Batik Dye

Today we used fabric dye and wax - this is a traditional art form called batik.
Watch this short video clip to see how it works.

We used paraffin candles which would drip onto the fabric as we did not have a xjanting tool.  (Maybe next time!)

Then we were able to soak the fabric in our dye.  We also added some other colours by directly applying the dye to areas that we wanted to change. 

Next week we will iron out the wax.

                   

Beetroot Dye

Today we are going to try to make dye using beetroot.
The method is the same as with the purple cabbage so we will need water, a pot and to boil the beetroot.

We think that beetroot will make

Flynn C., Shakyia , Ella & Daniel thinks  green
Taegyn and Brooke think red / purple
Flynn NS & Jacob think blue

We chopped up the beetroot and added the water.  We noticed that the juice coming out when we were cutting was very red - like blood.  

When we added the water before boiling the water went red too.

We dyed a piece of fabric which showed us that beetroot would colour red.

Unfortunately our colour potion has sat in the classroom over the week and has now begun to grow mould.  We have decided to let the mould keep growing to see what happens. We also want to look at the mould under the microscope.

Hopefully we will be able to take some photos of the mould and share them with you.

Jacobs handprint after cutting the beetroot!

Natural Dyes

We have found lots of resources that show us how to make dyes from vegetables, fruit and other sources of vegetation.

So ..... we experimented!

Today we have chopped up purple cabbage we have to boil it in water for about an hour then strain it.

This is meant to make a blue coloured dye.

We could see colour on the knife it looked like it was going to be purple.  So we put it onto some paper to see if it would stay purple or change. We noticed that it turned blue as it dried.  We also noticed that bits of cabbage left on the chopping board changed to blue too.

When we started to boil the cabbage we were able to see the water changing colour really quickly.  We tested it on paper and it made light blue.

After boiling for longer we got a very dark blue dye.

We stored this dye for a week in a dark cupboard.  When we got it out today (Monday 26th Aug) we found that it had changed colour again, to a reddie purple.
We are going to try dying some fabric and see what colour it stays.

While we were dying the fabric we decided to try different mordants.

                   


No Mordant                                           We tired - Salt                                    We tried - Soda Ash

We now know that mordants have an effect on the colour of the dye.

During term 3 the students and I are going to be looking at natural and synthetic dyes.  To start with we are going to be experimenting with different commercial dyes, looking at how they work, the different techniques for dying and how they are applied to different fabrics.  Then the fun bit...

we are going to find our own materials and create our own dye.  There are lots of items in our natural environment, such as lichens, onion skins, fruit skins and barks that can be used to create dye.  We will then get to apply these dyes on the same type of materials that we used with commercial dyes and compare the results.  

We will also take some time looking at traditional use of natural materials to achieve a range of colours, and explore why some colours are more valued than others.

GINGER BEER

Last week we made ginger beer, using a recipe that we found on Suzy's world website. Follow this link for more information and the recipe.  suzys world

SO ...
today we were finally able to have a taste.

As you can see we had rather an exciting reaction!

When we were making the mixture for ginger beer, we had lots of conversations about how substances can change.

Two easy changes for us to see were: the sugar, which melted or dissolved.

and the yeast used the sugar to create energy, releasing carbon dioxide, which is what makes the fizz!

JUICY POTIONS

Definition of a 'Potion':

 A liquid that is believed to have a magical effect on someone who drinks it:

Today we made 'juice' potions and while we don't think they had any magical effects on us we know that they were good for us. Fruit juices taste good, are nutritious and can be beneficial for our health because they are rich in vitamins, minerals.

Aaron brought in some 'super juice' for us all to try, then we got to make out own.

We had carrots, apples, oranges, and ginger to run through the juicers. It was amazing to see how many carrots you needed to make only 1/2 a cup of juice!  This is one of the reasons why it is important to only drink straight fruit juice in moderation.  Not many of us could eat 12 big carrots in a go, but it would be easy to drink the 1/2 a cup of juice they produce!

 Then we go on the business and mixed a couple together to see how they tasted.

Potion number 1: Carrot and Apple juice.

Potion number 2: Orange, Apple and Ginger juice.

Number two was a definite winner with us all.  Next week we are going to have a go with a few vegetable combinations!

LIP BALM

There won't be any chapped lips for herbs and potion students this winter. Today we finally got to make our lip balm.
We used a recipe that we found on the Martha Stewart Website which was very easy to follow.  The website even has a short video clip that we were able to watch to make sure we were on the right track!

Martha Stewart-scented-lip-balm

1 tablespoon beeswax pearls (also called pellets or pastilles)
1 tablespoon pure shea butter
2 tablespoons sweet almond oil

To make tinted balm, add small amount of coloured lipstick to your melted mix.

Melt beeswax, shea butter, and almond oil together in the top of a double boiler or in a heat-safe bowl set over a pot of simmering water; stir continuously with a whisk. Once the ingredients are liquefied, remove them from heat.  to a measuring cup or a container with a pour spout and then divide it among 10 5 ml lip balm containers. Let balms cool completely until solid, about 20 minutes. 

You can also add 6-10 drops of essential oils to this mix.  You need to do this when the wax and Shea butter are totally melted.  THEN Whisk them in quickly.

We found the best way to transfer the balm into the containers was using a dropper.  This meant we didn't spill it too much!

Today we spent some time looking at how to make bath bombs, lip balm and candles.
We also have a great website, that was recommended to us, where we can buy some of the ingredients that we are going to need.

Go Native

Lip Balm Recipe

Bath Bombs

Balloon Candles

Hopefully we will get some ingredients ordered and be able to make a couple of these next week.

Herbs and potions on a Friday

We had run out of time on Wednesday (and Mrs Hanlon cracked the egg yolk) so some of us decided that we would make the lavender breath fresheners on Discovery Day.

We followed the recipe and left them to set over the weekend.  They didn't look quite like the pictures on the internet but they were certainly edible.

Some of us are not too sure about the taste - the lavender oil was very strong, and the bits of lavender aren't that nice.  A couple of us want to have a go again at home, adding some honey and changing the lavender oil and flowers for mint.

Mrs Hanlon is looking forward to hearing how these experiments go.

Click here to make your own breath fresheners

Wednesday 13th March

Today was a taste sensation.

Mrs Hanlon raided the herb garden and brought in a variety of different herbs that we were able to taste and smell.

We tasted Lemon Verbena, Apple Mint, Pineapple Sage, Rosemary, Sage, Stevia, Fennel, Lavender, Comfrey, Fenugreek, Cumin, Cardamon, and Liquorice Root.

Our next project today was to plant the herbs that Mrs Hanlon had brought.  We used Meredyth's Gumboot planter and got this all set up.  Hopefully we remember to water them and they will be there for others in the school to enjoy.

We also discussed how the drought is effecting the plants at the moment, and how this might make it hard for us to be able to find herbs to press for our herbals and our other options.
While we had also planned to make some Lavender Breath Fresheners, we ran out of time (and Mrs Hanlon broke the egg yolk into the white) so we are planning to have a go at making these on discovery Friday.

Another question that came up today was what is the difference between herbs and spices.
The words herb and spice are often used interchangeable.  Both are obtained from plants and primarily used for adding flavour and aroma to food.  While there are similarities, there are also some subtle differences between herbs and spices

Herbs come from the leave of herbaceous (Non-woody) plants.  
Spices come from roots, flowers, fruits, seeds or bark.
Some plants are both herbs and spices.  For example Coriander (cilantro) leaves are a herb, but the seeds from the plant are a spice.

Today was our first herbs and potions session - no we can't quite make polyjuice like Harry Potter, and no we haven't got the cauldron bubbling.  But we do have a keen interest in making items using herbs and plants that we find in the gardens around us.

There was lots of talking and ideas shared today, sharing our knowledge and making plans for the next few weeks.

Mrs Hanlon brought in a herbal that she made when she was in year 6 (many, many years ago) we worked out her book must be nearly 30 years old!

A herbal is a book that has the names and descriptions of plants.  It contains information about the plants properties, in particular how they might help your health, how to use them in cooking.   Often there are legends and magical powers associated with the plants too.

Most of us would like to make one of these over the next few weeks as well as experimenting in making some of the ideas that we brainstormed together