Prune, harvest, propagate, root in water, replant, repeat. 🔁
I continually harvest and replant my cuttings to try and gather as many indigo leaves as possible to make dye. 💙
The various shades of indigo 💙🩵
Here is some cotton I dyed to show the range of indigo. It starts off as a really light blue, and to get to the more darker shades, I have to increase the number of dips I do along with the length of time. Indigo is a cumulative dye! It takes up to 12 five minute dips to achieve that midnight blue.
Some indigo leaves I dried over the weekend after I harvested them. Some have more pigment in them than the others, I need to give them more nitrogen! The leaves turning from green to blue never ceases to amaze me.
I am going to try and do 4 big harvests this year. I need to collect as much indigo as I can to make indigo dye this fall!
I found this gorgeous creature at the beach today!
It’s called a “by-the-wind Sailor” or a “Velella”
They were everywhere on the shore! So beautiful. I think it’s a type of jellyfish. 🪼 and a really gorgeous shade of indigo! It really inspired me to want to make a kite that looks like it. :-) 🪁
Harvesting indigo in my garden today. I just got these gorgeous new pruning shears, so excited to use!!!
Having the right tools makes a world of a difference with crafting and making things even more enjoyable. ❤️
Since we are on the topic of paper right now…
I’m going to show you how to make a super easy, quick, cost effective (both environmental costs & economic costs) seedling pot! 🌱
These seedling pots are my favorite because they are biodegradable and durable. I used to make these when I was little using newspaper. However, newspaper is a lot harder to come by these days (thanks technology!) plus it contains inks and sometimes harsh chemicals which aren’t good for the soil. So now, you can make these using brown kraft paper, which is a pretty common material used in packing for our online deliveries. Plus, it’s a carbon rich source! Plants love it.
I used some packing material I found in one of my deliveries. I found a couple scraps of 2x4 wood and taped it together to make a square. Then I got my packing material, folded it in half, and cut it to 18” lengthwise. I wrapped the paper around the piece of wood leaving a 2” overhang. The 2” overhang gets tucked in, like wrapping a present. I slide the paper off, then simply fold the paper in on itself, creating an upper lip. Finally, I fill it with soil and put a couple of seedlings inside!
I started way too many basil seeds, so I’m making more pots to give away to friends to spread the love 💚 I love making pesto!
What I love about these pots is how durable and biodegradable they are. These pots can be sowed directly into the ground because as the paper gets wet, it will help the roots to penetrate through the paper and grow. And the material will decompose and become part of the soil. 🤎💚
Are you growing anything this season?
Turned some art I didn’t like into envelopes. I like seeing something get turned into a new thing and being repurposed! Before you throw something away, why not give it new life by turning it into something else?
I like having these handmade envelopes on hand in case I need to write a thank you note or anything! ✉️ These handmade envelopes feel so special. Maybe I’ll made a video about how to make these? 🩵
🌎 HAPPY EARTH DAY 🌍
Did you know that 1 tablespoon of soil has more organisms in it than there are people on earth?
For some reason, this fact always pops into my head whenever I put my hands in dirt. It feels magical to think about what’s in the palm of my hands ✨
Today I transplanted some of my lettuce and basil seedlings. Some of them I lost to grasshoppers 😭 (they are my garden enemies…always eating my plants). In addition to growing dye plants, I am trying to grow more organic produce as well :-) It feels really cool to grow food!
I mixed some of the worm castings into their new pots and homes! It feels good to amend the soil with my home made fertilizer made with help from worms and compost. Circular life ♻️
Another fun fact: An earthworm can digest its own weight in soil every 24 hours. 50% of the earth's soil passes through earthworms guts each year. Thank you worms!!! 🪱
Also, check out how big some of my indigo has gotten since my last post! 💙
Hope everyone has a great week ❤️
FLOWER PRESSING 💐
Are you a sentimental freak like me?
Do you like perserving the ethereal?
Well, then I highly recommend you get into flower pressing!
It’s a very simple craft to do. Simply put your flower (make sure it’s not toooooo thick) in between a sheet of paper and some boards. You can use a stack of heavy books. Anything that is flat and heavy. Make sure the flowers go in between paper though—you don’t want it to stick to the surface of your boards or books.
I usually set and forget it. It takes about 3 days to reach flatness. I like adding flowers when I write letters to friends or to decorate things. Endless possibilities! Sometimes it’s just fun to see what you end up with :-) from 3D to 2D!
Give it a try 💐✨
To make my drawing medium I used in the drawing below, I used a combination of deer horn glue and pine soot.
The deer horn glue has a gelatinous consistency and needs to be watered down with hot water. I use a 1:1 ratio of hot water to glue. Then I get the pine soot (comes in a powdered form, very similar to charcoal) and add a teaspoon of that to my pestle and mortar. I mix it up and get rid of all the clumps. Then I dab a little bit onto a smaller plate and use that to draw with.
Progresssssss 🌹❣️
I LOVE DRAWING! I love getting into that flow state when you get lost in time. One more rose to go!
Drawing a rose on this piece I’ve been working on for a while. I’m determined to finish it! Making progress today. 🌹
I’m drawing using a mixture of pine soot & deer horn glue. I mix it in the mortar & pestle to get rid of the clumps. It’s very important to me to make my art supplies using natural ingredients whenever possible, because it makes me feel more connected to nature. 🥲💖
Growth 💖
More leaves are starting to show up in my indigo! The leaves grow on each node. It wasn’t like this a week ago, so I’m excited to see all the rapid changes 💙 Once the leaves mature more, I’m going to prune each plant by clipping between the nodes and propagate them to create more plants!
The fun is unstoppable 🥰
The way I’ve dedicated the past 5 years growing Persicaria tinctoria 💙 it’s Japanese indigo! :-) The weather is warming up here in LA—notice how the leaf got a little scorched, and it’s blue! Because there’s pigment in the leaves!
Such a special and sacred plant to me. I mainly use it to make indigo dye but I think I want to start exploring its medicinal benefits.
Making cyanotypes (sun prints) today using flowers I’ve pressed. Here is a yellow hibiscus and some poppy leaves 🦋✨
2024-04-06 22:10:35 +0000 UTC View Post
AHHHHHH! I'm so excited to announce that my first OF TV episode just launched today :-D! I made a tutorial on how to naturally dye fabric using Avocado skins and pits! The color that comes from avocado is....PINK! 🥑💖
Please have a watch and let's get crafting together. Thank you all for your support so far on this new journey for me 🥹
https://of.tv/video/660ef350620ba70001c668d8/
Good morning ✨
About to head to the studio!
I had to check in on my garden first of course :-)
AHHHHHHH I’m so excited! I planted “Pink Cosmos”, which is another dye plant, and they just started waking up. I can’t wait to use these for dye. But for now, I will admire them in their beginning stages because it’s so exciting to me when they first emerge from their seeds.
I also planted Black Knight Scabiosa, Coreopsis, and Black Magic Bachelor’s Button. They are all slowly starting to come out too. I think it’s really beautiful the way plants come out when the conditions are right. They can sense the season and it’s truly magical!
Can’t wait to keep showing you the progress 💖
It’s a gorgeous day today and I finally set aside time to do some calligraphy and painting with pigment today. I will be mixing some pine soot (black powder) with deer horn glue I got from Japan.
I love having a moment with my materials. I got these inks and glue from Japan last fall. It’s so inspiring to me 🖤
Carving some hemp (grew it last summer)!
I’m gonna use it to hang a tapestry on it :-) this hemp stem is the perfect a little wall hanging device! Makes me so happy these precious materials grow right in my back yard.
Cool thing about hemp: it’s super strong because it’s fibers are super long! It is in the ‘bast’ fiber family—similar to linen.
I can’t stop being in my garden 🥲 I’m addicted!!! I just harvested some ginger I grew. I’m going back into the studio tonight I promise 🩵
2024-03-29 01:24:45 +0000 UTC View Post
I went SO hard in the garden today!
And I do it all for my indigo plants 🥲💙 (and a few other plants)
I cleared so much space; took out all the weeds and existing plants, added fertilizer because indigo LOVES nitrogen. And then planted away. In the bucket are indigo plants I grew from seed ready to go in the ground.
I also found some cute little slugs 🐌 ! And then planted another plant I use for dye, called Scabiosa. There’s a picture of me holding the seeds. I like how spending so much time gardening and in the sun has really brought out my freckles. 🥰🥰🥰
Making natural dye is a labor of love for me. It’s a lot to tend to! But it’s soooo fun. 🤩
With the arrival of Spring, this means gardening is in FULL SWING!
Everything is waking up and it’s sooooo lush and green in my garden. I will give a little garden tour 💚
Here is some Citronella Geranium I am growing. It smells AMAZING, I wish there was a way to virtually transmit scents because it smells sooo good. I love all different types of Geranium, this one in particular smells like a floraly citrus that just wakes you up. I would LOVE to start crafting hydrosols, especially with this plant, does anyone wanna get me a hydrosol starter kit? 😋 This would make an amazing hydrosol. Hydrosols are basically floral waters which is acquired through hydro distillation. It would be so epic to start this project, it’s been on my to do for a while 🧪
Yesterday I spent all morning painting my studio blue - it’s my favorite color! Needed some change and now I love how it feels inside the studio 💙
Afterwards, I decided to take a trip to the beach to relax. ☀️🌊 Write to me to see how my beach trip was ;) 👙
Do you know about winnowing?
It’s the process of using air and wind to remove any chaff or pests from your seeds!
This was the final process for separating my arugula seeds from their husks. It makes the seeds a lot cleaner from any debris. All the remaining husks simply fly away and the most viable seeds will drop to the bottom of bowl because of their weight. I use a fan to do this (only fans! Hehe) This is my favorite part of seed saving. Then I am left with nothing but seeds ❤️ I’m going to start sprouting them to make delicious microgreens. The seeds also taste like mustard seeds <3 yum
Went to the botanical garden today! I love Spring 🥰 it’s full of inspiration. I think I want to craft something with floral imagery in it next…
2024-03-18 05:34:18 +0000 UTC View Post
I love plants. And I love saving seeds!
As I mentioned earlier, growing plants is a huge part of my creative practice because I use them to to make dyes with. And sometimes I use them for food! I grew some arugula and let the plants go to seed. Now I am separating them from their seed pods- take a closer look. It’s really cute the way they are nested in there!
I use different mesh baskets to filter the seeds from the pods. First I crush the stems with my hands and break the pods open, then I run it through the mesh basket strainers.
I think I will sprout some of the seeds to make arugula sprouts to eat! Yummy! They will be slightly spicy.
Hope everyone has a beautiful weekend 💖
I’ve been feeling a little sick but finally starting to feel better! Hence the delay of posts 😅
Spring is here and I decided to do a little chop 😳💇🏽♀️ Let’s call it Spring cleaning hehehe. I feel soooo good and feel much lighter. What do you think? Tell me in my DMs ;) I even made some cute videos to show you. Just ask 😘
(I decided to keep my chopped hair for a crafting project LOL. To be continued!)
Finished piece 🎀
What do we think? 🤔 😘
I love it! I love the pattern. This is after 2 dips in indigo. The piece of bamboo is called a “shinshi” and is used to stretch the fabric out and prevent the rice paste from touching itself when it’s in the indigo vat. I’ll try to get a video next time, it’s hard when you only have 2 hands 😝
Printed each bow individually! I’m happy with how this pattern turned out. Next step: hit the indigo dye bath!
2024-03-08 23:12:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Carving a stencil to print with rice paste!
I made my own rice paste using 1:1 rice flour and rice bran and steaming it for an hour. The rice paste acts as a resist. Once it dries, I will dye it, and the parts printed with the paste will remain white 🤍
Also, have you noticed I’m left handed? :P
