The Domestic Nest Blog

Melissa over at Operation Nice has been the unofficial muse of do-gooders far and wide. Her blog is the nicest little shot of joy and is the perfect read to start your day off on a happy note. Personally, I visit OpNice about that time in the afternoon when I start to wonder if I’ll survive without caffeine. OpNice, tea and a little cookie seem to miraculously make me a better clinician, nicer co-worker and sometimes a lovelier wife.

I got so inspired by Melissa, that I began the beKind club at the high school where I work. I meet with about 10 girls once a week and we plot ways to make their campus a nicer place. This is our answer to Melissa’s most recent Nice Assignment.

We created spook-o-grams to pass around to staff and students. Here’s how…

We cut old Trader Joe’s bags into 3.5×10 inch strips (yay repurposed!) and used them to wrap up tiny M&M bags. We used staples to attach the candy.

After we folded the paper into a “matchbook” form, we added labels and spooky stickers.

The result was a fun little package perfect for placing in teachers’ boxes or handing out to friends. The wrapping adds a tad bit of specialness to the otherwise plain candy.

It’s fun to see the smiles that can result from even the smallest kind gestures.

Thanks, Melissa, for being so NICE!

Happy Blog Action Day! Thousands of blogs all over the world are blogging on topics related to climate change.

We’ve all heard how toxic gases from landfills damage our ozone. We’ve also heard that plastic bottles contribute a lot to off-gassing and the toxic soup leaching into our groundwater.

We keep bottles out of the landfill by using these Klean Kanteens. They are superior to all of the other water bottles we’ve tried. They don’t ever leak and they’re VOC free. YAY!

We recycle wool sweaters to make these cute and useful cozies to keep our water cold and keep our hands dry. Here’s how we make ‘em…

First, we cut a square of wool. This wool can be any thickness, even boiled or felted if you have the time. The wool square should be about 8 inches wide and 5 to 7 inches tall (depending on the size of your water bottle). We then cut a 3.5 inch circle for the bottom of the cozy.

Make sure to sew on any ornamentation before you sew the side seam.

Next, sew the side seam. Then, sew on the bottom. (These two steps are done inside out.)

Now you can turn it right side out and wrap your bottle in it’s custom made sweater.

This Thursday is Blog Action Day. Thousands of blogs all over the world will post on the topic of climate change. As we’ve all heard, there are countless ways we affect the environment and we are likely changing our planet’s climate. It seems like a daunting task to singlehandedly affect this progression. But through small actions, we certainly will collectively continue to impact our Earth and our climate.

It is part of our mission at Domestic Nest to incorporate green practices into our lives and our business. This week, we’ll join in the effort, and post about how we’re going green, one little step after the last.

This is our leather coffee cuff. We sell them in our etsy shop and at farmers’ markets. They’re made from repurposed leather remnants and are intended to replace those paper cuffs we constantly throw away. Here’s how we make ‘em…

We use a paper coffee cuff as a pattern and cut out the leather cuff.

This nifty leather punch is used to create holes where the snaps will go.

An anvil, snap setter, and special mallet are used to set the brass snaps

One layer of leather doesn’t provide enough of a barrier to keep the heat at a comfortable level. So, we add an outer layer where your hand naturally wraps around the cup. This one in particular is from a buffalo hide and has a unique feel and grain, as compared to other types of leather. I like it.

Since Matt is a lefty, we even make these for right and left handers, though either can comfortably hold the other. It just makes Matt happy when things are specifically designed for him. I’m sure all you other lefties out there understand.

You could wear this as a cuff on your wrist. It’s too big for my wrist, so I attach it to my bag and then I’m always ready to save some trees at the coffee shop. Yay for eco-indie style. And yay for Blog Action Day! Can’t wait to read how others are inspired to make a change.

Just in case you sew, and you’d like to make the celebration banner in your favorite colors, click on the button below to download the pattern and tutorial. If you make one, please let me know. I want to hear about your crafting adventures!

Also, if you have ANY tips for me to improve the pattern or tutorial, please share them with me through comments or e-mail me at info [at] domesticnest [dot] com. I’m always open to new ideas and I want the instructions to be easy to use! Happy sewing.

If you don’t sew and you want one, there’s always the giveaway.

Celebration Banner Pattern & Tutorial

lavender sachet

…by the seashore, of course. The Domestic Nest is gearing up to attend some farmers’ markets this fall and we’ll soon fill our etsy shop with goodies. I’ve been making lists like a madwoman and trying to incrementally add to our stock of things to sell. This weekend, I’m sewing piles of sachets filled with locally grown organic lavender. (If you live in the San Diego area, we’d highly recommend a visit to the Keys Creek Lavender Farm. It’s a serene, lovely little plot of paradise.)

For the sachets, I’m using fabric scraps left over from finished projects. I’m always looking for ways to use up every inch of fabric. I use 5×10 inch pieces, sew them into little bags, fill them with lavender and then top stitch them shut.

cut

sew & fill

topstitch

Lavender is great for making tea and flavoring cookies or granola. It can also be used to brew a hair rinse or it can be added to the water to make a warm bath even more relaxing. Sachets can be put in closets, drawers, gym bags, or cars. A friend told me she keeps lavender sachets in with her handbags so that when she takes them out for special occasions, her purses smell super sweet.

matt at the farm

lavender blossoms

There’s lots to do at Keys Creek Lavender Farm. They have live music, demonstrations, tours, cooking classes and a tea house for parties. They also have a little shop with lots of lavender products for sale. We can’t wait to return!

Our house was built in 1949 and has thick plaster walls. We have hung very few things since moving in due to the commitment associated with drilling into that plaster. So, I’ve been brainstorming to come up with options to temporarily bedeck our walls. This is my favorite solution so far…

Materials: painter’s canvas, enough fabric to cover it,
a good heavy duty stapler

1. Lay the canvas on top of the fabric and cut the fabric with enough extra to wrap around the frame.
2. Start staplin’. I like to staple two opposite sides first and then wrap the corners like presents before stapling the last two sides. Make sure the fabric is pulled snug.
3. Proudly display your art.

art canvas

fabric

stapler

cut

wrap

done

These amazing command strips are perfect for mounting artwork on the wall. In my experience, they really don’t damage the paint and they make it extra easy to level your frame.

There are endless options for these art squares. Put them in kids’ rooms and change the fabric as they get older. Put them in bathrooms, where moisture can damage photos. Try mounting 9 or 12 coordinating patterns to simulate a quilt or cover a large space. Here are the three I put in our guest room.

I like using vintage material or linens, otherwise headed for landfillville or a few more decades in the closet. Then it’s easy and eco, couldn’t ask for more.

Happy Crafting!

Easy Apron in Action

Whenever you use the term “ever,” you take a risk. There are usually exceptions to such superlatives. But today, I’m willing to go for it and proclaim that this is the easiest apron ever. Go ahead, try and prove me wrong. Not only do I like a challenge, I love crafts that are easy. So please, do share.

Level of Difficulty:  easy beginner sewing
Materials: pretty pillow sham, quilt binding

1. Cut that pretty pillow sham in half. I know it feels wrong, but you get two aprons per sham. (Cut off any extra fabric where the sham overlaps.)
2. Pin and sew the quilt binding over the raw edge. You can gather or pleat if you’d like. I tried both and prefer the look of keeping it flat. (It’s also easier.)
3. I like to sew the top of the binding as well.
4. Finish the ends and tie it on. Seriously, all done.

Cut in Half

Finished End

Ready to Wear

These make super cute party favors or hostess gifts. You can find inexpensive pillow shams at discount stores like ROSS, or be eco and hit up your local thrift shop. You could add ruffles, ric rac, or even a pocket. But then, I don’t think it’d qualify any more as easiest apron ever.

Cheers!

Sun tea is an eco way of harnessing the sun’s power to brew a healthful and tasty beverage. My favorite time of year to enjoy sun tea is right now, July through September. Nothing goes better with a lazy afternoon than a cold glass of sun tea in the shade. It’s good for you and has a less acidic taste than tea brewed on your stovetop. Sun tea can be made with any type of tea (herbal, black, green…) and produces a mild, satisfying brew.

Before you start, select the proper container & location. Sun tea can be brewed in any container, but I prefer clear glass because you can see the color of the tea change. Glass is also beneficial because it’s dishwasher safe and doesn’t degrade.

The container should have a tight fitting lid and should hold at least two quarts. If your container doesn’t have a lid, you can substitute using a piece of fabric and a rubber band to keep dirt and bugs out. A good location receives full sun for at least four hours.

For a two-quart container, I use four tea bags. You can monitor the strength of your brew by watching the depth of the color. Lighter tea is milder and darker tea is, you guessed it, stronger in taste.

Before

After 4 Hours

Once your container is ready, place in your brewing location and walk away. When your brew has reached desired strength, remove it from the sun and take the tea bags out. Enjoy it immediately over ice or chill it in the fridge. Add lemon, sweetener, or my favorite, passion fruit. It will keep 5-7 days in the fridge, because sun tea never reaches boiling temperatures and tea naturally contains bacteria.

Hope you enjoy. Cheers!