What you need:
sprigs of lavender (dry or fresh)
sprigs of rosemary (dry or fresh)
water
enamel pot

Directions:
1. Use enough herbs to cover the bottom of your pan. Use your nose to help get just the scent you want.

2. Add enough water to cover the tops of the herbs.
3. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the water has reduced to a generous tablespoon.
4. Strain and you’re left with a pretty light brown ink. You could always add a drop or two of black ink to darken the color.

The little ladies really enjoyed writing and drawing with wonderfully smelling ink and the gorgeous white feathers.

Thanks for the feathers Granny!

You could use any wonderful smelling herb for this activity. I think we will try a peppermint/lavender ink next time; it would be great for writing holiday cards. Who wouldn’t love a peppermint scented card for the holidays!?!?
Oooh, and a handmade gift of  scented ink, a calligraphy pen,  and homemade paper would be a lovely holiday gift idea! If you use the ink as a gift, you must add calligraphy ink to it or the herb solution will mold.

 What you need:

vinegar for plant dyes

salt for berry dyes

 water

stainless steel pots- VERY IMPOTANT or a chemical reaction can occur with the color

 cloth or fibers- light colored wool, cotton, silk or muslin works best for natural dyes

cheesecloth or coffee filter

strainer

plant material- flowers should be in full bloom, nuts mature, and berries ripe

Before dyeing the fibers you must soak them in a fixative in order for the dye to “stick”:

Berry dye fixative: 1/2 cup salt to 8 cups cold water

Plant dye fixative: 4 parts cold water to 1 part vinegar

Directions for fixative: Add the fabric to the fixative mixture and simmer for an hour; then rinse the fabric in cold water and ring out excess water.

Making the dye bath: While the fabric is soaking in the fixative prepare the dye bath. Chop up the plant material and place in a pan. Add the water by doubling the amount of water to plant material. I used a lot of water for the walnuts because they make such a strong dark dye. Bring the water to a boil, then simmer for about a  half hour to an hour, depending on how potent you want the dye. 

Dyeing the fabric: Strain plant material from the water. I found out the hard way that you should use cheesecloth or a coffee filter to catch little bits of plant material that go through the strainer. Add the fabric (while still wet from the fixative soak) to the dye bath. Simmer the fabric in the bath until the desired color is obtained. Keep in mind that the fabric will be lighter once it is rinsed and dry. After obtaining preferred color, rinse in cold water until water is clear. Hang to dry (don’t ya love the 1970′s brick fireplace with brass guard?).

The results are so pretty! The goldenrod (left) stained the wool a light creamy yellow color; the walnut stained the wool a beautiful brown with a chestnut tint. I’m planning on staining more wool with the walnut bath so I can make wool trees for the little ladies’ holiday gifts. Araina wants to make a leaf garland and Fauna wants to make a gathering bag with both colors of the stained wools. ****Note- all dyed fabric should be laundered separately in cold water.

You can do this natural dyeing  process with any plants you find in your yard. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different plants to get different colors. Plantain and grass would probably make a pretty green color. I was thinking about trying leaf litter too. Have fun experimenting and if you do this please let me know how it turned out!

Note on the pokeberries- last year we used pokeberries to dye some wool and it came out a beautiful pink color. This year I simmered the berries in a  NON-stainless steel pot (I used a large pot for canning) and the beautiful magenta berry color turned pale yellow, which is disappointing when you wanted pink! So I didn’t post that one. But learn from my mistakes and use stainless steel! Hopefully our now green pokeberries that are growing in the backyard will ripen before more nights of frost occur.

For you science lovers out there- learn about the chemical bonding of dyeing fabric here and to learn more about the different types of bonds go here. Enjoy!

To make a Shakespeare Herbal Globe (ha, kind of a bad play on words) you need:

glass ornaments- the thicker the glass the better (I found mine at Michael’s craft store)

charcoal (from a pet store)

potting soil

herbs from Shakespeare’s plays, preferably with roots, but cuttings are OK

chopstick or pencil

funnel 

  Carefully sprinkle a couple pinches of charcoal into the glass sphere. Add soil using a funnel to help guide the soil into the sphere. The Little Ladies used a rubber tree leaf as their funnel, silly girls, however it did work!

Add the herbs. We used ones with the roots already formed. This is easy to find with mint and thyme. If you are using cuttings, pull off the bottom leaves and insert the bare part of the stem into the soil. Use a chopstick or pencil to bury and arrange your plants.

Add a sprinkle of water and the terrariums are ready to go. Be warned though, sometimes this little habitat gets too warm and it can crack the glass. I have had a few do this. Last year I tried garden soil and moss from my yard, each sphere cracked within 12 hours! These little herb terrariums haven’t failed us yet though! Personally, I wouldn’t put the caps back on, this will prohibit even more warm air to escape. We are planning to make wire hangers to hold the Shakespeare herbal globes; they would look so cute hanging from the window!

Here are some beautiful words of Shakespeare and click here to read more with a list of herbs mentioned in his plays. 

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows
Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with elgantine. (-A Midsummer’s Night Dream)

There is rosemary, that’s for remembrance:
pray, love, remember: and there is pansies, that’s for thoughts. ( -Hamlet)

 What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet. (- Romeo and Juliet)

 I am that flower,
That mint,
That columbine. (- Love’s Labour Lost)

 Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram;
The marigold, that goes to bed wi’ th’ sun,
And with him rises weeping; these are flow’rs
Of middle summer, and I think they are given
To men of middle age. (-The Winter’s Tale)

 Yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta)  is another backyard edible.  The leaves, flowers and unripe fruits are edible, with a sour, tart, lemony flavor; it’s sometimes referred to as “sour grass” because of the sour taste. Wood sorrel can be added to salads, soups, or sauces, or used as a seasoning. The leaves can be steeped in boiling water for 5-10 minutes and then sweetened to make a refreshing drink similar to lemonade. I am always reading that  it should be consumed in moderation because the plant contains oxalic acid which is toxic in excessive amounts, but looking at this chart you get more oxalic acid from parsley, purslane, chives, rhubarb stems and spinach.

  High oxalic acid foods should be avoided by those with kidney disease, kidney stones, rheumatoid arthritis, or gout. To read more about oxalic acid in foods and get a better understanding of this chart visit growingtaste.com.

Wood sorrel is another great plant to link to the periodic table, the formula for oxalic acid is H₂C₂O_4.

 Oxalis means ”sharp” in Greek and Sorrel means “acidic” or “sour” in French. 

Although wood sorrel has three-lobed leaves, it is not related to the clover which is in the Trifolium family. Those heart shaped leaves belong to the Oxalis family not the clover family.

Here is a photo of white clover leaves, they are more oval shaped.

Shooh, I hope that wasn’t too much info on the science of wood sorrel and oxalic acid; sometimes I just can’t stop myself.

Some of the attributed health benefits to red clover tea are the following: (from teabenefits.com)

This is how we make the perfect cup of loose medicinal tea. This is our basic recipe, but it really depends on the herbs we are using.

Bring fresh cool water to a boil.  Take the pan off the burner and allow to cool for about 20 seconds or until the water has reached 175 degrees; you want the water hot enough to pull the good stuff out of the plant but not hot enough to boil away the nutrients. To a non-metal teapot add 2 tablespoons of fresh or 1 teaspoon of dried herb to each cup of water.  Pour the hot water over the tea and let steep COVERED for 5-10 minutes. Covering your tea while it steeps will increase the medicinal properties of the tea. After reaching the desired strength, strain out the herbs. Garnish with herb sprigs, honey or citrus. Then enjoy your cuppa with your feet up and relaxed!

Red clover and peppermint tea: A yummy blend to try is red clover and peppermint. Mix 1 cup red clover blossoms with 2 tablespoons mint leaves, add 4 cups near boiling water, cover and steep for 10 minutes. Strain and add honey to taste.

 I am so curious about how everyone else brews their loose tea. I have found so many different ways on the internet due to culture as well as personal preference. I find it very curious!