Enviro Friendly Shipping Supplies and More

 There are times that I feel like Indiana Jones, on the search for the long lost missing good for me and our planet item. Something that's going to make the world a better place. Environmentally friendly products and affordable (HA!) Some can be easily found, some not so much and some sadly are just using a marketing ploy to sell a product that is nowhere to being helpful to all of us.

 

Lately I have been on the lookout for better shipping supplies. The hardest to find are boxes to ship large paintings or framed paintings, which is one of the reasons why I ship my paintings flat (no frames, sometimes not matted.) I still haven't found anything truly convenient except  just getting boxes from UPS or Fed Ex. U-Haul or any moving business can be a good place to find a large flat box as well. Depending on the piece there might be no choice but to crate it. Shipping can get convoluted and expensive.

 

And how funny it was that Etsy sent me a link to Ecoenclose because of an algorithm that noticed that I had all the right words on an art piece. And I got excited, they have all the stuff that I wished I didn't have to use anymore, like bubble wrap, tissue paper and nice small boxes to store my junk journals in. They have a variety of shipping boxes, and I believe they can do a special size for you, paper tape, fillers all recycled and friendly.

I know there is a buzz going on about how recycling isn't any better but paper will degrade where unfortunately plastic takes years. They can even use algae ink to put your design or name on the packaging...very cool. They have stickers and can print note cards for you. It all depends what you want for your business. What you want to do for your customers.

 

Remember... I'm just sharing my journey. I get really excited when I see more and more items that move us away from plastics and toxic chemicals. And I love sharing this with you. So check them out you might find something for your own personal use  Ecoenclose.  

 

Till next time,

Love and Peace,

Dolores

Milk Paint

 Milk Paint...I love milk paint, it's creamy (if it comes from a can) cleans up in soap and water, it doesn't expect the surface to be perfectly sanded, just cleaned, dry and roughed up a little as long as there are no paint chips that need to be scraped off. And depending on the look you want, it can make the piece look sharp or rustic.

There are many types of milk paint on the market made from natural products which is good for our planet and ourselves. Some come in powder form and some are premixed, open, stir and paint. I recently used General Finishes Milk Paint, it's premixed and in a variety of colors. I found General Finishes in a little antique store here in town, so don't overlook small local antique furniture stores, sometimes they carry a variety of different types of milk or chalk paint. It's nice to go into a shop and be able to ask questions about the product plus your supporting a small business.

My daughter, who is also an artist, wanted to know about milk paint, she was like "seriously it's not made from milk."  Why yes it was made from whole milk, with other ingredients to turn that milk into an inexpensive paint used in the 1800's. Not only was it cheap, but it also dried quickly and had little to no smell while it dried.

Then her next question was can you make it yourself...hmmm, my answer was, I suppose so.

So, I had to find out. In my search, I found out that yes you can make your own milk paint.

It's curdled whole milk that make a binder.  And to get those curds you use vinegar which will make the milk sour and curdle after you let it sit for a day, or you can put it in a pot and let it heat up on low heat for about 5 to 10 min. You then scoop out the curdles and rinse them in clean water. Put curdles in a clean bowl and slowly stir in borax which is what makes the curdles smooth. This is your binder. You then can divide the milk binder into jars with lids and then you add mineral pigments to the jar or jars.

You can buy pigments online or if you feel inspired go out into nature and get rocks to crush them in a mortar and pestle. I suggest you have your pigments ready to go and only make what you need for your project because it's milk and it will eventually go bad. It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week and as always make sure you mark the jar.

You can always adjust the ingredients to how much you need.

2 quarts of milk

1 cup of vinegar 

4 TBS Borax found in laundry aisle in store

pigments (I had read that the more pigment you use, the more opaque the paint will be.)

recipe from 

• Green Guide For Artists by Karen Michel

***Please remember when your handling pigments to always wear a mask and rubber gloves.***

(And always read the ingredients if your buying milk paint in a can. Sometimes chemicals can be an added ingredient)

So go out and experiment! 

Peace and Love,

Dolores

Making Glues

 Glue... it's not easy to make a glue that sticks really well, that isn't too wet, that isn't going to attract bugs or go bad quickly and is vegan.

That's a tall order, especially when we have become a buy it and have it quick society.

There are all kinds of glue recipes out there, and books that include homemade glue recipes. I haven't tried all, but the ones that I have tried...makes me wonder if the author did that recipe. Because in the end it sure didn't look like the photo...WAIT... there was no final photo.

I tried a rice flour, water, and sugar recipe and no matter how long I boil it; it was still watery. Okay, I've been at the stove for over an hour, I don't even stand at the stove to cook anything for over an hour, what would make me think I'd love standing at the stove cooking some concoction that will become a paste...disappointment was the final result.

I tried whole wheat flour, sugar, alum and water. This is supposed to make a glue, not a paste and this time I pulled over a tall stool so I could stir and stir and stir, an hour long. Until mixture becomes translucent...TRANSLUCENT? Are you kidding me, what does that really mean, the stuff is brown, okay, more glossy than translucent, but maybe that's what they meant. And again, no final photos, that would have been great to have those final photos of what it should look like.

I'm beginning to feel like a witch who keeps a failed grimoire of failed spells. Eye of wheat, sweetness of tooth, with cool clear fluids of the earth, stir until your hair frizzes up and your face is red from the steam...

The wheat glue actually stuck and stuck pretty quick, only to find out through more research that bugs like the gluten in the wheat and really shouldn't be used for book making if you want to have it last. Plus, you have those folks that are seriously allergic to gluten. What about them? Nope gotta keep searching.

I read to replace the wheat with cake flour, it made a nice smooth glue with no bugs wanting to come to dinner. But I'm still a bit nervous about it.

Okay enough...

Methyl cellulose is natural chemical made from plants. It has been around for a long time mostly used to restore old books to clean off old glue and to use to re glue. It has been used to glue wallpaper.

I bought a package of it and made it. No witch at her cauldron stirring for hours. Just mix with warm water, add more water and let it sit for a day (follow directions.)

I'm always on the lookout for old bottles and glass jars to hold whatever I make or to hold my methyl cellulose and alum (not food grade) I keep them in an old bookcase with doors, so my cats can't get into them. 

I'm beginning to feel like I have an apothecary.

I had an old clean pickle jar to use. Stirred it up and set it aside till the next day.

And here it is, you can tell the stickiness from the lid. It's not perfect but it works well when I use it to stick pages together to alter an old book into a journal. It is a wet glue that can dry quickly if applied to thinly, so it takes practice in using it. And because it's natural, you have to watch out for contamination. So, it's good to keep in a glass container with a tight lid. Don't shake it before use, stirring it is better, so the lid doesn't rust. It can last up to a year if well taken care of.

I made this batch about two months ago. It still glues well, but it definitely needs stirred and patience needs to be taken because it's not like white glues on the market. I did more research on it and found out it's okay to make this in small batches and to use less water to make the glue thicker and stickier. That's my next venture to take this glue and add more methyl cellulose to it in small batches.

Meanwhile in my research I discovered wallpaper paste, which is made from natural ingredients, but make sure it's an organic wallpaper paste, some companies still add harmful chemicals to the paste. Dick Blick sells a wheat starch adhesive in powder form (back to my cooking cauldron,) add water and heat up. I personally have an issue with plastic containers and this product comes in a plastic bottle (we have so much plastic in this world, and I've been cutting back on plastic use, so for me this is a downer.) 

I'm not done in my search for ecofriendly glue either homemade or bought.

Till next time,

Peace and Love,

Dolores

Update! I am using a plant-based adhesive called Natural Acrylik Medium (TM)

It's a plant-based acrylic medium. Just like conventional acrylic mediums, it has many uses - mixing with natural pigments to make natural acrylic paint, varnishing, adhering, collaging and more. I use it as a glue and a replacement for modpodge.