Delicate & pretty paper roses.

I had sort of a bummer day, sorry if this video seems low-energy hah

Time for a confession -- I'm a total rock geek.

Ever since I was a kid, I've picked up the dullest, blandest rocks, collected them in piles until they overflowed on my shelves, hid under my bed, found their way into my backpack. I've always thought they were beautiful. I guess I had some stupid, childish hope that if I cracked them open, clear, smooth crystals would be hidden on the inside, contrasting the ugly exterior.

So when I stumbled across this simple tutorial on the web, I had to try it out! It's a do-it-yourself science experiment growing your own geode in only a few hours. All the credit for the idea goes to Martha Stewart and her genius home-making empire.

Here's what you need:

1. Blown-out eggshell
2. Alum powder
3. White glue
4. Paintbrush
5. Hot water
6. Food coloring
7. Spoon
8. Latex gloves
9. Newspaper

Now let's start growing our own geodes!

1. Poke two small holes in an egg, one on either end. and gently blow the egg out of the shell. Once the shell is empty, take a small pair of scissors and cut the egg lengthwise so that you have two halves.
2. With the paintbrush, apply a layer of white glue to the inside of the egg half. Once the concave is coated in glue, sprinkle with alum powder. Allow to dry overnight.
3. After waiting at least 6 hours, prepare your "growing solution." Boil 2 cups of water and add in a minimum of 30 drops of food coloring, the more drops, the more pigmented the geode. Fewer drops produce faintly colored, almost transparent, crystals, which are also quite beautiful. You can even skip the dye, the crystals come out clear and milky, like quartz.
4. I suggest wearing latex gloves to protect your hands from the dye. Add 3/4 cup of alum powder and stir with the spoon until the powder is completely dissolved.
5. Remove the solution from heat and let it cool down slightly for about 30 minutes. 
6. Pour into the plastic container and submerge the egg shell. Allow it to rest on the bottom of the container with the alum-coated side facing up.
7. Set it aside and let the crystals grow, undisturbed, overnight. The longer they're allowed to sit, the larger the crystallization. I recommend shooting for 12-15 hours.
8. Put gloves on to avoid staining hands with the dye. Remove the geode from the solution VERY CAREFULLY, I learned the hard way that the crystals are fragile before they've fully dried.
9. Place the egg on newspaper and let it dry completely before handling it.

And there you go! This can be a festive decorating idea for Easter, coming up in a few months, or just a pretty thing to set on the shelf. I leave mine out all year, dyed varying shades of blue and green to compliment the colors of room.

I wanted to share with y'all a little project a did a few months back. The inspiration came from my old kindergarten teacher, actually. She would give us kids coloring books, but instead of markers she would give us colored sand. You could paint a section with glue, throw sand on it, and the idea is that the sand only sticks to the glue. Since then I've played around with the idea, tried different mediums, different techniques, and such.

I finally decided I wanted to put a quote on my wall.

What I should tell you upfront is that this is - as far as i can tell - PERMANENT. You might be able to sand it down or chip away the grainiest pieces... but I wouldn't count on it. Think of it as a tattoo. Put in a lot of thought and make sure you're happy living with the design.

You only need regular ol' elmers glue and some sand. I've collected little jars of sand from different beaches I've been to around the world, so now there's a little bit of Hawaii on my wall forever. :)

The premise is simple, squeeze the glue onto your wall in a pattern and throw the sand on it. You can glue as you go along or map out the whole design, but you're going to need to work quickly if you go that route. Fix all mistakes before the glue dries. The lines aren't perfectly perfect, so I went back with tweezers and a Q-tip to make it look more polished.

You're going to get a lot of sand on the floor! You're going to get a lot of glue on your fingers! Things are going to get messy, but it's worth it!

There are a few variations on this I can think of. If you want colored sand, just fill up a ziploc bag, add food coloring, knead, and let it dry in the sun. It might also be pretty if you use things that are similar to sand: small beads, broken glass, glitter. You could get really creative with it!



The final result is really beautiful. Sand is so small that it's possible to get really, really intricate, I'm so pleased  that I'm considering doing an elaborate mandala on the wall in my bathroom. The variations in the color of the sand add dimension to the design, and the tan could contrast really nicely on any color of wall. I like that the design is 3 dimensional. It comes off the wall and adds texture and uniqueness to blank walls. This idea is perfect to add a cute, beachy vibe to your space!

Leafy veggies are good on salads, and apparently they also make pretty floral stamps!

This is a really simple idea, I just used a knife to cut the base off of a head of treviso radicchio lettuce.



Press it on a stamp pad and then paper, wiping with a paper towel between uses.

This also works with other vegetables: artichokes, the stem of romaine, etc.
I thought this was a cute idea for cards and scrapbooks :-)