GIANT Bubbles

Last weekend, I had a sleepover with my favorite four-year old.  We ran through sprinklers, dug in the dirt, chased lightning bugs, enjoyed homemade Philadelphia-style vanilla ice cream, and made gigantic bubbles!

I first learned of these magnificent beauties last year when my friend, Tree, posted about them on her blog.  When I saw how easily they were created I just knew I had to try them out!

As you can see, I was really good at making them; Cecelia was really good at popping them!

To make giant bubbles you will need:

2 dowel rods

100% cotton piping (I crocheted a 100″ chain from cotton yarn)

2 screw-in eye hooks

1 metal washer (to act as a weight)

water

bubble solution and several healthy squirts of dish soap

a deep pan to hold the solution (I used a 9×9 foil baking pan)

Screw one eye hook into the top of each dowel rod.  Tie one end of the cord to one of the eye hooks, feed the other end through the remaining eye hook; slip the washer onto the cord and then tie the remaining loose end onto the eye hook where you first started.  Tah-dah!  You got yourself a bona fide giant-bubble-making-wand.  Saturate the cording in the bubble solution and blow baby blow!

As you can see by the numerous “costume changes” we did this every day! hahaha

And here I am explaining the finer points in solution swishing!

Images and content copyright © 2008-2011 Danielle R Limoge.

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Images and content copyright © 2008-2011 Danielle R Limoge.

I’m Back… with a Give Away!

You can call off search and rescue, I’m still alive!  Buried, but still breathing!  I try to maintain a certain level of perspective, but when you have mason jars full of garlic scapes, endless quarts of strawberries, and 5 gallons of just-picked peas all staring you down it can get a bit overwhelming!  And that is just the tip of the garden harvest; don’t get me started on the beets that need pulled, lettuces that need washed, and summer seeds and transplants that need attention!

This year my experiment with garden mulch has proven to be worth its weight in gold, or in my case, time!  Up until the past few days I was able to spend a good bit of quality time in my studio behind my machines!  I seem to always have a never-ending pile of clothes to mend/alter, UFO’s (UnFinished Objects) tucked away in cabinets and random projects just waiting to be brought to fruition!  Then there’s the shop and website…which brings me to my latest sewing endeavor!

Expressly Local Food, a Lancaster shop specializing in organic and locally grown food, offers locally roasted coffee, baked goods, bulk items, canned preserves, and my fabric totes and mesh produce bags!  (Along with a few other Pixy Patch items!)  I wanted to make sure the shop was well stocked before I let the cat out of the bag on the blog and websites!

That’s right, I am now offering MESH PRODUCE BAGS!!!  This is something that has been in the works for quite some time!  There is just too much single-use plastic floating around, mainly in bodies of water and buried in landfills!  By using these sturdy, lightweight, reusable mesh bags you are eliminating the need for the disposable plastic ones found at the food store!  I have three sizes available, S-M-L, all made from durable mesh netting, featuring a stylish fabric casing and hand-crocheted drawstring.

…and now for the give away!!  I am offering one of my fabulous blog readers a set of 3 reusable mesh produce bags!  For your chance to win leave a comment telling me what you would fill your produce bags with.  For me it’s usually lemons (for making fresh-squeezed lemonade), garlic and onions!  For additional entries you can do one or all of the following: repost this give away on facebook, friend PixyPatch on facebook, reblog the give away, or sign up to follow Twisted Threads!  For each one you do be sure to leave a separate comment.  You must complete the mandatory entry first though!  I will use the all-knowing Random Number Generator to select the winner.  Give away ends June 22nd at 11:59 pm EST!  Good luck and thanks for reading!! 

This Contest is now closed!   A big Thank You to everyone that entered, the all-knowing number generator selected comment #11 from Tree as it’s winner!

Images and content copyright © 2008-2011 Danielle R Limoge.

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Images and content copyright © 2008-2011 Danielle R Limoge.

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Images and content copyright © 2008-2011 Danielle R Limoge.

No Stink Bugs Here! (cross post)

I just posted this on my OneGreenTomato blog and thought my readers here would enjoy it as well! OGT is where I ramble on about my micro-farming activities, self-sufficiency, and cooking adventures. I tend to post there more than I do here and on LiteralLight because most of my daily life revolves around growing (and talking about) food. I’d love it if you would stop by, check it out and say hello!

I’ll be honest, I am an avoider. I don’t like chemicals, so when I see one heading my way I run for cover! I abstain from their use whenever possible; one by one, I’ve shunned them from my cabinets and closets. The most recent to get the boot was commercial deodorant. I was a little nervous about switching to an all-natural homemade replacement, especially since  I’m very outdoorsy, but I’m happy to report that I have not offended anyone’s olfactory senses! 

All Natural Deodorant

1/3 cup organic arrowroot powder

1/3 cup baking soda

4 tbsp organic coconut oil

several drops of organic essential oil, I used a blend of rosemary and lavender.

Over very low heat warm the coconut oil so it becomes soft, this will only take a minute or two. Add arrowroot powder and baking soda, stir to combine. Add essential oils and transfer into an airtight jar. I used a wide mouth jelly jar. Allow deodorant to cool and set, you can place it in the fridge to speed up the process.

You can sub cornstarch for the arrowroot powder. I tend to not use cornstarch due to the saturation of GMO corn.

I will warn you, if you store this in your bathroom (because that only seems natural) be mindful when opening your jar; coconut oil melts around 76°F, which makes for an oily mess when you slop it all over the counter. I’m just sayin’.

This Moment

{this moment} – A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Images and content copyright © 2008-2011 Danielle R Limoge.

For the Wee One

Today, I braved the 40 mph gusts of wind and horizontal rain to head to the farm for Kristi’s baby shower. Kristi is Farmer Josh’s wife, they are expecting their first child, a son, who will make his debut the end of June. I’m very excited for my friends, they are going to be incredible parents!

For the “Lil’ Farmer to Be’s” gift I decided to applique a pack of onesies featuring some of the produce his daddy sells. Maneuvering newborn sized clothing under my machine proved to be quite difficult, which is why I chose to only straight stitch the edge instead of the typical satin stitch. I remember when I appliqued my niece’s dragonfly onesie, I had to walk away, several times.

I also whipped up a few burp cloths so he can spit-up in style! The tops are printed flannel, the middle is cotton batting and the bottom is a coordinating corduroy.

The radiant mama-to-be showing off her cuddling skills with a plush elephant.

I have a onesie left over, the pack came with 8. Originally it was going to be a sunflower, since Josh sells those on the farm as well; however, I’m pretty sure he would not be too keen on dressing his boy in flowers. I have other plans for that one and the little guy will receive it once he makes his way into the world!!

Images and content copyright © 2008-2011 Danielle R Limoge.

Earth Day Give Away – The MUST Factor of Fabric Bags

I really can’t say enough about the positive implications of using fabric bags! Here are a few reasons why we should “just say NO” to their disposable plastic cousins!

 Plastic bags are made from polyethylene, which is derived from crude oil and natural gas, both of which are dwindling in supply. These are valuable nonrenewable resources, it is irresponsible to waste them on the production of disposable bags.

 Only 1% of plastic bags end up being recycled. Due to their light weight nature and poor quality it takes more energy to recycle them than it does to produce new ones.

 Plastic bags contribute to the loss of life! Not only do they pose a suffocation risk to small children and pets, but they are consumed by wildlife on both land and in the sea. Birds become tangled in them, often resulting in strangulation; sea creatures eat them causing health problems and death.

 Did you know that it takes approximately 1000 years for a plastic bag to degrade back into the soil? Our landfills are full of enough trash, why are we adding more?

Now for the GIVE AWAY!

 

 For your chance to win you must complete the mandatory entry first.  

 

Mandatory entry, leave a comment on this post. For additional entries you can do ANY OR ALL of the following:

Friend Pixy Patch on Facebook, repost this on your Facebook page, then comment letting me know you did so.

Sign up to follow Twisted Threads with your preferred RSS reader, then leave a comment stating you did so. If you are already a follower, just comment letting me know.

Sign up to receive email notices when new posts are available, then comment letting me know you did so.

Retweet this post, leave a comment including your Twitter id.

Reblog this post, leave a comment letting me know you did so.

The winner, which will be chosen on April, 22th, Earth Day, has their pick of any fabric shopping tote on my site. To parooz the available selection just visit my website, PixyPatch!

This give away is now CLOSED and the winner has been selected

Congrats Liz!! You have 48 hours to respond and select your bag. If I don’t hear back another winner will be chosen.

And now I leave you with an awesome parody about plastic bags!

Images and content copyright © 2008-2011 Danielle R Limoge.

I can tell that we are gonna be friends.

Meet Jedi, my new house mate.

She came to live with me the end of February when my friend, Chris, made his big move across the pond. This has been a dream in the making for several years; after acquiring his Irish citizenship last year the time had come for him to get serious about his plan!

In no time at all he secured an IT position in Galway, Ireland; this gave him about a month to get his affairs in order. Translation, find a home for your crap, find a home for you cat. Since Jedi is a Boston Kitty (JP specifically) I started asking all my beantown connections. No one knew of anyone looking for a furry friend, so it was decided she would be placed into a no-kill shelter (since international animal travel requires a 6 month quarantine). Having severe future cat-lady tendencies, this did not sit well with me, so I decided to care for her till she makes the move to Ireland, which will be early Fall.

As a sort of going away gift and to hopefully alleviate some of the anxiety from leaving his friend of 10 years behind, Jedi and I had a photo shoot. Here are some of my favorites!

Yeah, so remember this post? The post in which I was so adamant about not having any more furry feet in my house, that I went ahead and made my duvet cover; lets just say that Jedi is ALL OVER IT, literally! Sigh, I am such a disciplinarian.

Images and content copyright © 2008-2011 Danielle R Limoge.