d.i.y. play dough

the mushiness. the squishiness. it really is therapeutic to run your fingers through these globs of goo. not like i spent a good chunk of time this morning doing just this. ha. and the bonus is the play dough smells springy and fruity because they are made with jell-o. the girls and i made the four colors above after school two weeks ago. we kept them in air tight containers and we- i mean they-have been playing with them since. they have been using kitchen tools, like butter knives and forks to let their imaginations soar. i'm a big fan of this recipe. it's inexpensive. your kiddies get to participate in the entire process of making the play dough. and then they get to enjoy the fruits of their labor while playing with it for weeks afterwards.

here is the recipe from modern parents messy kids.

around town

people seemed to come out from hibernation this weekend in newport. the cliff walk was brimming with pedestrians. the crocuses are popping and sparking. hope you had a lovely spring weekend.

field trip to the natural history museum in providence

i love natural history museums. i confess i am a big fat anthropology (not anthropologie because i can't afford it unless it's on the clearance rack) dork. whether it's the harvard natural history museum the girls and i went to numerous times the first years of their life. or the one in cleveland that i grew up going to (and even attended a prom at). or the providence one we went to today.  i feel at home. there is an authenticity. a rawness and realness about them. all those natural and cultural artifacts in one building make me giddy. i think i may have passed down this passion to my girls. well maybe just one of them. k was more interested in the butterfly stickers at the gift shop and  wanting to hightail it to trader joe's for some almond ring danish.  but, we had to tear r away from the mars exhibit after visiting it for the second time after we had already walked around for two hours. she made me promise that we would come back. yes, r we will. and i may have some carl sagan movies that i think you may like.

marbleized easter eggs

the girls and i had a blast making these marble dyed eggs yesterday.

i guess you could say we got our easter on! i stripped them down to their underwear so the dye wouldn't stain anything and so they could really get their hands dirty. 

we used the instructions from martha stewart, but adapted them. i bought two packages of paas's easter molded color cups from the grocery store (they had a deal of 2 packages for $4). 

basically, there are two layers of dye to create the marbleized effect. 

we dyed the first layer using the first package of color cups. i used water and a dash of white vinegar to create a brighter first layer. we then put them in the egg carton to dry. 

once the first layer of dye is dry you can get out your second package of color cups.  i used water and let the dye tablets dissolve. then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and run a fork through this mixture, creating curlicues of oil on the surface.

add the eggs to the cups and once you get the color to where you  want it remove it and wipe the eggs off with a paper towel and let it dry. done and done. 

hope you enjoy making these with your lovies.

risd art museum

some images from our sunday trip as a family to the risd art museum. the girls are learning about famous artists this month at school so i thought it would be appropriate for them to see some of the paintings in real life. and josh had a killer work week last week and being enveloped in art tends to rejuvenate the soul.

scarf dyeing class

this saturday josh scooted me out of the house and said go have fun- everything is taken care of at home with the girls. um, okay. i won't object to that. so i grabbed my rubber gloves and coffee and made my way to new bedford, massachusetts for elin noble's scarf dyeing class. 

elin noble is an internationally recognized textile artist so i was thrilled to get the chance to see her studio and meet her. it was a three hour class.  i really enjoyed the entire process from picking out a shibori scarf pattern, gathering the fabric through the heavy duty string, dipping it in an indigo vat, unraveling the scarf to see the results, rinsing out the excess indigo in a water and vinegar bath, to drying the scarf and seeing the final product- a wearable piece of art.

it was a fun way to spend a saturday morning. i could get used to these art classes for adults. haystack mountain school of craft i'm talking to you.

happy weekend

what are you up to this weekend?  whatever it may be, i hope that it brings you happiness.

josh has been working hardcore on a project deadline this week so we are excited to have him back in our lives tonight. the girls and i made homemade play dough yesterday. the lighting has not been right to take pictures so i'm hoping to share the squishy goodness with you next week. 

we were going to head to ikea today, but the weather turned out to be like we just stepped into the arctic so we decided to make our own cinnamon buns. because for four-year old girls and possibly a thirty-six year old woman, the trip to ikea is all about the cinnamon buns.the entire process of making the buns has been a lesson in patience with the amount of time devoted to the dough rising. can't wait to sink my teeth into those suckers. 

tomorrow i am taking some time out for myself and heading to a scarf dying class with elin noble. i am so excited to see her studio and to dye a hand-woven shibori scarf in an indigo vat. 

the interior designer for the image above is lorenzo castillo. check out his work here. via habitually chic.

around our house

i know this photo is old. like over two weeks old. but had to share the girls' handmade valentine's day cards. got the idea to make the vellum envelopes instead of buying them (because michaels was out of them at the eleventh hour)from creative genius joslyn taylor, right here.

two inspiring books i have been salivating over

while i was cooking dinner last night rory noticed the beautiful sunset from our window so we went outside to get a better view. nothing like a sunset to put everything into perspective.

shades of yellow

well, hello there! hope you all are doing well and getting excited for the beauty, fresh colors, and warmer air that spring is going to bring. after a february filled with bronchitis i am ecstatic about the approaching season. this weekend included scrubbing the floors and cleaning the house, listening to the girlies sing in church, enjoying a visit from josh's friend from connecticut, and sitting down to a meal at perro salado together. 

the luminosity and brilliance of the color of yellow is making me very happy this monday morning.

image sources:
1. gilles & boissier's apartment in D pages
2. lemon tapis from millimetres paris
3. bonpoint yellow dress
4. clair vivier la pochette neon
5. necklace by othmar zschaler halsreif 1971 via gretchen jones's pin.
6. flower curtain strand
7.pretty mommy's pop up shop on sunniest 6 months. photo by dulldiamond.
8. photo by jean-francois jaussaud for the new york times style magazine.