lowes last week on clearance for only $5 each!!! with a gate installed, that should about be enough to fence the garden in to keep the deer from muncing on it...and then, of course, I will plant lavender along the front side of the fence...mmmmmm, I can just smell the aroma now.

Lavender Cove

Welcome to my new blog. Some of you may already know me from my other blog, Thrifty and Frugal, where I share my insights and information about deals, steals, coupons, and more. If you've not been to my other blog, head over and check it out while I get this one set up. If you like it, feel free to click 'follow.'

Lavender Cove, however, is not about steals, deals or coupons. This blog is going to be dedicated to my crafting creations and decorating. My home is decorated in the Romantic Cottage style...sort of, Country Victorian meets shabby and chic...note, I did not say 'Shabby Chic,' as it has been recently announced by the Shabby Chic Corporation that 'Shabby Chic' is a company, not a decorating style, and that everyone who refers to it as such should be 'careful' and dually warned. hmmmm This, I learned from a fellow shabby and chic decorating blogger who got a nasty letter from the corporation letting her know that she should 'cease and desist' from referring to her decorating items/style/theme as such unless it actually came from the Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic product line...oh good grief already!!!! she did NOT invent the term 'shabby chic,' she did, however and unfortunately, monopolize on it, patenting it and trademarking it to death, to the point that no one else is legally allowed to utter the two words together unless we are talking ABOUT the actualy product line, ughhhh!

Anyway, back to ME and Lavender Cove...it may take me a few days to get my blog going with pictures loaded and such, but it truthfully will be forthcoming....I promise, lol. Hope to see you soon.