Introducing the Seasoned Etsy Shop!

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Happy Friday friends!  We’re making a few changes around here and we wanted to let you in on them.  First, we opened our Seasoned etsy shop for the holidays! Second, we revamped our about page and added more images and information about our little lives.  Sometimes we forget that this blog may be your first introduction to who we are.  For those of you that know us personally, do you think the new about page does a better job of explaining who we are? For those of you who only know us from the internet, do you feel like you actually get a sense of who we are? Should we add a video? More information?  Any feedback here is welcome and greatly appreciated.

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healingAs for the shop, Katie and I have been thinking about the Seasoned etsy shop for a long while.  We want it to be a space where we can sell the products that we create and talk about here on the blog.  We play around with potions a lot and some of them turn out so well that we want to share them with the world.  Everything we sell in our shop has been researched and tested by myself and Katie.  We even use our pals as guinea pigs when it comes to testing our lip balms and sunscreens.  We’re starting small this season, but with your support and honest feedback, we’re hoping this grows into an ever changing selection of Seasoned goods.  So if you have a chance, take a peek at the shop, <3 us on etsy, or tell a friend who may be interested.  We’re so grateful that you read Live Seasoned. You are the reason we keep experimenting, researching and posting each week, so THANKS! It’s a bunch of fun.

Project Sweater : Seaming and Finishing

Do you also think that this time of the year with its chilly days, long dark evenings, and plenty of new TV is perfect for knitting? If so, maybe you want to knit some Christmas stockings or a new hat.

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If you’ve been following along for a while, you may remember the big sweater project I’ve been working on. A quick recap : my friend had a sweater that she loved, but had been worn a lot and was slightly felted from washing. She asked me to knit another sweater just like the first, but slightly longer. In the first post I introduced the project and share my process swatches as I figured out the stitch patterns, then I wrote about finding the right yarn for the job, and in February I shared an update and the detailed stitch patterns. The project took a minor hiatus when we moved and had a baby, and finally, when things settled down this summer and fall, I finished the sweater! I wouldn’t let myself work on any other knitting projects until this was done, so there was major motivation to move it along :-).

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In addition to sharing photos of the finished sweater, today I wanted to talk about constructing the yoke (the area of the sweater around the shoulders, across the chest and back, and up to the neck).

If you’re new(ish) to sweater knitting, let me start by explaining that there are a variety of ways to construct a sweater. Broadly speaking, some sweaters are knit flat and others in the round. When knitting flat, you will knit one piece for the front, one for the back, and one for each sleeve. Those pieces are then sewn together, creating seams up the sides of the body, along the sleeves, and then between the sleeves and body. Sweaters knit in the round are almost completely seamless, except for minor seams in the armpits, and you can start from either the top and work your way down or from the bottom and work your way up.

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Lemon Foot Scrub

Lemon is our ingredient of the season! So far we’ve used it in a bucklein barsin a savory pasta, and in the shower. Oh, and there are a couple of lemon popsicle recipes! This is also one of our many essential oil posts.

Hands down, one of our favorite perks at the beach is the outdoor shower. We love it for clearing away the sand after a day at the beach, but we also love to bring sand INTO the shower in the form of scrubs. Today’s lemon, sugar, and sand scrub is the perfect zesty indulgence as we’re looking to make the most of these late summer days.

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Cheap Oversized Photo Art

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How many times have you google searched cheap prints? I have a  l o t. Pretty much every time I have a show or event.  I’m always trying to figure out the best way to produce LARGE photographs inexpensively.  Katie recently introduced me to a new method: Engineer Prints.  Engineer prints reproduce line drawings and graphics with high definition and contrast, but they’re also really great for making large black and white photography prints.  Engineer prints are the perfect low-cost option when you’re looking for a statement piece without the price tag.  Since these prints range from only a buck to $10, the quality is obviously not fit for The Louvre, but they’re definitely awesome enough for a wall in your home or as a focal point at your next art show.

In addition to sharing our love of engineer prints, we also wanted to show you a simple way to add some structure to your print before hanging it. This will help to turn the image from something that looks like a poster into a more substantial piece of art.

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Clothes Moths : Our Common Household Pest

Today we mention the use of essential oils to deter moths. If you’re interested in more essential oil posts, check out our archive. It’s also National Moth Week! Want to know the difference between moths and butterflies?

While we love moths and try to live in harmony with nature, there’s something we just can’t come to peace with, and that’s moths eating our clothes (and yarn!). Since it’s moth week, it’s the perfect time to discuss the ugly underbelly of the moth world, as we like to think of them, and offer suggestions for keeping your house free of these pests.

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If you’ve never suffered through infestations from these moths, count your blessings. On the other hand, if you have had the displeasure of trying to eradicate these moths from your house, we’re here to commiserate, and to share our strategies for keeping our closets moth-free.

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How to: Photograph Young Siblings

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Family portraits are hard.  There’s a good chance everyone involved has varying levels of interest in taking a great portrait.  I’m usually the one in the bunch groaning, so I’m here to tell you how to make future family shots a little less painful, specifically portraits of young siblings.

It all comes down to making it quick, easy and safe for the little ones.  You’re not going to walk away with fifty amazing portraits, but if you get one great shot, the squawks and squeals are all worth it.  In previous posts, we gave you a primer on photography, newborn portraits and kid candids.  I advise skimming those posts to get a better understanding of light and photography before setting up your mini models.

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Pineapple Flowers

Today we want to show you how to make pineapple flowers, which are a beautiful and edible garnish that looks fantastic on desserts and happen to be the perfect touch when celebrating your fourth anniversary!

 

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Can you believe that those are made from pineapples? Neither could I the first time I saw them! Someone called them pineapple flowers, and I just assumed that they were the actual flowers that grew on pineapple plants. Nope. But back to why these are perfect for your fourth anniversary ~ the traditional fourth anniversary gift is fruit or flowers! You could order an edible arrangement, but why not make a flower from a fruit? Read on to find out how.

 

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DIY Mineral-based Sunscreen

Now that we’ve moved to a higher altitude, I think about sunscreen year-round, but particularly in the summer when we are spending more time outside and wearing shorts and t-shirts. Additionally, I’ve started to have an internal debate about my use of sunscreen, because while I use it every day to protect my skin from aging, I’m starting to think that a little bit of tanning is Ok and even good for my health by naturally increasing my Vitamin D levels. Do you know about the negative health concerns associated with Vitamin D deficiency?

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The other concern I have while using sunscreen are the chemicals found in many over-the-counter products, especially since I’m still nursing little Luc. The problem is that a number of the chemicals in certain sunscreens can enter your bloodstream and some act as or disrupt the natural hormones in our body. The Environmental Working Group provides a detailed overview of both the chemicals and minerals used in sunscreens and the toxicity concerns associated with each. So, what’s a person to do? Read on to find out a little bit more about sunscreens and my current solution…

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Wedding Projects : The Book!

Four years ago today, Calder and I got married! This June I’ve been sharing some of the crafts that made their way into our wedding. A couple of weeks ago I showed you the bunting that decorated our reception tents and ceremony. Last week I shared the homemade purses that I embroidered for each of the bridesmaids (you also got a sneak peak at the sash that my mom made and hand-beaded to go with my wedding dress!). Just yesterday you saw the tags that labeled our homemade favors and were used as place cards. Today I’m sharing the book that we made to remember our big day. It also serves as a cookbook and highlights the huge role Calder had to play in our wedding. He planned our dinner and did most of the cooking, including the grilling during our reception!

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Interspersed throughout this post, you’ll see photographs from our wedding as well as snapshots of the book. We never got around to hiring a professional photographer for the day, but of course, with Sarah being a professional, that is what we would recommend to capture your important memories. Fortunately for us, between Sarah and a few of our friends with professional cameras, we had a great impromptu crew on hand, and they captured the day beautifully. All of the photos throughout this post come from their keen eyes, and we can’t thank them enough!

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Wedding Crafts : Tags

This June I’m sharing some of the crafts that made their way into my wedding, which was four years ago this month! A couple of weeks ago I showed you the bunting that decorated our reception tents and ceremony. Last week I shared the homemade purses that I embroidered for each of the bridesmaids (you also got a sneak peak at the sash that my mom made and hand-beaded to go with my wedding dress!). Today, I want to show you the tags that we made for both our place cards and as the labels on our favors. As you’ll see below, in each case, the cards were the icing on the cake of even bigger DIY projects!

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We used rubber stamps that were custom ordered  for these projects, yet while we were planning, we knew that these stamps would have a use well beyond the wedding. It was important to me that we didn’t purchase too many items that would only have a one-time use for the wedding, and four years out, I’m happy to see how often we’ve reused some items (and how well-loved others are). On another note ~ I know that the thought of using rubber stamps can drive people nuts when you think about having to line things up and make your stamping straight. As you’ll see, we tried to eliminate that problem. We didn’t worry about making our words perfectly straight, and we let some stamps, like the honeycombs, have a design that would fall off the edge of the tags. This strategy helped to minimize the stress and time that would go into projects like these.

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