I've been playing more with making garden dyes, inks and paints. Over the years I have tried with strawberries, red pelargonium, elder berries, nettles and such - mostly just making paint washes. As time goes on I am trying to get better and more skilled at mordanting, such that cloth is prepared so the colour is fast and doesn't wash out. I also hope to make inks and paints that keep their colour longer, which they won't without additives. My kitchen currently smells very odd.
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Geranium and roses. This is probably the best and strongest red I have managed so far. Mixed with gum Arabic to thicken it.
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clay mud paint - simmered in water, sieved many times, mixed with gum Arbaric. (Despite pushing through a fine sieving mesh, you can see it's still gritty, but this might brush off when dry).
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On cloth mordanted with alum, the colour and pattern should stay.
I'm making a bag for a friend's 50th birthday. I have dyed mordanted cloth with dalia petals. I'll then paint on.
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For mud paint, you can food colouring, which is fun with kids.
More rocks for the community plot, painted with remaindered, unwanted nail polish from neighbours. The polish seems to have extra sticking quality that cleaves very well over time - better than regular acrylic paint on sand rock, it seems. Covered in two layers of varnish, which is seeming to hold pretty well for rocks placed on the damp earth year round. None of these have been nicked so far, which is always a bonus for a pavement plot. 🌱
Well done @Ilikeplants. Please let us know how they work. I bought a whole load of plants for Possum last spring so she could make potion, lotions and tinctures and then she lost the urge. I might have a go myself next year instead.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
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This is a great book of plant dye recipes for anyone interested. It makes a nice present and you can make the paints, dyes and ink as simple or as complicated in process as you want. Paint with rose petals or dye cloth for a shirt.
And gorgeous cross stitch @ERICS MUM (sorry, haven’t looked in here for a while ☺️). I love the terrier - he looks real enough to pat 🐶
More Crochet 🧶 Magic Roundabout this time. 🙂
Failure is always an option.
This summer I’ve started using my own calendula, lavender and various herbs and flowers to make my own skin salves and lip balms.