Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Traveler

This month I have been traveling more than usual. I have spent many years just staying close to Cincinnati because I did not have the time to travel, but now I am ready to start seeing the world.  Earlier this month, I was in Chicago. It is a great place to eat, ride the L and shop. You can't go wrong visiting Chicago. Sorry I don't have my Chicago pictures uploaded yet. I will post them later.


 I just got back from Charleston South Carolina. I spent time on the beach, swimming in the ocean and eating some really great food.

Isle of Palms, South Carolina
 I lounged on the beach for a couple of days in "Isle of Palms". The last time I was at the beach was probably in the early 90's.
I toured some really old houses and spectacular graveyards. I love historical places, especially if they have some good ghost stories attached.


Charleston, South Carolina

Monday, September 20, 2010

Butterfly

I have noticed a lot more butterflies this summer than in past years.  I enjoy watching them dance from flower to flower gathering nectar to help pollinate the world.

"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued is just out of grasp..but if you will sit quietly, may alight upon you." Nathaniel Hawthorne

Monday, September 13, 2010

T-shirts, Dress pants, Skirts and Cargo

Introducing our fall line of Purdy Stuff. We wanted to create things that everyone would like and want to use; guys, girls and even kids.  I still have more things in the works.

 The t-shirt                                                                    The skirt



   The cargo pants




 
    The dress pants

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Composting tutorial

I have been composting for about 2 years now. I started composting because I wanted to reduce my garbage. I felt like I was throwing away a lot of vegetable and paper products. My solution was to start composting. Now my garbage output is very little.

Materials needed: compost bin, browns, greens

What are browns and greens?
Browns (carbon) - these are leaves, very small twigs, dryer lint, hair (animal or human), paper, card board, hair
Greens (nitrogen) - non meat by products, fruits, vegetables, egg shells

You can use a commercial compost bin or a large plastic container. I would recommend a large bin if you have 2 or more people in your household. The large plastic container would be good for a 1 person household. I would also recommend a container that will allow you to stir the contents easily.

Location, location, location

A good spot for the bin would be close enough to the house so you will be inclined to dump your stuff but not too close to the house just in case it smells. Behind a garage or down wind of the house works best.

Outdoor stuff
Walk around your yard and collect leaves, mulch, small twigs (do not put a lot of twigs in the compost it will take forever to break down! I did this the first year I composted. A pain in the butt.) Throw that stuff in the bin.

Kitchen scraps
Designate a container in your house for your veggie food scraps. I try to dump my household scraps everyday, but of course I am not that dedicated, especially in the winter. Sometimes I will put the scraps in a paper bag and put it in the freezer until I am ready to put it in the bin.





What I add to my bin
**I collect my dogs hair after I brush him. He likes the brushing and doesn't mind sharing some of his excess hair.
**hair from my hair brush
**I tear up the card board inside of toilet paper rolls
**paper bags
**paper napkins that do not have any meat products on them

If you are in a hurry to produce some brown goodness, then you will need to be more exact about what you add to the bin. You will need a good ratio of browns to greens. Technically, it should be 30:1. I think this is hard because I typically have more greens than browns. If you add too many greens the compost will smell. Yuck! If you add too many browns it will take a long, long time to compost.

A couple of tips;
**Water the bin. If I know it is going to rain, I will take the lid off my bin or I will empty the old ice out of the ice maker into the bin. You want the compost to be moist but not soaking wet.
**Keep it hot. A covered bin is better for maintaining a warm temperature.
**Do not put weeds or other plants in the bin unless you want to grow weeds everywhere you deposit your compost.
**No dog or cat poop. You don't want to contaminate the compost with intestinal parasites.
**Stirring the mix every couple weeks will allow air to circulate so bacteria can thrive.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

My first tutorial

I spent Sunday afternoon dyeing a bunch of white t-shirts. It was a lot of fun and kind of addicting. I decided to add a tutorial section to my blog to teach others how to do cool stuff. My first tutorial is on dyeing material.  Here is the tutorial. The entire tutorial with pictures is posted under the page "Want to learn something?"

How to dye clothing

Mixing the dye. Measure out 1/2 cup of salt and dissolve it into boiling water. Make sure your salt does not contain Iodine. Once it is dissolved, add 4 ounces of the dye solution. This amount of dye will dye at least 10 pieces of clothing. Use the whole container if you want to dye lots of stuff!!

Preparing the clothing. I put the clothing I wanted to dye in the washing machine and ran hot water into the basin. I let the clothes soak in the water while I was mixing the dyes.
Prepping the dye. You will need a bucket or large bowl. I chose to use a large 5 gallon bucket. By the way, you should do all of your dyeing in an area of your house that will be easy to clean, for instance a basement or even outside. You will end up dyeing other things besides the clothing. Pour the concentrated dye mixture into the bucket. Add whatever amount of water you would like to the concentrated dye mixture in the bucket. Start with a smaller amount of water, then test the dye on a piece of fabric to see if it is the color you desire.








Dyeing. You can leave the clothing in the dye for however long you would like. It really just depends on how dark or light you want the material to be.




Rinsing. Rinse out the clothing with cold water until the water runs clear. Ring out the clothing and hang to dry. Once dry, wash in the washing machine on cold to completely remove all excess dye.



Have fun dyeing stuff!!!!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Have a sewing machine but too afraid to touch it?

Sewing machine collecting dust?
Ever wanted to learn to sew?

If this sounds like you, then we can help.

We will be hosting a beginners sewing workshop!

Come join Purdy Everyday for a fun filled afternoon of creating, networking and learning.

When: Saturday, October 23rd
Time: 10am -2pm
Where: Pleasant Ridge Montessori
            5945 Montgomery Rd
            Cincinnati, OH 45213

Click on the "Workshop" tab for more info and to register.