Happy Birthday

"Before about 1915, boyhood was seen by most grown-ups as a state of natural savagery.  A boy of ten or twelve had more in common with wild Indians than he did with his own parents.  He probably even had more in common with his dog.  Later he would change, of course.  He would undergo a spiritual metamorphosis as striking as the physical one his sister went through.  From it he would emerge thinking like a man.  But now, and for some years to come, he was going to think like a savage.  That automatically placed him in a state of war with civilization, as represented by his parents and his sister."    -Noel Perrin from The American Boy's Handy Book

Today we are celebrating our little man turning 7 years old.  Peter, every day you bring me joy and challenges, and every day I strive to embrace those things that are in your nature as a wild and wonderful little boy.  

Happy birthday, with love, 

Mom

Making Cultured Raw Buttermilk

I've been working on a few fun projects since I got my hands on some raw milk.  You don't have to have raw milk to make buttermilk, but I chose to use my raw milk for this project.

First, visit www.culturesforhealth.com.  Freak out because their site is so awesome, then spend an hour on their site putting everything they sell into your cart.  Realize that you can't spend that much on cultures and starters and take most of it out...ok, that's just what I did!  I ended up starting out with the buttermilk culture, milk kefir grains, and New Zealand sourdough starter this time around but you better believe I will be going back for Kombucha mushrooms, yogurt cultures, and cheese making paraphernalia!

Making buttermilk is so easy and rewarding.  First you have to make a "mother culture."  This has to be made with pasteurized milk or raw milk that has been heated to 160 and brought back to room temperature. The reason for this is that the bacteria that is naturally occurring (and beneficial!) in the raw milk will disrupt the culture over time.  Do not use ultra pasteurized milk either, as this can result in a weak culture.  I used pasteurized, fresh milk from a local dairy farm for my mother culture.

Simply...

• Pour 1 cup milk into a canning jar
• Add powdered culture 
• Shake or stir
• Cover with a coffee filter secured with a rubber band
• Set in a warm spot for 12-24 hours

My house is at the perfect temperature of 77 degrees day and night right now (still using AC in October here in North Carolina!) and my mother culture turned out perfect!  You'll know it is ready when you tip the jar and all the liquid (it's kind of half way between liquid and solid) moves together and doesn't leave a film on the side of the jar.

Now, put a lid on your jar and place in the fridge to halt the culturing process.  This is your mother culture!  Refresh it once a week by reserving 1 Tbsp. of mother culture and repeating the process above using the Tbsp of culture in lieu of the powdered you used the first time around.

Now to make the buttermilk...

• Use a ratio of 1 Tbsp. of mother culture for every 1 Cup of raw milk
• Combine up to 1/2 gallon
• Shake or stir
• Cover with a coffee filter secured with a rubber band
• Set in a warm spot for 12-24 hours

You've got buttermilk!  Place in the fridge to halt the culturing process and enjoy!

This morning I made gluten-free, refined sugar-free, raw buttermilk pancakes and they were TOTALLY AWESOME.  Recipe for those will be blogged soon!

Dewdrops, Bees, and Morning Glories

One of the things I have enjoyed about coming home after being out of town for almost a full month during the summer is the wild wonderland that my yard has become.  And no, I'm not being sarcastic!  Isabelle, Hutch, and I spent a lovely little time exploring the new world in our backyard this morning.  I really have to get out there and start identifying some of the wild weeds that have taken over the (non)vegetable garden!  The arbor was heavy with grapevines and crawling with morning glories and several species of wild mushrooms had sprung up in patches across the yard.  We watched busily buzzing bees collecting pollen and looked under mushroom caps for fairies. :)  The fact that my lens kept fogging up was actually the perfect touch.  On the blog agenda for the near future are a photo essay of our trip to Washington State, Hutcheson's herbal teething tea, and a Waldorf doll tutorial.  Stay tuned. :)

And the winner is.........

Congratulations to Michelle Henson!!!  Out of 37 entries her name was randomly chosen to win the diaper giveaway!  Michelle will get an organic one-size wool-in-two in the print of her choice, yipee!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to EVERYONE who entered and left such sweet comments on the blog and Facebook about our diapers and also to those who pinned to Pinterest!  Your support is GREATLY appreciated! 

I have some new pictures below of the one-size wool-in-two on a newborn baby.  So sweet. :)

Introducing One Love Diaper Co. and a GIVEAWAY!

Recently I was asked to introduce myself on an application and the first thing that came to mind was "Hi, my name is Heather and I am a compulsive maker-of-things."  Yep, that about sums it up.  Some of the things I've been compulsively making lately have been cloth diapers.  I've actually been making diapers on and off for the last 6 years.  Selling them, moving, not selling them, moving, selling them, making other stuff, having more babies, moving.  But no matter what life throws my way, I seem to always come back to....diapers.

My husband and I have been talking for some time about starting up the diaper business again.  Since our 3rd baby was born, last fall, I haven't been doing any doula work or photography because it hasn't been practical for me to work outside our home.  What I have been doing a lot of is sewing.  I started thinking about what was important to me in making and selling diapers and what would be important to the company if we chose to go back down this path.  It is important to me that I use the most natural, organic, and high quality materials I can find.  It is important to me that I give back something to some of the organizations and causes that are near to my heart.  It is important to me that the the diapers be unique in design, super (duper) cute, and that they work REALLY well.  Since Hutcheson was born I have been diapering him in wool covers and organic cotton diapers.  While I was pregnant I sewed all kind of prototypes and used all kinds of fabrics.  I found quickly that I reached first for anything I had made of organic cotton sherpa.  Wool covers also totally blew my mind.  I mean talk about WAY more absorbent, waterproof, and stink-free than the PUL covers and AIO's that I used with the other kids.  I can honestly say I have yet to have a leak or a blow-out or even a diaper rash using wool.  No kidding.  The stuff rocks.  And as far as the extra care required to lanolize and hand wash, well, I actually enjoy that and I've also found that properly prepped fabrics do just fine in the wash.  I think the difference is both the prepping and using the highest quality wool.  I can often use the same cover all day long and just air it out overnight.  It sounds crazy, but I've given many the sniff test and they really do remain clean, dry, and stink-free!

So, now we get to the point.  After a lot of careful designing, sewing, testing, and planning, I have decided to share my new passion with the world.  Our new company is called One Love Diaper Co.  and I am selling my sized and one-size organic wool diaper covers and cotton sherpa soakers.  The materials that go into these products are the highest quality, 100% organic, and 100% sewn by me. :) Every month I am selecting a special print, the profits from which will go to a charity or cause that I am passionate about, such as the Big Push for Midwives, North Carolina Friends of Midwives, ICAN, Garden Harvest and the Farm to Consumer Legal Fund.

To celebrate the opening of this new endeavor I would like to have a GIVEAWAY (YAY!) here on the blog.  The winner will get one 100% Organic One-size Diaper System complete with snap-in soaker and booster in a print of their choice (see image).  You can read all the details about the system HERE.

I have a new obsession with Pinterest (who doesn't) so I think it will be fun to get a little pin happy with this giveaway.

To enter you can:
*Leave a comment on this post
*Pin any image from our website: www.OneLoveDiaperCo.com or any image from this blog post to Pinterest and then leave a comment here to let me know you pinned!

**It has just been brought to my attention that some folks might be having trouble leaving a comment on the blog-if you can't comment for some reason then head on over to my facebook page at www.facebook.com/OneLoveDiaperCo and leave me a post letting me know you want to enter.  If you also want to pin an entry you can do so and let me know on FB as well.**

***I think I have the blog comment issue fixed!!  But please feel free to also enter on the FB page if you want! :)***

Multiple entries are allowed and the giveaway will close on 7/29/12 at midnight.  The winner will be chosen using random.org and I will announce the winner here on the blog on Monday morning!

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY (cloth) DIAPERING!! XOXO


Website: www.onelovediaperco.com
Etsy: www.onelovediaperco.etsy.com
Big Cartel: www.onelovediaperco.bigcartel.com

Blog: www.onelovediaperco.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OneLoveDiaperCo

Prints by BORA: Bees, Sunflowers, Mushrooms, Fishies, Happy Fruit, Circus Stripes, Flowers, Bathtime with Elley, Ice Cream