Every Wednesday afternoon at three o’clock, I pick up my nephew from preschool. When we get into the car, Oliver always asks, “Aunt Natalie, what’s our fun plan for today?!”
Our bit of time together is my favorite. I always pull together a fun, seasonal activity we can enjoy together. On warmer days, we head to the splash pad or down to our neighbor’s creek. Spring days have us outside planting seeds & flying kites. On rainy days, in particular, you’ll find us inside crafting.
Last year around Easter, I filled little plastic eggs with sour worms & gummy bears. We boiled eggs from the farm & dyed them with the traditional kit found at the big box store. I hid little eggs around the farm & we went on an exciting egg hunt together!
This year, I wanted to dye eggs with more natural, plant-based dyes. Making my own dyes felt a bit daunting (though I am always wildly inspired by my friend, Amy, of Second & Edgemont) so I grabbed the Natural Egg Dye kit from Whole Foods made from fruits, herbs & veggies. It’s about $10 & is super simple to use.
It’s so important to start with good eggs when dyeing. If you do not have backyard chickens, I’d recommend connecting with your local farmer or grabbing a dozen from the natural foods store. I am particularly impressed with Whole Foods’ commitment to sustainable farms & happy chickens. I grabbed a dozen of their 365 Everyday Value white eggs & they worked great mixed with our own farm fresh brown beauties!
Before picking up Oliver, I boiled our eggs & set up our supplies. A bit of parchment & white paper worked well to protect our thrifted farmhouse table. I poured the natural dye colors into mason jars, a wonderful no-waste solution for dyeing. Once we arrived back home, I simply added hot water to each jar & we began dyeing!
There are so many techniques you can try to make your dyed eggs extra special. I love this feathered egg tutorial from 3191 & hope to do this activity with Oliver next year!
This time around, we simply drew on our eggs with crayons. Oliver used every color of the rainbow to make little scribbles on his eggs before plopping them into the dye. I loved using white – the wax prevents color from seeping into the shell so you can draw sweet little patterns on each egg. The possibilities are endless!
Once we were finished, we placed each egg into an old egg carton & admired our handiwork. I’ve been enjoying boiled eggs for breakfast every morning since!
Such a wonderful afternoon spent with Oliver & an easy, seasonal activity to enjoy with the littles.
I’d love to read your favorite techniques for naturally dyeing eggs! Please share in the comments!
If you’re on Instagram, head on over to my account & enter to win Easter goodies from Whole Foods. This blog post was in partnership with Whole Foods Fayetteville & they’re graciously gifting a @nataliecreates follower within Northwest Arkansas a bundle of spring goodies!
love,
natalie
This is indeed one of my favorite times of year. I love decorating for the holidays, baking sweet treats, hosting festive parties & enjoying holiday traditions with family. Having my sweet nephew close by makes it even more special!
When our nephew, Oliver, first moved to town, Luke & I decided to gift him experiences rather than stuff. Sure, we buy him little things here & there, but we knew gifting him a date to the movies & a visit to the bakery would be much more valuable than a plastic toy. Thus our weekly date was born!
Every Wednesday afternoon, I pick up Oliver from school & take him on a little adventure. Every Wednesday, he asks, “Aunt Natalie what’s the fun plan for the day?!” Sometimes we go to the museum. Other afternoons we spend at the library or the park!
This Christmas season, we decided to treat Oliver to his very own Christmas tree at Uncle Luke & Aunt Natalie’s home! We went to the tree farm & Oliver picked out his very own, just-his-size tree! We brought it home & have slowly been decorating the tree each Wednesday afternoon.
We have made a variety of ornaments & decorations together this season. We made colorful paper chains as garland & these cinnamon dough ornaments to hang!
I rolled out the dough & Oliver picked the cookie cutters – pig, snowflake & tree – to make his ornaments. You can find the recipe right HERE for the cinnamon ornaments. They’ll make your house smell amazing & are very easy to make!
We also made orange slice ornaments together! We sliced the oranges in circles & dried them on a baking sheet in the oven at 200 degrees for 10-12 hours (keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!). I then threaded each ornament & Oliver hung them on the tree.
Each week that Oliver comes over during Christmas, I have been placing a “special treasure” underneath the Christmas tree for him. It’s oftentimes a book & his finished ornaments in a small basket. I can’t wait for him to find his soft little fox slippers under the tree this week!
It has been such a gift to share these little dates with Oliver each week. One day, when Oliver is grown up, I hope he knows he can come to Uncle Luke & me with anything at all. You are so loved, sweet Ollie Pop!
What Christmas traditions do you keep with your favorite littles? I’d love to read your wonderful ideas – please share in the comments!
love,
Natalie
Happy first day of Fall, y’all!
With the arrival of Autumn, our home instantly becomes cozier. Stunning bright leaves scatter just outside our windows & we begin tucking pumpkins into every corner of our home.
We also find ourselves being more intentional about making time for family around the farmhouse table.
Today I thought I would share my favorite from-scratch Hot Apple Cider recipe to accompany you & your guests during the Autumn season!
Natalie’s Favorite From-Scratch Hot Apple Cider Recipe
– Roughly 2 pounds of apples, chopped (this recipe is a wonderful way to use seconds from the farmers’ market!)
– 1 cup sugar (or to taste)
– 1 orange, sliced
– 1 tablespoon cinnamon
– 2 cinnamon sticks (plus more for serving)
– 1 teaspoon allspice
1. Place roughly two-pounds of apples in a large stockpot. Add enough water to cover your apples completely.
2. Stir in sugar, sliced orange, cinnamon, cinnamon sticks & allspice. Bring to a boil. Boil, uncovered, for 1 hour. Your house will smell amazing!
3. Strain apple cider through a fine mesh sieve & pour back into your pot.
4. Serve in my new favorite ceramic mug with whipped cream & a fresh cinnamon stick!
love,
natalie
P.S. Our new “Home” mug launched today at the Freckled Hen Farmhouse & I love it so much! It makes such a lovely gift for friends & a wonderful treat for you! xo.