Desired Color	Herbs
	Yellow	carrots, turmeric, fenugreek, white grape juice
	Orange	Onion skins, paprika
	Red	Red onion skins, madder root, cayenne
	Red-violet	Purple grape juice, red raspberries
	Green	carrot tops, bracken
	Blue	blueberries, red cabbage, black raspberries
	Blue-violet	blackberries, beet juice, mulberries
	Pink	heather

Once you've colored your eggs and allowed them to dry, decorate them with spiritual or magickal symbols and symbols of things you'd like to bring into your life. You can also use symbols of animals or of the elements. If you have a power animal or a familiar, create an egg for that creature. The possibilities are endless.

Making and Using Natural Dyes

Natural dyes work best on protein fibers--wool or silk. Plant fibers or synthetics tend not to take up the colors. All my dyeing has been done with wool yarn. The yarn or fabric first needs to be pre-treated with a mordant, which will enable the color to bind to it. The safest mordant is alum. There are two kinds of alum, the best one to use is potassium aluminum sulfate, sometime available at gardening shops (used as a soil acidifier). The grocery store alum used for making pickles (ammonium aluminum sulfate) doesn't work quite as well, but will do while you're learning if you want to do it NOW and don't want to search out the other.

Fill your big pot with water and set it on the stove. In a separate cup mix 1 tablespoon of alum and one teaspoon of of cream of tarter in a little warm water until dissolved and stir into your big pot. Add 4 ounces of yarn or cloth (estimate if you don't have a scale--a half cup of water weighs about 4 ounces, so compare). Bring the water barely to a simmer (don't boil) and simmer for an hour. Turn off the heat and let cool. Rinse, and you re ready to dye. You can dye immediately, or let it dry and dye it later. There's the setup. Now for the fun part!

Marigolds are wonderful, and most yellow flowers will yield dye--yellow if you use just the petals, yellow-green if you snap off the whole flower head. Many wood chips will yield reddish tans. Tea bags give a good rosy tan. Most herbs will give a drab grey-green (which I rather like, actually). Onion skins (clean out the bin at the grocers) give a soft yellow gold.

Most natural dyes will be in the yellow to drab green range. Orange-to-rust is possible (marigolds, dyer's coreopsis, and cosmos). Blues are difficult to produce, and good true reds almost impossible (unless you cheat and use cochinal, which is natural but not vegetable, being a dried insect).

You'll need about two parts by weight to one part fiber. Put the flowers or whatever into the pot, cover with water, and let simmer for an hour. Let cool a little and strain out the dye material. Add your fiber (pre-soak it if you let it dry after the mordanting), bring back to a simmer, and simmer gently for an hour. Turn off the stove, and let cool (soaking overnight is a good idea). Rinse well, wash gently (I use shampoo or dishwashing detergent) and let dry. It is possible to skip the pre-mordanting step and just add the alum to the dye bath. I like to pre-mordant, because then I can experiment easily with unfamiliar plants--just use a handful of the plant and six inches of yarn, which will be enough to tell if the color will be worthwhile. Note: Both the alum pre-bath and the dye baths can be safely poured down the drain or even outside around your plants (alum is used as a soil conditioner). This may not be true if you start experimenting with other mordants.

The long explanation of how to dye doesn't capture the fun and wonder of it. The pleasure of gathering the plants (be sure to say thank-you), the wonder of the subtle colors that come from the dyepot. And they all go together--the natural colors don't clash. OK, this is the process for pre-treating cotton for natural dyeing.

The source of this process is The Dyer's Garden by Rita Buchanan.

For four ounces of cotton: Mix 2 tablespoons of alum in a gallon of hot water. Put the cotton into this and soak for 12-24 hours. Rinse. Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons tannic acid powder in a gallon of hot water. Soak the cotton in this for 12-24
hours. Rinse. Then put the cotton back in the first alum solution for another 12-24 hours. Rinse, and you're ready to
dye. (You can dry it at this point and dye it later--soak it in water for awhile when you're ready)

Harm None Paper Bouquets
Materials:
Autumn colored tissue paper, scissors, crayons, and pipe cleaners.

For each flower cut eight 3-1/2 in.squares. With side of crayon color down 2 opposite sides on each square. Lay on flat surface with colored sides at top and bottom. Start folding from the top, like a paper fan. Each pleat should be approx 1/2in wide.

For the stems, bend a pipe cleaner 1-1/2in. from one end to form a hook. Place the pleated squares in a stack, and place the stack in the hook. Twist the hook around the stem.

To open flower to full bloom, twist the petals a half-turn near the stem.

Begin Again Eggheads
Materials:
A couple of eggs per child, felt-tip markers or crayons, grass seed or bird seed, some soil, a nail, and some plastic wrap.

Have children draw funny faces on their eggs with the markers or crayons. Take the nail and make a hole at the top of the egg, keep working on hole until about the size of a quarter. Drain and rinse inside of egg.

Spoon some soil into it. Put in some grass/bird seed, moisten soil, and wrap in plastic wrap. Set in a sunny spot to sprout. Once grass starts sprouting, remove the wrap and water daily.

(Explain to children that although the egg is no longer what it was originally, it has gone through a death and a rebirth as something else living and part of Nature.)

Beaded Bookmarks


Cut a length of ribbon one and half times the length of the book. Tie a knot about 2 inches from the end, slide a bead down to the knot, and tie another knot after the bead.

For the bottom portion, tie a knot about four inches from bottom, attach decorative beads, buttons, crystals or stones, and tie another knot. You can also attach a tassel. To prevent fraying, dip ends of ribbon in melted wax.

Bean Bag Dolls
Materials:
That one glove in the bottom of the closet or drawer that lost its mate over the summer. A small ball, some dried grain, yarn, and a needle and thread, and 2 buttons.

Tuck the ring finger up inside the palm of the glove and stitch the hole closed. Fill the glove up to the stretch cuff with rice, beans, popcorn, etc, and tie it off with a piece of yarn.

For the doll's head, place a small ball (ping-pong) in the cuff and sew the glove closed. For hair, wrap the yarn around your hand several times, tie the loops together at one end with a strand of yarn, and cut the other end. Stitch the tied end to the top of the doll's head.

Finish the doll by stitching on some button eyes. (Explain to children that although we all look different on the outside, we are all the same inside. Tell how the God/dess made each of us with love and care.)

Rose Petal Clay
1/3 Cup Non Self Rising Flour
1 Tsp. Salt
2 Tbs. Water
3 Cups Fresh Rose Petals

Blend the flour and salt thoroughlly, slowly adding water to make a stiff dough. Cut the rose petals into tiny pieces Slowly add as many rose petals into your dough as possible, without making it crumbly.
Begin forming the clay into the desired shapes or use a cookie cutter to make flat designs. Allow the finished pieces to dry in a warm place, out of direct sunlight to preserve the scent. Try to turn the shapes daily for even drying.

This clay is excellent for making sachets. Also, this is an excellent clay for making beads. Simply shape small amounts of dough into beads. Push round toothpicks through the center of each to make holes. If you would like designs on your beads, scratch them on with a toothpick.Allow to dry a few days, remove toothpicks (a little twist) before dough gets too hard.

Dream Pillows


Dreams are the subconscious mind's way of communicating with the conscious mind using symbols. Dreams can provide answers. By thinking of certain issues or questions you would like resolved as you are falling asleep, you program your subconscious mind to send up solutions. Making dream pillows for specific purposes is an excellent way to make your subconscious mind work with you on problem solving. Dream pillows are also helpful when you are troubled by nightmares. The most common dream pillows are Lavender, which helps to induce a relaxing, deep sleep. Some other helpful associations are: Hyacinth for stopping nightmares, Lilac for recalling past lives, and Mimosa for prophetic dreams or making decisions. Follow the directions below to make your own dream pillow.

Directions: You will need a piece of plain muslin cloth, a piece of fancy cloth (I like velvet or satin),and your choice of herbs and oils.Cut out two pieces of cloth about six inches long by four inches wide. With the good sides together, stitch a narrow seam around three of the four sides. Turn the bag right-side out. Do the same with the muslin cloth, though this rectangle should be a bit smaller, as this is the liner for your pillow.

Fill the muslin with herbs and oil, and sew closed. Insert into outer case, and sew closed. An option here would be to use ribbons, snaps, or velcro to close the end, depending how often you will refresh the contents. Also, do not overpack, as this will make your pillow uncomfortable to sleep with.

To use the dream pillow, place it under your regular pillow, or beside your face when you go to bed, then go to sleep as usual. You may notice instant sense sharpness, and be presented with information, some in symbol, some realistic, which will have direct effect on your actions.



Filter Paper Eggs
Supplies:
Coffee Filters
Food Coloring
Eye Droppers and Straws

Precut egg shapes out of coffee filters. Mix water and yellow foodcoloring and place mixture in a baby food jar.
Do the same for blue. Letthe children use eyedroppers or straws to drip colors on the filter shape.
The colors will run together and make beautiful eggs.

Growing Easter Baskets
Supplies:
Empty 1/2 gal. Milk Cartons
Potting Soil
Grass Seed (fast growing if you have it)
Stuff to Decorate Carton

Take empty milk cartons, cut down to 4-5" high. Can cover with contact paper or construction paper and decorate.
Fill 2/3 full with potting soil, the generously cover with grass seed.
Have children water daily; grass should grow in about 4-7 days.
With remaining carton, cut a handle to staple to the basket.
Fill with decorated eggs.

Offering Incense
1 teaspoon each of crushed rose peta's, vervain, myrrh, and frankincense
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Make sure all ingredients are completely dry. Gromd omgredoemts together and burn on self-igniting charcoal.
Cottony Lambs
Supplies:
Black construction Paper
Cotton Balls
White Chalk

Have the child trace their hands on the black paper. Cut these out, placing the "hands" upside down so that the four fingers are the legs and the thumb is the head. Have the kids glue cotton balls to the "body". Use chalk or construction paper or whatever to make the eyes.