3/26/13

The Search for Natural Food Dye

My little man has become a toddler and it is time for play doh! A friend of mine gave me a wonderful recipe for playdoh, so I needed to find some natural food dye. Regular food dye is full of chemicals and I'd rather find an alternative that is safe should me little man decide he loves to eat play doh, yuck! 
After much research at my local stores and seeing that not many stores even carry any options, I looked online into various brands and reviews I only found a couple of brands and the main ones that I found didn't get great reviews.

So I kept searching online and came across a company- Confection Art Inc. They offer various sets and single colors of natural food colors. They have liquid, paste and powder. They also offer cool items like mica or gold to add to your baked goods, etc. As well as sugar sprinkles colored in their colors.

I opted for the paste, since it said you can get intense colors with them. The shipping was very reasonable and I received it within 5 days. With natural food dyes from spinach, cabbage, berries and tumeric, you can keep them in the fridge or freezer so they last longer, so I stuck in in the fridge to keep. 

I made the playdoh- super cool- recipe to post next.  I divided the dough once cooled and added the food coloring in. I used about a 1/2 of a 1/2 teaspoon, not much and came out with some great medium pastel colors. I then added a bit more and got some darker shades. I wasn't too picky on the colors, so I was happy with the results.(pictures to post in next post) The yellow, green looked great. The red comes out a bit more pink. The blue was basically purple although I hardly used any( you could probably use more and achieve a better blue), and over a week or two basically faded to be like a darker pink, but hey, its natural and my man doesn't really care (: As long as it can squish he's happy! And I'm happy too knowing it's super safe and all natural. You can also use it for cookies, baked goods, dyeing eggs and more!

  
I'm not endorsed by this company, just was happy with their product. Thanks!

3/24/13

Hop Hop Hop to Easter!

Easter is just around the corner!
Mr Hop A Long knows all too well and is ready to jump into your eco basket! Made of sift organic cotton and eco friendly materials, perfectly natural for your little one.

Ms. Hop A Long is ready as well!
They can introduce themselves here at my Etsy Shop..

Hop Hop Hop...