Tie-Dye

As many of you may know that I come from Gujarat and one of the many things it is famous for is “Bandhani” which is a kind of tie-dye textile. I have loved the bandhani since forever. I never knew that one of its version could be done at home until last summer when we went on a camping trip which was very child friendly and had a lot of child-centric activities. One of the activities was tie-dye and I loved it more than Angel. And recently, I did it at home along with Angel.  So I got a tie dye kit and a couple of white t-shirts for her as well as for myself. We had a blast and the results are gorgeous. We are already longing to do more tie-dye projects!

So the kit I got had basically all the materials that we needed. It has the dye bottles with powdered dye, some elastic bands and disposable gloves.

We had to fill the bottle with water and shake it up so that it mixes properly and gives an even color.

The wired rack with a tray underneath made it easier for us to work.

We soaked our t-shirts in water for around 15-20 minutes before we started. We made a couple of patters and even matched 2 as Angel wanted J

We were having so much fun with the project that I forgot to click step wise pics, however they are fairly simple and easily available online.

Pattern # 1 – Stripes

        1.    Pleat and fold fabric vertically

        2.    Use elastic bands to secure the fabric and make as many sections as you wish

        3.    Apply dye to each section. Flip it and repeat on the other side. We alternated  between blue and red, you can use as many colors or any pattern that you wish!

Pattern # 2 – Swirl

        1.    Pinch the t-shirt at the center and twist it until it gets spiral shape

        2.    Bind 3-4 elastic bands overlapping each other, to create 6-8 wedges

        3.    Apply the dye to each section making a pattern if you desire. Flip it and         repeat on the other side

We matched :)

Pattern # 3 – Bull’s Eye

       1.    Pinch the t-shirt at the center and pull it upwards in a conical shape

       2.    Tie the first elastic 2 inches below the center and then continue to tie as many  as you wish in a downward direction. We used 2

       3.    Dye each section in the desired color

Pattern # 4 – Sunburst

       1.    Pinch the t-shirt and pull it upwards about 1-2 inches to tie the elastic.

       2.    Create as many sunbursts as you want

       3.    Apply dye to tips and apply another color to the rest of the t-shirt. I used my   grey t-shirt so I just mixed all the colors on the tips

Pattern # 5 – Crumpled

      1.    Crumple the t-shirt

      2.    Randomly secure it with elastic bands

      3.    Dye it. We had a lot of yellow left so we did it just with yellow. You can use your creativity and use multiple shades if you want!

Pattern # 6 – Random

This is just that – random. So we had some dye left and I handed Angel a t-shits which had a white background to tie dye as she pleased. She was thrilled. She randomly tied the elastic bands wherever she wished and randomly used the color whichever she liked. She had the most fun doing this and the result is still beautiful!

Now comes the difficult part of waiting. Wrap the fabrics in a cling film or use a zip lock bag and let them sit for 6-8 hours. Unwrap it, remove the elastics and unleash the magic. Hold it under running water until the water runs clear. Wash and dry it in the washing machine or hang them to dry!

Wizard's Brew

We did an easy yet beautiful activity last evening. I picked it from The Usborn Big Book of Science Things to Make & Do. Check it out for yourself.

All you need:

Baking Soda

Food Colors

Vinegar

Glitter (optional)

Dish Soap

Tray

Jar/Tall Glass

Small bowls & spoons

Instructions:

Cover the work surface with newspapers

Fill the jar halfway with vinegar

Add some drops of one color of food coloring and some glitter

Squeeze in some dish soap, give it a mix and place the jar on a tray

                                                

Now add a heaping spoon of baking soda, stir again and watch the foaming begin

                                   

The soap is the secret ingredient which makes it foam rather than fizz

When the reaction slows down, continue adding baking soda

To change colors, add a tablespoon of vinegar mixed with food color and dump it right in the center of the jar

Did you hear the screams of delight (from both of us) in the video?

Gulkand/Rose Petal Jam

We moved to a house this winter which has a lot of plants and trees. Since it was winter all of them were bare making it difficult to guess the types. Come spring and all the flora came to life. I got to know that I have a beautiful rose plant in my yard. It had 50-60 roses at a time. Don’t believe me? Take a peek.

It was difficult for me to believe it too until I saw it. I didn’t want all the roses to go waste so my dad suggested to make Gulkand or rose petal jam. This is the easiest jam ever.

All you need is rose petals (duh!) and sugar.

Just take out the petal from the flowers, wash and dry them thoroughly ensuring that there are no damaged/dried petals or bugs. 

Take a glass jar, layer the petals followed by the layer of sugar (I used brown sugar) again followed by petals and so on until the jar is full and place it in sunlight. Bring in the jar during the evening, give it a mix with a clean spoon and place it in the sun again the next day.

I noticed that the petals settled making more space in the jar and since I had no shortage of the roses, I kept filling it as and when I found some space.

It should be ready in about a month. I guess it took more time for me since this summer here included many rainy days as well.

Angel loved gulkand even before I did this as she had tried the Patanjali gulkand.

Not to forget the immense health benefits of gulkand.

Gulkand is an extraordinary home remedy for the treatment of acidity, used as a tonic in order to relieve lethargy, muscle ache, itching, fatigue and overexposure to heat and considered to be very efficient in purifying the blood and improving eyesight and memory.