Nasturtiums for culinary and medicinal uses

Grasonville, MD – Thursday morning – Nasturtiums are beautiful flowering plants that add lots of color to any garden, they are a great edible flower but did you know that they have great medicinal qualities?

I have always grown my own nasturtiums to use for edible flower recipes and they make a great garnish. Nasturtiums have a peppery taste which is similar to watercress. Nasturtium vinegar is great to make using nasturtium flowers, vinegar and a few pepper corns.  Just place about 12 rinsed and dried nasturtium flowers in a glass jar with a screw-on lid, and add 1 cup of white wine vinegar. If your lid is metal, be sure to line it with plastic wrap. Let flowers steep for 1 – 3 weeks. Strain and re-bottle in pretty decorative bottle.This vinegar is a beautiful shrimp or salmon colored vinegar and is great to make as gifts for friends and neighbors.

The leaves, stems and flowers of the nasturtium plant are edible. The seeds of this plant can be used as an inexpensive substitute for capers by putting them in a vinegar, sugar and salt blend and steep for 3 weeks.  You can add the leaves to salads, egg dishes, cheeses, sorbets and custards. You can chop the flowers and add them to risotto or to olive oil for a topping for pasta.

Okay, those are some of the culinary uses in your kitchen. Now to get to the medicinal uses of nasturtiums – they are disinfectant, antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti- bacterial. Nasturtiums are good to use for infections, flu, to stimulate appetite, digestive upsets that stem from overgrowth of yeast or from parasites. Nasturtiums have a mustard-oil compound that are responsible for the above medicinal uses.

The only caution is to use in moderation as large quantities could irritate the mucous membranes of the digestive tract. Always remember to use the recommended quantities in any herb that you use. More is never better! >>Candace

Great Radio Show Last Night!

GRASONVILLE, MD – Monday evening – We had a great visit on last night’s Inspired at Home radio show with our very special guests!

Jana Ewy is a freelance artist, author, designer and demonstrator. She has worked with a multitude of craft mediums over the years, creating projects for manufacturers, books, magazines and television. Jana’s artwork has been featured on several HGTV television segments for the Carol Duvall Show and the DIY Jewelry network. She specializes in Friendly Plastic and has been working with it for almost 20 years. She has written two books Friendly and Fashionable and Friendly Plastic 101. In her radio interview, Jana shared how Friendly Plastic has come from the trendy product of the ’80′s to an up-and-coming art medium thanks to the new heating methods and work surfaces now available.

In addition to creating her artwork full-time and offering it for sale at www.justbananas.etsy.com [Tiffany LOVES Jana's Friendly Plastic bracelets for sale at her Etsy store!], Jana is also a designer, demonstrator and product developer for American Art Clay Co., Inc., the manufacturers of Friendly Plastic.  Check out all of the great resources, ideas and information at www.friendlyplastic.blogspot.com and www.justbananas.com.

Listen to Jana’s interview from our podcast page – GO>> - or – listen to the entire show at your leisure! GO>>

Designer Jenny Krauss shared with our listeners, the story of her distinctive line of fairtrade and eco-friendly giftware, fashion and home decor products which are available at www.harrietandleo.com. This product line “gives back” by providing financial and emotional support to more than 500 Bolivian and Peruvian female artisans, some impoverished and abused, who have exceptional skills but little or no job opportunities. By hiring these extraordinarily talented women to meticulously hand craft her various designs, Jenny liberates and empowers them with a source of income along with an overriding sense of self-worth and accomplishment. Jenny’s educational background is in art and design and for the first 20 years of her career, she was a painter and sculptor. Read Jenny’s bio – GO>> Listen to Jenny’s interview from our podcast page – GO>>

Join us every Sunday night for Inspired at Home Radio. And don’t miss our very popular after the show segment (the last 30-minutes of each show) where our guests, reporters Katheryn Tidwell Bieber and Maria Nerius and our favorite “tacky glue lady” Aleene join us for an open mic chat. You never know what we will talk about! Get Creative! Get Inspired! >>Tiffany

Creative Window Treatment

LOS OSOS, CA – Monday morning – I know I’ve said it before but…… I just LOVE my new studio.

Everyday it just gets better.  But better doesn’t even begin to describe it…Fabulous!!!  Yep that’s it!!!

The studio is taking on its own personality. Actually, I guess that would be my personality!  The energy is fun, inspiring, creative, and definitely colorful.  As my creative guests walk through the door, they are often surprised…the creative energy just bursts from all corners of this fun space.

My newest addition is my creative window treatments. I have amazing natural light in the studio, mostly from my three skylights. But I also have three south facing windows that look into a dog/dirt/orchard (* see definition below) view.  So my creative “idea factory” mind…started to process…what to do?   Many of the retail craft stores often have wonderful small bolts of ribbons on sale…so I started to collect lots of fun colors, shapes and sizes of ribbons.

Boring, plain window before!

This week I started my project. First I put a spring tension rod into the window space.  Then I started to tie or tape various strands of my yardage collection onto the rod.  Next, I found some glass prisms (lots of childhood memories of those) and some wonderful glass blown ornaments (no Tiff, I haven’t used the ones from mom’s collection…….yet

So, I’m thinkin’ it’s probably a work in progress…’cause I just keep adding to it… who knows…if I need a special 1/8″ wide regal purple ribbon, I just might have to ‘borrow’ it from its display. I will definitely keep you posted on this magical addition to my creative studio space.

Sending lots of creative love your way! >>Heidi

*Definition of dog/dirt/orchard:  a fruit orchard that our dogs run through and make a mess…dig holes…run  (and sometimes pick their own fruit ) errrrrr!!!!

Oh btw: Check out all the empty cardboard ribbon bolts… I think I’ll challenge myself to recycle these! Stay tuned for Challenge Heidi! (I actually already have a great idea for them.)

Onions aren’t just for cooking!

GRASONVILLE, MD – Thursday morning – Onions aren’t just for cooking you know!  Onions are high in potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium, Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C and E, niacin, pantothenic acid, copper, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, fiber and folic acid. Who knew that the lowly onion had so many wonderful vitamins and minerals hidden within?

Did you know that onions are digestive, disinfectant, anti-inflammatory, good for diarrhea, for intestinal parasites, gallstones, rheumatism, infectious diseases, aids circulation, prevents blood clots, good for nasal congestion and for respiratory problems?  You can make a compress of fresh onions that have a cooling effect and an analgesic effect on minor burns, sunburn, and can help reduce swelling and inhibit bacterial growth.For insect bites, use a fresh cut onion and place on the skin over the insect bite to get some relief.  If you get bloated from eating raw onions, try frying them before eating.

Prepare an onion tea for coughs… take 3 small onions, 1 ¼ cups of water, and honey to taste. Peel the onions down to the deepest layer of the outer skin, cut in half and boil briefly, then simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Remove the onions and sweeten with honey. Drink in sips just before going to bed. Onion tea helps loosen mucus.

Start trying home remedies for what ails you, as they are very effective, don’t have the side effects of the over-the-counter medicines and prescription medications.  >>Candace

I Love My Aleene’s FunCraft Foam Glue!

LOS OSOS, CA – Monday morning – What better way for the kids (and the kid in you) to celebrate summer than with some cute-as-can-be flip flops.

Gluing craft foam together and getting it to hold can be a challenge so be sure to use a good foam glue like Aleene’s® FunCraft™ Foam Glue! Here’s to the lazy, crazy days of summer! Love ya! >>Heidi

Fun Flip Flops
by Heidi Borchers for www.inspiredathome.com

Materials
Aleene’s® FunCraft™ Foam Glue!
Clothespins (to help hold pieces while drying)
For frog flip-flops: 1 pair flip-flops
Craft foam: green, yellow, black
Opaque shrink plastic (this is the plastic that starts opaque white and shrinks to white)
Craft knife
2 (3/4”) wiggle eyes

For lizard sandals: 1 pair sandals
Craft foam: purple, yellow, pink
Hole punches: ¼” diameter, 3/16” diameter, 1/8” diameter

Instructions for Frog flip-flops

Transfer patterns (see below) to foam and cut 2 heads, 2 faces, 4 eyelids, and 4 feet from green; 2 tongues from yellow; and 2 bugs from black. Transfer wing pattern to plastic and cut 4. Referring to photo as guide, glue 2 wiggle eyes and 2 eyelids in place on each face. Let dry. With bottom of face aligned with placement line, glue 1 face on each head, sandwiching straight end of 1 tongue in between. Glue 1 bug and 2 wings on each tongue. Let dry.

For frog feet, cut 1 (3/4”-long) slit on each side at toe end of each flip-flop, using craft knife. Squeeze glue into each slit. Insert straight end of 1 foot into each slit. Glue 1 frog in place on each flip-flop. Let dry.

Instructions for Lizard sandals

Transfer patterns to foam and cut 2 lizards from purple, 5 diamonds from yellow, and 2 diamonds from pink.

From pink foam scraps, punch 2 (1/4”) circles, 4 (3/16”) circles and 4 (1/8”) circles. From yellow foam scraps, punch 2 (3/16”) circles. Measure ankle strap of sandal. Using pattern and ¼” hole punch, cut 1 pink diamond and punch 1 yellow circle per inch to decorate ankle strap of each sandal.

Referring to photo, glue 5 yellow diamonds in place on each lizard, trimming 2 diamonds to fit tail. Let dry. Beginning with diamond nearest lizard’s head, glue pink circles on yellow diamonds in the following order: 3/16”, ¼”, 3/16”, 1/8” and 1/8”. Glue 1 (3/16”) yellow circle on top of each of 2 pink diamonds. Let dry. Glue 1 lizard and 1 pink diamond with yellow circle on instep of each sandal. Let dry. Glue remaining pink diamonds and yellow circles alternately around ankle strap of each sandal. Let dry.

Heidi’s Designer Tip: To make it easier to glue craft foam together, I always use clothespins to hold my pieces while the glue is drying. Another tip is to apply the glue and let it sit for a few minutes before joining the pieces together.

Enlarge or reduce patterns to desired size.

Craft Concierge – What Glue Do I Use?

GRASONVILLE, MD – Monday morning – We’re excited to launch our new Craft Concierge feature at Inspired at Home and who better to embrace that title than Maria Nerius! Maria has been in the creative craft industry for about 20-years and her passion is talking crafts, telling stories, and pointing people in the right direction for them to discover the creativity they already have inside!

For her first radio show interview, Maria picked the topic of  “What Glue Do I Use?”.  On last night’s Inspired at Home Radio show, Maria shared the most amusing story of how she started her career in crafting.  A cousin suggested that she sell crafts at outdoor arts and crafts shows and she thought “Why not!”. She bought some felt and some glue to make Christmas ornaments to sell. Well, in Maria’s own words, “What a mess!”. The ornaments were horrible. She even wrote the glue company to tell them that a bad batch of glue must have gotten onto her local craft store’s shelves.  How does the story end?  Well, you’re going to have to listen to Maria’s report!  P.S.  It has a happy ending   Listen to Maria’s podcast report on “What Glue do I Use?” GO>>- and- read her report on-line! GO>>

Do you have a crafting question?  Just email craftconcierge@inspiredathome.com or post your question here and we’ll research it and get you an answer! Get Creative! Get Inspired! >>Tiffany

Embracing Your Inner Goddess!

GRASONVILLE, MD – Monday morning – Embracing Your Inner Goddess, now that’s something that we all tend to shy away from! How do those words make you feel? A little squirmish maybe? Well, that’s the response for a lot of us!

On the July 19, 2009 episode of Inspired at Home Radio, Katheryn Tidwell Bieber’s Embracing Your Creative Spirit report focused on how important it is to talk kindly to yourself as one of the first big steps to unblocking yourself creatively.

Listen to Katheryn’s podcast report – GO>>

Great Radio Show Last Night!

GRASONVILLE, MD – Monday morning – We had a great visit on last night’s Inspired at Home radio show with our very special guests!

Brenda Pinnick inspired us with COLOR!  What a great discussion! Brenda is a member of the Color Marketing Group, serves on the CHA Design Council and is a graduate of the Creative Circus, a prestigious portfolio school in Atlanta, GA. She shared insights on how color is a powerful tool that can transform our environment, elevate our mood, spur creativity and even help you lose weight.  Brenda talked about which colors enhance our creativity, which colors make us hungry and which turn off our appetite  –plus — colors people should avoid wearing (OK here’s a little hint, I’m definitely, positively, never ever, ever wearing solid green again!), why some people are attracted to certain colors at certain times and the universal favorite color! Listen to Brenda’s interview from our podcast page – GO>> - or – listen to the entire show at your leisure! GO>>

Ketra Oberlander first began painting at the age of 40 when her vision deteriorated into blindness. In the six years since, she has been a professional artist whose work has received over a dozen awards, has thrice shown in the prestigious MH de Young Museum in San Francisco, has been juried into international exhibitions, including winning the Award of Excellence in the Kennedy Center-sponsored “Visions from the Heart” exhibit, and her work has graced two homes for episodes of ABC-TV’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition. In 2008, Ketra expanded her creative mission into a social vision, launching Art of Possibility Studios, an art publishing and licensing company exclusively representing physically disabled artists. On tonight’s show, Ketra discussed how she began painting after she lost her sight and how she expanded her creative mission into a social vision, launching Art of Possiblity Studios, an art brand exclusively representing physically disabled artists for profit so they may generate independent income. Check out Ketra’s on-line shopping. Our favorite pick from this collection is the notepad sets! No, wait! Probably the bookmarks. No, definitely the Phenominoes! Oh well, we love them all!  Listen to Ketra’s interview from our podcast page – GO>> - or – listen to the entire show at your leisure! GO>>

Join us every Sunday night for Inspired at Home Radio. And don’t miss our after the show segment (the last 30-minutes of each show) where our guests, reporters Katheryn Tidwell Bieber and Maria Nerius and our favorite “tacky glue lady” Aleene join us for an open mic chat. You never know what we will talk about! Get Creative! Get Inspired! >>Tiffany

Tea is so good for you!!!

GRASONVILLE, MD – Thursday morning - What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I mention the word “tea”?

Probably a nice relaxing beverage came to mind, which is correct, but did you know that tea is REALLY good for you. Tea is from the camellia sinensis plant and all tea, no matter what color it is, comes from this same plant but is just processed differently. You are probably most familiar with black tea, green tea, oolong tea and white tea. (Herbal tea is not really tea but different herbs steeped in water.)

Black has the most caffeine with white tea having the least. Tea has 200 active compounds that are working while you are relaxing. Tea is very rich in plant compounds called flavonoids that protect the heart, are anti-bacterial, relieve diarrhea, sharpen concentration, lower cholesterol, prevents tooth decay, improves circulation, detoxifies the blood, helps in menopause (lots of vitamins and minerals) and some studies suggest that it might help prevent the development of cancer.

Here’s a nice home remedy for you. Ever have a sty on your eyelid?  Make a cup of black tea by placing the tea bag (or loose tea in cheesecloth) in a cup of boiling water, let steep a few minutes and then remove the tea bag from the cup and when it is cool enough to place on your eyelid, place over sty. When tea cools, pop the tea bag back into the tea water and re-heat and repeat the process. It only takes one or two applications to get the sty to go down and away. Now you know . . .  tea is a lot more than just a relaxing beverage. So pour yourself a nice cup of tea today and drink to your wellness! >>Candace

Teaching Kids to be Creative

LOS OSOS, CA – Wednesday afternoon – It’s our job to help teach our kids and grandkids the steps to express their creativity!!! I know, I know… we’ve been talking about it for weeks on the Inspired at Home radio show (and for years on the Aleene’s Creative Living television show)  about how important it is to “teach” children to express their creativity.

We often don’t really need to ‘teach’ but to let kids just be who they are and I always find that their creativity just soars. I have found that by simply showing the kids the basics like how to use scissors, how to glue and other simple techniques they just blossom into creative artists.

My grandson Jackson 10, lives close by so he’s often hanging out at our house. Some days he will watch a few TV shows. Sometimes it’s shooting hoops and other times he’ll venture into the studio to be creative.  This past week was the first time he just came into the studio…. looked around and he knew exactly what he wanted to create.

He found a ceramic donkey that was actually from my Mom’s collectible collection (sorry Mom but it went to a great creative cause!). He knew exactly what he wanted …..  put the donkey into a mosaic with grass, a river, a tree, and the sky and ‘”bytw grandma do you have something the donkey can sit on?”

He went about his creative task, gathered up the supplies and went to work gluing tiles into place. At first as he was working on his project he was wanting to use five (or more) different colors of grout.  I didn’t say he couldn’t use that many but simply explained for best results he would have to wait a day for each grout color to set before adding the next. Not wanting to spend that many days on this project (he’s got lots more planned), he finally settled on one color.  He worked on his creation, tile nipping the tiles and then gluing each tile into place, then grouted it. He was SO proud of what he created!!! And for two days no computer and no TV.  Yippeee!!!

Ahhh… the sweet creative life…sharing and teaching kids creativity!! I just love it!!!>>Love Ya! Heidi

PS. Would love to hear any great ‘teaching kids’ to be creative stories!!! Just leave a comment or email me at heidi@inspiredathome.com