Vintage Savoir Faire is all about good food,  handmade beauty,  kitchen remedies and  getting creative.

It is possible to be healthier, less stressed and more creative through vintage-inspired tips (aka, the wisdom of great great grandma … updated for our modern lives!)

Want to learn more?  Sign up for my free 15 part series “Balance for Busy People” on the right side of the page.  Less stress  and more energy? Yes, please!  You’ll also get information on the latest projects, events and workshops.  More info and sign up here.

You might also try joining The Sleep Experiment – I’m running an informal study to test home remedies for better sleep.  Test simple remedies in your own home and report back with the results.  Who couldn’t use more & better sleep these days??  SIGN UP HERE.

And to get started, you might like:

• 7 easy tips to reduce digital information overload,
• discover the kitchen secret for great skin,
• make your own vanilla extract,
• make these amazing Creme de Menthe bars, or
• go foraging for this yummy vintage cold & flu remedy.

Thanks again for stopping by.  And if there’s something you’d like to learn to make, let me know via email or twitter!

Project don’t always turn out as planned.  This sweet chili jam didn’t set and became sweet chili sauce.  But it was still tasty!

My beauty detox continued.

On a quest to use up the random alcohol in my liqueur cabinet, we made some spiced Winter Warmer Rum.   Start some now for winter hot toddies.

Speaking of winter foods, we made chicken noodle soup and French cassoulet.

And finally, I started debating whether Grandma was a minimalist.  Balancing thrift and minimalism is a tough one.  Let us know what you think!

“Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.”  -Elizabeth Lawrence

Last week my parents came to visit us in London.  It was also my birthday.  I haven’t spent a birthday with my parents in, oh, 10 years or so … so it was wonderful.

We managed to escape London for a couple of days to walk around the English countryside.

And wow, it’s autumn.

Sometimes I feel so disconnected living in the city, working in an office, commuting in the train.  Beyond noticing if I need an umbrella that day or not, I have no idea what is happening outside.

Last week reminded me how important it is to get outside everyday and reconnect with the world, if only for a few minutes!

How do you find the time to reconnect with nature?  Do you feel different on days you’re inside or outside?  How do you stay balanced?

Remember my Beauty Detox?  I gave up shampoo.  Here is the article I wrote in frustration, and then I finally figured out how to go shampoo free!  It works so well, I’m still doing it today!

I tried making a homemade sports drink… with vinegar.  Actually it tasted a lot better than I expected!

Women’s magazines never change.  Here are some pictures from 1930s French Marie Claire about the things men hate.

I ended up with a big package of dates.  Here’s how to make Cranberry Date Chutney.

And finally, I made my first Elderberry Cordial.  This stuff is SO tasty.  If you can find elderberries, make some this weekend! You’ll thank yourself this winter.

A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Feeling overwhelmed? I know the feeling.  Today I am feeling overwhelmed by digital information.  I LOVE the internet. Love it. I subscribe to over 50 blogs. I sign up for email newsletters.  I save tons of links as bookmarks.  I email myself links to articles.

It’s a great concept - rather than saving paper clippings, I save digital copies of information about fun projects.  Things I’d like to do someday. Recipes I’d like to try. Travel destinations to visit.

But when do I go back and look at these saved links?

Honestly?  Hardly ever.

Because there’s always MORE, newer, fresher, more exciting information to consume.

I’ve just started taking this Unraveling course which I’m really excited about.  So this morning I decided to bookmark the page to make it easier to refer to during the course.  I clicked “bookmark” and suddenly realized that I have about 200 bookmarks in my web browser!  It seemed impossible that I would ever find this bookmark again. And really, isn’t that the point of a bookmark? To make it easy to find websites?

I felt a sense of dread. Of being buried under this pile of information that I had no hope of getting through.  But wasn’t there good stuff in there?! What if I miss out on The Next Big Idea because I didn’t read this one amazing article?

Then I took a deep breath and…

Deleted every single bookmark.

Every one. Gone.

Immediately I felt a sense of relief.  Like a weight had been lifted.  My browser window was suddenly clean.  I recreated the 4 essential bookmarks I actually use, and left it at that.  Ahh.  Simple.

Simplifying your life doesn’t just happen.  The universe tends towards chaos (remember that factoid from physics class?)  Simplifying your life is a choice.  Although managing digital data is a modern problem, Grandma would recognize the need to focus on what’s important and forget the small stuff.  And you can get started today by spending 15 minutes decluttering and simplifying your digital life.

6 tips to reduce information overload

1.  Remind yourself that YOU choose what to read.  Be selective about how you spend your time.  Skim the headlines, read the interesting articles and emails, and ignore the rest.  This is hard to do in the beginning, but such an important habit if you want to regain control of your digital information

2.  Actively unsubscribe from email newsletters you don’t want.  Instead of immediately deleting emails, spend the extra 2 clicks to open the email, scroll to the bottom and click the ‘unsubscribe’ link.  There. Problem solved long-term.

3. Discover RSS Feeds.  If you love to read blogs, it can be really time consuming to bookmark each blog and check back regularly.  That’s where RSS feeds come in.  An RSS feed is a stream of the latest posts from a blog.  You read this stream in an RSS reader.  I use Google Reader.  Just click ‘subscribe’ on each of your favorite blogs, and get the latest posts from every blog delivered on one page.  Whew. ONE page to check for updates.  Simple!

4. Do a bookmark clear-out.  Aside from the 3-5 bookmarks you use on a daily basis, delete everything.  Everything.  There, that’s better.

5. Discover an online bookmarking tool.  Rather than emailing articles to yourself, try an online bookmarking tool.  I use Springpad.  Evernote is another popular one.  It’s a smarter way to bookmark.  It clips articles and links from the web, recognizes recipes, can look up books and movies, and organizes everything in little notebooks based on categories you assign.  Much easier than a massive set of emails or browser bookmarks.

6. If your email is out of control, take drastic measures.  If you have hundreds or thousands of emails in your inbox, don’t waste your time trying to sort through them, start fresh by declaring email bankruptcy.   You can either just delete all of the emails in your inbox and start from zero, or close the email account and open a new one (which has a side-benefit of reducing spam…for awhile).  It’s a drastic measure, but would feel so good.

How do you control digital information overload?  Share your tips in the comments.

Don’t worry if you missed out this year – we’ll be back next year with more projects and summer fun.

In the meantime, here is a recap of Summer Camp projects – perfect for a lazy Labor day weekend!

Baking

Make Sourdough bread starter then make sourdough bread

Orange Walnut Biscotti

Foraging / Gardening

Make Daisy Salve step #1

Dandelion Syrup

Nettle Tea

Nettle Pesto 

Elderberry Cordial

Beauty

Mint Coconut Sugar Scrub

Jet Setter facial mist

Lavender bath bomb

Creative

Make some gorgeous Easter eggs with onion skins

Try some cross stitch

Crochet a grocery bag holder with a VHS tape!

Kitchen Remedies

St John’s Wort Healing Oil

Make Daisy Salve,part #2

Chili Mustard Oil for cold feet

Homemade sports drink 

A big thanks to Doris and Fred for the Vintage Summer Camp badges!!

I found a big basket of vintage knitting and crochet patterns for 20p each.  Double the price I paid for these, but we do live in London…

I’m always torn between buying vintage patterns that I might actually make, and then buying some just for the pictures on the front!

Some of the amusing ones (click for larger version):

Nice drill...

This guy looks very unhappy about his loopy vest

Matching crocheted necktie

Not sure they're really dressed for horseback riding?

And the lovely ones…

A bee foraging for his dinner.

I’ve been moving around so much in the past 10 years, I haven’t had much time to develop my green thumb.

My flat in Washington DC had space for outdoor window boxes.  I planted herbs…which were quickly devoured by an animal.  My flat in Paris had a balcony, but I was too busy sitting in cafes and eating cheese to bother growing anything.  Then I moved to London and for the first time had a garden!  I spent hundreds of pounds buying all of the gardening necessities: gloves, tools, compost, pots, plants, seedlings, seed growers, plant food etc.  and had a one summer extravaganza of homegrown herbs & veg.  But then 6 months ago we moved again, and voila, no outdoor space at all.   Now we’re finally settled in a flat where we plan to stay for the next few years, and while it doesn’t have outdoor space, it does have a couple huge sunny windowsills, and more importantly, lots of open space and walking trails nearby!

So I’m here to tell you that if you don’t have a garden, don’t dismay!  You can find lots of herbs and plants to use in your beauty products, kitchen remedies and even as part of your dinner, but you have to be prepared to get to know your local area.

Rules of Foraging

1. Know your local area – Get to know your local area and start exploring your foraging options.  This will be a lifelong pursuit as you find where certain plants grow and the best spots to pick them.  You can try asking other foragers, but keep in mind most people won’t share their best locations, lest they get overpicked!  You want to look for the type and quantity of plants available, while avoiding roadsides (pollution) and dog-walking hotspots (unless you commit to picking ‘above dog height’).
2. Find the abundance. If you’re picking from wild plants, you always always always want to leave more than you take.  Take just as much as you can use personally, and no more.  Don’t pick the last few of something.   Try to pick from several different locations rather than stripping all the elderflowers off one tree, for example.  Find what plants are abundant in your area, and use those.  There are always several plants which can achieve the same goal, so find an abundant plant and learn its many uses.  Dandelions are a great example of this – they are everywhere, and can be used in a zillion ways!
3. Don’t pick in any conservation area or on private land without asking permission first!

And finally but most importantly:

4.  Know exactly what you’re picking. This is SO important for your own personal health and safety.  Do not pick a plant unless you know exactly what it is! If you’re not confident, you might want to bring along a friend with a green thumb, or someone who has lived in the area for years and is familiar with the plants.  If in doubt, don’t pick it! It’s not worth the risk.  I suggest starting with some really common plants like dandelion, daisies, nettle, plantain, clivers – things that you can easily identify.

And if you’re still really freaked out about it, try joining an herb walk first.  Herbalists all over the world run local walks where they head to a park or open space and teach small groups about local plants & their uses.  Ask at your local herbal dispensary, garden center or health food shop.

If you do go foraging, you might want to try my recipes for nettle tea, nettle pesto and dandelion syrup.

So what do you think about foraging? Let us know in the comments!

I’ve been quiet for a couple of months because of a little thing called buying our first house.  It’s been an adventure.  But now I’m back in full swing, and can’t wait to share lots of new projects (and some surprises!) with you from my new kitchen!!

So jumping back into things - today I’m launching Vintage Summer Camp 2011.  I’ve been working on this project for awhile and finally had the time to bring it to life.  Last summer we did a Grow-A-Long which had more than 40 people from across the US and Europe creating tasty treats with their homegrown plants.  But this summer in my new home (which is actually a flat, as I live in London) … I’ve found myself without a garden!!  So while I learn how to grow herbs in a window garden, your summer camp will cover lots more topics.  We’ll do projects in baking, foraging, kitchen remedies, making beauty products and getting crafty & creative.

WHY? Because it’s summer, and you deserve some creative ME time!

So check out the Vintage Summer Camp page for all of the info & details.   Tell all of your friends to join too (there’s a cheery summer camp button you can grab on the right side of the blog).  And stay tuned for our first projects coming next week!

Upcycling is a fancy term for a very vintage concept.  Our grandmothers made use of everything because they had to.  Turning men’s old shirts into aprons (I found a pattern for this recently, stay tuned!), altering an old dress to make it fashionable again, saving every single jar and bottle to reuse for food storage…  My vintage housekeeping books are filled with ideas on how to reuse your belongings.

This weekend while decluttering our apartment and preparing for the big move, I found a bunch of VHS tapes in the donate to charity pile. (Don’t get me started on how wasteful all of these old VHS tapes and CD/DVD cases are!!  Not recyclable and going straight into the landfill.  Ugh.)   Some google searching about reusing VHS tapes turned up this chair and someone who crocheted a clutch purse from the magnetic tape.  Aha.  Crochet I can do.  Although I couldn’t see myself carrying that purse exactly, I like the use-ribbon-as-yarn concept and decided to improvise.

This is a crochet plastic bag holder made from VHS tape ribbon.  It’s easy to use – just stuff the plastic bags in the top, and pull them out through the elastic in the bottom.  I attached a little loop to hang over a doorknob or hook.  The VHS ribbon is a bit annoying to crochet because it doesn’t glide smoothly – but it’s such an easy pattern and is really portable because all of the ribbon is contained on one reel!

This is my first crochet pattern (written in American crochet terms), so please let me know if anything needs clarification.

Crochet Grocery Bag Holder

You need:

1 vhs tape ribbon (unscrew 5 screws on the back of the VHS tape to open the case, then remove the ribbon)

size 6.5mm crochet hook

1 hair elastic

Pattern is worked in the round

Round 1: Tie ribbon onto hair elastic.  17 sc around hair elastic.

Round 2: 17 dc around (at this point you could have a cool bracelet!)

Round 3: ch2, (* dc in next stitch, ch2) , repeat from * to last stitch.

Round 4: (dc, ch2) in each ch2 space around.

Repeat round 4 until bag is as tall as you want.

Handle:  ch20, attach with a sc  about 3″ further around to form handle.  Fasten off.

Have you done any creative upcycling projects?  Let us know in the comments.

If you’re feeling crafty and creative this week, check out these vintage inspired resources from some of my favorite bloggers.

• Vintage luggage tags from Just Something I Made

• Vintage French fabric labels from The Graphics Fairy

• DIY Vintage apothecary jar labels - from Eat Drink Chic – love these!

• Stitchable gift tags How-To from Sublime Stitching

If you’ve done any creative & crafty vintage projects, let us know about them!

Bath bombs have become quite popular recently as an alternative to bubble bath.  Bath bombs are like a bath cube, but much bigger and fizzier.  They can be in lots of different shapes, and either contain just fragrance, or fragrance and add-ins like shea butter, cocoa butter, herbs or even glitter!

The fabulous store Lush sells tons of variations of bath bomb.  But they’re easy to make at home for yourself or as gifts.

This recipe was my first attempt at making a bath bomb, and I was really happy with the results.  I’ll definitely be making more of these (and inventing my own scent combos) in the future!

My only criticism was that the little bits of lavender got ALL over the tub afterwards.  I actually put a strainer in the bottom of the tub so they wouldn’t clog the drain.  Just something to be aware of.  The essential oils provided all of the scent, so I think the flower are mainly for appearance.  I will probably leave them out next time!

Lavender Bath Bomb

(makes 1)

Adapted from Grow Your Own Drugs by James Wong

1 tsp. dried lavender flowers

3 TB baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

1 TB. citric acid (you can buy this in a pharmacy)

1 tsp. olive oil

10 drops lavender essential oil

A mould of some kind (I used a silicon cupcake mould, but you could use a cookie cutter, muffin tin, anything!)

How to: First, make sure your bowl and spoon are completely dry. If you get any water in this mix, it will start fizzing. Mix everything in a bowl, until the mixture is damp and powdery.

Press the mixture firmly into your mould.

Let it sit for several hours to try out.  Overnight is even better.  Mine started to get little bubbles on the top as it dried.

Turn out of mould, wrap in foil or plastic, and store in a dry location until ready to use.

To use: Run a bath.  Once the bath is ready, drop in the bath bomb and enjoy the fizzy show!

Have you made a bath bomb?  What scents did you include? Let us know!

I’m slightly obsessed with sweater girls and pinups from the 1940s and 1950s … as well as the gorgeous delicate knits of the 1930s.  And creating your own vintage knitwear means you get the classic style, with the benefit of new materials!  (And you can make it exactly the color, style and SIZE that you want, which so often isn’t the case with vintage clothes!).

If you’re feeling knitty and want to make your own vintage knitwear, get some inspiration here:

• I recently posted some vintage patterns I bought at a charity shop
• Just stumbled across this link of some lovely 1930′s-era knitting patterns
• And I can’t recommend Ravelry enough – if you join, friend me, I’m vintageamanda.  I’m a member of several vintage knitting groups on the site, linked from my profile.
• Finally, here are a few vintage pics from flickr for inspiration.

Do you knit? Have you ever tried knitting from a vintage pattern?  What are your favorite resources? Leave a comment below.

When vintage hunting, I tend to get my best finds in shops outside of London.  My theory on this is that London has too many hipsters scouring the shops for valuable vintage goods.  So if you head out of town, you can often find some treasures.

This week, I found a whole bin of vintage knitting patterns, for 10p each!  I’ve had vintage knitting on the brain recently, since I’ve been writing an article about it for Knit Today magazine (stay tuned for more info on this!)  I love the idea of making new, vintage-style knitwear by knitting from old patterns.  If you haven’t tried knitting yet, get yourself to a local knitting meetup via Ravelry and give it a try!

In this week’s vintage pattern discovery, I found a couple items I might knit, but mainly bought them for amusement and blogging value.  This one is my favorite … what exactly is going on with this girl’s head (wait, is it a girl on the right? I think so…)

A lovely knitting booklet from Woman’s Weekly magazine, looks like it’s from the 1930s.

I think I’ll make this cardigan from the booklet:

1960′s boat neck sweater:Some very brightly colored children’s sweaters.

And finally, some 1970s poncho action … with matching hats.  Oh boy.

Happy vintage hunting!

Actually, cross stitching is even easier than embroidery and knitting! You just stitch little x’s on grid-like fabric, et voila! A design.   You can either do “counted” cross stitch, which means that you count the number of stitches from your pattern and recreate it on plain fabric, or you can buy pre-printed kits.  I did a few practice stitches on some plain aida fabric and felt ready to tackle a new design after just a few minutes.

To be honest, I struggled a bit with the existing patterns I found online.   They just didn’t fit with my decor (which leans more modern than country/whimsical).  And since Vintage Savoir Faire is about rediscovering vintage crafts and adapting them for our modern lives … I decided to design my own!

I put together this design, using a vintage bird illustration and my GIMP graphical editor (Like photoshop, but free … I’m all about the free tools!)

Then I found a brilliant free online program, My Photo Stitch, where you can upload a photo, change a few settings, and it produces a cross stitch pattern for you.  It’s not perfect, but if you’re willing to improvise a bit, it is a great starting point.  I uploaded the design, and got back a detailed cross stitch design using 5 colors.  (You can see I’m bad at photo editing, so the area around around the bird is shaded … this showed up in the cross stitch pattern so I had to ignore those stitches.)

Then the stitching began.

I liked that cross stitching didn’t require a lot of concentration. It’s just a basic x-stitch, so it’s easy to do while watching TV or talking with a friend.

And finally, my finished design!

If you’re interested in trying to cross stitch yourself, here’s a visual tutorial on how to cross stitch by Stitch School.    And some inspiration for modern cross stitch by WallWork, Hello Sailor, and Feeling Stitchy.

I would like to see some more modern/alternative/edgy cross stitch patterns out there though! Know of any good resources? Let us know in the comments.