Mel's shared items
The kitchen is certainly one of my favorite rooms in the house. After all, that’s where everything yummy lives! We’ve been lucky enough to feature some beautiful kitchens on design*sponge and today I’ve selected 30 of our favorite sneak peek kitchens from Brooklyn and Hawaii to Paris and everywhere in between! [We even have my hometown of Siloam Springs, Arkansas representing!] To learn more about the kitchen or to see the rest of the home, click on the link under each photo for the full peek! Hope you feel inspired! -amy a. [image above: alyson fox's airy austin kitchen]
[image above: love the huge farm sink in this brooklyn brownstone kitchen from fitzhugh & lyndsay of brooklyn home]
[image above: fiyel levent's blue and orange brooklyn kitchen]
[image above: the east village, new york kitchen of andy pratt and sarah coombs]
[image above: open shelving showcases emerson's ironstone collection in the emersonmade kitchen in new hampshire. below, their well-stocked pantry]
CLICK HERE for 25 more sneak peek kitchens!
My good friend Ann is putting on a fundraiser for Sarah, a friend of hers who is really in need of some help. You can read about Sarah's brave fight here: Sarah's Story
If you can spare some change, and are looking for some nice artwork, check out the fundraiser here: http://fundraiserwithart.blogspot.com/
Here is my piece for the fundraiser - it is watercolor: 8" x 11" on 11" x 15" paper.
Thanks guys!
--Cassie
It's easy and fun to make your own popsicles at home, and you can really custom tailor your ingredients that way, too! Instructables user izzyinsf shows us how to make one kind: smoothie pops.
More:- How-To: Homemade Popsicles
- HOW TO - Make Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles
- How-To: Blackberry Smash Cocktail
Kate on mini-eco has a nice little list of ingredients that will work as natural dye for homemade playdough. Turmeric, oak tree bark, raspberries... They create such pretty colors! She shares her playdough recipe too.
Read the Full Story » | More on CRAFT » | Comments » | Read more articles in Kids | Digg this!
Sean @ Make: Online points us to these bowls molded from vegetables by Austrian designers mischer'traxler, which are also colored to match the veggies from whence they came. They call them "reversed volumes."
Read this article | Comment on this article
Subscribe to the CRAFT Podcast in iTunes, or download the m4v video.
In this week's CRAFT Video, I show you how to set up a hydroponic herb garden on my rooftop in Brooklyn. Hydroponic gardening uses water more efficiently than traditional soil gardening, and is also a lot less messy for urban apartment dwellers. It's easier to get set up than you might think! The basic idea is that you have a reservoir of water with all the nutrients the plants could want, being circulated close to the roots of the plants. Because the water is recirculated, the plants have more than one chance to grab the nutrients in the water, so they grow faster. Here are the basic components of a hydroponic garden:
- A light-tight container (to inhibit algae growth)
- Nutrient solution
- A water pump and tubing (available at most pet stores)
- Small plant-sized containers
- Expanded clay pebbles or other growing medium
Of course there are highly sophisticated setups available out there, but this is all you'd need to get started. I used the Rainforest 318 system made by General Hydroponics (who makes the easiest-to-find nutrients), but you might start with a smaller kit or try to DIY your own system to meet your needs.
The Windowfarms project is a great place to learn to make your own custom window garden from mostly recycled materials. Photo above by Maya Nayak.
There are also some designs available on Thingiverse, like this "Bloombot" by Will Langford. You can even print your own growing cups from biodegradable plastic using vik's design.
Kellbot has been working on her own aeroponic garden for some time now, and her aeroponic garden log is quite interesting to read.
Here's an in-process shot from setting up my herb garden. I have more pictures on Flickr.
Read this article | Comment on this article
I love Easter, mostly because it’s the one time of year people actually focus on the most important event in history. But I also love the dawn of spring, and the celebrations we have as a family to welcome more outdoor time, more stopping to smell the wildflowers, and a general sense of rebirth in our lives.
I also love that, unlike Christmas, isn’t hasn’t become too crazily commercial. I mean, it’s definitely on its way… But instead of six weeks of decorating and eating and spending more, more, more, most people simple enjoy a weekend of being with friends and family.
This is the first Easter we’ve had among family in three years, so I look forward to that this weekend. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of my favorite finds from around the blogosphere that help celebrate Easter.
Perhaps your family could try one or two of these ideas.
Food
Photo from Kitchen Simplicity
- Taming the yeast: Easter egg bread :: Simple Bites
- Three no-bake Easter treats :: Kitchen Simplicity
- Coconut-mango pancakes :: A Little Yumminess
- Egg-shaped Easter sweets :: Women’s Day
- Chickie eggs :: Just Jenn
- Apple walnut flax seed bread :: Joy the Baker
Decor
Photo from A Soft Place to Land
- Create a moss table runner :: Sunset magazine
- Spring napkins :: Purl Bee
- Happy little ideas for spring :: The Inspired Room
- The spring mantel :: A Soft Place to Land
- F is for flowering branches :: Fric and Frac
- Home is a delicious scent: Cherry blossoms :: Reluctant Entertainer
Crafts
Photo from Mibo
- Craft an eco-friendly Easter :: Simple Organic
- Egg cartons: Imagine the possibilities :: Simple Kids
- Felted eggs for spring :: Craftzine
- Bunny rabbit egg cozy :: Bloesem Kids
- Tissue-paper decorated eggs :: Martha Stewart
- The yolk folk :: Mibo
- Tiny baskets for spring :: Quince and Quire
- Quick little bunny tutorial :: Elsie Marley
Do you have a post up relating to a family-friendly Easter project? Do share your link in the comments!
CURRENT SPONSORS:
- 503 Photography - online photography workshops...for kids.
- Pear Budget - really simple budgeting.
- Mabel's Labels - labels for the stuff kids lose.
- Plan to Eat - monthly meal planner, shopping list maker.
- Todoodlist - technology is great. pencils are better.
© 2010 Simple Living Media, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Simple Mom subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please contact hello@simplelivingmedia.com to let us know. Thanks.
Pretty felt wool puzzle? No, guess again. It's a sandwich. Actually, it's a bunch of sandwiches pieced together.
Read Full Post
