DIY-Sharpie dye your clothes

I've always wanted to learn how to tie dye properly.  I tried to do it once way back in elementary school, but ended up with a light grey stained shirt.  (We were going for bright purple.) 

Now that summer is showing off her vibrant hues, I once again felt inspired to try this colorful art form.  Some quick researching online showed that people were actually using Sharpie markers to dye their shirts!   The method was so simple and I had all the materials at home.  Score!  So, I decided to give this craft a try. 

Here are the materials that I used:

Here's what I did: 

1. I placed a piece of cardboard inside my shirt so the marker wouldn't seep through.  (I only wanted one side of my shirt dyed.) Note:  You could probably also use a plastic bag too. 
2. I channeled my inner artist and began doodling on my shirts.  Note:  I used old markers which didn't have much ink in them.  I recommend using juicy, new, fat markers.  Then you can put more ink on the shirt and get a better effect.      
3. I stretched my t-shirt over a baking pan to catch the alcohol.  Note:  Again, you could probably just do this part with a plastic bag.
4. I used my dropper to drip alcohol onto my design.  A couple of drops was all it took to make the marker bleed. 
5. I let my shirt dry.
6. I ironed my shirt to set the colors.  (Note:  This didn't work because the colors still bled when I hand washed the shirts.  Other people suggested placing your shirts briefly in the microwave or dryer.)
7. I hand washed my shirts.

 Want to see the results?
Here's my first attempt:

My inspiration came from beach waves and fourth of July fireworks.
The design reminded hubby of a dental x-ray.

Hmm... crafty or crappy?  Not sure if I'm digging my design...

And here's my second attempt:  (This time I tried something simpler.)  

All in all the method worked relatively well.  The colors were vibrant and reminded me of watercolors.  But, the markers bled during my hand washing, resulting in staining on the back of the shirts.  Also, the rubbing alcohol and markers smelled A LOT.  So just be sure to do this in a well ventilated room!

Have you tried using sharpies to dye your clothes?

Tired with a capital T

We're currently exhausted here at the PinkStripeySocks household.  Baby Chuck has been quite fussy ever since we got back.  We're not sure why.  Maybe he's getting used to the new schedule? Maybe he's going through a growth spurt?  (They say that he's supposed to have one around 9 months.)  Or maybe he's teething?

Whatever the case may be, we're trying our best to keep him happy.  That means we let him play with utensils

and prenatal vitamins.

How do other parents deal with their kids?  Eek.  Imagine having more than one child!!! 

Parents, I salute you!

Dear dad-  Don't worry!  He's always under supervision!

(No nut) Psuedo- groundnut stew and fufu

Earlier this week I cooked my version of groundnut stew and fufu.  It's one of the dishes eaten by people in Ghana.  Now, I've never been to Africa and I've never eaten an authentic bowl of groundnut stew or fufu  before.  I learned about this dish from one of my college roommates. 

My version of groundnut stew (made with Sunbutter in a crockpot)

Great balls of fufu

Fufu is made from starchy vegetables like plantain or cassava.  It tastes like super starchy boxed mashed potatoes.  You're supposed to take the fufu in your hands and then dunk it in the stew.  Groundnut stew is an interesting dish because it pairs two unlikely ingredients:  nuts and tomatoes.  Strange right?  When I first heard about this odd pairing I had to taste it for myself.  It's surprisingly rich and delicious.  I've made this stew countless times since college, but now I substitute Sunflower butter for peanut butter.

Whenever I eat it, I always think about my college times, my old roommates, and the old rickety rowhouse house that we all shared.  I really loved living in that house.  We had a great community there.  Over a span of two years, I lived with 5 roommates, 1 subletter, a dozen or so cockroaches, several large "mice" (ok, probably rats), and 3 cats.  We housed a dozen or so large parties, countless student group meetings, and at least 180 dinners.  Our rowhouse also had a lot character.  A great wild tangle of weeds greeted us in the front yard.  Our stove was slanted and housed in a tiny tiny room separate from the kitchen. And then there was the random three-foot tall door under the staircase.  We used it to get to the laundry room in the basement. (I guess the past owners had house elves.) I remember having to crouch through it just so, otherwise I would fall down the narrow wooden stairs or my shoulders would brush up against walls covered in dust and spider webs. 

How funny that a dish from Africa makes me think of my old roommates in Baltimore.  





Curious to see what nuts and tomatoes taste like?  It's surprisingly tasty!
Ingredients:

1. 2  28oz cans of crushed tomatoes
2. a couple of carrots
3. a couple stalks of celery
4. 2 onions
5. 8 chicken drumsticks 
6. 1 spoonful of "Better than Bouillion"  (or Bouillion cube for taste)
7. Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
8. Bay leaves (optional)
9. 1/4 - 1/3 jar of Sunflower butter (Our peanut butter substitution)
10. 1 box of Fufu flour (Or, just serve over rice or with mashed potatoes)

(1)  Place the first eight ingredients into the crockpot.  (Warning:  I can't quite fit the entire two cans of tomatoes in, so I just pour the remainder in later.)
(2)  Cook in crockpot  (I make it in 6 hours.)
(3)  With about an hour left, skim out the fat, pour the rest of the tomatoes in, and add the Sunbutter.  .
(4)  Make fufu according to the directions on the box
Enjoy!  Serves 5 hungry adults 

DIY- Chalkboard table

During our final years living in Manhattan, hubby and I were poor.  In fact, we weren't just poor, we were po-- we were so poor we couldn't even afford the "or."  So when it came to furnishing our apartment, we did what we had to do.  We became trash pickers.

Yes, you read right.  We went trash picking.  As hubby and I walked around the city, we'd constantly scan over items tossed out by others.  When we spotted a piece of furniture that we liked, we would bring it back to our apartment.  The majority of our apartment was furnished that way.  We spotted our bookshelf while walking our dog outside one night.  We dragged a rather large mirror off of a pile of trash and propped it up in our dining room.  Once, we even dragged a side table off the sidewalk to a dinner with friends.  Yup, we picked up a lot of furniture from the trash.  And yes, we were really REALLY lucky that we didn't end up with a bed bug infestation.   

When we moved to Michigan, some of our trash-treasures were left to be used by my sister, some returned to the trash pile to be picked by others, and a couple pieces came with us.  Below, you'll see a dining room table that made the 800 mile trek with us:

We nabbed this baby from a student who was moving out.

 
Now that we're moving back East, hubby and I debated whether to bring this table back with us.  It's served us well, but we weren't sure if it was worth the moving cost.  So, hubby figured he'd try his hand at upcycling.  Here's what he did:

(1) He took the table apart.
(2) He used an electric sander to sand the table.
(3) He used wood filler to fill in all the imperfections.
(4) He sanded the table again.
(5) He painted the table with primer.
(6)  He painted the top of the table with two coats of chalkboard paint.
(7)  He put the table back together again.

And tada, here are the results:

I think it looks a lot more modern. Don't you?

I'm not sure how the chalkboard paint will fare in the long run.  

But right now I'm having a lot of fun writing on it!

We're baack!

We're back from our trip to the East Coast!  We logged in a lot of hours driving, touring housing, and visiting family.  Now we're exhausted and I think we'll spend the next couple of days sleeping and unwinding.  

It's definitely good to be back home.