Nature DIY Part 1: Poke Berry Paint and Dye

Poke Berries are a deep purple blackish colored berry growing on the Poke Weed which are totally beautiful and totally poisonous berries. I would not use them for dying clothing, but today I wanted to dye my hemp shower curtain and when I realized it was making an awesome magenta color dye, I made another thicker batch for paint!

This pic above shows you what the Poke Berry looks like, I cut about 10-15 bunches like this to gather enough pigment for the dye.
I was rather lazy about the dying process this time (unlike my last post with plum skins, which I did completely following directions) - I dropped the poke berries in the (not for food) pot, filled up enough water to fit the fabric in, then added about a half cup of kosher salt.
After bringing this concoction to a boil, I let it simmer and set for about 30 minutes (the longer it simmers the better your dye will be). I then added the 100% hemp fabric for my shower curtain to the Poke Berry dye! Check out the rad color!
I then realized this would make a awesome watercolor paint, so I gathered about 7 more bunches of poke berries and added them to the old poke berries from the dye to be boiled again with only a small amount of water. (The hemp fabric & dye had been poured into another bucket.) Now if you are loving the Poke paint, but are like WTF? about my paint brush in the pic above... that is because I made the paint brushes too- which I will tell ya'll about in Part 2 Nature DIY~!!!
Just like traditional watercolors you can get variations of pigment by adding water to the thicker Poke Berry paint, which I tried to illustrate in my quick & somewhat creepy flying shark sperm shaped monster pet with eggs painting. :)

Do you use natural paints? Have you ever experimented with henna or mud painting? Please share your secrets here!

DIY: What You Can Make With A Necktie, Pringles Can & Light Bulb

Everytime I see something I want I think about how I can make it myself- cheaply, easily, and with materials already laying around (or at the thrift). This morning I found three awesome DIY projects to share out of some ordinary household items that typically get tossed.

I am totally in love with the idea of making a necktie bracelet especially after having lusted after so many rad patterned ties at the thrift store, and trying to get all my boyfriends to please please wear the groovy things. Now I can wear them myself :) ... if you feel too lazy to make something like this you can buy it for under $10 at Narwhal Co.
Now here's a DIY project that will blow any savvy photographer's mind! A step by step tutorial on how to make your very own cheap (or free) macro lens using a pringles canister... and the results are totally awesome (see his sample pics at the end of the post.) I want to be his BFF photo friend!

This DIY lightbulb project is too adorable to be true!!! The easy 1-2-3 instructions are over at Design Sprout, where you can even learn how to turn the lightbulbs into salt -n- peppa shakers with screw on soda bottle caps. Makes me wish I had a pile of lightbulbs saved up in a cabinet somewhere.
If you do any of these projects write in and send pics/links/and the story!

Peak Oil Humor

Spider Web

This web is so pretty sitting in my doorway - I like the way the rings are tighter on the outside and loosen toward the center where the spider waits patiently.

Lex Fest In Asheville

Lex Fest in Asheville NC is the festival for freaks, it's just like any cultural celebration, except this one creates a space for everyone who feels they are on the fringes of society. It's a place to sell crafts, listen to alternative bands, mingle with other punks, and generally enjoy the creativety that makes the pulse of the city. The groovy, the goth, the hippies, punks, and zombies can all come together and flaunt their stuff...

The first cool thing I noticed while walking to Lex Fest were tons of people where riding bikes and also walking, bikes were chained to every pole & bike rack downtown. So does this mean "freaks" tend to be more on the ecosexual side? :)

Lots of ladies were strutting their stuff and completely happy to have their photo taken, even posing.

Asheville has a addiction to hoola- hoops , is this also nation wide? I feel rather out of the 'cool' loop as of the last, oh 7 years or so....

Many Gothic fairies took to the streets carrying Artist Donation hats.

There was some totally awesome upcycled steam punk jewelry and in the pic below upcycled bike tubes made into these super sexy black chokers!

And ZOMBIES!!!!!!! They have a thriller style zombie crawl through the street!

I was amazed at how beautiful this fashionista looked while eating a huge piece of pizza...the food was pretty American, all I saw were people licking ice cream and eating pizza. Then i saw BIKE JOUSTING! Each jouster would get up a hill opposite each other, fly down on bikes towards the hay bail wall and then...here are a few pics illustrating how it works...

This woman was slowly turning in circles on the American Flag & making a sad face- while holding dead flowers - a strong political statement? It was freaking me out.

Last but not least is the totally New Orleans worthy marching band - which rocked way more then the band on stage or the drum circle!

PS- Here's an extra picture my friend took at Lex Fest during the night, of a glowing hoola-hoop!

Grass

The history of the lawn is not exactly something to be proud of, not only that but it's history also sketches out a clear picture of how useless the grassy area around your house was meant to be. Back in the day the French Aristocrats decided it would be a grand show of wealth to have pasture that wasn't for animals to graze on - somewhat of a middle finger to the poor. Over time the lawn in America has become the symbol of stable suburban culture, the person who lets their lawn go wild is not only treated like a neighborhood nuisance but can be fined large amounts of money for not mowing- even during a drought! Programs such as Food Not Lawns and the NWF's backyard habitat encourage people with all types of "yards" (from urban to rural) to make your lawn one that grows food for your family or for the wildlife in your area. The idea that some places prohibit the use of one's purchased land from being useful is the stuff of petty & paranoid vanity, since many of the most gorgeous gardens in the world are ones established to be natural habitats growing native flora - like Botanical Gardens & National Forests.

If like me, you are renting property you may have a little less control over what becomes of the lawn around you, but when life sends you mowed grass, rake some hay! On the rare occasion my landlady gets out to mow (because of high gas prices) I go out and gather the dried cut grass in baskets. This makes the best mulch for potted plants, keeping them moist and the decaying grass helps renew the soil.

If you own your property consider using a tiller instead of a lawn mower next time - you'll never have to buy gasoline to mow again, you can put in all native plants, food, clover and other useful resources, you will have the most unique yard with the most butterflies around and help give the ozone layer a breather!

Clothing Swap Party

What better way to mingle, make new friends, giggle and shop for free than a swap party! Yesterday evening my neighbor Alli had a ladies only swap gathering... this isn't spit swapping or wife swapping, but the new eco friendly way to swap (or trade) cool clothing with your friends for free. Everyone brings some clothing and accessories they no longer use - that's your ticket in... I brought a few things, namely some vintage cowgirl boots which no one fit in (size 6m) but everyone tried to squeeze into! Hosting a clothing swap is a great way to gather with friends that doesn't have to cost alot - a few drinks and finger foods can be served and the guests provide the rest. Try your own, and tell me all about it! Details!

Red Green and Blue

As elections approach and so many issues become front and center stage - sometimes it's cool to have a place to go and read about how all sides of politics effect the environment. Red Green And Blue is not your typical environmental website, where you may assume there are only liberal leaning articles- there are actually different sections for those who ride a donkey and those who caravan on the elephant, and for those who ride a little both- so that you can read up on what everyone thinks! If you are interested in how your vote effects the earth- go check out Red Green and Blue now.

And remember to VOTE!!! It's a privilege hard fought for and we each make a difference.

Graph Jam: Stephen Hawkings

Check out more graph humor at Graph Jam! :)

Fuzz Bug

Alright, this bug is soooooo tiny and fuzzy it was really difficult to get a good picture of - but does anyone out there know what sort of bug this is and what kind of life it leads? Besides being oh so fuzzy and cute! If it was the size a cat I would take it inside my house and become BFF's with it.
And I swear this is not just some piece of lent stuck on there, it is alive and crawling along like a micro doodle bug.



If anyone can correctly identify this bug, I'll give them a 40% discount at The Oko Box!