• Blog - Kitchen

    T Tuesday: natural dye edition

    Welcome to T stands for Tuesday. Hope you had a lovely Easter.

    Last week I decided to try a new technique with my natural onion skin dye. I’ve done natural dying in the past and always amazed how different the results can be.

    onion skin dye | Halle's Hobbies

    The only leaf or flower I had on hand was cilantro, so I made do with that.

    onion skin dye | Halle's Hobbies

    I didn’t have a ton of onion skins so I decided on 4 eggs.  I tucked the eggs into the onion skins and filled the pan with water. I also gave a generous splash of white vinegar to the mix.  I cooked the eggs like I would for hard boiled eggs. Bring to a boil uncovered, boil 1 minute, cover and turn off burner. Let sit for at least 20 mins. Perfect eggs every time.  These eggs I let sit much longer…until they were lukewarm since I wanted the dye to have as much time to work it’s magic as possible.

    onion skin dye | Halle's Hobbies

    Oh yeah magic. Look at how dark that color came out.

    onion skin dye | Halle's Hobbies

    They are so interesting to look at.  I want to try this again but with other leaves and flowers.

    onion skin dye | Halle's Hobbies

    I was so mad at myself after I dumped the dye water down the sink. What was I thinking!!! I could have thrown some bits and pieces of fabric and lace in there.  My mind was preoccupied. Good old Murphy of Murphy’s law had paid us a visit. While boiling the eggs I notice the digital display for the oven wasn’t on. Obviously the cook top worked since I was using it. Yep the control board was shot. On the bright side, I hated my old stove. And this lovely news came the day after finding out I have to get a root canal. Nothing like waking up with a swollen cheek and painful mouth.

    There are a few more things that Murphy contributed to over the past week as well but I’m done complaining.

    coffee

    Time for a decadent cup of coffee before moving on with my day.

    What are you doing today?

  • Around home - Blog - Kitchen

    T Tuesday: making do edition

    So whats a girl to do when she’s hosting some friends for brunch and suddenly the love seat decides it needs a bit of ventilation.

    T Tuesday make do edition | Halle's Hobbies

    Frantically, search through her totes of fabric to find a slipcover of course.

    T Tuesday make do edition | Halle's Hobbies

    Not too shabby if I say so myself. I’m so happy I grabbed this piece of rich upholstery fabric from a garage sale a couple years back. The girls are nearly here so this will be short and sweet.

    I do have to show you my new pint glass though.T Tuesday make do edition | Halle's Hobbies

    I just couldn’t pass it up. I knew it would be perfect for the Japanese beer I drink with sushi.

    T Tuesday make do edition | Halle's Hobbies

    It had been a while since I made sushi. It was so yummy!!!!!!

    What are you doing today?

  • 3D printing - Around home - Blog

    3D printer..let the fun begin

    As soon as 3D printers came out Mr. G has been wanting one.  Here it is…fresh from the box.  It came with a little yellow octopus that they print with your particular machine before shipping it. And enough filament and the necessary software to print a second slightly varied model.

    3D printer | Halle's Hobbies

    ***FYI–photo heavy post***

    3D printer | Halle's Hobbies3D printer | Halle's Hobbies3D printer | Halle's Hobbies3D printer | Halle's Hobbies3D printer | Halle's Hobbies3D printer | Halle's Hobbies
    I present the finished “roctopus” which it this particular company’s logo/mascot.

    3D printer | Halle's Hobbies

    It was such a fascinating process to watch.

    Next Mr. G moved to the garage and went about printing some calibration units to fine tune the machine…I didn’t document any of that…I got bored. After that process was complete he went about printing a case for the tiny RapsberryPi computer that he has running the machine.

    3D printer | Halle's Hobbies 3D printer | Halle's Hobbies 3D printer | Halle's Hobbies

    This is the bottom of the case. Amazing isn’t it!!! How a spool of plastic filament can become a 3D object. There is a CAD program involved and a slicing program… I know some of you may be thinking “blah,blah..techie…blah..” but it is a very cool process.

    In my next couple posts I’ll be sharing how all this plays into things of an artsy manner as well as super practical things such as….

    3D printer | Halle's Hobbies…gears for the machine itself. All the plastic parts for this 3D printer are…you guessed it….3D printed. WHA?? Super cool. They give the files to create replacement parts with the machine. They recommend that you print certain ones that wear the quickest.

    Mr. G also has ideas for household uses…such as the air compressor was in need of a new filter for the air intake…he wanted something more high performance to prolong the life of the compressor itself.  He designed this new fitting in a CAD program then printed it out.

    3D printer | Halle's Hobbies

    Perfect fit for the filter he prefers.

    3D printer | Halle's Hobbies

    How cool is that!

    Okay…I’m sure you’ve had enough of me bragging about my husband.

    I’m working on painting some cool pieces for a couple board games and thinking up fun crafty things as well…more to come…I promise!