Living With Less means Cooking With Less

It breaks my heart to see people struggling to eat. It’s a world wide problem that will only get worse. Too many people competing for the limited resources left. So what can we on a individual level do do protect ourselves? Start a vegetable garden! Turn you lawn into a farm or your balcony into a container garden.

Victory Gardens + Wartime Recipes for dieting on pinterest.

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Yannis Behrakis foto of people standing in line at Syndtagma Square, Athens hoping to get some free onions

One of the best selling books in Greece right now is Eleni Nikolaidou’s Starvation Recipes, made up of recipes and survival tips used by Greeks during the occupation of the second world war. Raisins, olives, wild greens, and rationed bread became the nation’s staples against mass starvation that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives.

Suggestions from the book: No Meat? Push an eggplant through the grinder instead. Chew your food long enough for your stomach to feel full. And don’t forget to sweep crumbs off your table and into a jar.

PhotobucketRock bottom? Greece gets the lowest credit rating in the world. Again (foto Nikolas Giakoumidis/AP)

Some frugal recipes:

Horta/wild greens: Boiled Leafy Greens + Wild Greens with Fried Eggs.

Roasted Sweet Onions with Mint

Onions: Roasted Sweet Onions with Mint + Caramelized Onion Dip Recipe + French Onion Soup.

Stale bread recipes: Bruschetta + Ribollita (bread and vegetable soup) + Panzanella, Tuscan bread salad recipe.

Refried Beans (frijoles refritos) + Wartime Cauliflower Cheese with Bacon + Beets and Greens Curry with Chickpeas + Orange Couscous Salad.

via http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/allotment/2010/may/06/allotments-gardensStinging weeds: Blanche Vaughan’s nettle ravioli

Stinging nettle or common nettle, Urtica dioica, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant we generally consider a weed to pull. The plant has many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on its leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles that inject histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation when contacted by humans and other animals. The plant has a long history of use as a medicine and as a food source.

ForagingURBAN FORAGING GUIDE [PDF].


Imagine having to feed your children cookies made from mud…

Related:  Moneyless man reveals how to live a cashless life without starving + The mile high swappers: homemade food sharing.

And if thoughts of the future making you sad, cheer-up with the Fruitcake Lady, Truman Capote’s aunt:

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Playing follow the leader with needle and thread

arimoto yumiko embroidery, via http://www.mikapoka.com/2012/02/embroidering-delicate-stories.htmlEmbroidering delicate stories, Arimoto Yumiko

YOU WILL LIKE THIS! More Yumiko, Dinner made to measure + Atelier: Yumiko Arimoto.

Ursula Rauch + Masculin, Féminin + Inge Jacobsen: cross-stitched vogue covers + Plastic Bag Embroidery, In Defense of Bamboo Fabric + Daily Discards Peg Grady’s Embroidery Series + Everso Baby Bloomers.

SATI ZECH EMBROIDERY, VIA http://stitchandtickle.blogspot.com/2011/09/sati-zech-german-b-1958.html Sati Zech (German, b. 1958)

Bulgarian embroidery + Ana Botezatu + Louise Saxton + Recycled crewel brooches! + Freeform embroidery on a recycled metal pinback button + L’Angelus, ricamato/Old French embroidery + Embroidered Rocks??? + Embroidered Classics.

embroideried chair, via http://blog.alltheluckintheworld.nl/2010/09/03/after-and-before/

All the luck in the world’s after and before

Other stitching: relaimed postal bags + Rugs, Knits and Stitches.

Reconstructed fashion: shape and cut, amazingly structured clothes.

Stitching cafes are cropping up everywhere:  RAY STITCH + A stitch in tea-time! Thanks to the growing make-do-and-mend trend, the sewing café arrives in Britain + Sewing Café London  The Latest Craze + The Make Lounge + Sewing café opens in Paris.

Dr Neal's Exhibition Work, via http://theartroomplant.blogspot.com/2010/05/dr-neals-exhibition-work.htmlDr Neal’s Exhibition Work

Other: Hillery Rebeka Sproatt sketchbooks + memory jug blog.

easy electic hall eclectic hallEclectic hall design using shoe box tops covered with fabric to adorn a wall

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The Power of Sound and Janet Cooper

When my wonderful friend Janet Cooper was recently in Rome, she gave me the book The Power of Sound. Janet and I both share an interest in self-healing via sound, vibration, frequency and dance.

  Janet at my studio wearing a Muy Marcottage dress

The book is based on the research of Alfred Tomatis (1920 – 2001).

While in the womb, Alfred’s mother was not at all happy about her pregnancy and tried hiding it. Probably because of this, Alfred was born 2 ½ months prematurely and, thought to be dead, was tossed into a basket. Luckily, his grandmother, took him from the basket and saved his life. But all of the negative energy he experienced inside his mom made him a sickly child. At least his father decided to take interest in him.

Alfred grew up and became an ear, nose and throat specialist.  His father, Umberto,  an opera singer, began sending his colleagues having problems “staying in tune”. Opera singers, singing at their full vocal power, can emit between 110 and 140 decibels. And, since the sound comes from within, said Alfred, even though the “energy of a singer is not comparable to that of a jet engine, the intensity of the sound is the same”. And, since “the amount of time a singer had practiced was directly proportional to the amount of damage to the ear”, Alfred deducted that it was the opera singer’s own voice that caused a loss of certain frequencies from their voice.

Alfred claimed that “the voice contains only those sounds that the ear can hear”. So, if you can’t hear it, you can’t say it. So he developed a method for affronting frequency hearing loss.

Change your voice and you will change your mind.

Motion produces vibration which produces frequency which produces sound. Sound resonates and thus affects other sounds.

Sounds can be shaped into music. Music helps make the blood flow which gives oxygen to the brain. So why not make a musical instrument to play?

PhotobucketBottle top shaker (Sistrum rattle). Made from a sturdy twig that has been lovingly wrapped in colourful material. Flattened bottle tops make a pleasant jingle sound. 30cmx16cm – size might vary due to the organic nature of this product.
kalimba, via http://www.swahili-imports.com/home/si3/page_6082_469/african_recycled_tin_can_kalimba.html
African Recycled Tin Can Kalimba

Chimes made from wine bottles + Maracas made from plastic water bottles + Cigar Box Ukuleles + Knitted ankle bells + Rubber band and Tupperware guitar.

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The first oil-can guitars were made in Africa and were called ramkiekies.

Afri-Can Oil Can Electric + Bullet shell flute + Bamboo flute.


Abu the Flute Maker Plays a PVC Sax

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Sound related:   Video blisscoded sound + Tomatis Method.

Pseudo-Tomatis Healing Sounds. Britons speak English in frequencies between 2,000 and 12,000 Hz; the French speak their language in frequencies mainly between 1,000 and 2,000 Hz. Tomatis theorized that the discrepancy in pitches between these languages makes the French “deaf” to English and vice versa. This is the primary reason it is so difficult for Britons and French to learn one another’s language.

Raise Your Voice + Set Your Voice Free: How To Get The Singing Or Speaking Voice You Want + How to Change Your Voice Pitch + How to make your voice sound deeper.

Dance Therapy

The Secret Life of an Unborn Child

Per gli amici italiani:    Frequenze che guariscono: il lavoro di Alfred Tomatis + Centro Tomatis + Effetto Mozart e Alfred Tomatis.

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Something to hug: Teddy Bear

Fred Lessing's teddy bear, via http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/nochildsplay/hiding1teddy.aspFred Lessing’s teddy bear

Teddy bears: Crafter Uses Belly Lint To Make Teddy Bears + Teddy bear tutorial + Make a unique hat from a stuffed animal + scroll down for bear, Grace Payne, City of London Resident + 1914 teddy bear + Teddy Bear American & Artist Bears.

Vintage Mohair Teddy Bear: What Is It? What Is It Worth? – Country Living + Teddy Bear Homemade Tattoo + We never forget our first Teddy Bear, homemade polaroid + Teddy Bear Birthday Cake + Rejected teddy bear.

Cashmere sweater repurposed into Panda Bear.

teddy and bear, via http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/roosevelt/aa_roosevelt_bears_1_e.htmlClifford Berryman’s cartoon of Roosevelt as a Rough Rider with a bear cub. The name Teddy Bear comes from former United States President Theodore Roosevelt, whose nickname was “Teddy”.

Photobucket Agustina Woodgate’s teddy bear rug

Teddy Bear chair by Fernando e Humberto Campana + Multi Purpose Stuffy Chair by Steven Schulz + Teddy sofa + Mrs Jermyn Turns Castoff Men’s Shirts Into Adorable Teddy Bears + Teddy bear lamp.

Upcycled Recycled Felted Sweater Plush Stuffed Animals + Create a cushion from recycled stuffed animals!

Why not turn an old teddy bear into a purse? Unusual Victorian Teddy Bear Purse + Katy Perry and bear bag + Teddy Bear Craft – Bear Purse tutorial + Gund Teddy Bear Purse Cream.

Ann ShoreThe lovely Ann Shore looking stunning in lace and amazing leather accessories

More ANN SHORE: Ann Shore is the co-founder of Story, an influential market-style emporium in Spitalfields, London + This is just the dreamiest interior I have ever seen! It is the home of british stylist Ann Shore + Story Homewear, where stylist Ann Shore sells natural linens, distressed mirrors, and other bohemian home accoutrements + more.

Via One Sick Mother

And Nicole of Craftcation sent me this info:

Craftcation is athree-day indie business & DIY conference featuring lectures and DIYworkshops with leading industry professionals on art, craft and food-centeredsmall business in Ventura, Ca March 22-25 2012. The intent of Craftcation is to provide entrepenurial skills for crafters.

Craftcation featuresmore than 50 workshops, lectures and events led by over 30 presenters like Jenny Hart, Kathy Cano-Murillo, Cathy Callahan, Christine Haynes, LaurenVenell, Nicole Vasbinder, Aida Mollenkamp, Evan Klieman, Rena Tom and The Urban Craft Center.

For more information, check out their website or facebook page.

Other:  Christopher Jonassen’s Devour: Portraits of Old Frying Pans.

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Sheila Paine, textile collector

Sheila Paine is an expert on tribal societies and textiles and is the author of Embroidered Textiles: Traditional Patterns from Five Continents and the trilogy The Afghan Amulet: Travels from the Hindu Kush to Razgrad, The Golden Horde: Travels from the Himalaya to Karpathos, and The Linen Goddess: Travels from the Red Sea to Prizren. She lives in England.

Sheila Paine article, via http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property_news/events_and_getaways/traditionaltextilessale.htmlWomen’s masks from Minab and Gorbedan, Sheila Paine, textile collector, sells her stash

The Power of Red and More – Travels and Textiles by Sheila Paine + Shelia Paine with the Mujahideen + Embroidered Textiles book by Sheila Paine + Amulets: A World of Secret Powers, Charms and Magic book + More… amulets + Fabric Folios + All wrapped up.

FAVOURITE PAGES, FAVOURITE BOOKS.

PhotobucketClare Coles embroidered wallpaper

Embroidery: Alice Kettle embroidery + Lauren DiCioccio + Realistic scenery + Hair embroideries + The weird world of contemporary hair art + Pricked: Extreme Embroidery + The Joy of Toile Gone Wild.

Cecilia Heffer: Lace Narratives.

PhotobucketNuntaka_nopkhun rings

Amulets as jewellery: Amulets: Sacred Charms of Power and Protection.

Inside a mummy.

LIVING WITH LESS: 28 Practical Uses for Vinegar, Nature’s Magic Cleanser + Don’t buy glasses: cut up wine and beer bottles!  Cutting glass + Bottle Cutting + Pull Tab Picture Hanger.

Ribollita Recipe: Italian Soup with Stale Bread + Panzanella  recipe, TUSCAN BREAD SALAD.

p.s.: embroidery links: Lucky Jackson.

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